Pure Dating App Review (2025)

Some of us dream about the kind of romance that musicians write songs about. You know, the kind that fills all the mental space in your head and leaves you blasting “Linger” by The Cranberries with the melodrama of lovestruck teenagers (OK, maybe the last one is just me). 

But not everyone wants a full-on love story. Some of us just want to get railed all the way to next Tuesday, and that’s fun, too. 

Pure, a niche dating app designed for casual and kinky encounters, is here to make that possible. Launched in 2013 — just as the wave of “hookup culture” began to gain momentum — this progressive and provocative platform claims to be a shame-free space for anyone looking to “Date, Play, and Misbehave.” 

How does Pure stand out in the swiping world? Is the platform successful at getting users connected with fellow horndogs? This quick yet comprehensive guide is going to give you the answers you’re looking for — straight, no chaser.

Keep reading (or, if we’re being honest, skimming) to get the lowdown on how Pure fills a need in the online dating industry by helping people date on the wild side. Ready to get down and dirty? Here we go.

A few years back, I was talking to a guy friend who’d just recently gotten out of a long-term relationship. He had never had the pleasure (or displeasure, depending on how you look at it) of using dating apps and was hoping for something heavy on skin-to-skin contact. He asked me if I had any advice on how to venture forward down this digital path. 

I told him, “Be upfront with your matches. If you’re just looking for a hookup, say that. The clearer you can be, the better the outcome for the both of you.” 

Thinking back on it now, I feel like my friend could have greatly benefited from knowing about Pure. This hookup app has a lot of benefits for anyone seeking friends with benefits. Here’s a quick rundown for you:

Pure.app

★★★★★

4.0/5.0

Pure.app

4.0/5.0

About this rating

Our team of editors and writers draw from their industry expertise to calculate dating site and app ratings based on a variety of criteria that impact the user. We compared pricing and analyzed factors such as:

Subscription cost versus value

Popularity and niche interests

Free search, chat, and swiping features

Safety measures

Customer support

Our rating system is independent of commission rates, and any platforms we partner with do not have a say in their scores.

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Relationships: Casual Dating, Sexting, Hookups, Friends with Benefits

Match System: Search filters, Suggested matches

Our Experts Say: “Pure is a straightforward hookup app designed to make immediate connections. Profiles are only live as long as the person is actively on the app looking for dates. So, basically, everyone you see is available…”

Browse Free: View Photos Now

User Base	Gender Ratio	Popularity (Visits/Mo.)	Free Trial
All Singles*	65%* 35%*	500,000*	Download FREE

The app operates almost like an online ad board, where, after creating a fairly basic profile, you can upload posts that share exactly what you’re looking for in the moment.

If another Pure member scrolls by the post and likes what they see, they can “match” with the original poster, and a message thread immediately opens up for the two members to get chatting. Users can also “roll the dice” and get set up in a chat room with a random person currently on the app.

Pure users are honest about their intentions. My friend could have posted something like:

“Newly out of a long-term relationship, looking for someone who just wants to hook up and have fun on weekend nights.” 

This post may actually come off as a bit vanilla on the sex app. Some Pure users are a lot more explicit (in both senses of the word) about what they want.

When it comes to Pure, you never know what kind of posts you’re going to come across. 

Based on the vibe you get after exploring this “anything goes” space, that’s kind of the point. Aiming to be anything but boring, the founders of Pure stated that “Since the launch of Pure, we have been rewriting the conventional rules and norms of sexuality.”

Personally? I love to hear it. 

Presumably tired of the endless doom-swiping of mainstream apps like Tinder, over 11.5 million people have downloaded Pure and left behind the expectations of traditional romance. Pure’s engaging chat features encourage adults to explore their sexual fantasies in a safe space — whether that means House of the Dragon roleplay, incorporation of a ready and willing unicorn, or same-sex bedroom play. 

There really are no rules, except to be honest, stay safe (which we’ll touch on later), and have a good ol’ nasty time.

Due to the sex-positive, open-minded nature of this platform, it’s likely no surprise that Pure members tend to fall between the mid-20s to mid-30s age range, and that a majority are based in the U.S. What may strike you as strange, however, is that the second-highest group of users come from Russia. 

Although Russia isn’t exactly known for its forward-thinking ideals, I would guess that this is because there exist a couple of large sub-cultures within the country that are actually quite open, tech-savvy, and interested in exploring the world of casual sex. Yet again, I love to hear it. 

This is the section of our dating app reviews that I dread writing most, because, more often than not, it means delivering some unfortunate news. 

Pure, unlike many other dating apps that have taken the digital romance scene by storm, is not a free app. In fact, its pricing options fall somewhere in the mid-level price range relative to its competitors. 

Additionally, users have the option to pay for credits that allow access to tools that can boost a member’s communication game. 

The paid tools include “Gifts” (where you can add a song, note, or picture to your direct message), “Hats” (which allow you to go into Incognito Mode), and “Crowns” (which allow men ONLY to pin their posts at the top of the Pure feed for more visibility). 

Paying for these extra tools is, of course, not required — but it can certainly speed up the search for your bedroom playmate and, hopefully, get you under the covers with a curious cutie faster than you can say “booty call.” 

When founders Roman Sidorenko and Alexander Kukhtenko were interviewed by New York Intelligencer about their vision for Pure, they stated that they wanted the interface to operate similarly to a ride-sharing company whose app we likely all have on our smartphones right now:

“We thought it would be cool to use an approach like Uber, where you create the request, and you get a car pretty soon. We thought it would be cool to have something like that to find a sex buddy.”

