Lesbian Dating Sites

Lesbian Dating

9 Best Free Lesbian Dating Sites (2024)

Amber Brooks

Written by: Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks is the Editor-in-Chief at DatingAdvice.com. When she was growing up, her family teased her for being "boy crazy," but she preferred to think of herself as a budding dating and relationship expert. As an English major at the University of Florida, Amber honed her communication skills to write clearly, knowledgeably, and passionately about a variety of subjects. Now with over 1,800 lifestyle articles to her name, Amber brings her tireless wit and relatable experiences to DatingAdvice.com.

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Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of journalism experience to ensure DatingAdvice articles have been edited for overall clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement. She has worked at The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Gwinnett Daily News, and The Gainesville Sun covering lifestyle topics.

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“Lesbian dating sites are so tough, sometimes I miss being a straight chick on Tinder,” one of my closest friends told me as we sipped wine and shared stories on a Saturday night. “Don’t get me wrong. I don’t miss the guys,” she amended quickly. “I just miss the options.”

My friend recently came out as a lesbian and started pursuing dates women, but she found the whole experience more complicated than she’d thought it would be. Matches are fewer and farther between, and, with so many types of lesbians out there, she’s struggled to find where she fits in.

Single lesbians don’t always know where to go out and meet quality women in the LGBTQ+ community, so they end up feeling at a disadvantage in the dating world. However, in a fun female-friendly environment, singles can find many lesbian and bisexual women who’d love to go on a date. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the best lesbian dating websites, organized by category, so daters like my friend never feel out of options.

Overall | Black | Local| FAQs

Best Free Lesbian Dating Sites (#1-4)

Our dating experts have tested out dozens upon dozens of lesbian dating websites so you don’t have to waste your time signing up for a site that isn’t up to your standards. We’ve vetted the features, assessed the membership, and taken relevant stats into account to suss out which dating platforms are ideally suited to lesbian singles.

Whether you’re seeking a female friend or a long-term partner, you can raise the rainbow flag and date with pride on the following top dating websites for lesbians.

1. Match

Although Match.com isn’t a lesbian-only dating site, we’ve ranked it number one on our list because online dating success is a numbers game — and Match has the numbers. The site has a diverse membership based in 25 countries and five continents worldwide. Over 30 million of singles of all orientations have trusted the subscription-based dating site to match them in a relationship.

★★★★★
4.9/5.0

Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships

Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more

Our Experts Say: “More than a million lesbian women in the U.S. are looking for dates and relationships on Match, making it the best site for this audience...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

Any single woman looking for a serious partner can join Match to get fast results. Founded in 1995, Match has been responsible for more matches, relationships, and marriages than any other dating platform.

2. OurTime

Nowadays, younger generations may take for granted the freedom to date and marry whomever they choose, but lesbians of a certain age remember exactly how hard-won these everyday joys are. Once lesbians couldn’t go out holding hands without causing a scandal, but now online services encourage women to create public dating profiles and find a lady love.

While OurTime isn’t a lesbian-only space, the platform welcomes seniors of all orientations and backgrounds. Women can join for free, search by location, and meet a potential partner in the same age bracket.

★★★★★
4.6/5.0

Relationships: Dates and Relationships

Match System: Search by profiles by zip and more

Our Experts Say: “OurTime is only for singles who are 50+, but its diverse membership comes from all backgrounds and lives all kinds of lifestyles...” Full Review »

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OurTime is a premier dating site for daters over 50. Lesbian singles with the same experiences, lifestyles, and values can connect on a deeper level thanks to this age-specific platform. After decades of struggling for equality, older lesbians deserve their own safe space to mingle and fall in love.

3. Elite Singles

Some lesbians find general dating websites boring and uncouth, full of users more interested in exchanging crass invites than a witty repartee. Elite Singles aims to up the caliber of its dating network so choosy women can find one another.

“What’s so great about Elite Singles?” you may ask. Well, for one thing, its membership has more degrees than Arizona in the summertime. Approximately 82% of Elite Singles members have earned a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree.

