What Is The Most Use Dating Apps In Usa

These international dating apps use the latest and greatest technology to help you find that special someone a few miles away or thousands of miles away. Awesome Free Trials When you are dating internationally, there may be fewer people for you to choose from on a dating site. The data, displayed in the map below, shows that New Hampshire is the best state to use dating apps in the U.S., and the most popular dating app to use there is Tinder. Massachusetts is the second best state, according to the research, and singles prefer to use OkCupid there. Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maine make up the rest of the top five. Available in 190 countries, it's the most popular dating app in the US. If you live in a large city, the potential dating pool is huge – the app claims to produce 26 million matches every day. Because Tinder is location based and 76% of users live in urban areas, your odds of finding a match significantly decrease in smaller, rural cities.

Free dating apps are the dream of singles on a budget. They dream of an online dating world that isn’t segregated into haves and have-nots by subscription fees. They dream of not paying for flirts, likes, messages, and views, but instead saving their money for the actual date.

Revenue in the dating app market has increased at a steady rate, powered primarily by Tinder and Bumble, which have captured the most profitable region, North America. All dating apps covered in this sector profile use a freemium model which removes limitations, such as the amount of swipes, alongside providing ways to skip the matchmaking algorithm.

This dream of making online dating free isn’t actually such a long shot. Many free dating platforms offer features that can be invaluable to the average online dater.

We’ve collected a list of the best free dating apps that are shining examples of the best a dating service can be — and the freest it can be as well. We’ve even broken our reviews into categories for your convenience, so use the links below to find the dating apps that will suit you best and get you to the first date of your dreams.

Best Overall LGBT Black Christian Seniors Relationships Hookups FAQs

Top Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#1-3)

We have reviewed hundreds, if not thousands of dating apps free of charge, but three apps stand out to us as the most popular, longstanding, and efficient ways of meeting people. The following apps have a lot of pros and very few cons to offer singles looking for dates and relationships.

1. Zoosk

• Relationships: Casual Dates, Relationships
• Match System: Search for and receive matches
• About the App: Zoosk is the number one app for finding dates, and if you sync up your Google+ or Facebook account, you can have a profile in seconds. The app has 38 million members and will deliver matches to your inbox on a daily basis based on your behavior such as who you search for, like or don't like, and message. The Carousel is another section for matching (tap the heart if it's a yes and the X if it's a no).
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Zoosk is our top pick for the best free dating app for a lot of reasons. It has over 40 million members in its database. It offers a lot of different communication tools for free and paid members. And it offers dating advice for new users who are unsure of what to do.

Since Zoosk launched its dating app, the online dating network has been on the upswing. The Zoosk app is actually the #1 grossing dating app in the Apple App Store where it has an average rating of 4.4 stars.

“I like many things about Zoosk. It’s one of the best dating sites,” said Rancho Cowboy in a review. We have to agree with Rancho Cowboy on that one. With its behavioral matchmaking and diverse membership base, Zoosk can help singles find hot dates in no time at all.

2. Match.com

• Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships
• Match System: Browse by location, age, interest, and more
• About the App: Available via the App Store and Google Play, Match is a fantastic app for dates and relationships. With a user base of 30 million singles, Match is where you'll have a high chance of success. It's free to download, create a profile, search for date prospects, and receive compatible matches based on personalized preferences. Free members can also chat with select members and send unlimited likes.
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Match is undeniably one of the world’s top dating sites and apps. It has been around since 1995, and it has more success stories to its name than any other online dating service.

From the beginning, Match.com has aimed to facilitate real conversations between genuine singles seeking a long-term relationship. How does it do that? By getting to the root of who you are and what you want. Match provides in-depth dating profiles that cover all the basics from age to education to smoking habits. You can swipe through compatible profiles in the Discover section, or you can forge your own path using the search filters.

