Domkaspot vs Facebook Groups vs OLX: Finding Roommates in Poland Compared

Facebook Groups

Facebook has dozens of active roommate and housing groups for Polish cities. The most popular include groups like 'Pokoje/Mieszkania do wynajecia Warszawa,' 'Krakow Rooms & Flats for Rent,' and international-specific groups like 'Expats in Warsaw - Housing.' The process is simple: you join a group, either browse posts from people offering rooms or create your own post describing what you are looking for.

Some groups are moderated by admins who remove obvious scams. Others are effectively unmoderated. Communication happens through Facebook Messenger. There is no built-in payment system, no verification, and no matching. It is essentially a bulletin board with social features.

OLX

OLX is Poland's dominant classifieds platform, covering everything from used furniture to real estate. The housing section is one of its most active categories. To find a flatmate, you either search for 'pokój' (room) listings in your target city or post your own 'szukam pokoju' (looking for a room) ad.

OLX offers basic filters (city, price range, room type) and a messaging system. Listings are mostly in Polish, though some in major cities include English descriptions. OLX has a basic identity verification option (linked phone number), but it is not mandatory for listing. There is no personality matching or compatibility assessment.

Domkaspot

Domkaspot is a dedicated housing and flatmate platform built specifically for Poland's international community. It combines smart search (describe what you need in plain language) with personality-based matching (find people compatible with your living style, not just your budget).

Users create profiles that include personality assessments based on the Big Five model, behavioral preferences, verification documents, and lifestyle information. The platform then connects you with flatmates and listings ranked by overall compatibility, not just posted date or price. Communication, verification, and matching all happen within the platform.

Facebook Groups: Minimal Safety Net

Facebook groups offer almost no verification beyond a Facebook account, which takes 30 seconds to create. While you can view someone's Facebook profile for social signals (mutual friends, post history, photos), determined scammers create convincing fake profiles. Rental scams in Poland frequently originate from Facebook groups.

Common Facebook group risks include fake listings using stolen photos, advance payment scams (paying deposit before viewing), catfishing (person who shows up is not who you messaged), and no recourse if something goes wrong since Facebook has no housing-specific dispute resolution.

OLX: Basic But Limited

OLX has a phone verification option and a rating system for frequent sellers, but most casual roommate posters have no reviews. OLX does have a report system and removes flagged listings, but the volume of new listings makes comprehensive moderation difficult.

OLX's primary safety advantage is its familiarity within Poland. Polish users are accustomed to OLX transactions and recognize common scam patterns. For internationals unfamiliar with Polish classifieds culture, the risks are higher.

Domkaspot: Built-In Verification

Domkaspot was designed with safety as a core feature, not an afterthought. Verification options include document verification (ID or passport), university enrollment verification for students, employer verification for professionals, linked social profiles (LinkedIn, university email), and phone number confirmation.

Verified users display verification badges on their profiles, making it immediately clear how thoroughly someone's identity has been confirmed. While verification is not mandatory, listings from verified users are promoted in search results, creating a strong incentive for everyone to verify.

Additionally, Domkaspot's in-platform communication means all conversations are logged, providing evidence in case of disputes. The platform also flags suspicious messaging patterns (requests for unusual payments, copied-and-pasted messages sent to many users) as potential scam indicators.

Facebook: Volume Over Quality

Facebook groups offer the highest volume of posts in major cities. In active Warsaw groups, new listings appear every hour. The downside is that there is no filtering or matching beyond what you can glean from reading each post. You are manually searching for needles in a haystack.

The social layer (mutual friends, group interactions) can provide some signal about a person, but it is unreliable. Having 500 Facebook friends does not mean someone is a good flatmate. The lack of any structured compatibility information means every interaction starts from zero.

OLX: Functional But Shallow

OLX listings include basic information about the room (size, price, location, photos) and sometimes a brief description of the current flatmates or ideal candidate. This gives you more structured information than a Facebook post, but still nothing about personality or lifestyle compatibility.

The search and filter system works well for logistics (price, location, room count) but cannot evaluate whether you and the other person will actually get along. Sorting by price or date does not surface the best human match.

Domkaspot: Compatibility-Driven Results

Domkaspot's matching goes beyond logistics to evaluate genuine living compatibility. When you see a flatmate result on Domkaspot, it includes a compatibility score based on personality alignment, behavioral preference overlap, and lifestyle match.

The matching process considers conscientiousness alignment (predicting cleanliness and reliability conflicts), extraversion balance (predicting noise and social pattern conflicts), schedule compatibility (morning people with morning people, night owls with night owls), and specific deal-breakers (smoking, pets, guests, quiet hours).

This does not guarantee that every match will be perfect. But it dramatically increases your odds of finding someone whose daily habits and personality are compatible with yours. Research shows that personality-matched flatmates have 65 percent fewer conflicts and stay together nearly twice as long as randomly selected pairs.

Facebook Groups for Internationals

Pros: English-language groups exist for most major Polish cities. You can find other internationals easily. Active communities with advice beyond just housing.

Cons: English groups have fewer listings than Polish groups. Scam rates are higher in international groups because scammers target people who are unfamiliar with local norms. No language support for navigating lease terms or communication issues.

OLX for Internationals

Pros: Largest overall listing volume in Poland. Covers every city and town.

Cons: The platform is overwhelmingly in Polish. Listings are in Polish. Communication with landlords and flatmates is in Polish. Google Translate helps but misses nuance. Many OLX flatmate seekers specifically look for Polish-speaking flatmates. The cultural context around classifieds (expected response times, negotiation norms, deposit practices) can be confusing for newcomers.

Domkaspot for Internationals

Pros: Built for an international audience from the ground up. Full English interface. Smart search works in English. Profiles and matching work across language barriers. The personality matching system is language-agnostic since compatibility transcends language. University verification is particularly valuable for Erasmus and exchange students.

Cons: Smaller listing volume than OLX in some cities. Newer platform, so less name recognition. Limited to 8 major cities currently.

Use Facebook Groups When...

• You are already embedded in the local social scene and can leverage mutual connections to verify people
• You are looking for a very specific niche (vegan household, LGBTQ+-friendly, musicians only)
• You want to join a community first and find housing second
• You need something extremely urgently (today or tomorrow) and need maximum volume
• You are in a smaller city where dedicated platforms have limited listings

Use OLX When...

• You speak Polish or have a Polish-speaking friend who can help
• You want the widest possible selection of rooms and apartments
• You are in a smaller city or rural area not covered by dedicated platforms
• You are looking for a simple room rental without shared-living matchmaking
• You are comfortable with the classifieds format and know how to spot scams

Use Domkaspot When...

• You are an international student, expat, or remote worker who needs English-language support
• Compatibility with your flatmate matters as much as the room itself
• Safety and verification are priorities
• You want a curated experience rather than browsing hundreds of unranked listings
• You are moving to one of Poland's 8 major cities (Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Lodz, Katowice, Lublin)
• You value personality-based matching over random selection
• You are looking for co-living options, which are poorly served by other platforms