Free dating apps are the dream of singles on a budget. They dream of an online dating world that isn’t segregated into haves and have-nots by subscription fees. They dream of not paying for flirts, likes, messages, and views, but instead saving their money for the actual date.
This dream of making online dating free isn’t actually such a long shot. Many free dating platforms offer features that can be invaluable to the average online dater.
We’ve collected a list of the best free dating apps that are shining examples of the best a dating service can be — and the freest it can be as well. We’ve even broken our reviews into categories for your convenience, so use the links below to find the dating apps that will suit you best and get you to the first date of your dreams.
Top Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#1-3)
We have reviewed hundreds, if not thousands of dating apps free of charge, but three apps stand out to us as the most popular, longstanding, and efficient ways of meeting people. The following apps have a lot of pros and very few cons to offer singles looking for dates and relationships.
Match.com
- Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships
- Match System: Browse by location, age, interest, and more
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About the App:
Available via the App Store and Google Play, Match is a fantastic app for dates and relationships. With a user base of 30 million singles, Match is where you’ll have a high chance of success. It’s 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
Match is undeniably one of the world’s top dating sites and apps. It has been around since 1995, and it has more success stories to its name than any other online dating service.
From the beginning, Match has aimed to facilitate real conversations between genuine singles seeking a long-term relationship. How does it do that? By getting to the root of who you are and what you want. Match provides in-depth dating profiles that cover all the basics from age to education to smoking habits. You can swipe through compatible profiles in the Discover section, or you can forge your own path using the search filters.
Match is free to join, and its free features include browsing, liking, and matching. The app also offers some limited messaging options for free members, so you may be able to pick up a date without upgrading to a full-fledged subscription for three months, six months, or a year.
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
OurTime is widely considered the best free dating app for senior singles hoping for a second chance at love. Powered by People Media, the OurTime dating platform provides a safe and comfortable setting for older adults to mix and mingle on their terms.
The online dating network includes millions of active profiles, and all of them have been vetted and verified as authentic.
OurTime has a free membership that never expires as well as a monthly subscription option for online daters looking for more perks and benefits. The free membership includes some limited communication, so it’s possible to encounter a senior match on OurTime without paying anything at all.
3. Tinder
It should come as no surprise that Tinder is on this list of best free apps. Since its launch in 2012, this trendsetting app has become a juggernaut in the dating scene. Single men and women are now swipe-crazy, and Tinder encourages its users to match, chat, and date to the fullest. The dating app’s motto is “Single, not sorry,” which pretty much sums up its approach to love and romance.
In case you don’t know, Tinder operates on a fast-paced mutual matching system where online daters are in charge. You see a dating profile, and you have to decide then and there if you like it. Swipe right to like and swipe left to put it in the discard pile. Only premium members have a Rewind button in this swiping scene.
Tinder has the numbers to back its reputation. We’re talking 97 billion matches total, 2 billion views per day, and 1.5 million dates per week. The Tinder app has been downloaded 630 million times on Google Play and the App Store where it’s available for free.
And, if that doesn’t impress you, then consider that in a MuchNeeded survey 73% of college students said they had met someone on Tinder. It is the all-time favorite dating app among 20-somethings — in fact, more than 85% of Tinder users are under 34.
Top “LGBTQ” Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#4-7)
Fun fact: About 20% of online daters identify as LGBTQ, even though they make up only about 4% of the total population. Dating sites and apps particularly appeal to gay, lesbian, bi, and trans singles who have difficulty meeting queer dates in real life.
On a dating site, you don’t need to use your gaydar to spot the viable dates in the room — everyone is up for grabs. If you’re looking for a gay-friendly dating app, you should check out the following free options.
4. OkCupid
OkCupid has brought a lot of love and joy to people’s lives with two simple words: Forever free. Since it launched in 2004, the dating site has remained free for anyone seeking a date online. And that goes for the dating app as well.
You’ll never have to pay anything to send a message on OkCupid. It doesn’t matter if you want to write an essay to one person or fire off pickup lines to hundreds of people (for the record, we don’t think that last one is the best idea, unless you like getting rejected). No matter how much or how long you chat, you will never have to upgrade your OkCupid account.