Match.com is free to join, and its free features include browsing, liking, and matching. The app also offers some limited messaging options for free members, so you may be able to pick up a date without upgrading to a full-fledged subscription for three months, six months, or a year.

3. Tinder

It should come as no surprise that Tinder is on this list. Since its launch in 2012, this trendsetting app has become a juggernaut in the dating scene. Single men and women are now swipe-crazy, and Tinder encourages its users to match, chat, and date to the fullest. The dating app’s motto is “Single, not sorry,” which pretty much sums up its approach to love and romance.

Top 5 Dating Apps

In case you don’t know, Tinder operates on a fast-paced mutual matching system where online daters are in charge. You see a dating profile, and you have to decide then and there if you like it. Swipe right to like and swipe left to put it in the discard pile.

Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold membership plans offer added perks to singles in a flirtatious mood.

Tinder has the numbers to back its reputation. We’re talking 43 billion matches total, 2 billion views per day, and 1.5 million dates per week. The Tinder app has been downloaded 340 million times on Google Play and the App Store where it’s available for free.

And, if that doesn’t impress you, then consider that in a survey 73% of college students said they had met someone on Tinder. It is the all-time favorite dating app among 20-somethings — in fact, more than 85% of Tinder users are under 34.

Top “LGBT” Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#4-8)

Fun fact: About 20% of online daters identify as LGBTQ, even though they make up only about 4% of the total population. Dating sites and apps particularly appeal to gay, lesbian, bi, and trans singles who have difficulty meeting queer dates in real life.

On a dating site, you don’t need to use your gaydar to spot the viable dates in the room — everyone is up for grabs. If you’re looking for a gay-friendly dating app, you should check out the following free options.

4. OkCupid

OkCupid has brought a lot of love and joy to people’s lives with two simple words: Forever free. Since it launched in 2004, the dating site has remained free for anyone seeking a date online. And that goes for the dating app as well.

You’ll never have to pay anything to send a message on OkCupid. It doesn’t matter if you want to write an essay to one person or fire off pickup lines to hundreds of people (for the record, we don’t think that last one is the best idea, unless you like getting rejected). No matter how much or how long you chat, you will never have to upgrade your OkCupid account.

OkCupid is a free dating app that invites people of all sexual orientations and identities to mingle.

The OkCupid team prides itself on keeping its finger on the pulse of the dating scene and meeting the needs of modern singles. In 2012, OkCupid became one of the first traditional dating sites to convert into a dating app. Then, in 2014, the platform raised eyebrows by adding 22 gender and 13 orientation options to its profiles.

You can enjoy OkCupid’s personality-driven matching system without paying a cent, but, if you want more bang for your buck, you can always upgrade to the A-List, which offers a nice boost and fun features (i.e. being able to see your likes and views) to make your dating experience more enjoyable and fruitful.

5. HER

HER has cultivated a membership base of over 4 million womxn of all orientations. A lesbian woman named Robyn Exton launched a female-only dating app in 2013 because she was frustrated by the lack of options for womxn in the LGBTQ+ community. She wanted to remove the fetish, the stigma, and the BS and give womxn a place where they could truly connect.

The HER community isn’t just about dating. It’s about friendship. It’s about pride. And it’s about freedom of expression. The dating app creates a safe and quirky space where womxn can feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and experiences in a public newsfeed.

HER supports an all-womxn community with a lot of integrity and heart.

Another way HER engages its all-female audience is by publishing information about queer events all around the world. You can RSVP to an event near you and attend LGBTQ+ marches, cookouts, book clubs, and other events that unite and empower womxn.

According to the community guidelines, HER’s mission is “to make HER a place where everyone can be unapologetically themselves, feel safe, and build wonderful relationships that are based on trust, identity, and community.”

6. Grindr

In 2009, Grindr made waves in the online dating scene by offering gay singles easy access to date prospects in their immediate vicinity. The gay dating app became known for its location-based matching, which facilitates real-time, in-person connections by showing men how close they are to romance.

