Founded in 2004, Couch Surfing is now the largest hospitality exchange community with more than 2,000,000 members in more than 70,000 cities. There’s a fee to become a “verified member” (you don’t have to, though). You can join groups and participate in events organized by members at your city.
Founded in 2000, the Hospitality Club has more than 430,000 members worldwide, with a majority in the US, Germany and France. Membership is free and you can search for couches by countries and cities. Poor website, though.
Founded by the former volunteers of Hospitality Club, this relatively new player (five years old) has maintained its status as a free service as they are still run entirely by volunteers. Membership has grown rapidly after Couch Surfing recently turned into a profit company, with more than 13,000 members worldwide (most in France, Germany and USA).
Trip Trotter works a bit differently from the others. When signing up, you’ll be asked a bunch of questions about your attitudes and preferences. Then just choose your destination city and preferred dates, and the system will use the stored information to match you with other Trip Trotters who share same preferences. It’s not really accommodation centric but more of a way to find new friends prior to your arrival.
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