How to Rent Apartments in Russia with a Foreign Card (Sutochno)

Yes, today you can rent an apartment in Russia and pay for it with your foreign card. The platform that makes it possible is Sutochno, the Russian equivalent of Airbnb: hundreds of thousands of apartments, studios, houses and rooms that you rent directly from the owner, with no middleman. As of very recently it accepts foreign Visa, Mastercard and Belcard, so you no longer need a Russian card to book.

There is one small quirk you need to know about: the charge isn’t made in Russian rubles but through a Belarusian payment gateway (TravelFly) and in Belarusian rubles, with your bank automatically converting from your euros or dollars. It sounds odd, but it works and it’s safe. Let me walk you through what Sutochno is, what it offers, who it suits and how to book and pay without any headaches.

This is step 4 of my guide to planning a trip to Russia in 10 steps, where you’ll find everything else in order.

What Sutochno is and why it’s the best option for apartments

Sutochno (the name means “by the day” in Russian) is one of the largest holiday rental platforms in Russia. It works as a listings aggregator: owners post their apartments and you choose and book directly, just like on Airbnb. After Airbnb and Booking left Russia in 2022, Sutochno has become the go-to site for renting an apartment in the country.

• Huge catalogue: more than 330,000 places to stay across over 300 cities —Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi, Kaliningrad, Vladivostok and many more—.
• No service fee: unlike Airbnb, Sutochno doesn’t charge you a booking fee.
• Deal directly with the owner: you talk to them through the internal chat to arrange check-in, the keys or any questions.
• Instant booking: many places are confirmed straight away, without waiting for the owner’s approval.
• Superhosts and real reviews: you can filter by trusted hosts and read ratings from previous guests.
• Cashback of up to 30% in bonuses on the cost of your stay, plus welcome promotions for your first booking.

What kind of accommodation you can find

Sutochno isn’t just apartments. The catalogue includes studios, one- or multi-bedroom apartments, houses and cottages, private rooms, mini-hotels, aparthotels and guesthouses. You can narrow things down a lot with the filters (price per night, rating, neighbourhood, wifi, kitchen, parking, number of beds, floor, lift…) and view every place on a map to pick by area, which is really handy if you want to be near the centre or a specific metro station.

Who Sutochno suits (and who it doesn’t)

Sutochno is the best option if you’re after an apartment rather than a hotel: you’re travelling as a family or in a group and want a kitchen and space, you’re staying several days, or you simply prefer to live like a local.

When is it not the best choice? If what you want is a hotel with 24-hour reception, customer service in English and an instant voucher, you’ll be better off booking on Ostrovok. I explain everything in my guide on booking hotels and apartments in Russia with a foreign card and in the full comparison of accommodation platforms.

How to pay with a foreign card on Sutochno (the new bit)

This is the part that makes Sutochno worth it right now. Until recently, paying required a Russian card, so for a foreign traveller it was a non-starter unless you had a Russian MIR card. That has changed: at checkout, Sutochno offers the option “pay with a foreign card” (in Russian, “Zarubezhnoy kartoy onlayn”, meaning a card issued outside Russia).

The trick is in how the charge is processed: instead of going through a Russian bank —blocked for Visa and Mastercard since 2022—, the payment is routed to a Belarusian gateway called TravelFly and charged in Belarusian rubles (BYN). You see the apartment price in Russian rubles, but the final screen also shows the amount in Belarusian rubles, and your bank automatically converts from your currency (euros, dollars, etc.). It accepts Visa, Mastercard and Belcard (the Belarusian national card).

It’s a secure charge: the gateway meets the PCI DSS standard and displays the Verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode seals. Just keep two things in mind: your bank may apply a small foreign-exchange or overseas-transaction fee (as with any purchase outside the eurozone), and it’s a good idea to let your bank know you’re going to make an international payment so it doesn’t block it for security.

How to rent an apartment on Sutochno step by step

Step 1. Switch the language to English (and the currency)

Go to Sutochno and, top right, open the language selector and choose English. Right there you can also switch the currency to euros or dollars to see prices in your own money.

💡 Even with the site set to English, you’ll notice that many apartment listings still appear in Russian, because each owner writes their own. That’s no problem: use your browser’s automatic translator (Chrome and Edge do it with one click) to read everything in English.

Step 2. Search: city, dates and guests

In the search box on the home page, enter the city (for example, Moscow), your check-in and check-out dates and the number of guests. Hit the magnifying glass to see the results.

Step 3. Choose the apartment

You’ll see the list of places with their price per night and per stay, and a map on the right to locate them. Use the filters on the left (type of accommodation, price, rating, superhost…) to narrow it down. Look out for the cashback and fast booking tags: the ones with instant booking are confirmed without waiting for the owner.

Step 4. Open the listing and book

Inside the apartment’s listing you’ll find the photos, the features (size, beds, kitchen…), the house rules and the reviews. Check the total price and the part that’s paid now as a deposit (predoplata). On the right, enter your phone number (your home number with its international prefix works fine) and click “Booking”.

Step 5. Confirm with the SMS code

Sutochno sends you a code by SMS to that phone. Enter it to verify your booking and move on to payment.

Step 6. Choose “pay with a foreign card”

On the deposit screen several payment methods appear. Most are for Russian bank cards or local systems (SBP, Yandex Pay…). You need to choose the option marked “Zarubezhnoy kartoy onlayn” (“pay with a foreign card – a card issued outside Russia”) and then click the “Oplatit” (Pay) button.

Step 7. Continue on TravelFly

The system takes you to the Belarusian gateway TravelFly (travelfly.by). Here you’ll see the amount to pay in Belarusian rubles (Br) —in the example, a deposit of 4,522.66 ₽ becomes around 174 Br—. Click “Pereyti k oplate” (Go to payment).

Step 8. Enter your card details

On the last screen, type your card number, the expiry month and year and the CVV (the three digits on the back), and click “Oplatit”. Your bank will convert from your currency to Belarusian rubles and you’ll receive your booking confirmation.

How much you pay now and how much on arrival

On Sutochno you don’t always pay the full amount online. The usual setup is to pay a deposit that secures the booking, which depending on the place ranges from 15% to 100% of the price. You pay the rest directly to the owner on arrival, normally in cash and in rubles. The exact amount always appears before you confirm, so you’ll know what you’re paying now and what’s left. Also check each apartment’s cancellation policy before booking.

Tips for booking without nasty surprises

• Read the reviews and look closely at the photos. Since the apartment belongs to a private individual, quality depends on the owner. Prioritise superhosts and listings with lots of ratings.
• Check the cancellation terms before paying: each owner sets their own and they vary from one listing to another.
• Message the host through the internal chat to arrange the check-in time and key collection. Never pay outside the platform.
• Watch out for migration registration. Many private apartments don’t do the compulsory registration of foreigners that hotels do. I explain what to do in what to do if your accommodation in Russia doesn’t register you.

Other apartment platforms in Russia

There are other Russian sites with apartments, but most only accept Russian cards, so for now Sutochno is the most practical option for a foreign traveller. For reference: Avito is the big Russian classifieds portal and includes daily rentals, but it’s in Russian only and aimed at the local market; Tvil and 101Hotels also offer apartments, again with payment by Russian card. If you’d rather have a hotel than an apartment, you’ll find everything in the comparison of platforms for booking accommodation in Russia.

Frequently asked questions