Key Takeaways
I’ve been testing and reviewing dating apps since 2012, and these are my rankings for the top iPhone dating apps.
-
Match: Overall Best Dating App for iPhone Users
-
NaughtyCharm: Best Hookup App for iPhone
I got my first cellphone when I was 16. My parents bought it for me because I had just started driving, and they wanted me to have a way to reach someone if I ever needed help. All it could do was make and receive calls. I couldn’t text, take photos, go online, or do anything like that. That’s just how phones worked back then. The wild part is I also had to share the phone with my twin sister. Smh.
If people had to deal with phones like that these days, there would be riots. But the good news is we don’t have to! We have high-tech user-friendly probably-spying-on-us phones that can do all kinds of fun stuff, including find a date. I’m an Apple girl all the way, just like 1.56 billion other people, so today I wanted to recognize the best dating apps for iPhone (and most of them work for Android, too).
Best Free Dating Apps for iPhone
Instead of making you wait, we’re diving right into the top three iPhone dating apps. No matter your gender, sexual orientation, location, or dating goals, these apps can help you find what you’re looking for.
Match.com
- Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships
- Match System: Browse by location, age, interest, and more
-
About the App:
Match is built for browsing rather than swiping. You can search by location, age, and interest, then take your time reading profiles before reaching out. The app is free to download, create a profile, search for date prospects, and receive compatible matches based on personalized preferences. Free members can also chat with select members and send unlimited likes.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
With the company founded in 1993 and the site launched in 1995, Match is the longest-running name in the online dating industry — let alone the gay online dating industry.
It’s been the guide for all the other sites and apps you see today. You can download Match for free via the App Store, where it has three stars, and it’s iPad and Apple Watch friendly as well.
Once you’ve got the app on your phone, you can fill out information about yourself and your criteria, search through members, and chat with your mutual matches.
Match also has a first date check-in system where it can automatically text a trusted friend or family member with the date, location, and name of the person you’re meeting.
OkCupid
- Relationships: Friends, Hookups, Dates, Relationships
- Match System: Browse by age, location, interests, and compatibility
- Our Experts Say: “OkCupid is a free dating app with a personality quiz to inform its compatibility ratings. Since 2004, the dating service has taken pride in being inclusive, insightful, and totally free. Members can identify as monogamous or poly, state their dating intentions, and answer personality prompts to make their profiles stand out.” Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
We like to refer to OkCupid, which launched in 2004, as the math nerds of the dating industry. The online dating app says it on the About page: “We use math the find you dates.” We like that attitude, and we’ve seen it work professionally and personally. It all adds up, and it’s exponentially better than other dating apps.
The OkCupid team boasts, “Algorithms, formulas, heuristics – we do a lot of crazy math stuff to help people connect faster.”
The app is totally free and has always been totally free. There is an option to upgrade to an A-list membership, which will remove the ads on the app and allow you to do things like see who’s liked your profile. OkCupid is also one of the most inclusive dating apps, offering 27 gender and sexual orientation options, including genderfluid and asexual.
Tinder
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, Hookups, and Relationships
- Match System: Swipe on photos and chat with matches
- Our Experts Say: “Tinder is a massively popular dating app famous for its fast swiping system. It has more casual daters more than serious daters, but anyone over 18 is welcome to try their luck with a dating profile. The free membership includes messaging mutual matches, though there are limits on daily likes and travel options.”
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
As the inventor of the right swipe, Tinder has set the standard for matching tools for practically every dating app now. Singles love being able to quickly rate potential matches from their iPhones. Tinder also started the whole GPS-matching thing, and we all know that’s not going anywhere.
You won’t have to pay anything to add Tinder to your phone, and you’ll be joining a massive global community. Tinder has been downloaded over 630 million times since its launch in 2012, and it has created over 100 billion matches total.
It’s not just great at the online game — Tinder also rocks at creating real-life connections. In fact, Tinder inspires over 1.5 million first dates every week!
Best Free “Gay” Dating App for iPhone
I’ve known plenty of gay friends who’ve struggled on some dating apps — namely, they still receive straight matches even after specifying that they’re gay. That’s got to be beyond frustrating, so our experts have tested several dozen dating apps to determine which ones cater to the LGBTQ+ audience the best. This is my favorite:
4. Grindr
Grindr launched in 2009 as the first all-gay all-day solution to the modern dating scene. It uses your location to find you hookups or dates, and you’ll swipe depending on what you think (left for now and right for yes). Grindr is for gay, bisexual, and curious men only. You won’t have to waste any more time swiping left on straight men or women, and you’ll get to keep your sanity.