Grindr has quickly become one of the biggest names in the gay dating scene, and it currently has over 3 million daily active users in 234 countries.

Grindr is a popular gay dating app with free features including location-based matching and chatting.

Whether you’re interested in a hookup or a relationship, you can rely on Grindr to serve up some tantalizing prospects. The app learns what you want from your swipes and matching preferences, and it continually updates its list to make sure you see the most attractive, compatible, and local date options front and center.

Many Grindr success stories speak to the effectiveness of this dating app. After just a couple minutes of swiping and chatting, guys can fill up their date calendars and get what they want out of the dating scene.

7. MenNation

• Relationships: Strictly Hookups
• Match System: Search by location, interest, more
• About the App: MenNation is well-known in the gay community as the site was founded in 1996, with the app following several years after. 'Find intimate encounters with hot guys near you' is what this iPhone and Android app promises it'll help you do. MenNation will show you who has logged in at the same time as well, so you can get to that hookup even faster.
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MenNation is a sexually stimulating place for gay singles and couples around the world. This free hookup platform boasts having 97 million members, which is more profiles than any other gay dating app or site, and these guys are anything but shy.

The frisky atmosphere on MenNation is great for men seeking hookups, threesomes, one-night stands, and other sexual encounters. You can send messages or videos on the site to catch attention and solicit sex.

If you run into any issues along the way, you can consult the FAQs section or ask the customer care team for assistance. Here’s the feedback form to let the site owners know how your online experience is going.

8. LesbianPersonals

• Relationships: Casual Sex
• Match System: Browse by area, appearance, and other identifiers
• About the App: We recommend LesbianPersonals for those gay girls who aren't looking for serious dating but casual and hot sexual encounters instead. Provide your gender, relationship status, gender and relationship status that you're interested in, age preference, country, state, and zip code, and then start reaching out to sexy members.
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LesbianPersonals was created to fill a gap in the lesbian dating scene. Now women have a safe place where they can let go of their inhibitions and pursue their pleasures.

The mobile-friendly dating platform is open to all sorts of sexually active people. Single lesbians, straight couples, lesbian couples, and groups can create a free account and browse the database to find women who meet their standards.

LesbianPersonals is open to romance in all its many forms. Some LesbianPersonals members are looking for a night of lust, while others would prefer to find a long-term romantic partner. The private messaging tools can bring women closer together and encourage them to flirt and then take things to the next level.

Top “Black” Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#9-10)

Racial discrimination is an unfortunate reality in online dating, but it’s not inescapable. Certain dating sites and apps have gone out of their way to provide singles with the best possible dating experience, and we applaud them for that. We highly recommend using the following dating apps and joining a diverse dating pool that leaves no one out.

9. BlackPeopleMeet

• Relationships: Dates, Relationships
• Match System: Browse by city, hobbies, age, etc.
• About the App: The largest black-only online and mobile dating community can be found on BlackPeopleMeet. This popular dating app was designed in 2002 to serve black and biracial singles around the world. Today, BlackPeopleMeet’s easy-to-use chat features and location-based searches allow millions of African American daters to flirt with one another while on the go.
• Browse Free:View Profiles Now

BlackPeopleMeet is the leading dating platform for black and biracial singles. Since 2002, the niche community has welcomed singles of all races and creeds and celebrated diversity with its inclusive tools and detailed profiles.

Today, BlackPeopleMeet has thousands of active members in the U.S. and Canada. You can create a dating profile for free within two minutes and see what all the fuss is about.

“Thanks much for the ease and flexibility of the BlackPeopleMeet site,” wrote a customer from Pittsburgh. “I met a wonderful man named Eric on this site only a few days after subscribing.”

10. PlentyOfFish

Fishing for love? Then download the PlentyOfFish app and start seeking your catch of the day. The platform offers 100% free communication to all users, inspiring a steady stream of incoming and outgoing messages. Every month, users exchange over 1 billion messages here. That’s why POF is known as the best dating app for conversations.