The OkCupid team prides itself on keeping its finger on the pulse of the dating scene and meeting the needs of modern singles. In 2012, OkCupid became one of the first traditional dating sites to convert into a dating app. Then, in 2014, the platform raised eyebrows by adding 22 gender and 13 orientation options to its profiles.
You can enjoy OkCupid’s personality-driven matching system without paying a cent, but, if you want more bang for your buck, you can always upgrade to the A-List, which offers a nice boost and fun features (i.e. being able to see your likes and views) to make your dating experience more enjoyable and fruitful.
5. HER
HER has cultivated a membership base of over 15 million women of all orientations. A lesbian woman named Robyn Exton launched a female-only dating app in 2013 because she was frustrated by the lack of options for women in the LGBTQ+ community. She wanted to remove the fetish, the stigma, and the BS and give women a place where they could truly connect.
The HER community isn’t just about dating. It’s about friendship. It’s about pride. And it’s about freedom of expression. The dating app creates a safe and quirky space where single women can feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and experiences in a public newsfeed.
Another way HER engages its all-female audience is by publishing information about queer events all around the world. You can RSVP to an event near you and attend LGBTQ+ marches, cookouts, book clubs, and other events that unite and empower women.
According to the community guidelines, HER’s mission is “to make HER a place where everyone can be unapologetically themselves, feel safe, and build wonderful relationships that are based on trust, identity, and community.”
6. Grindr
In 2009, Grindr made waves in the online dating scene by offering gay singles easy access to date prospects in their immediate vicinity. The gay dating app became known for its location-based matching, which facilitates real-time, in-person connections by showing men how close they are to romance.
Grindr has quickly become one of the biggest names in the gay dating scene, and it currently has over 3 million daily active users in 234 countries.
Whether you’re thinking about a hookup or a relationship, Grindr is ready to serve up some enticing options. The app learns from your swipes and matching preferences, and it constantly updates its list to ensure you see the most appealing, compatible, and local dating possibilities right up front.
Many Grindr success stories speak to the effectiveness of this dating app. After just a couple minutes of swiping and chatting, guys can fill up their date calendars and get what they want out of the dating scene.
MenNation
- Relationships: Strictly Hookups
- Match System: Search by location, interest, more
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About the App:
MenNation is a casual sex brand that’s been around since 1996, and more than 79 million turned-on singles and couples have joined ever since — making it one of the world’s largest gay dating and hookup apps. Its free app only adds to its authority. Android and iOS compatible, MenNation doesn’t charge anything to add the app to your phone, upload your information and photos, view profiles, and flirt.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
MenNation is a sexually stimulating place for gay singles and couples around the world. This free hookup platform boasts having 97 million members, which is more profiles than any other gay dating app or site, and these guys are anything but shy.
The frisky atmosphere on MenNation is great for men seeking hookups, threesomes, one-night stands, and other sexual encounters. You can send messages or videos on the site to catch attention and solicit sex.
If you run into any issues along the way, you can consult the FAQs section or ask the customer care team for assistance. Here’s the feedback form to let the site owners know how your online experience is going.
Top “Black” Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#8-9)
Racial discrimination is an unfortunate reality in online dating, but it’s not inescapable. Certain dating sites and apps have gone out of their way to provide Black singles with the best possible dating experience, and we applaud them for that. We highly recommend using the following dating apps and joining a diverse dating pool that leaves no one out.
- Relationships: Dates, Relationships
- Match System: Browse by city, hobbies, age, etc.
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About the App:
Since it was founded in 2002, BlackPeopleMeet has established the largest online dating community for black and biracial singles of all orientations. Every month over 1.4 million daters use this simple and safe platform to connect with African-American singles in their area. You can download the app and create a profile for free to find new friends, hot dates, and love interests online.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
BlackPeopleMeet is the leading dating platform for Black and biracial singles. Since 2002, the niche community has welcomed singles of all races and creeds and celebrated diversity with its inclusive tools and detailed profiles.
Today, BlackPeopleMeet has thousands of active members in the U.S. and Canada. You can create a dating profile for free within two minutes and see what all the fuss is about.
“Thanks much for the ease and flexibility of the BlackPeopleMeet site,” wrote a customer from Pittsburgh. “I met a wonderful man named Eric on this site only a few days after subscribing.”
