Part of Notes from the Road, our city-by-city series.
The short answer: Craigslist took its Personals section offline in the US on March 22, 2018, including on Craigslist Chicago. No single site replaced it. Personal ads in Chicago now live on Reddit’s r/chicagor4r, on classified-style sites such as Doublelist and SeekingList, in Locanto’s personals section, and in text-first apps including AseeksB. On October 7, 2026, we read the 20 newest Chicago ads on four of them.
Dating in Chicago follows the weather more than people like to admit. For a few months everyone is outside: the lakefront, street festivals, patios, rooftops, the whole city acting like it has to make up for February. Then winter comes back, and suddenly distance, train lines, and whose apartment is closer to the Red Line matter a lot more.
A personal ad fits Chicago because it is direct. Say what you want. Say where you are. Let someone decide whether that means Logan Square, Lakeview, Pilsen, Hyde Park, Andersonville, or a transfer in the Loop they are not going to pretend is nothing.
The sites that replaced Craigslist Personals in other US cities serve Chicago too. Here is how each works for Chicago, from our checks on October 7, 2026:
On October 7, 2026, we read the 20 newest Chicago ads on four of these sites and counted the ones that asked readers to move off-site or offered paid services: none on r/chicagor4r; 3 on Doublelist, all escort ads; 2 on Locanto, both posted as women and both escort ads giving phone numbers; and 4 on SeekingList, which was every ad of its own among the 20. The other 16 SeekingList listings were r/chicagor4r posts that open on Reddit, and 14 of those had already been deleted there by the people who posted them. Passing this test doesn’t make an ad genuine: an ad can look ordinary and still try to move you to another app once you reply. Lex and AseeksB ads can’t be read without an account, so they weren’t counted. How we check.
AseeksB publishes this page and is included in it. For how each site handles the eight traits that defined Craigslist Personals, see our full comparison.
Craigslist Chicago has had no Personals section since March 2018, but its missed connections section is still active; more below. Which site comes closest to Craigslist depends on what you used it for: reading ads without signing up, replying without a match, or staying anonymous. Our Craigslist alternatives comparison lets you pick those traits and shows which sites still have them. If you came looking for Doublelist or Locanto in Chicago, the numbers above are what we found; for more, see sites like Doublelist and sites like Locanto.
Coming from Reddit or a classified site? On AseeksB you still write an ad in your own words, but you choose who can see it, by gender and age; someone can send one message per post until you reply; and no photo or real name is needed. Posting, browsing, and replying are free. How AseeksB works.
“doublelist chicago” gets about 18,100 searches a month (Google Keyword Planner, October 2026). Doublelist has a Chicago page. Anyone can see ad titles, but reading a full ad needs an account. Posting is free for up to 3 posts, and seeing members’ photos takes a paid plan; its help center lists two, Hookup and Hardcore, at $45 and $90 a year.
On October 7, 2026, 3 of its 20 newest Chicago ads were escort ads. That is a snapshot of the newest ads on one day, not a measure of the whole site.
If you’re coming from Doublelist, AseeksB works differently: you choose who can see your post, by gender and age; someone can send one message per post until you reply; admins actively monitor posts; and posting, browsing, and replying are free. For more options, see sites like Doublelist.
Summer makes people social. Winter makes people honest about logistics. A written ad works in both moods. It lets you be specific before anyone is standing on a platform in the wind wondering why they agreed to cross town for something vague.
Wicker Park and Logan Square are not the same as Andersonville. Lakeview and Northalsted are not Hyde Park. Pilsen is not just “near downtown.” Chicagoans know the neighborhood and the train line are part of the plan. A personal ad lets you say what you are after and where you are, so the match is not just romantic. It is also geographically sane.
Craigslist Chicago’s missed connections, under Community, are active: when we checked on October 7, 2026, its 20 newest posts went back to September 18, and none were personal ads in disguise or asked readers to move off-site. Chicagoans have been posting them for a long time: in the 1870s, the Chicago Tribune ran missed connections under PERSONAL, as the next section shows.
AseeksB has a missed connections category too: say where and when, and only the audience you choose can see the post. For how to write one the right person will recognize, see our guide to missed connections.
Beyond the apps. CitySwoon runs speed dating in Chicago, with nights by age range at bars around the city; its website lists upcoming dates. For more ways to meet people, with or without an app, see our guide to alternatives to dating apps.
Chicagoans were writing personals about their commute long before the L. On March 10, 1878, this ran in the Chicago Daily Tribune:
“Indiana-av. car to Twenty-third-st., 5:30 p. m. yesterday: will ‘Bouquet’ (second occasion) grant acquaintance? Address ‘Opposite,’ Z 55, Tribune office.”
Chicago Daily Tribune, March 10, 1878. Read the adThe Tribune printed notices like this under PERSONAL, with replies held at its office under a letter and number. In the same years it carried a lady in black in a drug store, two ladies last seen at the Boston Store on Washington Street, and a gentleman in the balcony at Haverly’s: Chicago’s missed connections, more than a century before Craigslist. The archive has eight Chicago Tribune personals from 1877 to 1881. More in our history of personal ads and The Personals Archive.
A written ad does the sorting before anyone is standing on a platform in the wind.
One honest difference: AseeksB ads can only be read inside the app after signing up, unlike Reddit’s board and most of the classified sites above. That is the trade for choosing exactly who sees each post.
Every post makes AseeksB busier for the next person in Chicago. Post what you’re looking for, and if there’s a feature you’d want, tell us through the app, from the profile tab; we’d love to hear it.
Text-first personal ads for Chicago, in your own words, with distance and other controls in Supporter.
No single site did. Craigslist took its Personals section offline in the US on March 22, 2018, after Congress passed FOSTA, including on Craigslist Chicago. People in Chicago now post on Reddit's r/chicagor4r, on classified-style sites such as Doublelist and SeekingList, in Locanto's personals section, and in text-first apps such as Lex and AseeksB. They differ mainly in who can read your ad and who can reply.
Yes, r/chicagor4r, with about 105,000 followers, as Google listed it, and about 10,000 weekly visitors on Reddit in October 2026. Anyone can read the posts without an account, but posting or messaging needs a Reddit account. You can post once every 7 days, from the Chicago area only; titles start with your age, a tag like [M4F], and #Neighborhood; and all posts are locked, so replies go by chat.
Yes, it has a Chicago page. Anyone can see ad titles, but reading a full ad needs an account. When we read its 20 newest Chicago ads on October 7, 2026, 3 were escort ads.
Craigslist Chicago still has a missed connections section under Community, and it is active: on October 7, 2026, its 20 newest posts went back to September 18, and none were personal ads in disguise or asked readers to move off-site. AseeksB also has a missed connections category. In the 1870s, the Chicago Tribune ran them under PERSONAL.
Yes. AseeksB is a free personal ads app for iOS and Android. Every post shows how far away it was posted, anyone can search by distance, and Supporters can also set a maximum distance on their own posts. A free account keeps one active post, and someone can send one message per post until you reply.