Best Dating Sites
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Online Dating
Single people often seek 100% free online dating sites because they’ve already got enough bills to worry about and don’t want to add one more subscription to their monthly budget.
I don’t know about you, but I get tired of monthly payments and subscriptions. From groceries to electric bills, to doctors appointments to gas for my car, it never seems to end. Sometimes it’s nice to just do something or get something for free. Like finding a date online.
Most dating sites and apps offer free registration and free browsing, but not all of them can claim to be 100% free for everyone always. We’ve broken down the features, counted up the costs, and ranked the most affordable and popular dating sites where local singles can mingle for free. These sites and apps go easy on your wallet and offer a lot of value to the modern dating scene.
Match is the king of dating sites, having launched in 1995 and facilitated more dates, relationships, and marriages than any of its competitors. Your free Match membership includes standard features like browsing profiles, uploading photos, sending likes, and viewing potential matches. Plus, the dating site and mobile app also allow free members to message their Top Picks (profiles that are highly compatible). In addition to its online dating features, Match promotes local singles events where members can mix and mingle in person at happy hours, speed dating nights, and other meetups. To get started, Match requires you to provide some basic information (name, age, gender, sexual orientation, and location), and you’ll have to upload a picture to appear on the dating platform. No credit card is required unless you upgrade to the optional premium plan.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
49%*
51%*
|
39.7 Million* | Get 3 Days FREE |
On EliteSingles, you’re not just having an affordable experience — you’re also having a quality experience. More than 80% of its members are college graduates, over 90% are 30 or older, and basically all of them are looking for a long term relationship. In terms of numbers, the online dating site gets 290,000 monthly visitors, 165,000 monthly sign-ups, and more than 2,500 members a month find love. EliteSingles raises the caliber of person you’ll find in the online dating scene, and it’s free to join and send likes to any person who catches your eye. Just know that only premium members can view photos and send unlimited messages.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
44%*
56%*
|
2 Million* | Sign Up Free |
OurTime is part of the People Media family just like Match, so you can rest assured that this senior dating website is trustworthy and it works. Launched in 2008, the site is extremely popular among the over-50 crowd, and the dating app can be downloaded for free via the Apple Store and Google Play Store. The most important component of OurTime is that singles over 50 have a community where they can feel safe, save money, and find the perfect match.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
Mature Singles (50+)* |
48%*
52%*
|
8.9 Million* | Over 50? Start FREE |
Nowadays, eharmony is one of the most trustworthy names in the dating industry, and it has one of the most unique sign-up and matching processes too. The dating site uses an in-depth Compatibility Quiz to delve deeper into who you are and want you want in a potential partner. Serious relationship seekers have joined eharmony in droves hoping to find true love, and this dating service has looked out for their interests and highlighted potential matches with relationship potential. The eharmony dating site provides a detailed personal assessment on every dating profile, and its matches are invaluable in the search for love — and it’s completely free to set up your account, take the personality test, and communicate with highly compatible individuals. Some video chat options are also available for active members.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
48%*
52%*
|
4.1 Million* | Join eharmony FREE |
SilverSingles is a senior dating site run by the same company that built EliteSingles. The main difference between these two online dating platforms is that SilverSingles caters exclusively to mature men and women who are at least 50 years old. The dating sites pretty much work the same way, including registering, matching, communicating, and pricing. It’s free to join the SilverSingles membership base and set your dating preferences so that you can find your ideal match. As the SilverSingles team says, “Life begins at SilverSingles,” and all you have to do to join is tell them your gender identity, the gender you’re interested in, email, and password to get started.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
Mature Singles (50+)* |
41%*
59%*
|
800,000* | Sign up for FREE |
Founded in the 1990s, Adult Friend Finder was one of the first online dating platforms to offer local hookup and sexting opportunities online. The hookup site now has over 100 million members, and it’s still going strong. You won’t have to pay to set up your dating profile, browse member profiles, and review some X-rated content in the kinky blogs and chat rooms. Free members don’t have unlimited messaging on Adult Friend Finder for safety reasons, but they can respond to some free messages and send likes to show interest. We’ve ranked Adult Friend Finder among the top free dating sites because its kinky search tools help adults meet a compatible person and land a first date (or one-night stand) without a lot of muss and fuss.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
65%*
35%*
|
25.5 Million* | 3 Months @ $19.95/Mo |