9. Plenty of Fish
Fishing for love? Then download the Plenty of Fish app and start seeking your catch of the day. The datin platform offers 100% free communication to all users, inspiring a steady stream of incoming and outgoing messages. Every month, users exchange over 1 billion messages here. That’s why POF is known as the best dating app for conversations.
POF has over 150 million members, and it sees over 4 million views per day, so it’s safe to say black singles will have a lot of options when swimming in this virtual dating pool.
Over 70,000 join POF every day — for free — and use its search, match, and chat tools to spark romance. The dating app has an optional personality test that hones in on important factors of your psyche (extroversion and open-mindedness) and determines compatibility ratings based on those characteristics.
If you’re feeling chatty, we’d recommend heading to Plenty of Fish and sending messages to any person who strikes your fancy.
Top “Christian” Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#10-12)
While interfaith marriage is on the rise in the U.S., not all Christians want to marry someone who doesn’t share the same beliefs and values. Such people of faith see Christian dating sites as a blessing because it allows them to focus on dates who can meet their emotional and spiritual standards.
We’ve ranked and reviewed three dating apps that have been known to attract a strong Christian following, and we encourage you to give them a try.
10. Christian Mingle
Christian Mingle is the top Christian dating platform for singles seeking a marriage based on shared faith. Its matchmaking tools may not be as miraculous as divine intervention, but they can certainly get the job done.
Since its launch, Christian Mingle has been devoted to its mission to uphold loving relationships and unite Christians around the world. Anyone who is interested in seriously dating a Christian can join the user base. You don’t have to be a baptized Christian — you just have to be open to love.
“Give ChristianMingle a chance,” wrote Keren and Josue in a testimonial. “It is a powerful platform that is blessed by God and can be used by God to lead you to the right person.”
11. CoffeeMeetsBagel
CoffeeMeetsBagel invites singles to “rediscover dating.” While many other dating apps seek to speed things up and throw singles at one another, CoffeeMeetsBagel has devised ways to slow things down and encourage singles to take their time and carefully consider each profile before swiping left or right.
This dating app releases a limited number of potential matches (they call them bagels) per day, and it curates this list based on the user’s stated dating preferences, liking history, and location. CoffeeMeetsBagel has created more than 50 million matches using this tried-and-true system.
The CoffeeMeetsBagel matching system is designed to facilitate authentic connections, and it has led to quite a few success stories over the years.
Nate and Kristin met on CoffeeMeetsBagel and arranged a coffee date even though neither of them drink coffee. They spent three hours chatting, and he asked her out again the next day. “He told me he felt like he had known me for six months,” Kristin recalled. “I felt the same.”
12. Happn
Happn is another great option for Christians in search of a serendipitous match. The free dating app uses the power of a smartphone’s GPS settings to find dates who regularly cross your path. The app highlights where you share common ground (literally) with another person and pinpoints areas you both frequent. That can make asking someone out much easier because you know their favorite haunts already.
Christians can use Happn to connect with singles who attend the same church or go to similar events or restaurants. The mapping feature offers unique insight into your match’s daily habits and lifestyle. Don’t worry, though, the app will never reveal your current location.
Over 80 million people have downloaded Happn, which has a 4.1-star rating on Google Play. If you want to turn your luck around in the dating scene, you can create real-life romantic opportunities by mingling on Happn.
Top “Senior” Dating Apps That are Free to Use (#13)
Senior dating sites give singles the opportunity to meet age-appropriate dates and build relationships that last. The mainstream dating scene tends to be dominated by 20-somethings and 30-somethings, so it can be a relief to find a mature audience for your advances.
Anyone over 50 should consider creating a free profile on these top-rated dating apps for seniors.
OurTime.com
- Relationships: Dating and Relationships
- Match System: Search by age as well as zip, gender, more
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About the App:
Made just for single seniors, OurTime is one of the most well-known niche dating apps. It’s a fun and straightforward app with simple swiping features. Once two people swipe right on each other, they can communicate. For more match options, visit the ConnectMe and I’m Interested pages.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
OurTime is a leading senior dating site with a good reputation among over-50 daters. The site prides itself on supporting a beginners-friendly setting, so you don’t have to be tech-savvy at all to make a match here.