POF has over 150 million members, and it sees over 4 million views per day, so it’s safe to say black singles will have a lot of options when swimming in this virtual dating pool.

PlentyOfFish supports a diverse user base of over 150 million singles worldwide.

Over 70,000 join POF every day — for free — and use its search, match, and chat tools to spark romance. The dating app has an optional personality test that hones in on important factors of your psyche (extroversion and open-mindedness) and determines compatibility ratings based on those characteristics.

If you’re feeling chatty, we’d recommend heading to PlentyOfFish and sending messages to anyone who strikes your fancy.

Top “Christian” Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#11-13)

While interfaith marriage is on the rise in the U.S., not all Christians want to marry someone who doesn’t share the same beliefs and values. Such people of faith see Christian dating sites as a blessing because it allows them to focus on dates who can meet their emotional and spiritual standards.

We’ve ranked and reviewed three dating apps that have been known to attract a strong Christian following, and we encourage you to give them a try.

11. ChristianMingle

• Relationships: Dates or Serious Commitments
• Match System: Search and receive matches
• About the App: Christian dating doesn't get any better than on ChristianMingle. With the free app, available on any iOS or Android device, you can browse the more than 2.4 million Christian singles. Since you already know that everyone is on the same religious page, you can focus on other things like age, distance, hobbies, and education to make a deep connection with someone of the same faith.
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ChristianMingle is the top Christian dating platform for singles seeking a marriage based on shared faith. Its matchmaking tools may not be as miraculous as divine intervention, but they can certainly get the job done.

Since its launch, ChristianMingle has been single-minded in its mission to uphold loving relationships and unite Christians around the world. Anyone who is interested in seriously dating a Christian can join the user base. You don’t have to be a baptized Christian — you just have to be open to love.

“Give ChristianMingle a chance,” wrote Keren and Josue in a testimonial. “It is a powerful platform that is blessed by God and can be used by God to lead you to the right person.”

12. CoffeeMeetsBagel

CoffeeMeetsBagel invites singles to “rediscover dating.” While many other dating apps seek to speed things up and throw singles at one another, CoffeeMeetsBagel has devised ways to slow things down and encourage singles to take their time and carefully consider each profile before swiping left or right.

This dating app releases a limited number of potential matches (they call them bagels) per day, and it curates this list based on the user’s stated dating preferences, liking history, and location. CoffeeMeetsBagel has created more than 50 million matches using this tried-and-true system.

CoffeeMeetsBagel offers a values-driven dating experience for singles tired of messing around.

The CoffeeMeetsBagel matching system is designed to facilitate authentic connections, and it has led to quite a few success stories over the years.

Nate and Kristin met on CoffeeMeetsBagel and arranged a coffee date even though neither of them drink coffee. They spent three hours chatting, and he asked her out again the next day. “He told me he felt like he had known me for six months,” Kristin recalled. “I felt the same.”

13. Happn

Happn is another great option for Christians in search of a serendipitous match. The free dating app uses the power of a smartphone’s GPS settings to find dates who regularly cross your path. The app highlights where you share common ground (literally) with another person and pinpoints areas you both frequent. That can make asking someone out much easier because you know their favorite haunts already.

Your Happn Timeline shows you the profiles of people you’ve crossed paths with in real life.

Christians can use Happn to connect with singles who attend the same church or go to similar events or restaurants. The mapping feature offers unique insight into your match’s daily habits and lifestyle. Don’t worry, though, the app will never reveal your current location.

Over 70 million people have downloaded Happn, which has a 4.1-star rating on Google Play. If you want to turn your luck around in the dating scene, you can create real-life romantic opportunities by mingling on Happn.

Top “Senior” Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#14-15)

Senior dating sites give singles the opportunity to meet age-appropriate dates and build relationships that last. The mainstream dating scene tends to be dominated by 20-somethings and 30-somethings, so it can be a relief to find a mature audience for your advances.

