The best dating apps can help you find a quick fling or something more meaningful — it all depends on what you're looking for, and which apps you use. Even if you're not searching for romance, some dating apps can simply connect you to people who share your interests.
Dating apps are a popular and convenient way to meet people. And it's not just swiping to start a chat message anymore: new dating app features like video chats and similar tools can help you get to know someone remotely before you decide whether you'd want to meet up in person.
For the most part, the best dating apps aim to help you find a romantic connection. But a few have also broadened their mission to forging friendships, say, when you move to a new city. That's why we're looking at apps that offer more than simple swiping, but tout other capabilities including video meetups and security checks to make the world of online dating a lot better than it was before.
If you find yourself looking for some companionship, we can help you sort through a bunch of competing options to find the best dating apps that fit your particular needs.
The best dating apps right now
1. Tinder (Android; iOS)
Tinder is perhaps the most well-known dating app for swiping through potential matches. The photos and short profiles encourage you to make snap judgments about potential partners. You create a simple profile with a handful of photos and a few sentences about yourself, then throw yourself into the pool of other users near you, in your desired age range.
The app displays singles in your area. If you like someone's profile, swipe the photo to the right; otherwise, swipe to the left. If you both swipe right, you can send messages and set something up. Upgrading to a paid Plus or Gold membership at Tinder gives you premium features like unlimited likes or rewinds that give would-be partners a second chance. If you know how to use Tinder's premium tiers, you can also change the location you want your profile to appear in.
Tinder continues to tinker with its formula, rolling out a video feature that allows you to make in-app video calls to matches without exchanging personal details. A Safety Center feature ties into Noonlight app and provides a panic button in case you wind up on a date where you feel unsafe, and you can run background checks based on data from public records. Tinder may even add a "swipe party" feature that lets your friends join in on the fun of helping pick out a would-be partner for you.
With a newer feature called Tinder Matchmaker, users can now invite other people they know to view and suggest potential matches on the app.
2. Bumble (Android; iOS)
Bumble is one of the best dating apps for encouraging women to make the first move. The app can help you line up dates or make new friends, with the power to connect in the hands of its women users. In fact, even if you're not in the market for romance, Bumble may be worth trying out just to meet new people and broaden your circle of friends.
Women get to make the first move after two people mutually connect and are part of each other’s hive. From there, you've got just 24 hours to make some kind of contact or the connection disappears. For same-sex connections or friendships, either person has to make a move within 24 hours before that connection is gone, though you can get a 24-hour extension.
When it comes to forging friendships, Bumble has a BFF feature for people who are not looking for dates and a separate section for making business contacts. The Bumble Boost upgrade, which ranges from $2.99 to $8.99, makes it easier and faster to meet or date people.
Bumble added video a couple years ago, giving one of the best dating apps a leg up in the shelter-in-place era. A Night In addition added games starting with a trivia game to give you and your date something to do on your video chat.
3. OkCupid (Android; iOS)
OkCupid features a massive userbase and straightforward dating tools. But rather than rest on its laurels, OKC keeps refining and adding on features to its top dating app, such as a "Flavors" system that allows users to quickly view evocative flavors of potential matches, such as Kinky Nerds, Beard Lovers, World Travelers, etc.
All this is in addition to OkCupid's messaging tools, personality quizzes, Instagram integration and other old favorites. A premium subscription adds other features, such as refined search tools and the ability to see users who have liked you.
Download OKCupid: Android, iOS
4. Hinge (Android; iOS)
Refusing to follow the trail blazed by swipe-driven apps like Tinder, dating app Hinge puts its focus on relationships and interesting conversations. In fact, the service's explicitly stated goal is to get you to the point where you've deleted the app altogether — presumably because you've found love and not because you've had it with the app.
Hinge turns its nose up at swipes for a more detailed profile that you fill in with pictures and stories. Users can then choose to like and comment on something in that profile, and that serves as a mutual conversation starter. Each day, you can check out new recommendations, as well as see people who have liked something in your profile.
Hinge responded quickly to our shelter-in-place situation imposed by the coronavirus pandemic by rolling out Date From Home features. Other changes include teaming up with the likes of Chipotle and Uber Eats to encourage users to have socially distanced dinner dates. A Standouts feature now highlights people who are more likely to be your type, along with topics that Hinge thinks will spark a conversation with your would-be match. There is also a premium tier that boosts your profile in searches, but we don't think you need to pay to benefit from the app's matching experience.