The OurTime App is available on Google Play and the App Store. The app can quickly help singles discover commonalities and build a rapport in a live chat.
Free members can send and receive an unlimited number of likes on OurTime, but they have to upgrade if they want to send a message and engage in conversation. This payment system ensures senior singles stay safe from scammers and spammers online.
Top “Relationship” Apps That are Free to Use (#14-15)
Singles who go into the dating scene looking for a serious relationship are often frustrated by casual dating apps full of flaky and unresponsive daters. Building genuine connections online can take a lot of time and commitment, and you need to pick the right dating apps to back you up along the way.
If you’re dating for keeps, then you should invest your time in the following relationship-oriented dating apps. These platforms attract quality singles and streamline the matching process so it’s much easier to meet someone special.
14. Hinge
Hinge is more than dating app — it’s a relationship app. Hinge was “designed to be deleted,” meaning the team’s ultimate goal is to get users off the app and into amazing relationships with the perfect match.
Setting up a free account on Hinge can take as little as five minutes. The app will pull basic information and photos from your Facebook profile and Instagram feed, and you can write original answers to prompts like “What’s the key to your heart?” or “What’s your favorite Disney movie?” There are over 80 prompts, but you only have to answer three to kick things off.
The most innovative and interesting aspect of Hinge is how it handles mutual matching. You have to like something specific about the profile or write an original comment if you want to send a like to your online crush. Hinge doesn’t support mindless and heartless swiping. Users actually have to take the time to decide what they like about a person and create a more personalized connection.
I’m probably more than a little biased because I met my husband on Hinge, but I think this app is absolutely fantastic for relationship-minded singles. You have in-depth profiles showcasing your sense of humor, core values, and life experiences, and it’s easy to talk about something real with so many conversation starters at your fingertips.
15. Bumble
In 2014, Bumble created a buzz in the online dating industry by pushing back against the superficial matching and creepy messages proliferating many dating apps. CEO Whitney Wolfe-Herd left an executive position at Tinder to create a female-friendly alternative to the male-dominated swipe-happy online dating scene.
Her idea is simple, yet intriguing. What if women made the first move and set the tone for the conversation? What if men could not speak until spoken to? Bumble has instituted a new level of decorum in online dating interactions, and a lot of singles love it. The Bumble app also launched Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz to open the door to non-romantic relationship building in the community.
Bumble has been a progressive leader from the outset, and it has made several bold moves to promote kindness and deter creeps in online dating. One of its most controversial positions is the ban of hunting and gun photos. In the wake of the Parkland shooting in 2018, the Bumble dating app purged all photos of guns, knives, and other weapons from the app.
“When I started the company, I really founded it with one main objective in place, which was accountability,” Whitney said to Fast Company. “How could we engineer accountability into the internet? How do we make the internet a kinder place?”
Top “Hookup” Apps That are Free to Use (#16-18)
Now, on the other end of the spectrum from the relationship-seeking crowd, we have the no-strings-attached hookup crowd. These flirty singles aren’t interested in happily-ever-afters. They just want to have no-strings-attached sex.
These three hookup sites can help sexually active men and women cut to the chase and arrange one-night stands with horny strangers.
NaughtyCharm
- Relationships: Casual Encounters
- Match System: Sort profiles by ZIP code, appearance, more
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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
NaughtyCharm is a legit hookup app designed to satisfy horny singles of all types. Anyone over 18 is welcome to explore their options in this fast-paced dating world.
The Like Gallery is probably the best place to start if you want to generate a lot of matches at once. Simply by answering “Cute or Not?” on one profile after another, you can send positive vibes to your online crushes and encourage them to like you back.
Or, if you want to throw a lot of darts at the wall at once, NaughtyCharm has a fun flirting tool that allows singles to send the same initial message to all users who match their dating criteria. That way, you can see who responds and turn a list of possibilities into a steady flow of incoming messages. To learn more about how all this works, you can read our full review.
AFF.com
- Relationships: Hookups Only
- Match System: Filter by distance, gender, encounter
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About the App:
With 77 million members, Adult Friend Finder is one of the most popular apps for the sex community. It doesn’t matter if you’re single or part of a couple — you’re welcome to search for sex buddies, threesomes, and other casual encounters. And you won’t have to pay to do that as well as download the app, fill out a profile, and chat.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
With over 105 million profiles to its name, Adult Friend Finder has every right to proclaim itself as the world’s largest sex and swinger community. This didn’t happen overnight — since the mid-90s, the AFF movement has built up steam and attracted sexually active and sexually curious people from all walks of life.
