8 Best Dating Sites (2025) – 100% Free

I’m friends with a single mom who joined her first dating site with a lot of nervousness. The platform had endless dating profiles for her to sort through, but not enough features to help her identify a perfect match. She couldn’t keep up with it all.

“Online dating became work, not fun, so she deleted her dating profile without going out to meet a single person.”

Truth be told, if my friend had done a little bit of research before she joined the dating site, she would’ve seen that there’s an online dating service for just about every niche interest and dating preference — and all of them offer something a little bit different from the rest.

Of course, most singles don’t have the time or inclination to do a lot of in-depth research. That’s what we’re here for.

Reviewing dating sites is our job, and we love finding services to help singles have the best experience. So, we’ve selected the best dating sites and apps in every niche category we could think of.

Oh, and just for good measure, our experts answered some frequently asked questions about online dating. Let’s get to it!

In our consideration, the most popular dating sites are the ones that receive the most positive comments and lots of five-star ratings from users.

We rely on the word on the digital street to help us identify the platforms we ought to try, and then we rate the dating sites based on their affordability, ease of use, safety features, and, most importantly, success rates.

The dating scene is much easier to navigate when you have a popular dating site or app in your back pocket. Here are our picks for online daters seeking romance and love.

Best Overall: Match

Match was founded in 1995 and has been a pioneer in the dating industry ever since. No other dating website has been responsible for more dates, relationships, and marriages than Match.

With over 13.5 million people visiting Match every month from more than 50 countries, no other dating website has anywhere near the same reach.

The basic membership is free and includes unlimited browsing and some communication options. Every dating profile contains a good mix of photos, written responses, tags, and demographic details, so it’s easy to judge compatibility at a glance. And you can nix any dealbreakers by adjusting your search and match filters!

Best for Video Chat: Zoosk

If you’re always busy and on your phone all the time, like most of us are, then we’d highly recommend Zoosk. In 2007, the Zoosk dating website came into being, and it was one of the first major dating sites to integrate its match tools into an online dating app.

Zoosk allows fast signups through Facebook or Google profiles, and it doesn’t require you to upload a photo to explore the user base.

We consider Zoosk to be among the best dating apps because it has been downloaded over 30 million times, and its customer reviews are consistently positive. Plus, Zoosk members can enjoy many communication and matchmaking tools for free, including video chat.

If you’re looking for an upgrade, Zoosk’s paid subscription plan is affordably priced for those who want an upgrade.

Best for Serious Relationships: eharmony

Launched by clinical psychologist Dr. Neil Clark Warren in 2000, eharmony.com is a go-to if you want a serious, long-term relationship with someone who meets or exceeds all your expectations. The eharmony dating site has inspired over 2 million relationships in the U.S. alone.

One of eharmony’s biggest claims to fame is its unique, in-depth matchmaking system, which compares 32 dimensions of compatibility to identify which members will complement each other and create a lasting relationship.

If you want to learn even more about the top dating sites and apps, then take a look at our full reviews of Match, Zoosk, and eharmony:

• Match.com review
• Zoosk review
• eharmony review

Any of these sites or apps could introduce you to new people and help you get your footing in a fast-paced and exciting online dating scene.

Online dating isn’t just for finding a date or relationship — it’s also a great way to find a casual hookup, a secret affair, or a one-night stand. However, not all hookup websites are created equal. There are legit dating sites you’ll want to join, and then there are sketchy dating sites you’ll want to avoid.

Here’s what you need to know about the best casual dating sites:

Best Hookup Site: BeNaughty

BeNaughty is a hookup site with cool features like instant messaging and location-based matching. This dating platform will help you find no-strings-attached adult fun in no time.

Communication is free to female BeNaughty members with an approved profile picture and a valid email address, so nothing will stand between you and a hot date here.