★★★★★
4.8/5.0

Relationships: Serious Relationships

Match System: Search, Receive Partner Suggestions

Our Experts Say: “EliteSingles is a wonderful option for lesbian women, as its users vary in age, gender, sexual orientation, and interests, among others...” Full Review »

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Elite Singles knows high-quality singles expect high-quality service, and so it uses intelligent matchmaking algorithms to pair up compatible dates. Every month, the site inspires matches between around 2,000 couples in 20 countries around the world.

4. GirlfriendsMeet

Exclusively for women. That’s the promise of GirlfriendsMeet.com. The dating network helps women chat, like, and follow date prospects with mutual interests. Lesbians can conduct a simple search to find someone who has their taste in movies, TV shows, music, and books. The coin-based payment system allows active members to enjoy premium features and connective tools.

“I had a string of short relationships and finding another woman serious about a real relationship was difficult,” said Trish in a testimonial. “GirlFriendsMeet helped me get out of that spiral.”

Best Free “Black” Lesbian Dating Sites (#5-7)

According to Gallup polling data, only 4.6% of black people in the U.S. identify as LGBT, which means black lesbians are few and far between. Dating in such a small subset of the population can sometimes feel like searching for a needle in a haystack of straight white people, but not when you browse a niche dating site.

Whatever your skin color, if you’re attracted to black lesbians, you can join a black dating site to meet tons of people who are exactly your type.

5. BlackPeopleMeet

As the largest online community of African-American singles, BlackPeopleMeet deserves the top spot for black lesbian singles. You can join for free, selecting “woman seeking women,” to start meeting black and biracial dates active on the site and app.

★★★★
4.1/5.0

Relationships: Deep Relationships or Just Casual Dates

Match System: Search by location, age, more

Our Experts Say: “BlackPeopleMeet is one of our favorites for black and biracial lesbian singles because it's free to try...” Full Review »

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Since 2002, BlackPeopleMeet has connected thousands of US singles with diverse backgrounds. You can use the search tools to curate a lesbian-only match selection and chat up someone who’s your type of woman.

6. HER

HER

isn’t a black-only dating app, but it is a womxn-only dating app, and its diverse, inclusive message has appealed to womxn from all walks of life. The app is open to womxn who are lesbian, bisexual, queer, trans, or just curious, and the moderators verify all profiles to ensure they’re genuine and not creepy dudes looking for a threesome.

As a member of the HER community, you can browse local LGBTQ+ events, comment on photos or stories posted by members, and send private messages to anyone who likes you back.

The HER team’s goal is “to make HER a place where everyone can unapologetically be themselves, feel safe, and build wonderful relationships that are based on trust, identity, and community.” Sounds awesome to me!

7. PinkCupid

Since it launched in 2006, PinkCupid has connected thousands of women around the world. Lesbians in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada can create a free profile to test out the site’s straightforward features. With a Gold Membership on PinkCupid, you can take advantage of all the leading lesbian dating site has to offer.

“I met my soul mate on PinkCupid! It took me nine months of being online, but it was worth it.” — Nadia, a PinkCupid member

As part of Cupid Media network, PinkCupid upholds high standards for safety and transparency while offering time-tested matching tools. Lesbians of all races can log on and start building instant connections in a diverse network of women.

Best Free “Local” Lesbian Dating Sites (#8-10)

Pen pals are all well and good, but lesbian, bisexual, and queer folks often crave a physical as well as an emotional connection. We all have needs, and sometimes traveling long distances for a little together-time just isn’t worth it. If you’re looking for a local lesbian to love on, we recommend the following free-to-join and fun-to-use dating websites.

8. Zoosk

Zoosk is known for its innovative Behavioral Matchmaking system, which takes your every click into account when assessing compatibility. If you seem to check out the profiles of hot brunettes, for instance, the dating site will suggest more brown-haired beauties to catch your eye.

★★★★★
4.7/5.0

Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships

Match System: Search and get match recommendations

Our Experts Say: “Zoosk is a go-to for busy lesbian women because the site will do all the work for them. All they have to do is upload some information and photos...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

It’s free to sign up for Zoosk through Facebook and browse local matches to see how you like the site’s functionality. Although this isn’t a women-only dating site, it boasts over 40 million members worldwide, and a good portion of them are lesbians seeking a hot date.