While Grindr is free to do all of the important things, the app does have a premium option. With this membership, you’ll be able to favorite or block as many people as you want, use more search filters, and save and send chat phrases, among other things.
Best Free “Lesbian” Dating App for iPhone
More than 4.1% of Americans identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. With more than 323 million people in the country, you can imagine how hard it can be for single lesbian women to find a match. Dating apps are supposed to help them overcome this hurdle, but often general dating apps lack the right audiences and tools for lesbian singles. Not the app below, though.
5. HER
Formerly known as Dattch, HER is “your lesbian, bisexual, and queer community all in one place.” Built for lesbian women by lesbian women, the app doesn’t just connect you with new friends, dates, and partners. It also connects you to meetups, festivals, and other events in your area, so you can take your dating life offline.
If you ever need a little guidance, HER has you covered there, too. The blog dives into everything from new app features and dating horror stories to LGBTQ+ issues and community polls.
Best Free “Local” Dating Apps for iPhone
International dating has grown over the years. But if you’re not a constant jet setter or don’t want to travel or move for a date or relationship, local dating apps are where it’s at. In particular, the two apps we’ve highlighted in this section know what they’re doing.
6. Coffee Meets Bagel
“Connect authentically,” “share the real you,” “see the real them” are the words that Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) lives by. This free iPhone app focuses on quality instead of quantity. Every day, men receive up to 21 bagels (aka matches) who they like or pass on. Women are only shown bagels who’ve liked them, streamlining the search process.
CMB was founded in 2012 by three sisters who wanted to improve the online dating experience for women, which is the reason behind the unique matching system. This savvy online dating app provides numerous unique communication features as well, including icebreaker templates and Video Q&A.
7. Hinge
Dating apps are often associated with hookups, but Hinge is here to change that. Known as the anti-Tinder, Hinge is meant for those who want long-term, monogamous relationships. The dating app’s motto is “Designed to be deleted,” and it encourages singles to be real, so they can find something real.
Beyond letting you set search filters for location, age, and other key details, Hinge adds more personality to how conversations begin. When you spot someone you’d genuinely like to know better, you can comment on a photo or profile prompt and ask a thoughtful question about it. That makes it much easier to start a lively conversation right from your phone.
Best Free “Sex” Dating Apps for iPhone (#8-9)
We’ve already showcased the go-to apps for dates and relationships, but if something a little more naughty is up your alley, we’ve got two iPhone sex apps for you.
NaughtyCharm
- Relationships: Casual Encounters
- Match System: Sort profiles by ZIP code, appearance, more
-
About the App:
On NaughtyCharm, everyone is interested in finding sexual encounters with no strings attached. Within a couple of minutes, you can get a profile up for $0. Free membership includes unlimited photos, browsing, and reading chats. NaughtyCharm also has an anti-fraud system to ensure your personal information stays private while you flirt online.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
On NaughtyCharm, you’re encouraged to be yourself and unleash your frisky side. You won’t face any judgment, receive any mean comments, or get any weird looks about it. Go ahead and confidently look for that one-night stand, threesome, group sex or swinging party, or affair.
Yes, NaughtyCharm has a whopping $0 price tag, but you should also know that the app is among the safest adult networks around. The customer service team is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, verifies every profile, and uses SSL encryption to protect your information and prevent scammers from creating false profiles.
9. Wild
Wild boasts being “the fastest way to meet and date hot singles nearby,” and that definitely seems to be the case. It’ll only take you a minute or so to download the app and fill out a profile. Then you can browse by appearance, type of encounter, photos, and so much more. All of that is free to do as well as chat and share private photos.
More than 65% of Wild’s members have had their photos verified by the team, so you can feel safe while talking with your matches. Singles from all over the world have chosen Wild as their favorite hookup app, and you just might feel the same way after you test it out.
These Apps Can Give You New Chances to Connect!
Time flies, doesn’t it? One moment you’re bragging about playing the snake game on your Nokia phone, and the next you’re swiping through suitors on dating apps on your iPhone.
I laugh when I think about how limiting my first phone was and that I pretty much had to be with my sister all the time if I ever wanted to use it. I’m happy to say I haven’t had to share a phone in a long time and that my mobile experiences have definitely changed since then. iPhones have drastically improved our lives, and the same goes for the popular dating apps above.
