Key Takeaways
I’ve been rating and reviewing dating apps for over a decade, and I wanted to see how Raya compared to more popular, mainstream dating apps.
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Raya’s application required my phone number, Instagram, and referrals from my contacts.
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There is no free membership option, and the swipe list shows profiles around the world, which I don’t find helpful for actual dating.
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Instead of chasing the mirage of celebrity dating, I recommend using Match to meet single professionals.
Launched in February 2015, Raya is an exclusive dating and networking app catering to celebrities and single professionals. Originally invite-only, the app’s current iteration welcomes applications from anyone — though getting in is not a guarantee. Raya’s acceptance rate is rumored to be as low as 8%, according to the New York Times.
Ben Affleck, Chace Crawford, Bad Bunny, and Olivia Rodrigo have been Raya users at one point or another. Simone Biles even met her husband on the app in March 2020.
Despite having no fame to my name, I decided to see if I could spot a few celebs myself. Read on for my discoveries…and my recommendations for similar quality-first apps if Raya waitlists you.
My Experience on Raya
I downloaded the Raya app—exclusively available on Apple devices—and completed the application, which asked for my location, industry and job title, and Instagram handle. Then I granted the app access to my contacts list and selected existing Raya members to request a referral.
I chose one of my coworkers to give me a referral since we’d discussed her experiences on the app before. And I selected an acquaintance from college. I didn’t know the college friend well, but I crossed my fingers she wouldn’t find it weird when she saw my name in her requests.
Unfortunately, neither of them ended up counting for much. I never received an email notifying me that I’d been accepted, and I still encounter a screen in the app saying that my application is currently waitlisted. I know some people are on the waitlist for weeks, but getting in could be worth the wait if status is a high priority for your dating life.
How Raya Works: Swiping & Messaging
Raya’s swipe-right-to-like interface is similar to Tinder and other mainstream dating apps. But instead of the typical format of a few static photos, Raya profiles are structured as a dynamic slideshow set to a song of your choice.
I have to say, even though the intention of this is probably to make swiping feel less like a chore and more like watching a movie trailer, looking at example profiles online made me giggle. The music is so dramatic! I think I’d prefer to just tap through the photos at my own pace.
The app limits how many profiles free members can view in a day (10-25) as well as how many likes they can send in a day (typically 3-5). I’m definitely a fan of this approach as I think it encourages you to be a bit more intentional about who you’re liking.
Raya is critically different from mainstream dating apps in that it shows profiles from all over the world, since it favors jet setters and constantly-traveling-for-work types. The Map feature lets users centralize their focus to nearby members. Prioritizing nearby profiles isn’t the default.
Taking screenshots in the app is strictly forbidden and results in a one-time warning before your account is locked, but discreetly taken photos of celebrity profiles have floated around online, and there are even Reddit threads dedicated to name-dropping rumored users.
What’s Free & What’s Paid
Raya doesn’t come cheap. There’s no free option on the app — if accepted, you must pay $24.99 for a one-month plan. That’s the baseline. You can opt for six months or one year to lower the monthly cost.
A six-month commitment to the basic version costs $113.99, and a full year will run you $155.99 (which comes out to $12.99 a month for those of you who don’t have your calculator app handy).
I’ve been on this app for two years, and it kind of feels like Instagram with stagnant profiles.” –bethy, a Raya user
Members can also get the premium membership starting at $49.99 a month. This package includes sending unlimited likes, seeing who’s already liked you, receiving more daily profile recommendations, and viewing an expanded Map of nearby profiles.
5 Best Alternatives to Raya (No Waitlist!)
Not yet accepted to Raya, and don’t have the patience to wait? There are plenty of alternative dating apps, no matter what you’re looking for.
Match
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: “Match pairs a large dating pool with search filters specific enough to make that size useful rather than overwhelming.” Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
As the first major dating website, Match stands as the best overall alternative to Raya. Its vast user base gives you plenty of options, mostly focused on serious dating, and free members can send messages to their matches for free.
Match’s paid version offers a level-up for a more streamlined experience (seeing who likes you, getting boosted in search results) but without the pretensions of Raya.
Why It’s Better Than Raya: Match has a reputation for serious dating, so it attracts singles over 30 with stable careers. There isn’t a waitlist period upon registration, and it’s free to message matches, so there isn’t as high a bar to entry as you’ll find on Raya.