The ease with which you can source the internet for someone to meet your needs (either transportationally or sexually) is not the only similarity between the two platforms. Pure, like Uber, also places the protection of its users as a top priority, as evidenced by its many safety features.

Likely the largest protection that Pure offers is that it’s a paid service. Although not primarily designed to keep out sneaky internet characters, this little requirement certainly does a good job of deterring them. You won’t really see bots and trolls lurking around paid sites. 

Besides the platform’s paywall, Pure’s interface is inherently discreet. To start, the platform doesn’t require you to include detailed personal information or in-depth profiles if you don’t want to. In fact, members can embark on their lustful search almost completely anonymously, even blurring their profile picture until they match with someone and decide to reveal themselves. 

Unlike with apps like eharmony or Match, the goal of Pure isn’t to find your “wifey” or “soulmate” — it’s to find someone who’s equally as horny or into dildo-play as you are. That said, the minimalist profile requirements are here to help you skip over all the niceties and questions of compatibility so that you can get to the good stuff (ya know, the good stuff). 

Pure members can also enjoy the temporary nature of the interface. All chats on the app disappear after 24 hours, just like with Snapchat. This helps to mitigate concerns of personal information and data being leaked — which, let’s be honest, can put a real damper on your sexual fires. 

Additionally, the platform gives members the option to create meetup posts that are “self-destructible” (I know, how James Bond of them). These are posts that expire after half an hour. The ads could look something like: 

What can I say? When it comes to Pure, people don’t f*ck around. I mean, they do. But not when it comes to wasting time. 

Lastly, members can indulge in some sex-fueled scrolling in peace thanks to “Hats” or “Incognito Mode.”

This paid feature (accessible only through credits) allows users to appear offline and browse potential matches without giving others access to their personal ad. 

There are obvious advantages to anonymity on a sex app — and not just for cheaters. People with serious professional lives don’t want their sexting history to be common knowledge.

Browsing incognito feels safer for singles who may be a bit greener in their sexual exploration journey or have recently come out and are not quite ready to share their news with strangers on the internet (or people who may have real-life connections with them). 

The user testimonials you find on dating app websites may or may not be fabricated — and likely aren’t representative of how people really feel about the platform. We prefer to keep our finger to the pulse by perusing public forums and app store reviews where people share what they think with no holds barred. 

Here’s a sampler of the feedback I found about Pure:

Many men expressed frustration over the idea of spending money just to gain access to casual sex. One man, in particular, said that it reminded him of playing those “mobile games where you have to pay for virtual currency to buy some in-game item to progress forward,” referring to how he needed to invest in “coins” to get his messages noticed by certain women on the platform.

Another user — also male — seemed to be accepting of the trade-off, and he said he even found success with it:

“I’ve had the app on and off for the past two years. I am 4/4 with women I have actually met up with (meaning we hooked up). I am a solid 6 in the DC area but have kind of figured out the algorithm of the app. If you don’t want to spend money then it’s definitely not for you, but if you’re willing to drop a few bucks on a ‘gift’ and write a personalized, non-creepy message, it can go a long way.” – OldBarracuda6429

Considering that the Pure app has more male than female users, it was a bit more difficult to find reviews from women, but I did come across a few of note. One female member shared her concerns regarding safety:

“Used this app as a woman, and the problem I ran into was the lack of women makes men more aggressive. I had twenty conversations with men, and it all devolved into begging to meet up, or blatant attempted manipulation. They’re paying for their time, so this makes them desperate and aggressive. I ended up meeting with zero men because not a single one felt safe.” – letthetreeburn

She did say, however, that every single man she reported to the app for harassment was banned, which was a relief for her because she couldn’t “say the same for Tinder.” 

On a more positive note, another female member gave a nod to the app’s open-minded nature: 

“I appreciate how Pure makes it normal to talk about the stuff I like. It removes the guesswork and awkwardness from new connections.” – Zenobia Battson

Overall, the app has earned 3.0 stars on Google Play and 4.4 stars on the Apple Store. It seems clear that members have had a wide range of different experiences on the platform, with most of the complaints coming from men regarding the “paywall.” 

Conversely, those who rate Pure highly tend to love the straight-to-the-point vibe of the interface. They tend to live in bigger cities as well. 

Plenty of people out there are searching for their boo, hubby, ride-or-die, or any one of the cutesy names we’ve invented to refer to a long-term partner. But maybe, just maybe, you’re not one of those people. Maybe, just maybe, you’re in the mood for a little bit of casual fun. 

If you want sexy exploits, Pure could be an app worth exploring. Its fast-paced, low-pressure, and accepting environment helps sex seekers of all kinds. 

You can scroll through local dating ads and get connected with people who love the same kinks and fantasies. 

Of course, these connections don’t come for free — but that’s part of the Pure quality assurance. Leaving the platform open to anyone would lead to an influx of scammers, bots, and people who are less willing to follow the standard codes of conduct.

Ultimately, the monthly membership works in tandem with the app’s many safety features to create a shame-free and (mostly) worry-free environment where people can get their rocks off Monday through Sunday, if they so please. 

So, if Pure sounds right up your alley, why not give it a shot for a week and see how it goes? Worst comes to worst, you’re out 14 bucks and left to deal with your, well, cravings on your own. I could think of worse things. Plus, you’ve always got Linger by the Cranberries to keep you company.