31 best dating apps for every gender and sexuality in 2026
Dating Sunday: the biggest day of the year for singles and dating apps. Because, all at once, we collectively decide to reinvest in our love lives and give dating sites like Hinge, FEELD and Match.com another shot.
In terms of what to expect on the day, Tinder's suggesting 6% more matches — that's an average of 380 matches every second — and a 10% spike in DMs sent when compared with an average weekend. Your next question, then, is likely where to invest your energy. Cue, my round up of the best dating apps and sites in 2026, reviewed and approved by Glamour's (unashamedly) single editors.
Yep, in a bid to reduce the time you're attached to that single status, I and single Glamour editors have spent the years road-testing many of the 1,400 dating platforms available in the UK. Think Match.com, eHarmony, Coffee Meets Bagel, Bumble, Tinder and SilverSingles — plus a host of lesbian dating apps, dating sites for people over 40 and dating apps for single parents.
I've also spoken to countless industry experts for their insight — many of whom still see dating apps as one of the best ways to meet people in 2026, but also see the need for some edits. This includes Tegan Broomfield, founder of Evntful Dating: "Yes they are still one of the best ways to meet people, but not in the way current apps are turning the experience into a ‘game’.
“A recent BBC documentary highlighted how dating apps have become gamified, intentionally designed to keep users swiping, chasing rewards, and staying on the platform, rather than helping them build real-life relationships. This mirrors what many people feel: that dating apps are good at capturing attention, but not at turning matches into meaningful offline connection.”
She continues: “The average person spends 12 hours a week on dating apps — so the appetite is still there, but a huge cultural shift is taking place. Now, searches for singles events, run clubs, and community-based meetups have surged by 400%, showing a clear desire to date in a safer, healthier and ultimately more human way.” Thankfully, I've found apps that offer this, too. So, read on to see which we've named as the best dating apps to use in 2026, as well as answers to common dating FAQs and insight from industry experts.
How I choose the best dating apps:
At Glamour, we pride ourselves on offering unfiltered, unbiased and truthworthy reviews on anything (read: everything) a reader might need or want, from new-in beauty to viral wellness buys and, of course, dating apps.
Despite being in a happy, healthy relationship, I'm obsessed with the ever-evolving dating landscape, and so having spent years reading up on new apps and personally testing a host to recommend to my friends. But before reaching a verdict on each, I consider the following:
- Ease of use — Was the app easy to set up? Is the interface simple to navigate?
- Suitability — What kind of matches does the app help me secure? Is it suitable for all genders and sexualities?
- Efficacy — How long did it take me to secure a match, and/or a date?
- Safety — How safe did I feel on the app? What kind of safety and profile verfication measures are in place?
But it’s not just my opinion that counts, so I have made sure to read countless online reviews, have asked dating experts for their insight and have even following long Reddit threads where people are brutally honest about their experiences of dating apps and IRL dating events, ensuring I share the most important information here.
Why you can trust me:
While I started my career working alongside a tabloid agony aunt, giving people answers to their sex and relationship-related queries, I turned my focus to commerce three years ago. My working week now consists of reviewing new sexual wellness and menstrual health releases, as well as the dating apps trying to make meeting your match easier.
To ensure I'm an authority on all things love and relationships, I regularly attend press days and app launches, interview dating experts and brand founders, plus have personally downloaded at least 100 dating sites, road-testing each to ensure they live up to their designers' claims.
Where we'd head to swipe right.
Ahead, the best dating apps and sites in 2026, approved by single Glamour editors:
Best dating app for long-term relationships: eHarmony
According to the site's 'Married Couples by the Numbers' facts report, 71% of women and 69% of men meet their spouse on eHarmony within a year of joining the site. Setting up a profile is simple, and the algorithm filters matches by personality, habits and interests. The most popular age groups on the dating site are between 30 and 44, and 55 to 64.
- Cost: Free membership, though this is limited, and you have to pay for more premium plans. Subscription costs start at £7.95 per month for 24 months.
- Who is it for? Those looking for serious, monogamous relationships.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: High success rate, matches based on personality and values.
- Cons: You need to subscribe if you want to send customised messages and receive unlimited access to your match’s profile.
Best dating app for beginners: Match
Match.com is one of the biggest dating sites in the UK, boasting over 3 million UK users. And according to their site, 1.6 million people have, umm, met their match. While some dating sites can be a minefield of ads, notifications and messy layouts, Match's interface is very user-friendly.