OurTime.com
- Relationships: Dates and Relationships
- Match System: Search by profiles by zip and more
- Our Experts Say: “OurTime makes dating after 50 feel simple, with senior-friendly search tools and an easy-to-use layout.” Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
The average Raya user is between 25 to 40 years old, making the app less than ideal for more mature daters. OurTime, however, was specifically created for people over 50. That means people in your age group will be matching with you.
Like Raya, OurTime connects you to daters who are established in their lives and careers, but without the awkward age gaps. No one will be calling you a “sugar daddy” on OurTime.
Why It’s Better Than Raya: OurTime is the best dating site for singles over 50 because it puts maturity first. Its profiles contain important lifestyle information such as whether you have children and if they live with you, and it offers match suggestions based on personal compatibility.
eharmony
- Relationships: Casual Dates, Deep Relationships
- Match System: Personality test suggests matches
- Our Experts Say: “eharmony helps relationship-minded singles meet compatible people who share their values and long-term outlook.” Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
eharmony is a mainstream app for relationship seekers. The app is most well-known for its proprietary matching system and thorough Compatibility Quiz. The algorithm is thorough and provides in-depth analysis about why you’d be suited for another person in terms of lifestyle, temperament, and relationship goals.
The quality-first vibes are in line with Raya, but instead of a lengthy application process, eharmony has a personality questionnaire that allows users to describe who they are and what they want in more detail than on almost any other app.
Why It’s Better Than Raya: Only paid members can communicate without limits, so eharmony members tend to be more educated and have more disposable income than the average. The compatibility information is grounded in psychology, so matches are about more than looks and status.
- Relationships: Hookups, Casual Dates, Affairs
- Match System: Search by age, location, appearance, and more
- Our Experts Say: “With its massive user base and advanced privacy features, Ashley Madison is the #1 site for discreet hookups, dates, or relationships.” Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
If you’re looking for more privacy and anonymity in online dating, Ashley Madison might be a good fit thanks to its policy of “ethical discretion” with features like photo encryption, anonymous billing, and a special stealth mode for iOS devices.
Ashley Madison started as a dating site for affairs, but today it has expanded into casual dating for any adult who would rather not divulge a lot of personal details in their dating profiles.
Why It’s Better Than Raya: Ashley Madison is a discreet dating site that has more opt-in privacy features than Raya. The app allows members to blur, mask, or hide their faces in photos, and no one is required to browse under their real names or provide any social media details.
Hinge
- Relationships: Chatting, Friends, Dates, Relationships
- Match System: Swipe on profiles and chat with matches
- Our Experts Say: “Hinge is a serious dating app with swipe-based browsing and free messaging with mutual matches. The profiles require six photos and three prompt responses, and users can add voice notes, polls, friend testimonials, and videos if they wish. The ability to customize your profile and see people’s relationship intent upfront help serious daters find one another more quickly in the swipe lists.” Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Hinge is easily among the most popular dating apps on the market right now. That can be an asset for daters who are serious about wanting to get results and find compatible dates who are actually local, not two cities away.
Hinge has free and paid membership options, so users can decide if they want to stick with the basics or get a more premium experience with more filters and more say in their matches. I personally have used Hinge many times in my dating life, and I met my husband (who isn’t a celeb but does have a PhD in mechanical engineering) on this app, so I’m totally biased in its favor.
Why It’s Better Than Raya: Hinge is not pretentious at all. This app has a lot of profiles, of varying quality, and it empowers users to swipe, match, and message for free. Paid members can set filters based on lifestyle, politics, religion, and other important dealbreakers to narrow the field.
FAQs: How Hard Is It to Get on Raya?
Raya doesn’t publish official data, meaning everything we know about how hard it is to get on the app is essentially hearsay. The 8% acceptance rate was quoted in 2018, and it very well could’ve changed as Raya realized more members are actually a good thing.
In 2024, a Mashable journalist applied to Raya with no referral and received an acceptance 10 days later.
But on other corners of the internet, many complain about the endless purgatory of the waitlist. There are whole Reddit forums dedicated to requesting referrals — on r/RayaReferral, people even turn a profit selling their referrals to hopeful Raya applicants.
Still, it’s no guarantee. Matchmaker Blaine Anderson claims she doesn’t know of anyone being admitted without a referral, but she also mentions plenty of users are unsuccessful despite having multiple referrals.