“Fun dating with no waiting” is what you’ll find on BeNaughty, which is a free, leading hookup site with free chatting features. This online dating site keeps the user base safe by taking precautions such as using SSL encryption technology to protect personal information, verifying each user through a photo and email address, and making proactive block and report tools accessible to everyone online. Whether you want a one-night stand, threesome, affair, or any other casual dating encounter, BeNaughty is a welcoming, non-judgmental place for single men and women on the prowl.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
48%*
52%*
|
13.3 Million* | Browse Profiles Free |
As you can probably tell by the name, Christian Mingle is a free dating site that’s just for single Christian men and women — both straight and gay. “Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is here” is the dating website’s motto, and the team guides you on your journey with a variety of matchmaking services. These include a vast user base, in-depth profiles, highly compatible matches, and a blog full of success stories and expert dating tips. The Christian Mingle dating website offers free signups and messaging, and it is also available as a free dating app.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
Christian Singles* |
44%*
56%*
|
3.5 Million* | Free Search, Then $14.99/Mo. |
Ashley Madison is a sultry dating site and app where people don’t need to be exactly single to pick up a hot date. The official motto of Ashley Madison is “Life is short. Have an affair.” And that’s exactly what its members have been doing for over 20 years and counting. Ashley Madison is completely free for all female users, and male users can use the credit system to communicate and engage with potential dates online. As an affair dating service, Ashley Madison places a premium on privacy and offers many discreet features and safety assurances to help casual daters keep their dating lives a secret.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles & Attached* |
71%*
29%*
|
65 Million* | Browse FREE |
A free dating site for Black and biracial singles, as well as those interested in interracial dating — BlackPeopleMeet only has a few steps for a new member to complete. 1) Select your gender and the gender you’re looking for. 2) Choose your location. 3) Enter a password. 4) Provide your birthday. In addition to its mobile-friendly website, the BlackPeopleMeet app is available for free on Android and iOS devices. If you want to flirt with Black and biracial singles, you can’t do much better than BlackPeopleMeet, which has inspired countless dates and relationships in the U.S. and Canada.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
Black Singles* |
47%*
53%*
|
5.7 Million* | FREE Trial for New Users |
As a bonus, we’ve included one more 100% free dating site for Jewish singles: JDate. A free member won’t have to put in a credit card number or PayPal email address to join this online dating site and app. All you have to do is provide your name, age, location, gender, and a few other pieces of information. Sending and receiving messages is included in the 100% free membership on JDate. And the niche dating site works hard to ensure its dating pool is made up of real people — not bots, fake profiles, or scammers.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
Jewish Singles* |
46%*
54%*
|
2 Million* | Start JDate FREE |
Yes, Tinder is a free dating app where local singles can mix, match, and chat without paying anything. The only catch is that you can only send a message to people who have liked your dating profile — so you’ll need to make sure your photos and byline are good enough to get Tinder users to swipe right.
Tinder users can choose to upgrade to Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold if they want to up their swiping game by being able to send more Super Likes, view who’s liked their profile, and match with people outside their ZIP code. Nearly 6 million users have taken Tinder up on this offer. Everyone else is content to mingle for free.
Since its launch in 2012, Tinder has become easily the most popular and celebrated dating app in the modern dating scene. It has been downloaded over 530 million times and created more than 75 billion matches to date.
Whether you’re looking for casual dating or a serious relationship, Tinder is an excellent wingman with access to some of the most desirable singles across the world — and in your neighborhood!
This depends heavily on the user and what they’re looking for in a potential partner. If you’re just bored and want to chat with a lot of local singles in a short amount of time then a free dating site or app will probably suit you just fine. It’s low-pressure and low-commitment, and it doesn’t cost anything but time!
However, singles who are serious about finding true love typically don’t find the free swiping scene to be very gratifying. For one thing, it can take a long time to turn an idle conversation into a real connection, a first date, a second date, and a long term relationship. There are simply too many options for online daters to focus on just one person, and they can quickly get overwhelmed by flaky and superficial dates who don’t always enter chats with serious intentions.
A paid dating site essentially solves that problem by asking singles to pay for a premium membership and show that they’re serious about meeting a potential match for real. Paid members also tend to benefit from having more matchmaking tools, search filters, and premium features at their disposal, which makes it even likelier that they’ll have a fruitful online dating experience.
