According to recent Kaspersky’s survey, People turn to online dating for a variety of reasons – 48% do it for fun, while some look for more meaningful relationships and one-in-ten are simply looking for sex (13%). If you want to try your hands on best dating apps like Tinder for relationships or best hookup sites for hook-ups then this list is just for you.
Here is the List of 12 Free Dating Apps:
1. Tinder
Best for: Relationships and casual hookups
Pros: The numbers are obvious with Tinder. If you live in a big city, you have access to a large pool of possible dates. Besides its widespread use, Tinder has truly improved the online dating community. Its immense popularity is a testament to it.
Cons: When a platform is this big, you will find some garbage. Then there’s the swiping function, which can lead you to swipe on the wrong person entirely.
Top Tip: Your bio speaks volumes about you, so work on that a little. And please, please no cheesy pick-up lines in your bio!
You Pay For: With Tinder Plus you get unlimited swipes, a Boost every month, the chance to unswipe people, and additional Super Likes.
Bonus: You can use Best tinder pickup lines to make your tinder bio stand out.
2. Bumble
Best for: Relationships, casual hookups, new friends and work contact
Pros: A better space for women, where they aren’t flooded with unwanted messages as only women can initiate contact. Most matches result in conversations and the gender demographics are approximately equal on this app.
Cons: Matches are limited and can expire.
Top Tip: Bumble found out that 7-10 PM is best for 18-22-year-olds
You Pay For: Bumble Boost allows you to see extend matches, see who liked you. Bumble coins is an in-app currency that lets you buy special features.
3. Grindr
Best for: Dates and casual hookups
Pros: Grindr is the best and biggest dating app for trans, queer, bisexual, and gay people.
Cons: People tend to be more risque on this app, so if that isn’t for you, you may not want to use Grindr to look for dates.
Top Tip: Though Grindr allows you to share your location, it’s highly recommended you first talk some more on Instagram or share your phone numbers. This helps in confirming their identity.
You Pay For: Grindr Unlimited lets you unsend photos and messages and see who views your profile among other things.
4. Coffee Meets Bagel
Best for: Relationships
Pros: The app algorithm figures out who’s compatible with you and chooses a selection for you. If you’re tired of mindless swiping, CMB is for you.
Cons: If you don’t check the selection every day, you can miss out on potential matches.
Top Tip: If you don’t like who the app picks for you, respond with a pass—this helps the app’s algorithm to get you better choices.
You Pay For: CMB Premium Subscription has benefits like activity reports, extra beans, see read receipts, etc.
5. Badoo
Best for: Relationships, casual hookups, and new friends
Pros: You can live stream and video chat with users here. The search filters are thorough and won’t match you with someone who wants something you don’t.
Cons: You can see who saw your profile, so if they don’t like you, it might hurt your feelings.
Top Tip: Be sure to cancel your free trial if you don’t want to pay for a subscription.
You Pay For: Badoo Premium lets you talk to popular users, see who liked you, etc.
6. Plenty of Fish
Best for: Dates
Pros: POF is among the oldest dating platforms out there and it’s detailed questionnaire leads to more accurate matches.
Cons: The character test slows down the sign-up application.
Top Tip: Don’t upload gym, bathroom, and heavily filtered/edited pictures since POF found out by surveying their users that they truly don’t like such pictures on profiles.
You Pay For: Upgraded memberships can let you stand out in searches, triple the number of views, etc.
7. HER
Best for: Friendship and dates
Pros: HER is the biggest app for queer, lesbian, and bisexual women. They also run some pretty cool events.
Cons: These events aren’t free and you may need to travel quite a bit if you wish to attend them.
Top Tip: HER actually provides a guide to travel affordably on their app, so do check that out if you wish to attend their events.
You Pay For: HER Premium lets you see who views your profile and unlimited swipes
8. Hinge
Best for: Relationships
Pros: Hinge’s slogan tells it all: “The dating app designed to be deleted”. If you’re looking for something long-term, Hinge is for you.
Cons: Every time you ‘like’ someone, they get notified and given the choice to match with you, which makes it feel a little more terrifying than a mindless swipe on Tinder.
Top Tip: Hinge lets you answer questions, which can lead to interesting conversations. So if the box says, “what you do in your free time?” don’t just answer “reading” and leave it at that. Leave something that catches someone’s attention.
You Pay For: Membership on this app lets you have unlimited likes among other things.
9. Happn
Best for: Dates
Pros: Chance encounters feel possible with Happn. Bots and scammers find it difficult on this app to make accounts. Connecting on Happn feels way easier than on other apps.
Cons: Matching is based strictly on how close you’re to people, so if you live in a small town, matching with singles can get tough. Safety is also another concern here.
Top Tip: If you live in a big city, downloading Happn is highly recommended.
You Pay For: Happn Premium lets you see who liked you and other cool features.
10. Once
Best for: Relationships
Pros: Every day at noon, Once shows you someone compatible with you. Matches occur if you have been active in the last 48 hours. Also, good news for the ladies Once replaces unsolicited nudes with pictures of kittens!
Cons: Since Once only works…well, once a day, if you want to match fast with someone, this app isn’t for you.
Top Tip: This app is great for those who are in no hurry, so checking the app every day, or every other day, is enough.
You Pay For: Once Crown lets you get matched with whoever is online and lets you choose your match for the next day without them knowing about it.
11. CLiKD
Best for: Dates with people you share interests with
Pros: As the name suggests, you only match with people you click with. You get 2 out of 3 questions right and they do the same, you are now matched!
Cons: You need a Facebook account to sign up.
Top Tip: CLikD often puts up really interesting stats and surveys on their app, so do check them out. You might learn something from them!
You Pay For: There are two versions: Premium and Platinum.
12. Feeld
Best for: Dates with open-minded and curious people
Pros: Feeld is widely inclusive—from kinks to threesomes, if you want to explore something, Feeld is the place to go. There are 20 gender and sexual identities, so you just might find what you want.
Cons: The app can be buggy.
Top Tip: Feeld regularly hosts plenty of events such as workshops, talks, and parties, which are excellent chances to match with like-minded people.
You Pay For: Feeld Majestic Memberships hides you from Facebook friends, see who liked you, etc.
While the global pandemic might deter real dates, these apps are still a great way to meet people, so stay safe at home and still find someone new with these free dating apps!