8 Best Dating Sites (June 2023) – 100% Free

I’m friends with a single mom who joined her first dating site with a lot of nervousness. Like most singles seeking a fresh start, she chose one of the largest dating sites out there. It was also 100% free. The dating platform had thousands of people for her to sort through, but not enough features to help her identify a perfect match. To make matters worse, dozens of unscreened matches and messages flooded her inbox every day. 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 everything — from Jewish singles to single parent dating — 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 in the dating world. That’s what we’re here for.

Reviewing dating sites is our job, and we love finding different dating sites to help singles have the best experience. So, we have ranked different types of dating websites and apps that the average dater should know about. 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 meeting new people through an online dating service. Let’s get to it!

In our consideration, the most popular dating sites are the ones that receive the most positive comments and high star ratings from users. We rely on 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 local dating pool is much easier to navigate when you have a popular dating site or app in your back pocket.

Here are our picks for the top dating sites 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. Not only that, but 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 online 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 deal breakers by adjusting your search and match filters!

Match is the best online dating site for singles who are serious about meeting someone special and don’t want to mess around with too much superficial swiping and endless chatting.

Best for Mobile: 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 a new person to upload a photo to explore the user base.

We consider Zoosk to be among the best mobile dating apps because it has been downloaded over 30 million times, and its customer reviews are consistently positive. Plus, Zoosk members get a lot of communication tools for free, and the paid subscription plan is affordably priced for those singles 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, and it creates a new potential match every 15 minutes.

One of eharmony’s biggest claim to fame is its unique in-depth matchmaking system that compares 32 dimensions of compatibility to identify which members will hit it off with each other and create a relationship that lasts in the long run.

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 Sites: BeNaughty

BeNaughty is a hookup site that is among the cream of the crop in the online dating scene. 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 100% free to all 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, and it takes great pains to protect user privacy.

Best Sugar Daddy Site: Seeking.com

Sugar daddy sites can get a bad reputation for having too many fake profiles or inactive users, but we’ve found some that make an effort to only support authentic singles seeking an age-gap romance or relationship.

Seeking.com has over 13 million members, all of whom have been verified as authentic. Formerly known as Seeking Arrangement, this sugar daddy site can verify incomes and profile pictures to ensure that its women are really beautiful and its men are really rich, so newcomers don’t have to worry about getting conned by something too good to be true.

Sugar daddies and sugar babies come together on Seeking Arrangement to lay their cards on the table, play to their strengths, and find a potential partner who’s willing to engage in a special arrangement.

Some Free Hookup Sites to Avoid: Craigslist and Backpage

When you’re searching for the top sex site, you’ll often find ones that claim they’re 100% free. While that certainly sounds appealing, we’d suggest staying away from these services, including Craigslist and Backpage. We’ve all heard or read the horror stories about people on Craigslist pretending to be someone they’re not, and the Craigslist personals section and Backpage were actually shut down altogether in 2018 because they’d become overrun by criminal activity and sex trafficking.

You can avoid running into scams, fake profiles, and unsavory characters by joining a reputable hookup site like BeNaughty. Not only do they offer a free membership that doesn’t cost anything, but they also use anti-scammer technology to ensure their members stay safe from start to finish.

Finding a perfect 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 leader and savior for people of faith.

Best Christian Dating Site: Christian Mingle

One of the best Christian dating sites on the web is ChristianMingle. 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 potential match list of people who share similar interests, backgrounds, and beliefs, and its 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.

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.

Here’s our rankings of the top senior dating sites:

Best Dating Site for Singles in their 50s: 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 Dating Site for Singles in Their 60s: SeniorFriendsDate

SeniorFriendsDate is a free dating site for retired professionals who don’t have the cash to waste on premium dating service and matchmaking tools. These savvy senior singles just want to chat without spending a cent of their savings on the deal, and that’s what SeniorFriendsDate has to offer.

You can create a profile on SeniorFriendsDate, browse other members’ dating profiles, and send messages to anyone you like all for free. The site promises to remove any underage daters and fake profiles, so this mature dating network should be to your liking.

Best Dating Site for Singles in Their 70s: 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 among the top senior dating sites because it uses an in-depth personality test to pair up couples with the most in common, and you can set your preferences for age, appearance, income, and other important factors.

Silver Singles can help a person in their 70s dust off their flirting skills and meet an older adult who shares similar values and is worth meeting on a first date.

While you may think you have to use an LGBTQ-specific dating site if you’re an LGBT single, that’s not really the case. There are plenty of conventional sites that are also among the top websites for gay dating and the top lesbian date sites.

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 Dating App 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.

Since 2009, Grindr has made waves in the gay dating pool by offering a men-only dating system that works. You can low-key swipe through dating profiles to meet guys who are ready and willing to go on a date.

Grindr was designed to satisfy gay men seeking a casual hookup or romantic tryst, and it never stops working on your behalf.

Best Dating App for Lesbian Women: HER

The online dating scene can be pretty tough for lesbian 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 womxn break the ice. You can comment on someone’s photo or RSVP to a local queer event to get noticed on the app.

