A Facebook Marketplace alert app for iPhone and Android

A Facebook Marketplace alert app watches Marketplace for a search you set and sends a push notification to your phone when a matching listing is posted. Facebook can do a version of this itself through saved searches. In our use it doesn't do the job: hours late, no price floor, no negative keywords, it turns itself off, and it only covers Facebook. Deal Scanner is an alert app for iPhone and Android that watches Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Craigslist from one search, needs no Facebook login, and costs $3.99 a month, cancel anytime. This page explains what to look for in any alert app and how ours works.

What an alert app does that Facebook doesn't

What to check before you pay for any alert app

1. Does it need your Facebook password? Some apps log in as you to read Marketplace, which puts your account at the mercy of Facebook's automation rules. Deal Scanner, Flipify's core alerts and Outpost Alerts say they do not need it. Several others do not say. Ask.
2. Which marketplaces? A chair listed on Facebook is often on OfferUp and Craigslist the same afternoon. If the app only watches Facebook, you are still refreshing the other two by hand.
3. How is it priced? Per search (Flipify: $5 or $10 a month each), per plan with a search count (Deal Scanner: 3, 6 or 12 searches for $3.99, $9.99 or $19.99), or per plan with a per-minute speed tier (Outpost, Crawlbench, Flipsentry). Count how many things you actually watch at once.
4. What does the trial need? Deal Scanner has no trial: $3.99 a month, cancel anytime. Flipify and CarSnipe ask for a card up front for theirs.
5. Does it tell you whether the price is good? Most apps send the listing and leave the judgment to you. Deal Scanner scores each find against what that item typically lists for near you; BigFlippa and SuperFlip estimate value from comps.
6. How honest is the speed claim? No app can show a listing before Facebook surfaces it. Prefer an app that shows you when it found each listing over one that promises "instant".

Our comparison of fourteen alert apps has every price and claim, read from each company's site on a named date.

How Deal Scanner works

1. Set a search. The item ("Milwaukee M18 drill", "Herman Miller Aeron", "PS5"), your town, how far you would drive, and a price range.
2. Close the app. The watching happens on our end, around the clock, across Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Craigslist.
3. Your phone buzzes. The alert shows the listing, the price, the marketplace, when we found it, and, once your search has seen a few listings, a Deal Score such as "46% below typical" when it is a clear bargain.
4. Tap through. You land on the listing in the marketplace's own app or site and message the seller as yourself.

Quiet hours and a daily digest are in Settings, so your phone buzzes when you want it to.

iPhone

Deal Scanner is on the App Store for iPhone (it also runs on iPad). Alerts arrive as normal iOS notifications, so they respect Focus modes and Notification Summary. If you use Scheduled Summary, add Deal Scanner to the "deliver immediately" list or you will see alerts late. Subscriptions bill through your Apple ID and cancel in Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions.

Android

Deal Scanner is on Google Play. Android's battery optimization can delay notifications from any app; if alerts arrive late, open Settings, then Apps, then Deal Scanner, then Battery, and choose Unrestricted. Subscriptions bill through Google Play and cancel in Play, then your profile, then Payments and subscriptions.

Who it's for

Everybody who buys on Marketplace, in three groups. The biggest: the person after one thing. A first car for a kid who just turned 16, a four-wheeler, a mower, an Xbox. Pay for the month you're looking, get the best deal, cancel, and download it again next time. The second: the person who buys something off Marketplace most months, works on their own vehicles, and can't help themselves when a deal shows up. The third: the part-time flipper who doesn't want a business-software bill. Deal Scanner works the same way the expensive apps do: tell it what to watch, and it tells you when one is listed.

Plans

Every plan watches all three marketplaces. Plans differ only in how many searches you run at once.

Yearly plans give two months free. Cancel anytime in your phone's subscription settings.

FAQ

Is there a Facebook Marketplace alert app for iPhone?

Yes. Deal Scanner, Flipify, Outpost Alerts, DealScout, Swoopa, Flipsentry and Spottable all have iPhone apps. Deal Scanner is the cheapest paid one at $3.99 a month and also covers OfferUp and Craigslist.

Is there a Facebook Marketplace alert app for Android?

Yes. Deal Scanner, Flipify, Swoopa and Flipsentry have Android apps on Google Play. Outpost Alerts and BigFlippa work on Android through a web app.

Is there a free Facebook Marketplace alert app?

Facebook's own saved-search notifications are free, and in our use they arrive hours late and sometimes a day or more after the listing, the filtering is loose, and they turn themselves off until you re-save the search. A couple of apps have one-search free tiers checked hourly or daily. Deal Scanner is $3.99 a month, cancel anytime. See free Facebook Marketplace alerts for the whole list.

Does the app need my Facebook login?

No. Deal Scanner never asks for your Facebook, OfferUp or Craigslist login and never touches your accounts. The watching happens on our end; your account only comes into it when you tap through to a listing yourself.

Will it drain my battery?

No. The search runs on our servers, not on your phone. The app only wakes to show a notification.

Sources checked

Facebook Help Center, "Turn your Marketplace notifications on or off"; Apple Support on Focus and Notification Summary; Google's Android help on battery optimization; each competitor's own site as listed on the comparison page. Checked October 26, 2026.