Anyone over 50 should consider creating a free profile on these top-rated dating apps for seniors.

14. OurTime.com

• Relationships: Dating and Relationships
• Match System: Search by age as well as zip, gender, more
• About the App: OurTime is a leading dating app for those aged 50 and older because it was made specifically for this audience. With one less desire to put on your list (in this case, age), you’ll save a lot of time, effort, and money on OurTime and can focus on more important characteristics and qualities like lifestyle, passions, and dating and relationship goals, among others.
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What Is The Most Used Dating App

OurTime is a leading senior dating site with a good reputation among over-50 daters. The site prides itself on supporting a beginners-friendly setting, so you don’t have to be tech-savvy at all to make a match here.

The OurTime App is available on Google Play and the App Store. The app can quickly help singles discover commonalities and build a rapport in a live chat.

Free members can send and receive an unlimited number of likes on OurTime, but they have to upgrade if they want to send a message and engage in conversation. This payment system ensures senior singles stay safe from scammers and spammers online.

15. SilverSingles

• Relationships: Serious Relationships
• Match System: Filter by age, height, and distance
• About the App: SilverSingles has the market cornered when it comes to senior dating. This premier app connects date-worthy folks all around the world and makes it easy to find a second shot at love. The Matches section highlights compatible profiles, and you can set match preferences and dating filters to cater the list to your specifications. You are in the driver's seat on SilverSingles, and you can make your online dating experience whatever you want it to be.
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Once you join, SilverSingles you become part of an exclusive community of mature daters. The singles here have been around the block a time or two, and they’re not interested in playing games, wasting time, or just seeing where things go. They’re dating with purpose, and it shows.

The SilverSingles dating platform highlights compatible profiles in the Matches section, but you can only see photos if you’re a full member with a completed profile. You can sort your matches by age, height, and distance, and you can also filter the results by your favorites and those who have sent you messages already.

You’ll find a lot of wonderful options on SilverSingles, and the matching tools can help you quickly narrow things down to a few viable candidates in your age range.

Top “Relationship” Apps That are Free to Use (#16-18)

Singles who go into the dating scene looking for a serious relationship are often frustrated by casual dating apps full of flaky and unresponsive daters. Building genuine connections online can take a lot of time and commitment, and you need to pick the right dating apps to back you up along the way.

Best Mobile Dating Apps

If you’re dating for keeps, then you should invest your time in the following relationship-oriented dating apps. These platforms attract quality singles and streamline the matching process so it’s much easier to meet someone special.

16. EliteSingles

• Relationships: Deep Relationships
• Match System: Search by education, lifestyle habits, age
• About the App: Commitment-minded, professional daters will feel at home with EliteSingles, which can be downloaded for free in the App Store or Google Play. Not only is everyone looking for a long-term partner, but 80% of members hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree. EliteSingles sees 210,000 visitors and 2,500 users finding love every month, so it's one of the fastest growing and most reputable apps.
• Browse Free:View Profiles Now

EliteSingles is a premium dating site and app for the most ambitious and successful professionals of the world. The network includes the cream of the dating crop, and these singles won’t settle for anything less than the best.

Singles often join EliteSingles with high expectations, and the daily match list can meet those high standards and then some. You’ll see lots of highly educated, skilled, and witty profiles here.

Over 80% of EliteSingles members have earned at least a bachelor’s degree, and over 90% say they are looking for a relationship with someone on their level.

17. Hinge

Hinge is more than dating app — it’s a relationship app. Hinge was “designed to be deleted,” meaning the team’s ultimate goal is to get users off the app and into amazing relationships.

Setting up a free account on Hinge can take as little as five minutes. The app will pull basic information and photos from your Facebook profile and Instagram feed, and you can write original answers to prompts like “What’s the key to your heart?” or “What’s your favorite Disney movie?” There are over 80 prompts, but you only have to answer three to kick things off.