A bit like Tinder, Match will show you one profile at a time, and you can decide whether to match or skip them. But unlike Tinder, you'll be given more information on the potential match as a person, so you're not just judging their hotness.
- Cost: Free to join, but paid-for plans start at £12.99.
- Who is it for? Singles looking for a long-term relationship. It's perhaps better suited to beginners in this field than eHarmony is. Around a quarter of users are under the age of 30, and another quarter of users are above 50. What's more, 59% of its users are single parents.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: Lots of users, lots of information provided, easy to use.
- Cons: The demographic on Match tends to skew a little older.
Best dating app for non-conformist dating: Feeld
Eliminating the judgment barrier that those open to polyamory and sexual fluidity (to name a few preferences), Feeld makes accessing your romantic and sexual passions more of a reality — play the Feeld, as it were.
“People have their own interpretations because it’s so open,” explains Kirova. “Ultimately, it’s a platform where you can meet people without having a goal. I think a lot of dating apps have this specific, either spoken or not, goal for the user, and they design the app in that way.
“FEELD is truly made for expression and exploration, and for a lot of serendipity. Meeting something maybe you weren’t expecting, discovering something about yourself, and that’s what makes it quite hard to define.
“The shortest version: a space where open-minded people find like-minded.”
But what really makes the app unique? “We don’t really have an algorithm,” details Kirova, who founded the app with her partner back in 2014. "That’s why it takes time to find a person on FEELD, because we don’t cater things to your taste. We filter based on some parameters like age, distance from you, gender and whether you’re okay with partnered people or not. Then the rest is just who’s there.
“I think that creates a slightly more unexpected environment — it might take a little longer — but relationships and the different structures people can explore are just infinite."
- Cost: Free to download and use, with membership options with added features for a fee.
- Who is it for? For individuals with a penchant for exploring new things and looking beyond the age-old, outdated archetype of a nuclear family, Feeld will likely be worth your time.
- Availability: App: Android and iOS.
- Pros: Diverse and non-judgmental.
- Cons: The opportunity to highlight your sexual interests can quickly steer the conversation in that direction.
Best dating app for young people: Hinge
Hinge is great for seeing someone's personality (as well as their looks) at first glance. It lets you customise your dating profile to add three key bits of personal information, plus videos and voice prompts to really embed your personality within your profile.
But it's the brand's newest feature that our (single) Senior Commerce Writer, Sophie adores. Rolled out in September 2024, Your Turn Limits is a first-of-its-kind feature which addresses one of the biggest online dating challenges: unanswered messages from matches. Essentially, the app will stop you from messaging someone new if you have too many people waiting for your response. In an early test, the brand found it increased responsiveness on the app by 20%.
Speaking exclusively to GLAMOUR UK, Hinge's Director of Relationship Science, Logan Ury says: “In our research, we found that you're most effective at getting to a date when you're talking to eight or fewer people at the same time. So, now when daters hit that limit, they have to respond or close out conversations before they match with someone new.”
However, we've all heard some label dating as a “numbers game,” suggesting you should attempt to meet or date a higher number of people to improve your chances of success (AKA bagging a relationship). Ury's response to that: “Yes, you need to go out with a certain number of people to find the person that you want to build a life with, but it's not a numbers game in that if just keep dating more people, you'll automatically find someone."
She continues: “I really want to change the narrative to make it about focusing on the conversations that you're having and giving each person a chance, making a decision in an intentional way.” Preach.
- Cost: Free to download, with Hinge Subscription options from £10.49.
- Who is it for? Younger people looking to date via an app, but who want something a little more serious than the matches Tinder offers.
- Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
- Pros: People tend to want something a little more serious.
- Cons: It comes with the pressure of coming across as witty, fun and effortlessly debonair. Plus the answers might get a little old – we get it, people hate slow walkers.
Best dating app for mature singles: Our Time
Our Time is a dating website owned by the Match Group, with free membership and over 150,000 active users. It's a fairly new addition to the dating site scene, but it's perfect for anyone who is tired of swiping left and right and just wants to meet someone in person for a walk in the park or a takeaway coffee. Your profile will appear on other dating sites owned by the Match group when you sign up, but that can only be a good thing since it widens your pool of potential partners.
- Cost: Membership is free, but you have to pay for a plan (starting at £19.99) if you want to access the features.
