Key Takeaways
Our reviewers have tested hundreds of dating sites with the goal of finding the ones that work similarly to personals sites like Backpage.
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NaughtyCharm ranks as out top alternative due to its anonymous signup and simple interface.
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When it comes to LGBTQ+ hookups, our recommendation would be to try AdultFriendFinder.
It’s been almost a decade since Backpage and Craigslist ended their dating personals, but many people sorely miss those sites and are still on the lookout for sites like Backpage and Craigslist Personals to meet their romantic needs.
Dating sites facilitate anonymous encounters by offering free profile browsing, discreet chatting, and sometimes even live video streams with a sexy cohort. And if they want to avoid the fate of Backpage, they must also offer strict moderation and verification services.
Our dating experts have curated a list of the top personals sites and dating apps that give casual sex seekers a fresh start.
NaughtyCharm
- Relationships: Hookups, Chats
- Match System: Search by encounter, location, and more
- Our Experts Say: NaughtyCharm is a premier hookup app where you can feel comfortable expressing your desires. Plus, it's free to join, browse, and flirt.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
NaughtyCharm is a casual hookup site with more than 13 million members. It gives daters the chance to engage in sexting conversations and attract hot dates without having to leave home.
It’s free to join and explore nameless profiles by using search filters by location, age, gender, and appearance. You aren’t limited to searching in just one city or state.
Pros
- Quick signup with minimal details needed
- Sexting is allowed
- Email verification stops spam accounts
The FlirtCast tool allows free members to send an intro message to all singles who are their type. They can also like profiles to get a person’s attention. There’s no cap on sending likes or viewing profiles.
Messaging limits come into play, but upgrades are affordable and start at just $2.99. Our NaughtyCharm review goes into more detail about the match system and pricing.
- Relationships: Hookups Only
- Match System: Search by location, interest, more
- Our Experts Say: Make no mistake: this site isn't about making friends, it's about finding hookups and casual encounters. No adult site has a larger or more active user base of those seeking discreet fun. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Since its launch in the 1990s, AdultFriendFinder has become one of the most popular sex sites of all time. It has over 105 million members in its sexy database.
It has a broad range of options for straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and it also has swingers forums for couples and groups seeking a sexual partner.
Pros
- Lots of X-rated photos and videos
- Huge active user base
- Age verification required
Cons
- Some paywalls on video features
- Cluttered interface
Free members can browse the erotic blog and photo gallery at their leisure, but they cannot access live videos or private chat rooms until they subscribe to a gold membership.
AdultFriendFinder’s pricing options start at $14.95 per month, and subscribers can upgrade at any time to get more advanced chatting and privacy options.
- 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. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Ashley Madison offers a positively scandalous dating site that is absolutely free to try. Women enjoy the whole kit and caboodle for free, while men use credits to unlock messaging privileges.
Pros
- Free messaging for women
- Photo masking tools
- Effective fraud detection
Cons
- Secretive and flaky matches
- No video features
Ashley Madison serves sexually active individuals looking to date discreetly. Not everyone here is necessarily single, and the site offers photo-masking tools to help keep identities private.
Despite its controversial premise, Ashley Madison has proven to be popular. The dating site currently has over 90 million registered users. Our full review covers other stats and successes of this dating site.
- Relationships: Affairs, Friends with Benefits, Casual Dates
- Match System: Browse by appearance, location, lifestyle
- Our Experts Say: Affairs aren’t taboo on Victoria Milan. The married dating site lets individuals be honest about their intentions and flirt anonymously. It’s an exciting place to try new things. Dating profiles might mask their faces in photos, but they’ll bare their fantasies in their bios. It’s free to join and see the date options out there. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Victoria Milan works quickly and efficiently to pair up sexy people who don’t necessarily want to advertise their romantic activities. The dating site doesn’t judge its users for being unhappy or unsatisfied in their relationship. It offers a safe place to explore options.
Pros
- No-strings daters
- Freebies for female accounts
- Can hide face in photos
Cons
- Fewer rural matches
- Can’t see when a profile was last active
Your profile will be reviewed by moderators, and all photos need their approval too. But don’t worry, you don’t have to show your face if you don’t want to.
