If you’re anything like most straight women, chances are you grew up hearing love stories about Prince Charming and how he met his “happily ever after.” If those fairytales we read or watched were to be believed, then we would simply grow up and wait for Mr. Right to show up at our door and whisk us away for a lifelong romance. As we know now, however, dating in the digital age looks quite a bit different than those daydreams of our starry-eyed youth. In many cases for women seeking men, love starts with a swipe on a screen.
Making the first move as a woman — even virtually — can grab a man’s attention and display a sense of confidence that is irresistibly attractive. If you’re single and ready to mingle, read on for the best dating apps for women to find their perfect match… no knight in shining armors needed.
Best Overall Dating Sites for Women
Now more than ever, single women have the power to take the reins of their love life thanks to online dating. Rather than wait for a guy to approach you at a bar or slide into your Instagram DMs, women-centered dating apps like Match or Bumble allow you to browse tons of local singles and chat with a potential partner at your convenience.
Match
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Beyond its reputation as the longest-running dating website, Match.com is our top recommendation as a dating site for straight women. Match’s comprehensive personality questionnaire makes filling out your profile a breeze.
The dating service helps you spend less time swiping and more time connecting with users who are compatible matches. The platform’s user base is almost evenly split between men and women, so women seeking men will be pleased to find a wide array of suitable options.
eharmony
- Relationships: Casual Dates, Deep Relationships
- Match System: Personality test suggests matches
- Our Experts Say: Accounting for 2% of U.S. marriages, eharmony’s compatibility-based system and commitment-minded user base are ideal for those seeking a serious relationship. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
eharmony is a good option for online dating if you’re a woman looking for a more serious relationship with a man. With both a desktop site and a mobile app, eharmony uses an algorithm based in the science of psychology to offer you compatible matches. The robust personality assessment hones in on the values and lifestyles that are most important to you and your potential matches.
Since its launch in 2000, the eharmony dating site has placed a traditional emphasis on setting up long-term relationships and marriages.
Best for an Older Woman Over 50
As women reach a certain age, they may begin to wonder if the dating world is for them. Swiping apps can seem terribly immature and superficial, and the match system doesn’t always favor older women. Fortunately, mature dating sites cater to the over-50 crowd and offer older and wiser choices than the run-of-the-mill app.
OurTime.com
- Relationships: Dates and Relationships
- Match System: Search by profiles by zip and more
- Our Experts Say: OurTime is well-known in the over-50 dating crowd, particularly because it has a ton of helpful search features and an easy layout. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
With almost 9 million monthly users, senior dating app OurTime provides women over 50 the opportunity to engage with men their age. Although OurTime has quite a large dating pool, its moderation team manages to quickly detect and delete fake or suspicious profiles, so you can rest assured that your safety is top priority.
Plus, access to premium features like unlimited messaging and extra filter options are budget-friendly on the site. Memberships start at $11.99 a month. Finding a future spouse, life partner, or just a friendly companion are all possible on the senior dating platform.
4. SeniorMatch
Dating apps for seniors like SeniorMatch are a great way for mature single women to meet mature single men, from the comfort of their own home. Launched in 2003, SeniorMatch has been a known name in the dating game, and is a great launching pad if you’re over 50 and want to mingle with men who share in your life experience. Not only does the website ensure that all members are no younger than 45, but it boasts plenty of free features for users who would rather save their funds for a romantic getaway once they meet their match.
5. Stitch
Online dating can sometimes seem overwhelming with the incredible variety of options out there — especially when you’re single and dating over 50. Rather than hop on a wildly popular dating app like Tinder, where the user base is largely people in their 20s and 30s, senior social networks like Stitch provide older adults with a wonderful alternative.
Stitch is a multifaceted platform that offers countless ways for people over 50 to connect and form platonic friendships or romantic relationships. You can join interest groups, find local meetups or activities, and even chat with potential partners — all in one.
Best for Casual Dating & Hookups
If casual dating is your aim, then the following dating apps and sites can hook you up. Sex positivity is the name of the game on these adult chat rooms.
- 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
Women deserve to feel empowered in their romantic lives just as much as men do, and Ashley Madison can be a great place to liberate female sexuality. Despite being historically known for helping people find a fling, this casual dating site can easily be used by women who want a no-strings relationship with men.