- Who is it for? Arguably best dating sites for people over 40 looking for love.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: They also host regular singles events, which you can actually take up to three friends along to for moral support.
- Cons: It's aimed at over-40s, so consider what you're looking for before you sign up. You also have to pay to send messages, and the sign-up process takes a little bit of time.
Best dating app for safety: Evntful
When I was single, the one word I would always use to discuss my recent dates was ‘eventful’. But this new dating app is reclaiming that, and vows to spare you endless swiping, too.
“Our mission is simple: Make dating easier, more fun, and much safer,” says founder, Tegan Broomfield. “Many people don’t realise the mental load carried every time you agree to meet someone new, especially for women. Evntful addresses this directly with safety features that let users share who they’re meeting and where they are, giving friends visibility and daters peace of mind."
But the brand also prioritises in-person connection, rather than swiping and faceless messaging, with the app allowing you to book spaces at curated social events (think run clubs, DJ nights and live dating shows) and one-on-one dates. Currently free for all users, I'm yet to see a major downside… further testing pending!
- Cost: Free membership.
- Who is it for? Anyone who may have found online dating overwhelming in the past.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: Prioritises safety and in-person connections.
- Cons: New app so it offers a limited pool — plus there's currenlty a limited number of available sign-up spots.
Best dating app for personalised matches: Zoosk
An all-rounder, whether you're looking for a short-term fling or something longer-lasting, Zoosk has had over 30 million downloads since its launch. Thanks to being super modern, Zoosk is often hailed as one of the best dating sites in the country – though it's lesser-known, so it's a good one to try if you're tired of Tinder, Hinge and Harmony.
Instead of completing the usual personality test upfront, Zoosk’s Behavioural Matchmaking algorithm gets to know each member as they use the dating site, and then their SmartPick function gathers matches to pair you with singles you're likely to be attracted to.
- Cost: Free to join, but some features are paid-only. Plans include: £29.99 for a month, £20 a month for 3 months, £15 a month for 6 months.
- Who is it for? Younger singles who have gotten bored of Tinder and Bumble. It has a modern interface, a Tinder-like swiping mechanism to sort matches, and the average age is between 18 and 40. It's also hugely popular in the US, so if you live in America, check it out.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: You can do video dates from the app.
- Cons: There aren't options to register as anything other than a man or woman when you sign up for the site.
Best dating app for fussy daters: Okcupid
There are more than four million users worldwide (2.5 million of whom are in the UK), and with OKCupid, you can choose everything from the type of relationship you're looking for (marriage/hook-up/short-term fling) to the gender you'd like to date (from 22 different genders, FYI) and the sexual orientation of the person you'd like to date (from 13 orientations). It's very inclusive. You then get to answer a tonne of questions about lifestyle, religion, politics and more, leaving you with matches who finally might fit into your very specific criteria.
- Cost: Free membership, but paid accounts start from £7.95.
- Who is it for? Anyone, really. There are slightly more men than women on OKCupid (64% male; 36% female, according to recent data), so it's perhaps a little better if you're hoping to date males. The median age is 32 years old, so it skews younger than eHarmony and Match.com.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: It's very inclusive. The questions are super in-depth and it caters well for those in the LGBTQIA+ community.
- Cons: You have to pay to upgrade to the Premium membership for extra features.
Best dating app for serious online daters: Parship
Parship is a great dating site, which uses a pretty complex test to analyse your personality traits when you first sign up. Sounds complicated, but it really does mean you'll be able to start chatting to like-minded people more quickly.
- Cost: Free limited membership, or from £14.90 per month.
- Who is it for? There is a fairly even male/female split in the users, and 52 per cent of them are graduates. It caters well to the LGBTqia+ community.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: It's great for finding long-term relationships with other professional people. Most members on the site have fairly similar incomes and education levels. There's a specific gay version of Parship for those looking for a committed and long-term same-sex partner.
- Cons: You can pay above the basic free membership to be able to message your matches.
Best dating app for fem-dom relationships: Chyrpe
We'd argue there's little point in using a mainstream dating app if you're looking for a very specific set-up. Enter: Chyrpe, made to aid those seeking female-led or fem-dom relationships in which they are ‘cherished, respected and adored’ for mutual empowerment. Sounds great.