Victoria Milan is a sex-positive dating service dedicated to facilitating sexting, flirting, and hot dates with no strings attached. Chatting on the platform does come with a price tag for men, but women on the site have free rein to send and receive messages without paying a cent!
MenNation
- Relationships: Daters & Hookups
- Match System: Search by age, zip code, more
- Our Experts Say: MenNation is a well-established gay dating and hookup brand, having been founded in 1996. It's totally free to join, view profiles, receive matches, and flirt. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
MenNation is a hookup site for gay, bisexual, and queer men who don’t want to fill out an autobiography just to get a date. The website’s quick registration process and straightforward profiles are much like the classified listings of old.
Pros
- Nudes allowed
- Video chat rooms
- Free chatting in public forums
Cons
- Can be overwhelming
- Some straight couples in the mix
MenNation has adopted a strategy similar to Backpage with its flexible and user-generated format. The interface is packed with personal ads, nude photos, blogs, polls, and videos from men seeking sex. The sexually charged environment sets the stage for private conversations among paid members.
- Relationships: Hookups, Casual Dating, Kinky Chats
- Match System: Search by age, location, gender, kinks, and appearance
- Our Experts Say: KinkyPeopleMeet is a sex-driven site where kinksters share their fantasies without shame. It’s a dynamic community for hooking up. And the photo and video galleries offer plenty of titillating inspiration as well. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
KinkyPeopleMeet is a popular X-rated dating site for adults seeking a sexual release. Its adult services allow users to move at a fast pace and view sexually explicit content of all types.
Pros
- Kink tags and filters
- Active chat moderation
- Affordable and anonymous
Cons
- Not as big as mainstream apps
- Need credits for videos
- Online games can be distracting
The setup is similar to the Craigslist personal section because free members can read bios, view photos, and send some flirty messages. There’s a community section where you can look for specific fetishes and comment on posts seeking real-time encounters in your area.
- Relationships: Hookups Only
- Match System: Search by location, interest, more
- Our Experts Say: A hookup site specializing in casual encounters, secret affairs, live chats, and member videos, FriendFinder-X skips the awkward "dating" stage of a relationship and fast-forwards straight to the sex. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
FriendFinder-X is an anonymous sex site where adults can engage in X-rated chats and seek hookups with like-minded strangers. The membership base is open to straight, gay, lesbian, and trans individuals as well as couples and swingers.
Pros
- Free public commenting
- X-rated content is everywhere
- Search filters by appearance and kinks
Cons
- Not all profiles have photos
- Only Gold Members can send private messages
Creating a dating profile on FriendFinder-X is somewhat like setting up a Craigslist personal because both need an email address, age, and gender. Photos are optional on both platforms. However, FriendFinder-X asks members to pay a subscription fee before they can send private messages.
Fling.com
- Relationships: Casual Dating, Hookups, Friends with Benefits
- Match System: Search filters
- Our Experts Say: Fling.com keeps things casual and connects horny adults with video and direct messaging. It doesn’t ask for real names, but it will verify photos as genuine to ensure catfish don’t last long here! Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Fling.com tells you in the name what to expect from its browsing experience. Whether you’re sending a private pic to a crush or launching into a video date with someone new, the casual dating network certainly keeps things exciting.
Pros
- No real names needed
- Custom filters and match lists
- Free members can send messages
Cons
- Smaller dating pool
- Not all matches are local
What we love about Fling.com is its rigorous photo guidelines and verification process. This is quite different from the relaxed standards of Craigslist and Backpage. While Fling.com doesn’t require real names or phone numbers, it still ensures photos are authentic, and users stay truthful.
Members who take the time to verify their profiles receive a badge and show up higher in match lists.
Match
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Match has been helping singles meet new people since the early days of the internet. This massively successful dating website predates many of the websites we know today.
Pros
- Free chatting with mutual matches
- Detailed profiles with photos
- Excellent user verification
Cons
- Longer registration
- More relationship seekers
- Rules against sexually explicit content
Match.com and Craigslist actually launched in the same year — 1995 — and helped pave the way for the future of online networking. Craigslist is no longer in the dating business, but Match Group is still going strong and has built one of the largest dating networks in the world.