5. Match.com (Android; iOS)
Match.com offers its users a freemium dating experience on Android and iOS. Free users can set up online profiles, upload a few pictures of themselves and then engage in some online flirting with "winks", and have new matches delivered to them daily. More comprehensive features, such as the ability to see who has checked out your profile and liked your pictures, can be unlocked by a Match.com subscription.
Match has continued to add on to its features, such as a Tinder-like Mixer, Android Wear and Apple Watch integration, and the addition of voice and video snippets to your profile. Vibe Check, launched in the spring, lets you enjoy video chats with your matches, while Match also lets you pay a little extra to have real-life dating coaches make matches for you.
Like Tinder, Match also added a safety feature that lets you alert friends if you're on a date and feel unsafe. You can even set your political views in Match, so you can better find a person whose outlook lines up with yours (or don't, if you believe that opposites attract).
Download Match.com: Android, iOS
6. Grindr (Android; iOS)
Grindr allows gay and bisexual men to meet up with like-minded men nearby. Profile creation is a fairly minimal experience, focusing on a profile pic, user name, and a few simple questions, and choosing a "Tribe" that describes your type, and then you're up finding other users and chatting them up in minutes.
The app is strongly hook-up focused, connecting you to profiles that are in the closest proximity to you. If your goal is to meet up with someone conveniently and quickly, then Grindr is the best dating app for you.
Grindr is free to use and advertisement-supported, but the premium version, Grindr Xtra, offers ad-free browsing in addition to other features like adding multiple Tribes and advanced search filters. One notable downside? Unlike other dating apps, push notifications for messages require Grindr Xtra.
7. Her (Android; iOS)
Her is a dating and social network app designed with lesbian, bisexual and queer users in mind. You sign up with Facebook or Instagram accounts, and then view a stream of activity from other verified Her users both in your area and globally. You can Like photos of other users, and if the interest is mutual, the app will link you up to chat.
Of course, it's also more than just meeting prospective dates, with the app offering social features, news and articles about LGBTQ issues, events, questions and more. While the app is free to use and sign up for, a premium subscription adds extra features.
8. eharmony (Android; iOS)
eharmony is a long-time player in the online dating game, and the first service to push an algorithmic system to try to make the best possible dating matches for its members. Once you create an account, users go through a "Relationship Questionnaire" to create a personality profile that helps match you with other users that eharmony thinks you'll click with. Every day, the app will provide you with a selection of matches and your areas of compatibility; you'll have the option to connect if the interest is mutual.
Premium subscribers get expanded matching and discovery options, and other features like being able to see who has recently viewed your profile.
Download eharmony: Android, iOS
9. Facebook (Android, iOS)
Facebook Dating has been around for a few years now, added on as an opt-in service built into the social network, Facebook Dating focuses on helping you find long-term relationships, not hook-ups. You access the Dating section from within Facebook's mobile app, setting up a Dating profile that's separate from your regular Facebook profile. From there, Facebook finds matches for you based on your preferences, interests and activities on the social networking site.
Facebook won't suggest matches among people you already know on Facebook, unless you use the service's Secret Crush feature in which you can select up to nine Facebook friends or Instagram followers you have an interest in. If they also express an interest in you via Secret Crush, Facebook will match you up.
You can add Instagram posts to your Facebook Dating profile as well as share Facebook and Instagram stories. Like other dating services, Facebook Dating also introduced the ability to make video calls to your would-be sweetie, using the Messenger app.
Download Facebook: Android, iOS
10. Coffee Meets Bagel (Android; iOS)
Coffee Meets Bagel takes the opposite approach to many of the best dating apps, trying to focus on quality rather than quantity. Every day at noon, the app will send men a small selection of potential matches based on their profile and preferences, and women are then sent a number of matches who've shown interest in them, leaving the ladies the option of reciprocating the like. If the attraction is mutual, then the app will set you up with a 7-day chat window and icebreaker.
A redesign of the dating app puts a greater emphasis on user profiles, giving you the ability to comment on profiles and photos in hopes of fostering more connections between Coffee Meets Bagel users.