Others seem to think so, as since its launch in May 2024, it has been downloaded over 400,000 times on the App Store and Google Play in more than 120 countries. But the feature we love most? Powerboard, where users can set up their own rules of engagement. Essentially, this is one app you can make your own. But there's also the option to rate each other's profiles — in our eyes, another way to know the people you're matching with are real.
- Cost: Free version for everyone, but there's also the option to upgrade to a Premium membership.
- Who is it for? Females and people with vulvas 17+ with an interest in fem-dom dating.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: Allows sugar dating and other transactional dating, but insists it's declared from sign-up to keep all parties safe.
- Cons: While not designed specifically for short-term connections, our testers found conversations tend to turn to kink due to the openness of the app.
BreezeBest dating app for offline dates: Breeze
If it's the endless rounds of 21 (surface-level) questions that put you off dating apps, you'll be relieved to hear that Breeze doesn't allow you to chat with your match — at all. Here's how it works: every day, once at 7 am and again at 7 pm, you'll get sent a max of 20 matches (yep, this one allows you to bid goodbye to endless swiping). Then, if the feeling's mutual, you can set up a date at a safe, partnered pub or bar nearby.
Note that you will have to pay £9.50 to secure your booking, however, co-founder and success story of Breeze, Marsha Goei, believes the investment works in users' favour, weeding out the people who are only on the app for some light entertainment.
But our favourite feature of all? Ghosters get their accounts frozen temporarily in a bid to teach them that communication is key. “There is a lot of choice paralysis in dating, with certain apps making it so easy to always look for the next match and look for something else," details Goei. "I feel like this abundance makes for a very toxic culture. In human interactions you have in real life, you wouldn't just ghost someone — but somehow, over the years, it became okay to do it online. If we make these apps or technologies more human-centred, then it's a lot healthier for everyone.”
- Cost: Free to download, but you'll need to pay £9.50 to secure each date. This also covers your first drink.
- Who is it for? Single men, women or gender nonconforming people looking to get past the swiping and matching stage.
- Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
- Pros: Gets you off the app fast, plus removes all anxiety about finding a suitable date location. To date, it's facilitated more than more than 250,000 (!) first dates.
- Cons: There's no checking your compatibility beforehand.
Best dating app for millennials: Bumble
The world of dating is filled with tiresome tropes like ‘you’ve got to wait 72 hours before you send them a message' or rather, in heterosexual relationships, ‘only the man can propose!’ Bumble sets out to dismantle those archaic traditions and seeks out forward-thinking individuals as the crux of its user base.
Suitable for both Apple and Android devices, Bumble takes a somewhat feminist stance and challenges long-outdated norms of the dating world - i.e. that men have to make the first move. Yep, for heterosexual couples, Bumble asks its female users to start conversations and then gives their male counterparts 24 hours to respond before the connection expires.
Plus, for those not up for an intimate relationship, Bumble's also well-known for its BFF finder - great for users just moving to new towns and cities.
- Cost: Free to download and use, with premium options available for a surplus.
- Who is it for? 18-35 year-olds looking for serious relationships, flings and casual dating. The male/female split is fairly equal.
- Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
- Pros: Gives women the control.
- Cons: For same-sex relationships, both parties are encouraged to message first, thus rendering the unique ‘quirk’ of the app a little targeted in favour of straight couples.
Best new dating app: Cherry
Who better to update you on a new route to love than the app's founder? Yep, Cherry is the latest in a long (long) line of dating apps, working to help millennials and Gen Z alike to find love — except it's doing it differently.
Sharing all the details in an exclusive chat with GLAMOUR UK, founder Jo Mason revealed the brand took a safety-first approach when designing the automated matchmaker: “While a few apps offer ID verification, it’s often optional. At Cherry, every account must be fully verified. This includes submitting a selfie alongside an official ID, which is then cross-checked with the uploaded photos, ensuring that every user feels secure and authentic.” Uh, yes, please.
Also different to some of its swiping sisters? The timeline. “When it comes to matching, I believe in striking the right balance," Mason continues. "Bumble gives you 24 hours, which can feel rushed, while Tinder offers unlimited time to connect, which lacks urgency. At Cherry, matches expire after a week, giving enough time to connect, but with just the right sense of urgency.”
But her favourite feature: the compatibility percentage score. “I love this because, when you're browsing profiles and you’re uncertain whether to swipe left or right based purely on looks, a higher score gives that profile more consideration. On the other hand, if you come across your ideal match physically, but their score is low, it makes you think twice — will you invest your time getting to know them, or move on to someone with a higher compatibility score?”