Hinge offers free matching and messaging to users seeking a real relationship.

The most innovative and interesting aspect of Hinge is how it handles mutual matching. You have to like something specific about the profile or write an original comment if you want to send a like to your online crush. Hinge doesn’t support mindless and heartless swiping. Users actually have to take the time to decide what they like about a person and create a more personalized connection.

I’m probably more than a little biased because I met my boyfriend on Hinge, but I think this app is absolutely fantastic for relationship-minded singles. You have in-depth profiles showcasing your sense of humor, core values, and life experiences, and it’s easy to talk about something real with so many conversation starters at your fingertips.

18. Bumble

In 2014, Bumble created a buzz in the online dating industry by pushing back against the superficial matching and creepy messages proliferating many dating apps. CEO Whitney Wolfe-Herd left an executive position at Tinder to create a female-friendly alternative to the male-dominated swipe-happy online dating scene.

Her idea is simple, yet intriguing. What if women made the first move and set the tone for the conversation? What if men could not speak until spoken to? Bumble has instituted a new level of decorum in online dating interactions, and a lot of singles love it.

Bumble has positioned itself as the world’s first feminist dating app.

Bumble has been a progressive leader from the outset, and it has made several bold moves to promote kindness and deter creeps. One of its most controversial positions is the ban of hunting and gun photos. In the wake of the Parkland shooting in 2018, Bumble purged all photos of guns, knives, and other weapons from the app.

“When I started the company, I really founded it with one main objective in place, which was accountability,” Whitney said to Fast Company. “How could we engineer accountability into the internet? How do we make the internet a kinder place?”

Top “Hookup” Apps That are Free to Use (#19-21)

Now, on the other end of the spectrum from the relationship-seeking crowd, we have the no-strings-attached hookup crowd. These flirty singles aren’t interested in happily-ever-afters. They just want to have no-strings-attached sex.

These three hookup sites can help sexually active men and women cut to the chase and arrange one-night stands with horny strangers.

19. BeNaughty

• Relationships: Casual Encounters
• Match System: Sort profiles by zip code, appearance, more
• About the App: 'Try more new delights. Feel no limits!' is BeNaughty's promise to naughty singles. After you download BeNaughty, you're automatically given a free account. There aren't any limits on how many profiles you view, matches you receive, and chat rooms you participate in. On the app, you can be as racy as you want because your info and conversations are protected by SSL and 24/7 customer service.
• Browse Free:View Profiles Now

BeNaughty is a legit hookup app designed to satisfy horny singles of all types. Anyone over 18 is welcome to explore their options in this fast-paced dating world.

The Like Gallery is probably the best place to start if you want to generate a lot of matches at once. Simply by answering “Cute or Not?” on one profile after another, you can send positive vibes to your online crushes and encourage them to like you back.

Or, if you want to throw a lot of darts at the wall at once, BeNaughty has a fun flirting tool that allows singles to send the same initial message to all users who match their dating criteria. That way, you can see who responds and turn a list of possibilities into a steady flow of incoming messages. To learn more about how all this works, you can read our full review.

20. AFF.com

• Relationships: Hookups Only
• Match System: Filter by distance, gender, encounter
• About the App: One-night stands, full-blown affairs, threesomes, swinging encounters — you name it and Adult Friend Finder can help you find it. A favorite among iOS and Android users, this app is one of the most established and largest names in the hookup industry. Adult Friend Finder has more than 77 million members and is responsible for more than 4.5 million connections.
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With over 100 million profiles to its name, Adult Friend Finder has every right to proclaim itself as the world’s largest sex and swinger community. This didn’t happen overnight — since the mid-90s, the AFF movement has built up steam and attracted sexually active and sexually curious people from all walks of life.