Download Coffee Meets Bagel: Android, iOS
11. Snack (iOS)
Imagine TikTok, but for dating, and you've got a pretty good sense of what Snack has to offer. This dating app puts an emphasis on short videos. You sort through a feed of introductory videos to see if anyone sparks your interest, favoriting the ones of people you'd like to get to know. Should they favorite your video, you'll be able to DM each other.
The emphasis on videos makes Snack a good dating app option for our socially distant times, though the focus is clearly on the under-30 crowd. As of this writing, Snack is only available on the iPhone, so Android users will have to look elsewhere.
Download Snack: iOS
12. LOLO Dating & Icebreaker Games (Android, iOS)
Previously known as XO, LOLO Dating & Icebreaker Games wants to put some of the fun back into dating by using games to help break the ice. Quizzes, drawing games and other party activities let you share a laugh with somebody new and maybe forge a connection that leads to a relationship.
You find matches by filling out a profile and meeting up with someone who has similar likes. Or you can try one of LOLO's other, more random pairings. Blind Date puts you in touch with someone to play a game and exchange messages before you see their profiles, while Random puts you in touch with someone from anywhere in the world.
People who are serious about finding a significant other right now may want to some of the other best dating apps, but LOLO seems like a fun, casual way to make new friends — and maybe that friendship blossoms into something more.
Download LOLO Dating & Icebreaker Games: Android, iOS
13. Kippo (Android, iOS)
Of course, there's more than one way to game online, and Kippo looks to attract online gamers in search of a little companionship. The app lets you customize your own profile — the more unique, the better — in which you can show off the things you're truly passionate about. The app then tries to find matches based on the games you like.
Once you find a match, you're ready to DM and chat, though the free tier of Kippo has some limitation on just how many profiles you can swipe each day and how many messages you can send. Joining a paid Kippo Infinity tier for $10 a month removes those restrictions.
Kippo says it verifies that everyone using its service is a real person, and there's moderation to keep out any bad actors. And if you're not necessarily looking for a date, never fear — Kippo is just as happy to help you find new friends with which to game.
15. Feels (Android, iOS)
A lot of newer dating apps are clearly moving away from the swipe-right-or-left method of picking out a partner, and none illustrate that shift better than Feels. Instead of selfies, the emphasis in this app is more on short videos and stories that aim to give you a better glimpse of a potential partner's personality.
In fact, Feels would balk at being pigeon-holed as a dating app, arguing that it's more about helping you meet new people, whether they end up being friends or something more. Certainly, the TikTok-like feel and emphasis on animated captions and tickers clearly positions Feels as an app for a younger audience that's more social network than strictly dating app.
Feels is free to use, though a premium subscription unlocks additional features and boosts your profile. One thing that stands out about the app is its emphasis on inclusion — when setting up your profile, you have nine different pronoun and gender options to pick from. Again, Feels is all about letting the real you shine through.
15. Once (Android, iOS)
Once wants to slow down those frantic swipes as you try to find your ideal match. Instead of an unending string of photos to sort through, Once pairs you up with one potential partner a day, and you've got 24 hours to make a connection. You can keep chatting after that if both of you like another, but the idea is to focus on just one person at a time, so you can see if a more lasting connection is possible.
Matches are created with Once algorithm, which draws on your profile and your past behavior to find an ideal match. You can use Once for free, but paid memberships speed up the searching process and give you more matches per day if you prefer.
16. Happn (Android, iOS)
Happn is all about the people whose paths you might have crossed who you might find interesting and might also be doing the same things you are. A location-based dating service, Happn shows you the profiles of other Happn users you've crossed paths with, along with time and location. You can like any of the profiles that show up, and if the feeling is mutual, the app gives you the option to connect. Paid options offer the ability to “Say Hi” to other profiles, which includes a notification, as well as the ability to see profiles which have liked you.
17. SwoonMe (Android, iOS: Free)
Let's face it — even the best dating apps are heavily skewed toward swiping through photos to find a match. But SwoonMe wants you to look beyond the surface when you're trying to meet someone new, whether it's for friendship or a more serious relationship.
