OfferUp is a local listings site that allows people to buy or sell items (including cars). PrivateAuto is a tech-powered platform that makes peer-to-peer car transactions simple and secure.

The two platforms share some similarities and also have significant differences. If you’re about to buy or sell a car, let’s explore which is the better option.

The verdict: OfferUp has more users (therefore more reach for sellers and more vehicle inventory for buyers). PrivateAuto has much better technology and is more intuitive and convenient.

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to pick just one. You can start a deal on OfferUp and complete it on PrivateAuto. We’ll explain how.

But first, a side-by-side comparison of the two platforms across all aspects that matter.

OfferUp is an online classifieds site for local transactions. It allows users to sell or buy a wide range of items, from furniture and clothing to electronics and even cars.

The process is similar to other classifieds sites such as KSL and Craigslist. Sellers upload pictures of their cars, add descriptions, and set a price. Buyers browse through these listings and call or chat with sellers.

PrivateAuto is a specialized platform for buying and selling vehicles. It stands out with its focus on security and efficiency in car transactions.

The platform offers identity and fund verification for buyers and sellers. Users can negotiate prices, schedule test drives, and complete paperwork digitally, including e-signing of documents.

PrivateAuto offers unique features that set it above other platforms. See how PrivateAuto holds up against its competitors.

Like Craigslist, OfferUp facilitates the buying and selling of items locally, with a specific section for vehicle sales. The platform has great adoption; if you’re selling a car, there are a lot of potential buyers on the platform; if you’re buying a car, you can browse a large selection of makes and models for sale.

Here are some specific areas where OfferUp falls short (as do similar sites)

OfferUp exposes your used car to a lot of potential buyers. It’s fairly easy to create a vehicle listing. The platform is fairly similar to other listing sites in functionality (CarGurus, eBay Motors, etc).

The platform’s lack of transactionality results in some points of friction:

OfferUp gives you access to a large inventory of vehicles for sale. You can filter searches by make, model, year, mileage, and location. The interface is a bit clunky, with banner ads taking up large portions of the screen and distracting from listings.

OfferUp mixes dealer inventory with private-party cars for sale. As we all know, you often get a better deal when you go directly to the seller and cut out the middleman (this is one of the core reasons PrivateAuto exists). Because there’s no easy way to distinguish dealer vehicles from private party ones, buyers are left to click through listings in search of private sellers. The least OfferUp could do would be a filter for private-party vs dealer offerings, but they don’t even do that much.

Beyond the issue of dealership cars diluting out private sellers, OfferUp lacks transactional features that lubricate the private sale:

PrivateAuto provides a seamless, end-to-end dealflow powered by cutting-edge technology. It includes a full suite of features to facilitate transactions: listings, identity and fund verification, messaging, scheduling, payments, and paperwork signing.

Sellers pay a listing fee. They can choose between paying $99 at the time of listing or $150 when they sell their car. If they choose the latter, they only pay if the car sells. There are no fees for buyers.

PrivateAuto empowers peer-to-peer car transactions with the following:

PrivateAuto removes friction from the private car sale. Self-serve technology solves the problem of trust between strangers, keeps your sensitive information private, and gets you paid instantly.

PrivateAuto makes it easy for you to make offers, schedule test drives, make payments, and get your car. PrivateAuto’s end-to-end transactionality gets the deal done in the following ways:


You get your car and the seller gets paid. It all happens quickly, in one session, with an intuitive step-by-step guided process that reassures each of you at every step along the way.

There are no cons to PrivateAuto. We intentionally designed it that way.

OfferUp is what we call a “meetingplace”: it is great at connecting a buyer and seller to one another, but that’s about it. It lacks all of the transactional functionality that makes PrivateAuto so easy to use.

That’s OK. You can still use OfferUp to find your buyer (or to find a car for sale) and then use PrivateAuto to close the deal. Best of both worlds, and we’ll show you how it’s done. But first, let’s compare the two platforms for functionality.

On PrivateAuto, sellers can choose to only negotiate with buyers who have verified their funds (every buyer who chooses to verify their funds gets a badge on their profile). With OfferUp, sellers have no way to validate this. You could be wasting your time with tire kickers.

Buyers and sellers can communicate safely without revealing personal contact information on PrivateAuto. You can make offers and schedule test drives without exchanging numbers.

OfferUp includes a seller's phone number with their listing and lacks the privacy and scheduling features that PrivateAuto offers.

PrivateAuto facilitates easy, fast negotiations. Buyers can choose to accept a seller’s asking price or offer less. Sellers can accept, reject, or counteroffer with the click of a button.

OfferUp does not have similar negotiation technology. Buyers and sellers must message one another, which adds friction to the process and takes longer.

Test drives can be conveniently scheduled in-app in PrivateAuto with no communication required.

With OfferUp, all you have is unstructured communication and a lot of back and forth.

You can sign the bill of sale electronically with PrivateAuto. This can happen on the spot once both parties come to an agreement.

OfferUp lacks electronic docu-signing and the trust that is built between buyer and seller when both have signed a legally binding document and each counterparty’s signature is confirmed to the other party.

You can quickly process transactions up to $1 million with PrivateAuto Pay. You can also apply for financing without leaving the app.

Everything happens securely, with no need to exchange sensitive financial information. This provides much-needed speed and protection compared to traditional methods.

OfferUp lacks any payment functionality, so buyer and seller are left to navigate clunky payment options on their own.

PrivateAuto is the best place to buy or sell a used vehicle online. It outperforms other platforms like OfferUp across every metric of speed, security, and convenience.

We don't dislike OfferUp and other "meetingplaces"; we understand that you might benefit from their widespread adoption and large reach.

That’s why DealNow was created: you can start a deal on OfferUp or some other site, then move it to DealNow to fast-track the transaction and process the payment.

DealNow is the easiest way to close your own vehicle deal, anytime. It’s the safe and simple way to avoid fraud, sign documents, and instantly transfer money, all in one app. Invite the seller to (DealNow and fast-track your transaction.