9. BeNaughty

Calling itself the “best website for single women,” BeNaughty sets a high bar for safety and discretion, even while promoting casual online dating. Lesbians who aren’t about commitment and just want to get laid can come to this judgment-free zone to find a casual date. Over 40,000 new members join each week as word spreads about this wicked sex-oriented platform.

★★★★
4.2/5.0

Relationships: Hookups, Chats

Match System: Search by encounter, location, and more

Our Experts Say: “Lesbian women love BeNaughty for many reasons, including it's large user base, free membership, and extensive search filters...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

As a whole, BeNaughty excels at location-based searches that help you narrow down who’s willing to go down in your area. To schedule your next steamy encounter with a single lesbian, check out this adult-friendly dating platform and start exploring the dating pool for free.

10. LesbianFriendsDate

Last of all, I give you LesbianFriendsDate, a lesbian-only social club for singles seeking friends, romance, and companionship. The dating site is completely mobile-friendly and free to join as long as you connect through social media. Founded on an altruistic social mission, the leadership team donates 10% of the online dating site’s ad-generated revenue to charitable causes.

Thousands of lesbians await you on LesbianFriendsDate. On the Friends Date Network, finding a local date is as easy as conducting a simple search in the niche chat room.

FAQs: Are Lesbian Dating Sites Free?

Every single dating app and site listed here is free to join and offers free profile browsing, but only some allow free members to chat with one another and respond to messages in their inbox. Sometimes a premium dating site will charge a membership fee to access its messaging features because that lowers the risk of scammers, spammers, and fake profiles ruining the experience.

If you want to join a totally free lesbian dating site, then we’d recommend OkCupid, which offers unlimited communication without charging anything.

Screenshot of OkCupid

OkCupid leads to over 91 million love connections per year.

Singles can send messages and have conversations with their matches without having to get a paid membership on OkCupid. And there’s no time limit or character limit to worry about either.

OkCupid is one of the few lesbian dating sites that’s 100% free forever with no strings attached. Simply register on the dating website or download the online dating app, and you can start sending greetings to anyone in the singles database.

Is Plenty of Fish a Good Lesbian Dating Site?

Plenty of Fish (POF) is a mainstream dating site and app with free messaging tools and a massive membership base of 150 million people, so, yes, it’s rather good at pairing up lesbian singles in modern dating scene.

You can join this dating platform to free and start chatting with queer folks as soon as you’ve set up your account and identifies yourself as a woman seeking women. More than 4 million singles visit the POF community every day seeking true love and friendship, and members exchange over 1 billion messages a month on average.

Can I Find a Serious Relationship on a Dating Website?

Yes, I know for a fact that online dating works because that’s where I met my partner, and we’ve been happily in love for almost a year now.

Not all lesbian dating websites are geared toward serious relationship seekers — some are more useful for finding hookups — so it’s important to seek out a premium lesbian dating site that’s known for facilitating many loving relationships. For instance, eharmony has helped over 2 million couples meet one another, and it has personality-driven same-sex matchmaking features to help single lesbians find true love.

Match.com is another great option for a lesbian woman who’s interested in settling down. Over 75% of Match users are over 30 years old, and 63% of the site’s lesbian users say they want to get married someday.

★★★★★
4.9/5.0

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...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

Single women with serious intentions and high standards often don’t find what they want on swipe-happy apps like Tinder because it’s simply too difficult and time-consuming to sort out the few diamonds in the rough.

Premium dating sites like Match and eharmony have focused on creating a space where the rare gems of the dating scene feel safe gathering and intermixing. By using the search filters and match preferences, singles can start seeking the girl of their dreams, and then they can start instant messaging to build a relationship that lasts.

What’s the Most Popular Lesbian Dating App?

With over 10 million active users, HER has a good claim to be the most popular online dating app for finding a lesbian date. Its fast-growing social network is inclusive of all singles who identify as women (or womxn) and want to meet like-minded people.