Today, AFF offers live video, private chats, anonymous browsing, and erotic dating forums where kinksters can be themselves and pursue hot dates without apology. Many satisfying tools can facilitate flirtation and lower inhibitions so that singles and swingers can get right down to business and find casual hookups.

21. FriendFinder-X

• Relationships: One-Night Stands, Threesomes, Affairs
• Match System: Search on your own, plus receive matches
• About the App: FriendFinder-X is a popular online sex community that welcomes singles and couples (who are at least 18 years old) with various sexual desires and of various genders, sexual orientations, and locations. Whether you're an iPhone or Android fan, you can download the app without having to pay a cent, and then you can take it wherever you go.
• Browse Free:View Profiles Now

FriendFinder-X does exactly what it promises and finds sexy playmates for men, women, couples, and groups seeking a pleasurable release. The dating platform’s motto is “where good girls do bad things,” and that pretty much says it all.

What Is The Most Popular Dating App In The Us

You can solicit a casual affair, threesome, or one-night stand by using FriendFinder-X as your personal wingman. The site’s powerful search tools and real-time communication features make it easy to flirt with someone special and put another notch on your bedpost.

In the words of the website, “FriendFinder-X isn’t just a site; it’s a community of people looking to add a little more passion into their lives.”

Which Dating Apps are Totally Free?

Many dating apps allow singles to browse the database for free, but they have subscription plans for certain premium features, including seeing who’s liked you and sending messages to your matches. If you’re looking for a totally free dating app where you can message anyone without paying a cent, then you should try OkCupid.

OkCupid promised to remain forever free when it launched in 2004, and it has not backed down from that. Free members can send unlimited messages for as long as they like here. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Is Bumble Better Than Tinder?

We get this question all the time. Bumble and Tinder have a bit of a rivalry going — and not just because Bumble’s CEO also happens to be the ex of one of Tinder’s co-founders. Bumble’s mission is a direct rebuttal to Tinder’s superficial bro culture, which has women bombarded with “hey baby” messages while men struggle to get any responses at all.

Bumble has created a solution by supporting a ladies-first model of online dating. Now women have the power to filter incoming matches and messages, and men find themselves being chased for once. Our dating experts think this gender-swapped setup is better for daters who identify as feminists, are frustrated by traditional dating, and want to foster equal relationships.

Watch on

Tinder has more users than Bumble (57 million vs. 22 million), but Bumble operates with greater transparency and integrity. Bumble makes a more concerted effort to police its database, enforce community guidelines, and improve the online matching process.

At the end of the day, you’ve got to decide what’s most important to you and what kind of dating experience you want. If you want quality, download Bumble. If you want quantity, you gotta go with Tinder.

Does Zoosk Have a Free Trial?

No, Zoosk doesn’t have a free trial period because it has something better — a free membership option that never expires.

The Zoosk free trial is a common myth online — we even wrote an article to debunk it — and we’re here to set the record straight. You always download Zoosk for free and stay a free member for as long as you like.

Are Dating Sites for Losers?

Absolutely not. Unless you think 40% of singles are losers. Online dating has become an increasingly popular way for singles to make dates and meet their significant others.

The stigma against meeting someone online is fast disappearing. In a 2015 survey, 59% of adults agreed that online dating is a good way to meet people, and only 23% said online daters are desperate. As of 2017, online dating has become the most popular way for brides to meet their husbands-to-be.

Free Dating Apps: Keep the Value, Cut the Costs

Dating shouldn’t cost you a bundle, but it’s hard to find ways to save. The average American can spend thousands of dollars a year on dating-related expenses, and some premium dating services can cost hundreds of dollars just to get your foot in the door.

Fortunately, free dating sites have come to the rescue of everyone’s wallets and given singles the freedoms they deserve. Any of the sites and apps on this list could be a valuable partner on the road to romance. You just have to choose the one that appeals to you the most and enjoy meeting people without barriers or restrictions. Free at last, free at last, thank the dating services for making apps free at last.