- Cost: Free to download.
- Who is it for? Everyone — although currently 26% of users are aged between 38 and 47, while another 25% fall into the 28 to 37 bracket.
- Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
- Pros: You're only shown matches who have selected the same ‘vibe’ as you. So no more matching with John Doe who's ‘looking for long-term, open to short' when you're hunting for a husband.
- Cons: New, and so you'll be swimming in a fairly small pool… for now.
Best dating app for young professionals: Seeking
Framing itself as a ‘luxury dating site’, Seeking was designed with high-powered professionals in mind, matching those who share similar values, as well as sky-high levels of ambition and drive. Originally launched as SeekingArrangement in 2006, it has evolved with its audience — but makes it clear that those interested in sugar dating or financial arrangements should head elsewhere. But how exactly does it work? Use the advanced search tools and filters to narrow down the number of potential matches.
Speaking exclusively to GLAMOUR, CEO Dana Rosewall says: “Seeking is the largest luxury dating platform for successful singles who want successful relationships. We currently have 56 million users in 130+ countries, and endless success stories as we give singles the chance to enhance their lives and find someone who can add a fresh perspective, excitement, and substance.
“As a Gen-Z CEO, I understand the fatigue of modern dating and endless swiping. Our platform is designed to cut through the noise and gamification of today’s dating world, encouraging members to lead with values rather than looks or other superficial factors. Members make an effort to share their intentions, desires and expectations upfront.
"Connection is common in our hyperconnected world, but true connection is timeless. Where you look for that connection is the key, and it starts with where you choose to date.”
- Cost: Free membership, though this is limited. Also, a Premium (from £79.95) and Diamond (£119.95) option for those willing to invest.
- Who is it for? ‘Accomplished individuals’ — AKA professional workers seeking connections with other corporate workers.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: Uses a Selfie Liveness Check to limit fraud and fake profiles.
- Cons: We're not so fond of the cheesy, heterosexual short film that welcomes you to the home page. You'll have to upgrade to Premium or Diamond status to send messages.
Best dating app for unfiltered dating: RAW
It's something I think about often — how authentic are people on dating apps? Because we all vow to be 100% ourselves… before using ChatGPT to answer prompts, and adding subtly edited shots to our profiles.
But RAW encourages people to show the true, unfiltered version of themselves through daily, real-time photo updates. Yep, literally show me what you're doing and how you look doing it. Ultimately, it did reassure me that the person I had planned to meet would actually look like the one on their profile. But did I feel a slight pressure to make sure my hair and makeup were on point before my daily update? Absolutely.
Think of it like BeReal, only exclusively for the purpose of meeting a beau.
- Cost: Free membership — although certain extra perks are available with a RAW Premium membership, or as a reward for in-app activity.
- Who is it for? Anyone 18+ who craves authenticity.
- Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
- Pros: No filters and no fakes, plus it creates an air of spontaneity.
- Cons: Our testers felt a slight pressure to be camera-ready at all times.
Best dating app for hooking up: Tinder
It’s no secret that Tinder is one of the most widely used, most saturated apps and if you’re looking for a whole host of options, Tinder’s the place for you. You can get swiping immediately, you can choose how much you reveal about yourself, and it even has a catfishing, scam-proof feature called Loops where you can see GIFs of potential matches.
- Cost: Free, with Tinder Plus options from just 79p.
- Who is it for? Most Tinder users are aged between 25-34, but 55 and above account for 16% of all users. It's best used for those who are after casual hook-ups or friendship.
- Availability: Android and Apple apps.
- Pros: Easy to use. Wide dating pool.
- Cons: Tinder seems geared towards casual dating, so if that's not your bag, you might look towards a dating site or app like Hinge. What's more, profiles aren't quite as detailed as they are on other apps – it's just your name, job, education, location and links to your Spotify and Instagram accounts which can be included. It has been reported that not all users are real people.
HAYSTACKBest dating app for IRL events: Haystack
A new player in the mix, and one we're rather excited about. The brand's mission? To make dating more fun, more inclusive and less sh*t. Gorgeous.
It's the brainchild of Lucy Rout, who, after three years of being single and feeling sick of the modern dating options available to her, decided to give up entirely. Then, she ended up falling in love with someone IRL after a warm introduction (adorbs) and now throws dating events that use a matching algorithm to connect people with similar interests and values — and with no awkward speed dating.