We mentioned BeNaughty earlier on this list of free dating sites, but it’s worth bringing it up again because all communication is 100% free. All you have to do is provide an email address, some back info, and add a photo of yourself, and you can start flirting away on this sexually charged website.
BeNaughty is a casual dating platform where single men and women can be honest about their kinks, fetishes, desires, and priorities. Things usually move pretty fast here, so don’t be surprised if a man or woman asks you to meet up within minutes to meeting you.
Relationships: Hookups, Chats
Match System: Search by encounter, location, and more
Our Experts Say: “BeNaughty is a premier hookup app where you can feel comfortable expressing your desires. Plus, it's free to join, browse, and flirt...” Full Review »
Browse Free: View Photos Now
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
48%*
52%*
|
13.3 Million* | Browse Profiles Free |
Meeting new people on BeNaughty is as easy as setting search filters and send a mass text or private message to anyone who stands out from the crowd. This online dating service doesn’t hamper communication by putting a lot of fees, rules, or restrictions in place, so go ahead and run wild and have fun wooing a new sexual partner.
If BeNaughty doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can try Ashley Madison, which is widely considered the best dating site for nonmonogamous dating and casual hookups. Ashley Madison has a free membership that includes free chatting for female members, and the paid membership has even more goodies but isn’t required to have a good time.
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...”
Full Review »
Browse Free:
View Photos Now
User Base
Gender Ratio
Popularity (Visits/Mo.)
All Singles & Attached*
65 Million*
Start Now for FREE
Ashley Madison can help cheating spouses, curious singles, and other open-minded online daters explore their fantasies, meet a new person, and see what happens. It could be the vehicle for a casual hookup or a more meaningful connection depending how you play it.
One big benefit to the premium membership (which is optional) is that the online dating app protects personal privacy by providing a discreet payment process. That means nothing that mentions Ashley Madison or online dating will appear on your credit card statement.
Yes, countless online daters have fallen in love within a few days, weeks, or months of joining a dating site. In fact, The Knot reported in 2019 that 22% of American newlyweds met through a dating site or app, and that number has been steadily increasing year after year.
Today’s singles can skip the bar scene and focus their attention online to find a new love interest or soulmate. Dating sites have matchmaking tools and filters that can help with vetting dates and pursuing promising matches. With a little time and luck, you could become an online dating success story and join the millions of couples who have an online algorithm to thank for their relationship
Plenty of Fish (or POF) is a completely free online dating site where a user can chat and flirt all day without spending a single dollar. When it launched in Canada in 2003, Plenty of Fish endeavored to appeal to a broad cross-section of singles by providing a simple signup process, straightforward matching, and unlimited communication to all.
Nowadays, POF is widely known as the best dating website for conversations because its 150 million users send over 1 billion messages per month.
You don’t have to form a mutual match or pay a subscription fee to send messages on Plenty of Fish, and it can be a great way to dive into the local dating pool and see if you spark a potential match.
Plenty of Fish is also available as a dating app, so a user can take their dating game to a new level by engaging in live chats while on the bus, in line at the grocery store, or even at work (the app won’t tell on you).
No, it isn’t a roadblock if you don’t have or don’t want to use a Facebook account for online dating. It’s true that most online dating sites and apps give people the option to sign up through Facebook because it speeds up the profile completion process, but these popular platforms work just as well without it. If you don’t want to link your Facebook account to your new dating profile, you’ll probably need to provide an email address, phone number, or some other social media link instead to help dating apps and sites verify your identity.
The only online dating app that absolutely requires a Facebook account and always will is Facebook Dating. What is Facebook Dating? It’s a free online dating app that promises no fake profiles because it uses Facebook profile verification for every single user.
My bills are never going to magically disappear. I’m always going to need to eat, so grocery shopping is a must. My car isn’t going to run itself, so I have to keep it filled up. And I want to live a long time, so doctors appointments are just a fact of life for me. A lot of you are probably in the same boat.
Some dating sites require members to pay a fee if they want Cupid’s arrow to find them, but our online dating experts don’t believe it’s necessary to shell out money just to fall in love.
With free swiping, unlimited likes, mutual matching, and subscription-less chatting at your fingertips, you can start making new friends and attracting quality singles more easily and affordably. That’s where the no-cost dating options above come in handy. These 100% free online dating sites offer free memberships and communication features so singles don’t have to break the bank to get a date. Enjoy!
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