It doesn’t take much digging to find evidence that Match can work in real life and inspire relationships built on mutual compatibility. It offers free messaging between mutual matches, so it’s a good place for adults to seek romantic connections.
10. Doublelist
Doublelist is a casual hookup site that prides itself on double-verifying every personal ad, which is how it got its name. To get started, you’ll just need to provide a valid email address and complete a text verification process.
Doublelist maintains strict guidelines to ensure its users act appropriately and do not get into trouble. The classified site deletes and bans all fake profiles, but the good news is that fake ads only amount to about 1% of new signups.
Pros
- Two-factor verification
- Simple signup process
- Looks like a classifieds page
Cons
- Fewer active members
- Limited search options
- No video features
When Craigslist closed its personals section, it left millions of daters scrambling to find a new website to act as their wingman. Doublelist has stepped up to fill that void and be the Craigslist personals replacement for casual daters around the world.
Doublelist is a dating site, not an escort site, so you won’t find sex workers lurking here.
Doublelist began in the U.S. and has rapidly expanded to cover nearly 250 cities in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The site now has over 3 million members and sees over 100,000 posts every day.
11. Locanto
Locanto stands out as an old-school classifieds site. You can explore the Personals, Dating, or Community sections to find chances to connect through private messages or public posts.
The personals section is packed with candid ads where people openly share their bedroom desires (and sometimes their measurements).
The site offers two categories for online daters: a casual encounters section and a long-term relationships section. Additionally, the page includes filters for age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and couples dating.
Pros
- Straightforward ads
- Anonymous and discreet
- Can view ads without signing up
Cons
- No photos or videos
- Info isn’t verified by moderators
- Few local options
Locanto recently released a companion dating app for singles who want to stay in touch while on the go and receive notifications on their phones when they get a message. The app creates over 50,000 matches and sees more than 1.2 million messages exchanged per day.
12. Bedpage
Bedpage probably looks and sounds familiar to former Backpage users. The personal services follow the old blueprint of the Backpage website. Even its logo is strikingly similar. However, it’s important to note that the team behind Bedpage has no affiliation with Backpage whatsoever.
Bedpage provides a diverse array of personal listings beyond just dating. Whether you’re a single woman seeking a one-night stand or a retired couple looking to rent out your beach house, Bedpage is your go-to.
Pros
- Quick local browsing
- Very little personal info needed
- Low barrier to entry
Cons
- Fake and inactive ads
- Mixed intentions
- Low response rate
Listings are sorted by region, making it easy to reach nearly every major city globally, although its largest audience is in the U.S. and Canada.
“We proudly stand as one of the top classified advertising websites,” says the Bedpage team. “What began as a simple Backpage substitute has transformed into a leading force in the ever-evolving field of classified listings.”
13. Pernals
Pernals (formerly known as Cragly) is an up-and-coming dating platform that facilitates casual hookups and friendships.
The dating app has given old-fashioned classified ads an upgrade by taking them to a mobile format and using swiping technology to speed up the matching process.
The Pernals website launched following the Backpage scandal, and its team has promised to put user safety first and not make the same mistakes that similar personals sites have made in the past. Pernals does not cater to sex workers, and it has a vetted list of personal ads on offer.
Pros
- Safety-conscious signup steps
- Little personal details
- Search any city in the U.S.
Cons
- Must download the app to use
- Small dating pool
- Inactive profiles
“We strive to fight against online sex trafficking,” the Pernals team said. “We manually review each post from our users to ensure the quality and safety. If you find any online sex trafficking activity, please report it to us immediately.”
FAQs: Why Did Backpage and Craigslist Personals Shut Down?
Backpage and Craigslist are both permanently out of service, but for very different reasons. Backpage shut down due to a criminal investigation, while Craigslist closed voluntarily in accordance with changes in the law.
It all started in April 2017 when Representative Ann Wagner of Missouri introduced HR 1865, or the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA). The bill gave law enforcement the ability to hold website owners accountable for facilitating prostitution and sex trafficking.
The bill passed with bipartisan support in Congress and was signed into law in the spring of 2018.