Three months post-launch and three sell-out events later, Lucy has now hosted more than 1000 singles — plus, one in five who have attended the events have gone on to have a first date.
Speaking exclusively to GLAMOUR, Rout says: “At regular dating events, you’re crammed into a room full of hundreds of people and given no indication as to who you might be compatible with. So, the love of your life could be in the room, but the chance of actually meeting them is slim. But Haystack's science is working, and I couldn’t be more excited to help more people fine love!”
- Cost: Tickets start at £18.
- Who is it for? Singles in London, Manchester and Bristol who may be sick of swiping left. Currently, the average age of attendees is 33.
- Availability: An app is in the works, but tickets available on a first come, first served basis.
- Pros: No swiping, chatting or ghosting. But, most importantly, fully disability inclusive, only using wheelchair accessible venues for its IRL events.
- Cons: Fairly new, so a rather small dating pool.
Best dating app for LGBTQIA2S+ dating: HER
A top pick for lesbian, bi, queer, trans and non-binary or non-conforming gender identities, HER offers a safe space for non-cis and non-heterosexual singles alike to meet and connect, not to mention being an 'editor's choice' app on the Apple app store.
- Cost: Core features are free, with premium options from £13.99.
- Who is it for? Lesbian, bi, queer, trans and non-binary or non-conforming gender identities.
- Availability: App and website.
- Pros: Great for meeting new friends in the community as well as potential partners and, for users in sleepy towns, it allows them to extend their dating scope into busier, neighbouring cities with a more thriving LGBTQIA2S+ scene.
- Cons: You'll have to bypass a paywall to unlock unlimited swipes and gain access to certain intel, such as who's already liked you.
Best dating app for Indian daters: Shaadi.com
Shaadi.com is the best dating site for single Indians who are looking for love. In fact, you have to set your preference to "bride" or "groom" when you sign up, showing that it's exclusively aimed at those looking for marriage. You can filter your choices based on height, religion, whether you have children etc.
- Cost: It’s free to sign up to Shaadi.com. But there are some more comprehensive, paid-for packages which you can sign up to: Gold, Gold Plus, Diamond, Diamond Plus and Platinum Plus.
- Who is it for? Single Indian daters.
- Availability: Website only.
- Pros: You can get a personalised membership which means you get a personal relationship advisor to help you out.
- Cons: Shaadi is probably not for you if you're after something a little more casual.
SALTBest new Christian dating app: SALT
Publicly dating within the church can often feel awkward and pressured, so SALT was launched to provide a digital option for keen Christian daters. Run by a small team of single and married Christians who know what you want/need, they've fitted the app with useful features like voice notes and video calls. But the brand also offers in-person events, in case you're also keen to connect in person.
- Cost: Free to download. Upgrade to SALT Premium to unlock additional benefits like Global Search and Private Mode.
- Who is it for? Single Christians seeking someone who shares their faith and values.
- Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
- Pros: Offer in-person events, as well as a dedicated YouTube channel offering videos intended to encourage and entertain. Also, use the latest selfie verification and fraud detection technology to give you peace of mind.
- Cons: Maybe not one for older daters? With the age slider maxing out at ‘55+’, you'll have to filter your matches yourself.
Best dating app for live video chatting: Badoo
Badoo will leave you spoiled for choice; it's a great app for keeping for options open. Dating profiles are made up of basic information, and you can drop in on people's live video chats. According to sheer popularity, analytics firm Statista reports that Badoo is the most popular online dating app in the world with more than 100 million visits per month, so you'll be spoiled for choice.
- Cost: Free membership for the most basic package. You can sign up to premium packages which start at £4.99 a week.
- Who is it for? Those looking for light-hearted dating and the chance to get to know lots of people at once.
- Availability: Android and Apple apps.
- Pros: You can select what you're looking for when you sign up: a chat, casual dates a serious relationship or to stay open-minded.
- Cons: You get notifications every time someone messages you or sends you a like, but since there are SO many users, things can get overwhelming.
Best dating app for Jewish daters: Jdate
JDate is the internet's largest Jewish dating service, and it has been around for nearly two decades. You simply upload a bio of around 100-150 words and up to six photos. Then, you can browse other dating profiles to your hearts' content, filtering by physical features, hobbies, religious practise and the type of relationship they're after.
- Cost: Membership is free.
