8 Best NYC Dating Apps (2024)

Tinder is a dating app that could be considered the Grand Central Terminal in the online dating world. It quickly gets people from one place to the next — Grand Central transports 700,000+ commuters a day, and Tinder sees over 2 billion swipes a day and 1.5 million dates a week. Not to mention Tinder has facilitated over 75 billion matches since 2012 and is available in 196 countries. The popular app’s massive reach is perfect for the busy New Yorker on the go. And, unlike when you’re on the subway, everyone on Tinder is interested in meeting someone new and having some fun.

URL: https://www.tinder.com/

Sticking with the theme of this article, OkCupid could only be the Theater District of dating apps. It’s welcoming, entertaining, bold, quirky, colorful — and surprisingly smart in its approach to romance. The OkCupid team has calculated a formula for love by using a list of nearly endless personal questions, including “Do you like beer?” and “Are you more interested in love or sex?” This personality test drives the compatibility ratings across the online dating site and app. OkCupid also provides more inclusive selections for gender, sexual orientation, and relationship status than any other dating app — including non-binary, pansexual, and open relationship.

URL: https://www.okcupid.com/

When we think of Plenty of Fish, we think of the Brooklyn Museum — both are perfect avenues for having conversations. In fact, POF says its users have more conversations than those on any other dating app. More than 1 billion messages are exchanged every month, and the app won’t ever charge you to communicate. Traffic is never a problem on Plenty of Fish either as more than 65,000 new singles join the app every day. Plenty of Fish is a great place to stop by, have a chat, and save some money while you’re at it, and you can rest assured you won’t be the only one trying to pick up a date there.

URL: https://www.pof.com/

Chelsea Market and Coffee Meets Bagel are both all about quality — quality products and quality people and connections, respectively. Here, matches are called bagels, and you’re given a limited number every day. For men, it can be up to 21. For women, it’s the number of men who have already “liked” your profile recently. This quality-over-quantity approach was created by three sisters (who were single themselves at the time) in an attempt to save singles time and provide a more women-friendly dating app.

URL: https://www.coffeemeetsbagel.com/

Coney Island is for diving head first into adventure, and Bumble is for diving head first into dating, especially for straight women. After a mutual match is made (two people swipe right on each other), the women have to initiate the messaging within 24 hours, or the match disappears forever. If you’re gay, lesbian, or bisexual, either person can make the first move. Don’t worry, though. Once a day, the online dating app lets you extend one connection beyond the 24-hour mark. Free via the App Store and Google Play, Bumble is “changing the rules of the game” by empowering single women to take control of their matches. The dating app has been downloaded over 100 million times, and it’s become known worldwide as a feminist force for good in the dating world.

URL: https://www.bumble.com/

As Timeout says, the Chrysler Building oozes “a moneyed sophistication oft identified with old New York,” reminding us of a simpler time. Hinge reminds us of a time when dating wasn’t all about swiping and hooking up. The self-proclaimed anti-Tinder, Hinge is “inspired by love, guided by authenticity” and caters to those seeking long-term, monogamous commitments. One of the coolest features is that you can comment on people’s pictures and prompts as a way of breaking the ice, and you don’t have to pay anything to chat and match on the app. Hinge appeals to singles who are serious about settling down and want to have more interesting and engaging conversations right from the start.

URL: https://www.hinge.co/

At the Brooklyn Flea Market, you never know what special something you’re going to find, and on Happn, you never know what special someone you’re going to find. By mixing online dating with offline dating, Happn connects you with people who you’ve crossed paths with in real life. For example, if you and another member happened to be at the same café one day, the app will let you know. The mobile dating app will use your smartphone’s location data to let you know how many times you’ve crossed paths with this person. The rest is up to you!

URL: https://www.happn.com/

Smorgasburg is like a food-only flea market, with 100+ vendors and all you can eat. Grindr is only for gay, bisexual, and curious men, and it’s all you can date. Known as the Tinder for gay singles, Grindr uses geolocation to recommend matches who are nearby, whether you’re at home, a restaurant, bar, festival, or anywhere else. Swipe right if you’re into them and left if you’re not. Grindr is a progressive, effective, and hookup-friendly app with free matching and chatting, but you can always pay to upgrade to Grindr Xtra and get more likes, ad-free browsing, and a passport for swiping outside your city or region.

URL: https://www.grindr.com/

HER is like the New York Botanical Garden of dating apps. While the 50-acre forest has thousands of beautiful flowers and other plant life to learn about, the Android and iOS app has thousands of beautiful people (both inside and out) to get to know. Created by LGBTQ+ people for LGBTQ+ people, HER is for finding friendship, community, dates, and relationships as well as LGBTQ+ news, events, polls, jokes, and almost anything else you can think of. Over 4 million womxn have joined the HER community so far, and it’s still growing!

URL: https://www.weareher.com/