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Matchmaking is now done primarily by algorithms, according to new research from Stanford sociologist Michael Rosenfeld. His new study shows that most heterosexual couples today meet online.

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By Alex Shashkevich

Algorithms, and not friends and family, are now the go-to matchmaker for people looking for love, Stanford sociologist Michael Rosenfeld has found.

Online dating has become the most common way for Americans to find romantic partners. (Image credit: altmodern / Getty Images)

In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Rosenfeld found that heterosexual couples are more likely to meet a romantic partner online than through personal contacts and connections. Since 1940, traditional ways of meeting partners – through family, in church and in the neighborhood – have all been in decline, Rosenfeld said.

Rosenfeld, a lead author on the research and a professor of sociology in the School of Humanities and Sciences, drew on a nationally representative 2017 survey of American adults and found that about 39 percent of heterosexual couples reported meeting their partner online, compared to 22 percent in 2009. Sonia Hausen, a graduate student in sociology, was a co-author of the paper and contributed to the research.

Rosenfeld has studied mating and dating as well as the internet’s effect on society for two decades.

Stanford News Service interviewed Rosenfeld about his research.

What’s the main takeaway from your research on online dating?

Meeting a significant other online has replaced meeting through friends. People trust the new dating technology more and more, and the stigma of meeting online seems to have worn off.

In 2009, when I last researched how people find their significant others, most people were still using a friend as an intermediary to meet their partners. Back then, if people used online websites, they still turned to friends for help setting up their profile page. Friends also helped screen potential romantic interests.

What were you surprised to find?

I was surprised at how much online dating has displaced the help of friends in meeting a romantic partner. Our previous thinking was that the role of friends in dating would never be displaced. But it seems like online dating is displacing it. That’s an important development in people’s relationship with technology.

What do you believe led to the shift in how people meet their significant other?

There are two core technological innovations that have each elevated online dating. The first innovation was the birth of the graphical World Wide Web around 1995. There had been a trickle of online dating in the old text-based bulletin board systems prior to 1995, but the graphical web put pictures and search at the forefront of the internet. Pictures and search appear to have added a lot to the internet dating experience. The second core innovation is the spectacular rise of the smart phone in the 2010s. The rise of the smart phone took internet dating off the desktop and put it in everyone’s pocket, all the time.

Also, the online dating systems have much larger pools of potential partners compared to the number of people your mother knows, or the number of people your best friend knows. Dating websites have enormous advantages of scale. Even if most of the people in the pool are not to your taste, a larger choice set makes it more likely you can find someone who suits you.

Does your finding indicate that people are increasingly less social?

No. If we spend more time online, it does not mean we are less social.

When it comes to single people looking for romantic partners, the online dating technology is only a good thing, in my view. It seems to me that it’s a basic human need to find someone else to partner with and if technology is helping that, then it’s doing something useful.

The decline of meeting partners through family isn’t a sign that people don’t need their family anymore. It’s just a sign that romantic partnership is taking place later in life.

In addition, in our study we found that the success of a relationship did not depend on whether the people met online or not. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how you met your significant other, the relationship takes a life of its own after the initial meeting.

What does your research reveal about the online world?

I think that internet dating is a modest positive addition to our world. It is generating interaction between people that we otherwise wouldn’t have.

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People who have in the past had trouble finding a potential partner benefit the most from the broader choice set provided by the dating apps.

Internet dating has the potential to serve people who were ill-served by family, friends and work. One group of people who was ill-served was the LGBTQ+ community. So the rate of gay couples meeting online is much higher than for heterosexual couples.

You’ve studied dating for over two decades. Why did you decide to research online dating?

The landscape of dating is just one aspect of our lives that is being affected by technology. And I always had a natural interest in how new technology was overturning the way we build our relationships.

I was curious how couples meet and how has it changed over time. But no one has looked too deeply into that question, so I decided to research it myself.