Best Affair App: Ashley Madison

If you’re hoping to date on the down low — as in, without a significant other finding out what you’re up to — then a mainstream dating app like Tinder may not be the best choice. For one thing, it’s super well-known as a dating app, and you could very well run into someone you know in real life there.

Fortunately, an affair dating app like Ashley Madison can help single and not-so-single people meet more discreetly and anonymously.

Ashley Madison has some great undercover features, including the ability to blur or mask your face in photos. The platform takes great pains to protect user privacy, and it offers an easy one-click exit to avoid discovery.

Best Free Casual Dating: SaucyDates

If all you want is a casual hookup, then you should seek out a free hookup app that can get the job done quickly and discreetly. Our dating experts like SaucyDates because it has a lot of street cred and the backing of a vast hookup network.

SaucyDates is a hookup site and app with instant matching, anonymous browsing, unlimited likes, and plenty of naughty date options to go around. The platform keeps things exciting by promoting and supporting adult dating opportunities every hour of every day.

Finding a match who has the same religious beliefs and values is important to a lot of people, particularly Christians, and online dating can make that search much easier and quicker.

When it comes to Christian dating, one site has consistently proven itself to be a leader and savior for people of faith.

Best Christian Dating Site: Christian Mingle

One of the best Christian dating sites on the web is Christian Mingle. More than 2.4 million Christian singles use the site every month, and the search filters even let you sort by keywords like “Bible study.”

Christian Mingle creates a match list of people who share similar interests, backgrounds, and beliefs.

This values-driven dating service has proven effective over time. In fact, Christian Mingle is currently the most popular Christian dating site for finding love and marriage in the Christian faith.

Best Jewish Dating Site: JDate

JDate was created in 1997 to unite Jewish singles in the dating pool. The dating website made an overall positive impression on marriage-minded Jews, and it grew into the premier Jewish matchmaker in the dating market.

As a Spark Networks site, JDate maintains an active and respectful community of singles who know what type of partner they want.

Although JDate allows single people of all faiths to join its online dating network, the vast majority of JDate profiles identify with the Jewish faith or Jewish community.

As it happens, JDate was created by the same team behind Christian Mingle, so Christian singles have their own space to find romance and love.

If religious views and traditions are central to your dating choices, then it’s worth seeking a niche network where people feel the same way.

Online dating for seniors can be intimidating, especially if they’ve just been through a divorce, lost a partner, or aren’t that tech-savvy. But it doesn’t have to be so difficult to start again.

Mature singles over 50 can use a premium dating website or app to meet people in the same age range.

Best for Over 50: OurTime

OurTime.com is dedicated to singles over 50 and has a quick signup process and clean interface, making the entire process very easy to manage and understand. This is easily one of the top senior dating sites of all time, and we think it’s best for singles in their 50s looking to connect.

It takes less than five minutes to create a dating profile on OurTime, and doing so could open you up to age-appropriate dating prospects throughout the globe.

Best for Over 70: SilverSingles

As you get up there in age, it’s natural for your dating prospects to start to disappear and fade a bit. It’s also natural to have less patience for incompatible dates and matches.

Singles in their 70s don’t have time to mess around, so they look for a quality-driven dating platform like SilverSingles to get something going.

We’ve ranked this highly because it uses an in-depth personality test to pair couples with the most in common. Users can set preferences for age, appearance, income, and other important factors.

Silver Singles can help a single person in their 70s dust off their flirting skills and meet an older adult who shares similar values and experiences.

While you may think you have to use an LGBTQ-specific dating site if you’re an LGBTQ+ single, that’s not really the case. There are plenty of conventional sites that are inclusive and welcoming.

With over 1.5 million gay members and more than 1 million lesbian members, Match is one of them. Zoosk is another fantastic choice, particularly if you’re looking for a quality mobile dating experience.

However, if you would rather skip the mainstream and find some queer-friendly date options, you can check out these gay and lesbian dating platforms.