In response, Craigslist closed down its dating personals section. The website made a statement to explain the reasoning behind this decision:
“Any tool or service can be misused. We can’t take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we have regretfully taken Craigslist personals offline.” — Craigslist team
Backpage’s shutdown was much more egregious. The U.S. Department of Justice seized control of the website in April 2018. Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer later pleaded guilty to facilitating prostitution and money laundering.
Prosecutors accused Backpage of making over $500 million from prostitution ads since 2004.
Backpage crossed the line from naughty dating service to criminal online sex trafficking, and its ignominious example is a warning to all sites operating in this space.
How Do Dating Classified Sites Work?
Over the years, Backpage replacement sites have cropped up to meet a demand in the dating market. I mean, you can’t pick up dates on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, so it makes sense that personal services have arisen with a competitive edge.
Classified sites are different from dating sites in a few key ways:
- No matchmaking algorithms or compatibility ratings
- Few profile details beyond age and location
- Little to no photo verification
- Lax moderation
Typically, a classified site asks for minimal personal details from users. It might request an email or birthdate, but usually doesn’t require Facebook logins or profile pictures. Often, you don’t even need to create an ad to browse around and read the listings posted by people nearby.
Are Dating Sites Safe?
Today’s classified website is held to a higher standard than the old Backpage website, particularly when it comes to online dating safety. For decades, classified ads masked sex workers and prostitution rings, but the U.S. Justice Department has cracked down on the shady corners of the web to make it a safer place.
Sites like Doublelist have to set stricter membership rules and actively police personal ads if they don’t want to follow in Backpage’s criminal footprints and become nothing more than an escort directory.
However, policing fake profiles and stopping scammers is a big and difficult task. Some always slip through the cracks. It falls to the individual to trust their gut and keep a wary eye out for false pretenses.
Online dating is safe — as long as singles are careful about the personal information they share and who they decide to trust. Look out for fake profiles and be skeptical when a romantic encounter seems to be going a little too well or moving too quickly (aka love bombing).
I strongly urge online daters to vet new love interests and not just take a dating profile at face value.
What Are the Search Features on Personals Sites Like?
Personals sites tend to stick to the basics of age, gender, and location. There might be categories for sexual orientation or maybe even popular types of encounters, but it doesn’t usually go very deep.
Personals sites typically don’t have personality search filters and match algorithms. The burden is on the user to scroll and find what they want based on sheer serendipity.
What Is the Best Free Backpage Alternative?
AdultFriendFinder is our top pick for a free Backpage alternative. It has over 105 million profiles in its database, a quick and anonymous signup process, and enough free browsing to keep things interesting before you ever think about upgrading. The sheer volume of active members means you’re far less likely to run into a dead end than you would on a smaller classifieds site.
That said, “best” really depends on what you’re looking for. If you want something that feels closest to the old Backpage experience — straightforward ads, minimal personal details, no frills — Doublelist and Locanto are the ones to bookmark. Both are completely free with no paid tiers whatsoever, and both let you browse without signing up.
If you’re a woman, Ashley Madison is worth a serious look. The entire platform is free for female members, including messaging, which is a rare perk in this category.
What’s the Best LGBTQ+ Hookup App?
Dating apps and sites that offer users a personal-ad-style hookup experience are still quite popular — and Grindr does it better than just about any other platform in the LGBTQ+ space.
The app offers free chatting for all mutual matches and uses location-based searches to drum up the most likely hookup prospects.
Grindr created its all-male personals section in 2009, and it has been tantalizing local guys ever since. The dating app organizes a person’s potential date prospects by distance, so it’s easy to swipe through the hottest guys in town.
Currently, Grindr boasts more than 27 million male users and attracts over 3 million daily visitors from 200 countries.
The Right Site Can Offer New Avenues to Romance
Backpage and Craigslist Personals might be a thing of the past, but the casual dating scene is still going strong. Since 2018, several alternative websites have stepped up to fill the gap left by these adult services.
The sites on this list can offer online daters a new beginning (and lots of adult ads) in a more regulated and trustworthy environment.
It’s a fast, efficient, and safe way to send out flirtatious vibes and arrange casual hookups with strangers. Best of luck!