According to Raya’s About page, applicants are assessed according to “algorithmic values as well as input from hundreds of committee members spread throughout the world.” Good looks or fame are supposed to matter less than one’s ability to fit into the app’s purpose to connect truly interesting people. Interesting is in the eye of the beholder, though!
Is The League Better Than Raya?
Need the air of exclusivity? The League is the closest match for Raya in terms of its selectivity and focus on creating a more elevated, engaged user base. Unlike Raya, you can skip the waitlist by buying your way in and browsing with the Unlimited membership.
My best friend is a lawyer in South Florida, and she joined without needing to pay for it (I suspect women have an easier time gaining entry). She said it was mostly finance bros and career-driven men, but she didn’t get a lot of quick responses and suspected many profiles are inactive.
I wouldn’t recommend relying on only The League for your dating needs. But it could be a good app to use in addition to mainstream apps with bigger pools and faster response times.
Can You Join Raya Without Being Famous?
Yes, Raya members don’t necessarily have to be famous–my coworkers definitely aren’t. But the standards for being let in are murky at best. There’s no formula to guarantee acceptance…except maybe winning an Olympic gold medal?
I was curious about the requirement to link to my Instagram account. I thought maybe follower count would influence it. But my friend had fewer than 1,000 followers and was accepted, while someone else I know has over 10,000 followers and is still on the waitlist.
“I have a private Instagram with less than 300 followers and my profile picture was a blue icon, not even a picture of myself, and I got accepted.” -Raya user on Reddit
Proving the seemingly arbitrary nature of it all, a self-proclaimed “literal nobody” on Reddit said they were accepted with a private, unverified Instagram and a profile picture that didn’t show their face. Though this user had a referral, they believed that being accepted three months later was out of pure luck due to their lack of fame or a noticeable online presence—similar to the Mashable journalist.
Raya also states that non-famous people have been accepted without referrals or affiliation because “the committee felt they possessed some special quality which would strengthen the community.” So, if you weren’t famous, but were, say, a high-up executive at a magazine or a chef at the hottest restaurant in the city, you might score an invite.
Is Raya Worth Paying For?
No, and I’m not just saying that because I’m bitter about not being allowed in. Many lament the lack of active individuals–my coworker, for instance, complained that it felt like people were online to gawk at each other, not to create real connections.
On a thread discussing Raya, one user claims “there are far less celebs” and “a ton of generic finance bros” in the swipe list. Meanwhile, in a NYC subreddit discussing whether paying was worth it, women claim “nobody” messages, though it’s fun to swipe on famous people.
Who Raya Helps
I can think of three scenarios in which using Raya is appropriate:
- You’re Famous: And I’m talking so famous that you need privacy in your dating life or it’ll end up in tabloids. Raya prevents your profile from being screenshotted and shared into oblivion. You’ll also meet celebrities who understand a life of fame.
- You’re Rich and Only Date Models: If you strictly want to date people of supermodel-level attractiveness, a typical dating app probably doesn’t cut it for you. One thing Raya users seem to agree on in their chatter online is that many Raya members are “bombshells.” If you’re not intimidated by that, good for you.
- Industry Networking: Bit unorthodox, but hear me out. Raya could be great for networking and breaking into the entertainment industry. You can indicate that you’re just looking for friends, and many Raya users have careers in fashion, music, and film, so it’s a good way to get yourself seen and out there.
My Verdict: You Don’t Need Raya to Find Quality Matches
I’m happy being average! While I respect the mission of connecting people who want more than Tinder, I don’t consider myself so exceptionally accomplished or ambitious that I need to be on a separate app for that reason.
If you believe it’s worth paying to see higher-quality people, I’d argue there are plenty of high-quality people to be found elsewhere.
My Hot Take: Raya brags about having profiles of “NASA scientists, cancer researchers, poets, painters,” but I’m certain I’ve seen those same occupations (and other more interesting ones!) on Bumble and eharmony.
While Raya is a great place for rubbing virtual elbows with admittedly hot Olympians or movie stars, I’m more concerned with finding a stable, long-term relationship. And call me crazy but abs and an interesting career aren’t on my list of must-haves for love.
I might join Raya if they let me off the waitlist, purely out of curiosity (and for the chance to chat with rumored user Tom Blyth). But, until then, you can find me on Hinge.