Best for Gay Men: Grindr

This is probably a no-brainer, but Grindr is by far the best gay dating app on the market. It’s the most popular — over 27 million members worldwide — and it has some of the most effective location-based matching tools you’ll find on any dating app anywhere.

You can low-key swipe through profiles to meet guys who are ready and willing to go on a date.

Since 2009, Grindr has made waves in the gay dating pool.

The Grindr app was designed to satisfy gay men seeking a romantic tryst, and it never stops working on your behalf. Gay, bisexual, and queer men have joined this community to expand their social circles and spice up their dating lives.

Best for Lesbian Women: HER

The online dating scene can be pretty tough for lesbian and queer women who are ready to find a potential partner for life but keep running into requests for casual hookups and threesomes.

Fortunately, a lesbian woman named Robyn Exton has embarked on a mission to aid queer women with an online dating app called simply HER.

The HER dating app is free to download, and it offers a lot of free networking and chatting tools to help LGBTQ+ women break the ice. You can comment on another member’s photo or RSVP to a local queer event to get noticed on the app.

If you want to meet a single woman and start a serious relationship, the HER network will be there to make the proper introductions, support the LGBTQ community, and keep the creepers at bay. What more could a lesbian dater ask for?

Best for Bisexual Singles: BiCupid.com

With over 1.6 million members, BiCupid has claimed the title as the world’s largest dating site for bisexual men and women.

This dating site can help bisexuals find a date based on their unique dating preferences and dealbreakers. Most dating sites and apps require users to choose one gender or the other when browsing dating profiles, but BiCupid liberates the bisexual and bi-curious to pursue anyone they fancy, regardless of gender, orientation, or sexual identity.

But wait, there’s more! BiCupid has launched a companion app that offers all the same matchmaking and search technology in a mobile interface.

Best for Transgender Singles

A lot of so-called ladyboy or tranny dating sites treat transgender singles like they’re a fetish or a sexual object rather than a living, breathing person hoping for a genuine connection.

That’s why we’ve highlighted some upstanding transgender dating sites for singles in the LGBTQ+ community.

Apps like Butterfly have created thriving communities around the idea that people of all orientations and gender identities deserve to find love.

These niche sites can offer a welcoming world of romance for singles willing to take the plunge and create a free dating profile.

Free doesn’t necessarily have to mean a cheap or low-quality experience. The best free dating sites are the ones that give you every chance of success without any hidden fees or other barriers.

We’re happy to say all of the sites on our list are 100% free to create a profile, upload photos, browse for and receive matches, and communicate.

Best Totally Free Dating Site: OkCupid

Back in 2004, OkCupid launched with a pretty ambitious plan to offer a completely free dating service with a lengthy personality test and data-driven matching algorithm. The site and app have thrived because the team has never wavered from the promise to provide high-quality matches and chat for free.

It doesn’t cost anything to send messages on OkCupid, but you can only engage in a conversation if someone likes your dating profile. Otherwise, you’ll have to send one flirty greeting and then move on to the next match.

Online daters should note that OkCupid calculates compatibility based on your profile information, answers to personal questions, and user activity, so the more data you give it, the more accurate your match ratings will be.

Every year, OkCupid creates over 91 million matches, and its free online chatting tools lead to millions of first dates and lasting relationships.

Best Free for Your 20s: Zoosk

Zoosk’s much-heralded dating app lets you sign up through Facebook, so you can pull pictures and quick facts about yourself from your profiles that already exist — instead of having to spend a lot of time answering a bunch of questions. This is just one of the many reasons Zoosk is among our favorite online dating apps.

Zoosk maintains an active social network with affordable dating tools, and that’s why singles in their 20s have flocked here, hoping to meet new people in their hometown or college town.

Best for Free Swiping: Tinder

Tinder is undeniably the biggest name in the online dating industry, so it deserves a place of honor on our list. We’ve ranked it as the best free dating app for singles of all ages, orientations, and backgrounds.

