Guide

Craigslist email alerts: how they work and how to fix them in 2026

Craigslist can email you when a saved search has new posts. Here is how those alerts work, what to check when the emails stop — and how to get every new Craigslist post on your phone within minutes instead of waiting for an email.

How Craigslist's alerts work

1. They need an account. Log in, run your search, and click save search near the top right of the results page.
2. Alerts are switched on per search. In your account, open the searches tab and tick the box in the alert column for each search you want emails for.
3. They arrive by email only, with at most 20 posts per email, newest first.
4. Craigslist sets the timing. How often it checks depends on how many results the last alert had — fewer results mean more frequent checks.

Check these first

1. You got the welcome email. Craigslist sends one when you turn an alert on; if it never came, the alert may not be on.
2. The alert box is ticked. Open your account's searches tab and check the alert column for that search.
3. The emails are not being filtered. Check spam and promotions folders, and add Craigslist's sender to your contacts.
4. You did not unsubscribe. Clicking “Unsubscribe from this alert” in an email turns that alert off; tick the alert box again to restore it.
5. The search is still the one you want. Saved searches cannot be edited — to change one, save a new search and delete the old one.

Check your search itself

1. The location is right — especially after you move or travel.
2. The keywords are not too narrow. Use the words a seller would write: “couch” as well as “sofa”, “bike” as well as “bicycle”.
3. The price range and filters still match what you are looking for.
4. Try it by hand. Run the same search yourself. If new posts show up but no alert came, the search is fine and the alert is the problem.

Why Craigslist's alerts can still feel late

Craigslist's alerts are email digests: up to 20 posts per email, sent on a schedule Craigslist sets from how busy your search is, and they include renewed and reposted posts alongside new ones. By the time the email is read, the best post in it may already be gone.

Every new listing on your phone, within minutes — with Pouncify

Instead of an email digest, Pouncify watches Craigslist for you. It checks your search itself, on the schedule you choose, and sends every new matching listing straight to your phone within minutes of it going live — with the photo, the price and where it is.

• Every new match, delivered — photo, price, location and a link straight to the listing.
• One search, every marketplace — Craigslist together with Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp in the United States and Kijiji in Canada.
• Alerts where you want them — the free Pouncify app for iPhone and Android, or Telegram, email or Discord.
• No account or login needed — Pouncify watches Craigslist without a login.
• Private by design — no account with us; your logins, listings and location stay on your computer.

Pouncify runs on your Windows or Mac computer and pairs with your phone by scanning a QR code. It is free to start.

Download Pouncify free

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Related: all guides · about Pouncify. Last reviewed: September 26, 2026.