If you want to meet a 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 Dating Site 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 free dating site can help bisexuals find a potential 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 bisexual and bi-curious online daters to pursue anyone they fancy regardless of that person’s gender, orientation, or sexual identity.

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

Best Dating Sites 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.

Sites like MyTranssexualDate.com 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 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 OkCupid site and app have thrived because the team has never wavered from the promise to provide high-quality matches and chatting 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 just send a flirty greeting and then move on to the next potential 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.

Dating apps have become extremely popular because they allow singles to date anywhere they are and at anytime, but you don’t want to just download the first dating app you happen to come across on Google Play or the App Store. Fortunately, we’ve done our homework and selected some of the best dating apps making headlines today.

Best Free Dating App for Your 20s: Zoosk

Zoosk’s much-heralded dating app lets you sign up through Facebook or Google+, 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 Totally Free Dating App: 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 choosey or play the field at will.

Tinder has created over 60 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 online dating app is fast, fun, easy, and, most importantly, completely and totally free to use.

Best Dating App for Online Chatting: PlentyOfFish (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 Premium Dating App: 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 intents 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.

Best Dating Apps for Relationships: Coffee Meets Bagel

Coffee Meets Bagel is the best online dating app for singles whose main goal is to get in a long-lasting and serious relationship. This app is free to download, but its matchmaking services can offer a lot of value and local dating opportunities.

The app has dispensed with unlimited likes and superficial swipe features. Instead, a new person will receive a curated list of potential matches and can only send a limited number of likes per day. Coffee Meets Bagel encourages users to slow down and really consider their date options rather than mindlessly swiping through dating profile after profile. As a result, Coffee Meets Bagel has made over 55 million matches and inspired thousands of relationships and marriages since its launch in 2012.

Whether you’re a cat person or a dog person, you can use this online dating service to find a potential partner who suits your lifestyle.

Best International Dating Site: CharmDate

Based in Hong Kong, CharmDate is an online dating website that was designed to cross borders and connect single people all around the world.

A single person won’t need a credit card or a social media page to create a free dating account on CharmDate. The only personal information required would be a full name, birthdate, and email address.

The dating service’s most popular features include instant messaging, call service, and CamShare. Such channels help online daters get to know one another, even if they don’t live in the same country. CharmDate can also facilitate the delivery of flowers, gourmet foods, or other gifts in real life.

Best Jewish Dating Site: JDate

JDate was created in 1997 to unite Jewish singles in the dating pool. The online 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 romantic 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.

Best Casual Dating App: 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 the SaucyDates dating app 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 round. The SaucyDates platform is free to join and keeps things exciting by promoting and supporting adult dating opportunities every hour of every day.

Tinder is the dating app that invented the swiping and mutual matching system that is 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 similar to Tinder but with more relationship-oriented and female-friendly features. What does that mean exactly? On Bumble, only women can send the first message to men once a match has been formed, and on Hinge, users must like or comment on something specific on the dating profile to generate a mutual match.

Both these systems add an interesting twist to Tinder’s traditional swiping, 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 on Google Play, the App Store, and social media.

Sites like Match.com 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. Plus, verification tools 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.

In 2020, video chat became a dominant force in the online dating market. Millions of online daters were stuck at home due to COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, so they relied on the video date to keep their romantic dreams alive.

As a result, many dating sites and apps integrated video chat into their matchmaking and chat tools. Apps like Tinder, Hinge, and Coffee Meets Bagel inserted a video chat invite button for mutual matches. Meanwhile premier dating sites like eharmony have used video chat as an icebreaker or speed date event. Plenty of Fish has a video livestreaming feature. The League has host video speed dating events. Facebook Dating even tested a virtual speed dating feature for users.

Ultimately, narrowing down all of the best dating sites out there comes down to which ones receive the best user and company 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 of the top 10 dating sites.

And through all of our research, we’ve determined that Match truly is the top dating website for any type of dater, while Zoosk is among the best mobile dating apps for singles on the go.

Online dating shouldn’t be frustrating and overwhelming, like it was for my friend. It should be fun to look for a potential date online! Please take a few minutes to read the information we’ve provided 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 best dating sites and apps in the online dating industry. Then you’ll feel 100% confident about your decision!

We hope this guide “7 Types of Online Dating Sites & How to Choose the Best” has been helpful to you in understanding the world of online dating. In it, we’ve covered a variety of subjects, including:

• 1. Most Popular Dating Sites
• 2. Hookup Sites
• 3. Christian Dating Sites
• 4. Senior (Over 50) Dating Sites
• 5. Gay & Lesbian Dating Sites
• 6. Free Dating Sites
• 7. Dating Apps: Free vs. Best Apps
• Which Dating Apps Are Similar to Tinder?
• Which Dating Sites Are Legit?
• Which Dating Platforms Use Video Chat?
• Which Dating Website Has the Best Reviews?

To learn more about online dating and finding your match, be sure to visit our Advice and City Guides sections. We wish you all the best on your dating journey!