By creating a Tinder profile and swiping on daily matches, you can enjoy a casual dating experience that moves fast and suits your sensibilities. You’re in control of who can send you a message, so you can be as choosy or play the field at will.

Tinder has created over 97 billion matches since its launch in 2012, and the app also claims to be responsible for inspiring over 1.5 million dates per week. This dating app is fast, fun, easy, and, most importantly, completely and totally free to use.

Best for Online Chatting: Plenty of Fish (POF)

The Plenty of Fish dating platform offers 100% free communication to all users at all times with no mutual matching requirements, so it’s a great option if you want to start some interesting conversations with people in the area.

The Plenty of Fish app can give you access to over 150 million dating profiles, and users typically exchange 1 billion messages a week, so don’t be shy about saying hi to someone special here.

We’re not saying Plenty of Fish is the best dating site in the world for creating a serious long-term relationship, but it can introduce you to new people who love to chat, and then it’s up to you to take it from there and see if you have any chemistry in real life.

Best for Premium Features: Elite Singles

You could take a chance on a 100% free dating app, but honestly, you never really know what you’re going to get.

A lot of the self-proclaimed free dating apps attract scammers, liars, cheaters, and casual daters because they don’t have to invest much to carry on a conversation with a stranger, and there aren’t many security measures in place to stop them.

Fortunately, a premium dating service like Elite Singles can stop scammers in their tracks by requiring all users to pay to play. This dating site only allows premium members to view photos and chat, so people with ill intentions stay away.

Elite Singles is free to download, and you can browse profiles and review your daily matches for free too, but the paid communication feature has put this app a step above the competition and ensures only serious daters (typically over 30) will take part in the fun.

Tinder is the dating app that invented the swiping and mutual matching system that is the standard operating procedure for most of today’s dating services, so it’s pretty easy to find a dating app that looks and feels a lot like Tinder.

Our dating experts have gone in-depth and listed some great Tinder alternatives for anyone tired of the swiping scene, and we recommend joining two or three at a time to figure out which one suits you best.

For instance, many of my single friends like to use Hinge and Bumble at the same time because these two apps are so similar to Tinder but with more relationship-oriented and female-friendly features.

On Bumble, only women can send the first message to men once a mutual match has been formed, and on Hinge, users must like or comment on something specific on the dating profile to generate a match.

Both these systems add an interesting twist to Tinder’s traditional swiping functionality, and that can lead to more engaging conversations and respectful connections online.

Many legit dating sites and apps exist in the online dating scene, and you can find them simply by scanning lists like this one. We’ve pointed out a lot of dating platforms that are guaranteed to work, and the top dating sites stand out for having some great customer reviews.

Sites like Match and eharmony have really done online dating right, and we recommend giving them a try the next time you’re in the mood to meet your perfect match.

Legit dating sites put in a lot of effort to screen new member profiles, protect, personal information, and remove unsavory characters from the user base.

An algorithm can actually learn to recognize an online dating scam based on dating profile wording and photos. And verification tools can ensure a new person is genuine.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a 20-year-old college student, a 45-year-old single parent, or a 67-year-old retiree, there’s an online dating site out there for people of all types, and we’ve listed many reputable ones to give you a good idea about where to go to pick up a compatible date.

Ultimately, you want to join sites that receive the best user reviews. Listening to local singles about their online dating experiences and testing out the numerous options ourselves are the two biggest components that make up our reviews.

Through all of our research, we’ve determined that Match truly is the top dating website for any type of dater. It’s the OG — and Match Group continues to dominate the market for a good reason.

Online dating shouldn’t be frustrating and overwhelming, like it was for my friend. It should be fun to look for a date online! Please take a few minutes to read the information we’ve provided about dating apps before taking the leap and creating an online dating profile.

Whether you’re a young adult or a single parent, you can benefit from reading reviews of the most popular dating sites and apps. Then you’ll feel 100% confident about your decision!