Top 10 Best Sites
Looking for a dating site you can trust? Search no more.
Online Dating
Looking for sites like Craiglist Personals?
People have been turning to Craigslist since 1995, when the online marketplace was founded by Craig Newmark. If you want to sell a car, people often tell you to go to Craigslist. If you’re looking for an apartment to rent, you’ll probably hear “go to Craigslist.” If you’re struggling to find a date, going to Craigslist is always an option. The latter is what we want to focus on today.
Craigslist’s Personals section has helped many a lonely single, but it’s not the only site like it. As a matter of fact, there are dozens. Here’s a list of 12 personals sites that are our favorite Craigslist alternatives.
When you think of hookup personals sites, BeNaughty can’t be left out. It’s been around for a long time (2003), it’s popular (more than 13 million monthly visitors), it’s safe (SSL encrypted), and it’s fun (e.g., videos and live chat). Oh, and of course, BeNaughty is very affordable. Its standard membership is 100% free and includes all the features you need to meet like-minded people.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
48%*
52%*
|
13.3 Million* | Browse Profiles Free |
Adult Friend Finder does exactly as its name suggests — it helps you find adult friends for some X-rated encounters. You can search through the millions of profiles on your own, and Adult Friend Finder will do a lot of the treasure hunting for you based on your unique criteria. Over the past few years, Adult Friend Finder has taken its security measures up a notch, so you shouldn’t be too concerned about scammers or your information being jeopardized.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
65%*
35%*
|
25.5 Million* | 3 Months @ $19.95/Mo |
If you’ve got one-night stands, threesomes, or affairs on your mind, then you may want to consider signing up for FriendFinder-X. It won’t cost you anything, and you have millions of frisky people to choose from. It also won’t cost you anything to flirt with these people in a variety of ways, including liking their profile, exchanging private photos, and chatting in real time.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
Singles & Couples* |
64%*
36%*
|
1.2 Million* | Browse Members Free |
MenNation welcomes gay and bisexual men (as well as sexually curious men, in general) to join its community without having to pay a penny. Simply select whether you’re single or part of a couple, your birth date, country, and zip code. Then provide an email address, username, and password. Finally, start browsing and getting to know users who catch your eye.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
Singles & Couples* |
95%*
5%*
|
780,000* | Start for Free |
LesbianPersonals is dedicated to women who like women, and it’s one of the largest Craigslist-like sites in this niche. You can do all the things you’d expect to be able to do on a dating site, but LesbianPersonals also allows its members to ask each other questions and receive and/give advice. It’s got a real community feel. Not to mention the site doesn’t charge.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
Singles & Couples* |
10%*
90%*
|
500,000* | View Profiles Free |
Unlike some of the other personals sites on this list, Match isn’t meant for hookups — it’s meant for dates, relationships, and marriages. In fact, since 1995, Match has led to more romantic connections than any of its competitors. More than 42 million people and counting are active users on Match, and more than 39 million new people visit the site every month. When it comes to numbers, it doesn’t get more impressive than Match.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
49%*
51%*
|
39.7 Million* | Get 3 Days FREE |
Few dating platforms do the mobile experience as well as Zoosk does. Founded in 2007, Zoosk has a massive following and one of the most active audiences. Its 40 million+ members exchange 3 million+ messages every day, and 30 million+ people have downloaded the app on iTunes and Google Play. Zoosk has a one-of-a-kind matching system, too, called Behavioral Matchmaking. For example, the more you like and dislike profiles, message with people, and add to your profile, the more accurate your match recommendations from Zoosk will get.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles* |
48%*
52%*
|
28.9 Million* | Start Zoosk for FREE |
Ashley Madison is an affair dating site where you where you can post a profile and view other profiles of people looking to step outside of their current relationship, whether it’s for a one-night stand, threesome, or long-term relationship. Just put in some information about yourself and your preferences, and then you can start browsing for matches. Ashley Madison will also make match recommendations, so you can sit back and let the site do all the work if you want.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) |
Today's Deal
|
All Singles & Attached* |
71%*
29%*
|
65 Million* | Browse FREE |
Tinder — it’s a name we all hear pretty often when we’re talking about online dating. How it works is you’ll see a profile with someone’s name, age, gender, location, etc. Then you’ll swipe right on your phone if you’re interested, and you’ll swipe left if you’re not interested. Messaging is only enabled if each person swipes right on each other. Tinder is mostly free except for a few premium features, such as accessing more Super Likes, so you should be able to get the job done.
URL: https://tinder.com/
Not only is OkCupid absolutely free to use, but it has a very different matching process from other dating sites. You’ll answer the registration questions. Then you’ll choose how you want your dates to answer those questions. Then you’ll give those answers a ranking of very important, somewhat important, or not important at all. Then OkCupid will scour its user base for those who meet your wants and needs.
“Find the people you’ve crossed paths with” is what happens on Happn, and that means it’s almost like a Craigslist Missed Connections experience. The free app will show you people you’ve come across in real life (e.g., at the gym, the local cafe, the dog park, or the karaoke bar), but the exact location remains invisible. Once you decide if you like them or not, you can send and receive private messages and things like that. If you sign up through Facebook, Happn will also show you common friends and those who have the same interests.
Grindr, sometimes called the gay Tinder, is a great place for finding hookups, dates, and lifelong partners. Millions of gay, bisexual, and curious men from all over the world use the app, which uses your location to connect you with compatible people. Grindr also cares about improving the lives of those in the LGBTQ community, so the team regularly launches Grindr for Equality campaigns that fight against discrimination, harassment, and abuse.
Craigslist has paved the way for online personals, and dating sites have taken a lot of cues from the online marketplace. However, a lot of dating sites, including the sites like Craigslist in this article, have surpassed what Craigslist is capable of. Don’t limit yourself — put a few profiles up and see which site best suits you. After all, since you don’t have to pay anything, you don’t have anything to lose.
DatingAdvice.com is a free online resource that offers valuable content and comparison services to users. To keep this resource 100% free, we receive compensation from many of the offers listed on the site. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across the site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). DatingAdvice.com does not include the entire universe of available offers. Editorial opinions expressed on the site are strictly our own and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by advertisers.
Our site is committed to publishing independent, accurate content guided by strict editorial guidelines. Before articles and reviews are published on our site, they undergo a thorough review process performed by a team of independent editors and subject-matter experts to ensure the content’s accuracy, timeliness, and impartiality. Our editorial team is separate and independent of our site’s advertisers, and the opinions they express on our site are their own. To read more about our team members and their editorial backgrounds, please visit our site’s About page.
Discuss This!