HER invites women to get to know LGBTQ+ people in their area by allowing messaging between mutual matches, and it has a strict zero-tolerance policy when it comes to harassment, mysogyny, racism, bullying, and any other type of hate speech.

The HER moderators are diligent about screening the membership base and removing any fake profiles or male users trying to take advantage of this lesbian dating community. This is not an app where straight couples can find “unicorns.” It’s not an app for straight men, gay men, bisexual men, or any type of man. It’s a safe haven where queer women can roam free and create meaningful connections.

To quote the HER community guidelines, “We want to encourage love, open minds, and comfort. Trust that everyone in the app is here with good intentions.”

What Does It Mean to be a Unicorn in the Dating Scene?

Unicorn is a slang term for a bisexual woman who enjoys and seeks threesomes with straight couples. This mythical being appears more often in straight men’s fantasies than in real life, but that doesn’t stop heterosexual couples from trying to create accounts on lesbian dating sites and apps to try to hunt down a unicorn and have a threesome.

Some singles see being a unicorn is a badge of honor — you’ll be met with great enthusiasm in the online dating scene, for sure — but the term can also sometimes be used negatively to slut-shame someone or cause her to regret her choices.

Is Tinder Good for Meeting Lesbian & Bisexual Women?

Thanks to its efforts to become more inclusive and gay-friendly, Tinder is now a good dating app for meeting local singles of every gender identity and sexual orientation. Since it added more gender and orientation options to its profile, the app has created over 80 million matches for the LGBTQ+ community, and it’s just getting started.

Screenshot from Tinder's website

Tinder is a great lesbian dating app with a lot of local date options.

Tinder became famous because its swiping tools put the power in the hands of singles and allowed them to filter their incoming messages and only talk to potential dates who interested them. This mutual matching system can work just as well for gay woman as a straight person.

If you just look at the numbers, there’s no denying that Tinder is among the most popular dating apps in the world. The Tinder dating app is responsible for inspiring over 1.5 million dates every week, and it has been downloaded over 530 million times since its launch in 2012.

Why is Bisexual Dating So Hard?

It’s a common misconception that bisexual woman have twice as many dating options as their straight counterparts. In reality, their dating options can be limited because of their sexual orientation. Many singles are reluctant to date a bisexual person because of the stigma that follows them. People may wonder “what side they’re on” and accuse them of just experimenting or not truly belonging in the LGBTQ+ community.

These negative attitudes are ridiculous, but they can be road blocks when it comes to meeting a romantic partner as a bisexual woman. Fortunately bisexual dating sites and apps have begun to gain traction and empower individuals to date both genders simultaneously.

Which Lesbian Sites Are Legit?

It can be extremely frustrating for a lesbian or queer woman to continually encounter straight men or straight couples on dating sites and apps. That’s one of the biggest complaints we’ve seen from lesbian singles and queer folks in the dating scene. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Some lesbian-owned dating sites like Pink Sofa promise to keep guys out of the database and only match women with women. Such lesbian sites have proactive reporting tools and a multi-level verification process to ensure only genuine singles can set up a dating profile and send messages.

Screenshot of PinkSofa

PinkSofa let women to chat, flirt, and make quality connections online.

Online daters can tell if a particular lesbian dating site or app is legit by looking at its community guidelines, terms of service, and expert reviews. Lesbian singles are typically quick to call out if they run into a lot of creeps and fake profiles online, so it’s also good to take a look at consumer reviews on the App Store, Google Play, Trust Pilot, and other legitimate sources.

Lady’s Choice: Enjoy the Top Sites For Women Seeking Women

While I wish there were an easy fix that delivered dates to awesome lesbian singles, like my friend, the truth is you have to do some work if you want dating websites to work for you. Researching the best lesbian dating sites before you join is a good way to ensure you’re well-positioned to begin flirtatious conversations with attractive single women in your area.

Lesbians actually have a lot of options when you take into account just how many dating websites there are these days. Any of the free-to-join lesbian dating sites and apps we’ve outlined in this article can help lesbians build romantic connections based on mutual interests and personal compatibility.

It doesn’t matter if you’re hoping to find a friend, a hookup, or a soulmate, the online dating scene is the best place to meet women who are exactly your type.

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