As a sex-positive and judgment-free platform, Ashley Madison can facilitate any manner of casual connection you may be interested in — especially if you value discretion. A perk of being a woman on the site is the free access to communication features, which male users must pay to unlock.
NaughtyCharm
- Relationships: Hookups, Chats
- Match System: Search by encounter, location, and more
- Our Experts Say: NaughtyCharm is a premier hookup app where you can feel comfortable expressing your desires. Plus, it’s free to join, browse, and flirt.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
If you’re interested in having some frisky fun with men in your area, a hookup app like NaughtyCharm could easily do the trick. This casual dating website is perfect for women trying to embrace their sexuality, become more confident in their desires, and even explore or experiment with things like kinks or group sex.
NaughtyCharm is a great platform for open-minded people to connect in a no-strings manner without judgment or shame. Popular among people who enjoy the BDSM lifestyle, NaughtyCharm can provide you a safe and sexy place to explore in whatever way you choose.
- Relationships: Hookups Only
- Match System: Search by location, interest, more
- Our Experts Say: A hookup site specializing in casual encounters, secret affairs, live chats, and member videos, FriendFinder-X skips the awkward “dating” stage of a relationship and fast-forwards straight to the sex. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Hookup sites like FriendFinder-X make finding casual encounters fun because they skip past the fluff of filling out personality quizzes or writing a detailed profile about your hobbies. When you’re sure about wanting to swim in the sheets with a man who shares your intentions, trying FriendFinder-X can simplify that process.
The casual hookup site allows a variety of X-rated adult content, including nude photos and videos for those who want to share. All users on the site are looking for hookups or other no-strings connections, so it’s fast and simple to get right down to candid conversations via their private chat and video call options.
FAQs: What Are the Top Dating Sites for Women?
There are countless options available if you’re looking for the best dating site for women, and each comes with its own unique set of features or perks depending on your intentions.
Finding a long-term relationship is simple with a dating service like Match or eharmony. Both dating websites take your lifestyle, personality, and interests into account to suggest the most suitable singles in your area. Match and eharmony, among others, have heavy digital traffic each month, so opting for popular dating sites like these will allow you exposure to more local single men than with other alternatives.
If you’d like to try a hookup app for women, Ashley Madison and NaughtyCharm are two useful platforms that facilitate steamy, short-term connections. Beyond the open-minded user base on both sites, they can also serve as a great method for older women to connect to younger men, non-monogamous women or couples to find threesomes, or attractive women to start a secret affair.
Which Dating App Allows Women to Message First?
Now that online dating has been around for decades, there is a bounty of dating platforms where women can send the first message to a man. Doing so can help speed up the process of finding your true love and help you feel more confident in yourself and your dating prowess.
Bumble is known for being a feminist dating app where women message men first, and the app has numerous benefits for daters.
Many of Bumble’s features, including swiping, messaging, and a few basic preference filters like age and distance, are fully available to free users. Those who opt for a paid membership get access to more premium options, like filtering by political leanings or entering into “travel” mode. That being said, the vast majority of popular dating sites and apps allow women the opportunity to message first.
Which Dating Apps Do Women Use Most?
According to a 2016 analysis, Christian Mingle is the online dating service with the highest percentage of female users, coming in at a whopping 58.6% of users identifying as female. Not surprisingly, thanks to its focus on creating meaningful relationships, eharmony ranks third on the list with 55.2% of its users being women.
Our assessment of the dating sites with the most female users adds Match, Bumble, and Hinge among the most popular options for modern women as well. It’s also worth mentioning the women-owned dating app Coffee Meets Bagel, which began with three sisters who wanted to improve online dating by putting quality over quantity.
Single Women Benefit from Trying Online Dating
No matter your age, dating intentions, or interests, as a single woman you have a variety of online dating options available to you. If you’re looking for a special man to enhance your life, the first step is to put yourself out there — and what better way to do so than join the millions of people finding their match online?
Building a profile on a dating app or two takes mere minutes of your time, but could potentially pay off in the form of many years in a happy relationship.
Rather than marathon-watching your favorite shows on Netflix for the millionth time, try signing up for one of our recommended dating apps for women. Not only do many of them offer free features or membership trials once you create an account, but they also give you the chance to shoot your digital shot with eligible bachelors by sending a message first.
Doing so is a great way to snag your suitor’s attention, boost your confidence, and increase your chances of forming whatever connection you seek — whether it’s a one-night stand, your future husband, or anything in-between.