Today, AFF offers live video feeds, private chats, anonymous browsing, and erotic dating forums where kinksters can be themselves and pursue hot dates without apology. Many satisfying tools can facilitate flirtation and lower inhibitions so that singles and swingers can get right down to business and find casual hookups.
FriendFinder-X
- Relationships: One-Night Stands, Threesomes, Affairs
- Match System: Search on your own, plus receive matches
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About the App:
FriendFinder-X is “where good girls do bad things,” so if you’re looking for adult fun, you’ve come to the right place. Not to mention, the site has millions of guys doing bad things as well. Once you get the app (free for iOS and Android), you can fill out a profile, complete with your specific sexual desires, search, have compatible profiles sent to your inbox, and communicate.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
FriendFinder-X does exactly what it promises and finds sexy playmates for men, women, couples, and groups seeking a pleasurable release. The dating platform’s motto is “where good girls do bad things,” and that pretty much says it all.
You can solicit a casual affair, threesome, or one-night stand by using FriendFinder-X as your personal wingman. The site’s powerful search tools and real-time communication features make it easy to flirt with a new person and put another notch on your bedpost.
In the words of the website, “FriendFinder-X isn’t just a site; it’s a community of people looking to add a little more passion into their lives.”
Which Dating Apps are Totally Free?
Many dating apps allow singles to browse the database for free, but they have subscription plans for certain premium features, including seeing who’s liked you and sending messages to your matches. If you’re looking for a totally free dating app where you can message anyone without paying a cent, then you should try OkCupid.
OkCupid vowed to stay free forever when it launched in 2004, and it has kept that promise. Here, free members can send unlimited messages for as long as they want. It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?
Facebook Dating is another free dating app with free communication included in the matchmaking experience. Our expert review can tell you more about how the social media service works.
Is Bumble Better Than Tinder?
We get this question all the time. Bumble and Tinder have a bit of a rivalry going — and not just because Bumble’s CEO also happens to be the ex of one of Tinder’s co-founders. Bumble’s mission is a direct rebuttal to Tinder’s superficial bro culture, which has women bombarded with “hey baby” messages while men struggle to get any responses at all.
Bumble has created a solution by supporting a ladies-first model of online dating. Now women have the power to filter incoming matches and messages, and men find themselves being chased for once. Our dating experts think this gender-swapped setup is better for daters who identify as feminists, are frustrated by traditional dating, and want to foster equal relationships.
Tinder has more users than Bumble (430 million vs. 100 million), but Bumble operates with greater transparency and integrity. Bumble makes a more concerted effort to police its database, enforce community guidelines, and improve the online matching process.
At the end of the day, you’ve got to decide what’s most important to you and what kind of dating experience you want. If you want quality, download Bumble. If you want quantity, you gotta go with Tinder.
Are Dating Sites for Losers?
Absolutely not. Unless you think 40% of singles are losers. Online dating has become an increasingly popular way for singles to make dates and meet their significant others.
The stigma against meeting someone online is fast disappearing. In a 2015 survey, 59% of adults agreed that online dating is a good way to meet people, and only 23% said online daters are desperate. As of 2017, online dating has become the most popular way for brides to meet their husbands-to-be.
I met my husband on a dating app, and I don’t consider either of us to be losers. In fact, quite the opposite — we took advantage of the tools available to get where we want in life!
Free Dating Apps: Keep the Value, Cut the Costs
Dating shouldn’t cost you a bundle, but it’s hard to find ways to save. The average American can spend thousands of dollars a year on dating-related expenses, and some premium dating services can cost hundreds of dollars just to get your foot in the door.
Fortunately, free dating sites have come to the rescue of everyone’s wallets and given singles the freedoms they deserve. Any of the sites and apps on this list could be a valuable partner on the road to romance. You just have to choose the one that appeals to you the most and enjoy meeting people without barriers or restrictions. Free at last, free at last, thank the dating services for making apps free at last.
