Freegle vs Olio
Olio started life as a lovely way to share spare food so it didn’t get thrown away, and it’s still the go-to for that, with a proper network of volunteers who collect surplus from shops. These days it does other household bits too, and even a bit of selling.
Which should you use?
If it’s food you’re sharing or after, Olio is hard to beat, and we’d happily point you their way. For everything else, the wardrobe, that spare drill, a bag of the kids’ outgrown clothes, Freegle is where the reuse community really is, and you’ll reach more people for the bigger stuff.
What’s a bit different about Freegle
Unlike Olio, there are no investors to keep happy here. Freegle’s a charity, funded by donations and run mostly by volunteers, so nobody needs us to grow, sell or turn a profit. Olio has raised tens of millions in venture capital, which is money that has to find its way back somehow. That’s not a dig, it’s just a different set of pressures from ours.
Everything here is free, always. No selling, no listing fees, no “or best offer”. Olio has added buying and selling alongside the giving away, and we’ve deliberately stayed out of that, so you never have to work out which bits cost money.
We’re fussy about what counts as “local”. Olio has you pick a distance, anything from about a third of a mile up to sixteen, and shows you whatever falls inside that circle. We work out where you could realistically get to by road instead. So if you’re in Bristol we won’t tempt you with a sofa that looks close on the map but is over the water in Wales and an hour over the bridge. Handy stuff shows up first, and it only spreads further afield if nobody nearby takes it.
In short
| Freegle | Olio | |
|---|---|---|
| Best known for | Reusing anything and everything | Sharing spare food |
| How you use it | Web, email and app | App |
| Cost | Free | Free to share, plus some selling |
| Behind it | A reuse charity | A venture-backed startup |
Questions people ask
Is Olio just for food?
It started with food and that’s still its strength, though it does other items now too.
Which is better for furniture and bigger items?
Freegle, generally. That’s the bread and butter of the reuse community here.
Are they both free?
Sharing on Olio is free, though it now has some paid selling mixed in too. On Freegle, everything is free, always.
Got a question we haven’t covered? Have a look at our help section.
Honestly, we just like seeing things reused instead of binned. If the other lot work better for you, grand, use them with our blessing. And if you fancy giving Freegle a go too, come and say hello.