To that end, the SwoonMe app does away with photos in exchange for avatars — the photo you upload to the dating app is converted into a cartoon version of yourself. Instead, you search for a would-be significant audio by listening to short audio clips the person has recorded. If you like what you hear, you can further communicate through audio messages, eventually reaching the point where you can reveal your true picture.
It's a different take on dating than some of the other apps here, and as a fairly new service, SwoonMe isn't as polished as some of its more well-established competitors. But it's worth checking out if you find other dating apps to be overly superficial.
Download SwoonMe: Android, iOS
18. Plenty of Fish Dating (Android; iOS)
Plenty of Fish Dating, one of the best free dating apps, is one of the largest and most popular in the world. It boasts more than 70 million members spanning the whole English-speaking world.
Users set up a simple profile, including age, education and profession, then search through potential matches and message them. Plenty of Fish keeps adding small tweaks to its app, including Chat Heads for Android users, VoIP calling for premium users and Instagram image uploads. You'll also find a free livestream feature that encourages dating over video.
Plenty of Fish also recently a feature called Share My Date, which allows users to seamlessly share details about upcoming in-person dates with selected friends and family from the app.
Download Plenty of Fish Dating: Android, iOS
19. Badoo (Android; iOS)
A standout in a rich field of dating apps, Badoo features 370 million-plus users from more than 190 different countries, all sharing their profiles and photos as they search for matches. The app uses a lot of varied means to find interesting matches, from a Tinder-like swiping system to viewing the profiles of nearby users.
Badoo puts a premium on making sure that its users are actual verified people, instead of "catfish"-style scams, with verification methods based on uploaded photos, connected social media accounts and phone verification. While the app is free to use, you can also buy premium credits for $2.99 to increase visibility or subscribe to gain "Super Powers," which provide expanded features.
20. Clover Dating App (Android; iOS)
A little bit of Tinder and a little bit of OkCupid, Clover takes a grab bag approach with a variety of ways to find and meet potential matches, from Tinder-like swiping to questionnaires, date planners, and detailed profiles with lists of interests.
Clover avoids the one-trick pony trap of more focused dating app experiences, so if you ever get bored of the swiping style, you can always try participating in live mixers, check out the 20 Questions game, or even experiment with Clover's "on demand dating." As with other apps, Clover has premium tiers that can improve visibility and add or improve existing features.
How to find the best dating app
You're going to have the biggest success finding romance through a dating app if you first settle on what exactly you're looking for. If casual flings and hook-ups are your focus, shy away from apps designed to help you find long-term relationships. Similarly, if you're tired of one-night stands, dating apps that put a greater emphasis on swiping than on matching up compatible people are more likely to frustrate you.
Speaking of frustrations, nothing's more irritating than using a dating app filled with fake profiles. Pay attention to what dating services do to make sure that you're only being paired up with people who are taking things seriously (or at least as seriously as you are.) It's also a good idea to pay attention to what services are doing to protect the privacy of their users.
If you're not comfortable meeting people in bars and other crowded settings just yet, consider apps that offer some form of video chat, so that your love life doesn't get put on hold while you practice social distancing. Conversely. some people aren't comfortable on camera, so we've also included selections in our best dating apps list for services that rely on other ways to connect, such as messaging.
Before diving in to find the right dating app to find the best possible mate, don't forget to consider privacy. Don't just skim past the privacy policies of any dating app you use, as those policies can outline exactly what a dating site does with your personal data. Because dating sites can suffer security breaches just like any online service, use good password practices and don't re-use login info you've tied to other accounts.
It's worth noting that many dating apps — including several on this best dating apps list — are owned by the same company. The Match Group, for example, not only operates Match.com but also Tinder, OKCupid and PlentyOfFish.
How we pick the best dating apps
We research dating apps by going online and reading customer reviews and listening to word-of-mouth to see which dating services have captured the interest of people. We then evaluate the services based on how much they cost and what they offer in return.
We favor apps that reach a wider range of users — the wider the dating pool, the better chances at finding someone who's a good match — and that let you sample at least some of the service at no cost. We also rate services more highly if they offer multiple tools for meeting new people and if they have security measures in place to report fake accounts and bad actors.
Because there's no one-size-fits-all approach to dating, we also try to showcase a variety of apps so that you can better find one that matches your personality, comfort level and interests.
