Dating apps offer a great way to meet people, especially during the pandemic. Whether you’re looking for a serious relationship or just a fling, there’re apps that suit your particular needs. Navigating through the options can feel overwhelming.
This post will explore the best dating apps and hopefully, guide you through the maze of choices and help you discover the app that perfectly aligns with your dating objectives. Let’s dive in!
Quick List:
1. Tinder
Tinder is certainly the most popular dating app and is a lot of fun to use. It uses your location information and your profile information to match you with other users in your area. Because the app is so popular, you’re likely to find people on this site no matter where you live.
After signing in to your account with your phone number or Facebook account, you can anonymously swipe left or tap X to pass on a suggested date, or swift right or tap the green heart to like someone. And if someone likes you, Tinder displays a message that says, “It’s a match!” Then, you can message each other through the app.
Tinder’s basic features are free to use, but if you’re willing to spend some money, you can unlock extra features with Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold. Tinder Plus costs $9.99/month if you’re under 30, and $19.99/month if you’re over 30; Tinder Gold generally costs $14.99 for one month, $44.99 for six months, and $59.99 for a year if you’re under 30, and for those who are over 30, it costs $24.99 for one month, $74.99 for six months, and $99.99 for a year.
2. Bumble
Bumble is a women-centered dating app and one of the best dating apps on the market. Unlike its competitors like Tinder, only women users can initiate a conversation by sending a message to their match. So female users won’t get bombarded with sleazy messages as they often did with other mobile dating apps, and because the woman opted to contact a man, it’s relatively easy to move things off the app.
You can also connect your social media profile, like your Instagram and Spotify, to your Bumble profile and give your potential matches a better look at you before they swipe away.
Apart from Bumble Date, the app also provides two features for you to meet people: Bumble BFF for meeting new friends, and Bumble Bizz for career-related networking. To switch to a different mode, you’ll need to rebuild your profile, choose photos and write a short bio.
You can download or use Bumble for free. To unlock all the features, you can choose Bumble Boost for $24.99 a month.
3. eharmony
eharmony joined the dating scene in 2000 and it has thrived with millions of users over the past 20+ years. The site focuses on finding long-term love connections and sets itself apart from other dating apps with its powerful algorithm to match you and your potential partners.
You’ll need to fill out an extensive questionnaire upon signing up, and your answers will work to determine who your best matches will be. The What If feature will suggest potential romantic partners that you normally wouldn’t consider your type but might find surprisingly good for you.
One downside about the site is that although you can create an account and review your potential matches for free, you must be a paid member to send and receive messages on the site. The site offers a 3-day free trial, then the 1-month plan costs $59.95 or you can choose the 3-month plan for $29.95/month.
4. OkCupid
OkCupid is also an effective dating app. Because the app suggests your matches by comparing your interests with other users, the signup process is longer than many dating apps. You need to answer their compatibility quiz during the process – basic questions like your gender or what kind of relationship you want.
If you want a more accurate compatibility score with your match, answer the questions that are really important to you. OkCupid allows you to answer over 3000 questions, so you’ll have a lot of options but you can always skip any you don’t feel comfortable answering.
When you click through matches, you can see a simple percentage that indicates how well you might work together based on the personality test. You can even see which answers you agreed and disagreed on before matching.
You can start with OkCupid free version which lets you send messages for allows If you want to unlock unlimited communication features, you can get the OKCupid A-list for $9.99/month.
5. Plenty of Fish
Founded in 2003, POF is one of the most mature dating services. With a huge user pool and a billion messages sent on the platform every month, POF is here to get you talking to people – it puts messaging front and center, prioritizing your inbox and a list of users that are more likely to respond to messages and allow you to contact any fellow users without matching or subscribing, which differentiates itself from other dating sites.
While POF does offer a subscription, you can use all major features for free, including messages, adding members to your favorite list, getting matches and viewing profiles. The Plenty of Fish premium is also affordable compared to its competitors. The monthly cost for a 12-month plan is $10.70, and for a 6-month plan is $16.05, and for a 3-month plan is $21.40.
6. HER
HER is an inclusive dating app designer for the LGBTQIA2S+ community. It aims to create a safe dating and chat space for people who are looking for meaningful relationships, hookups, and hanging out.
It’s easy to sign up for an account on this site, and once you sign in, you can choose the person who is really right for you. What we like most about the site is that it has an attractive design and a clear interface.
The app’s Communities feature allows you to share your story, links, and videos, so it’s not just a dating site but also a social network that can help you keep up with your favorite topics and connect with like-minded people.
If you want to access premium features such as unlimited swipes and read receipts, you need HER Premium. The prices vary depending on your location, but it ranges from about $10 for one month to an annual premium of $90 for 12 months.
7. Hinge
Hinge is a free dating app that emphasizes meaningful connections. The app requires mobile number verification during the sign-up process, which limits fake profiles, and you’ll also need to provide photos and answer questions on controversial topics. Your answers will later show up on your profile where people can leave you a comment or give you a like. If someone gives you a like, you’re a match.
While Hinge profiles look great, they can take longer to view than most dating apps. If you’re tired of fast, mindless swiping, start building your profile and have decent conversations with serious daters on Hinge.
Communicating with people on Hinge is totally free. But to use advanced search filters and see who likes you, you can sign up for a premium subscription. Monthly payments for Hinge premium membership begin at around $10 per month.
8. Match
Founded in 1993, Match is one of the longest-running dating services. It has a sophisticated matchmaking algorithm to help you find compatible matches and the interface is finely tuned.
Match.com is open to casual, short-term, and long-term relationships, as well as to LGBT profiles, so it’s important that you’re clear on your dating goal on the profile so it’s an upfront knowledge for your matches.
You can easily set up a free account using your email address or Facebook account. While with the free account, you can view matches, if you want to email or message other members, you need to sign up for a paid plan. Match offers a 7-day free trial, then the 1-month plan for $40.99, and up to a 12-month plan for $19.99/month.
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