- Who is it for? Jewish singles looking for love. It's LGBT inclusive.
- Availability: Website, on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Pros: There's a Look Book feature which makes it super easy to track who has liked you, and who you've liked in return.
- Cons: There aren't quite as many members as other dating sites.
Best dating app for the Muslim faith: Muzz (formerly MuzzMatch)
Designed for Muslim users who want to guarantee respect towards their religion and views, Muzz - formerly Muzmatch - has over 200,000 relationship successes within its vast community.
- How much does it cost? Free to download and use with gold membership available for a fee.
- Who is it for? Muslim daters.
- Availability: Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Pros: Muzz makes meeting a partner in a halal manner possible and, for those worried about bumping into friends and family on the app, it gives users the capacity to keep photos and names obscured.
- Cons: Said privacy feature makes finding a match for those with looks at the forefront of their non-negotiables a bit trickier.
.png)
Best dating app for dating people nearby: Happn
Happn aims to connect you with people you regularly cross paths with. If you pass them IRL, they'll appear on the app – and Happn will rack up how many times you come close to each other. There's no doubt about it – this is the best dating app for approaching that guy you always stare at on the Northern Line without looking like a stalker.
Karima Ben Abdelmalek, CEO and President of happn, says: "At happn, we have a unique offering based on geolocation that allows our users to find people they have potentially met with in real life, crossed paths with, frequent the same bars as, and even share daily interests with.
"The app is a reflection of real life, and that's what's important. happn uses technology to make your life easier, to provoke some destiny — to give you that chance to meet someone who fits in with your everyday life... it's quite extraordinary.
"Our users today need this link with real life, the ease of meeting people because it is increasingly difficult meet someone in such a fast paced world. Having a service designed to combat this and fit in to your natural routing, that is what makes us a leading dating application with over 165 million registered users worldwide."
- How much does it cost? Free, with starter packs of coins available from £1.99.
- Who is it for? Younger people living in cities.
- Availability: Android and Apple apps.
- Pros: Great for local dating. Easy-to-use interface.
- Cons: Living in a big city can cause issues – think needle in a haystack.
.png)
Best dating app for Christian daters: Christian Connection
This award-winning dating site is the best dating site for Christians. If you want someone with the same religion as you, make a beeline. It's for those who want a long-term relationship, but who struggle to find like-minded people outside of their church and work.
- Cost: Free membership, though this is limited. Packages start at £24 per month.
- Who is it for? Christian daters.
- Availability: Online, on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Pros: There are more than 110,000 users worldwide, and all it takes to strike up a conversation is a simple “wave".
- Cons: There are lots of questions to answer when you first sign up, but that can only be beneficial in the long-run. Membership is free but this only allows you to match, send waves and preset replies.
Best dating app for curing dating app fatigue: Thursday
It was only released to the masses back in May of last year and, as its name suggests, has been working only on Thursdays ever since. It encourages users to spend time on themselves six out of seven days of the week, then exchange numbers – and meet up – with people close to them when they can log on. Your matches disappear at midnight on a Thursday, so you have to act fast.
- How much does it cost? Free to download.
- Who is it for? It's LGBTQIA+ inclusive and the gender split is 52 per cent men to 48 per cent women. The age range skews younger, with most daters in their twenties.
- Availability: Apple and Android app.
- Pros: Fun and unique concept.
- Cons: It's only available in London and New York City.
Best dating app for same-sex hook-ups: Grindr
Designed to close the gap between gay, bi, trans, and queer people and their community, Grindr has been around for over 10 years and, unlike some of its equally successful competitors - namely Tinder - the hookup app removes some of the barriers of dating, for instance, requited attraction.
- How much does it cost? Free to download and use with XTRA and Unlimited add-ons available for a cost.
- Who is it for? Same-sex daters.
- Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
- Pros: Users needn't wait for potential hookups to ‘like' them back and anyone on the app can message anyone.
- Cons: Said free-for-all messaging can result in unsolicited pictures in your DMs.
Best dating app for ambitious and career-driven people: Elite Singles
If career goals and intelligence are what turns you on, then Elite Singles is definitely the site for you. According to their website, 82% of its members are graduates and with pretty steep fees, it's clear this dating site is targeted at those who have not only have disposable income, but have grown out of quick hook-up culture and want a mature relationship.
- Cost: £89.95 a month or £29.95 a month for 12 months.
- Who is it for? Elite Singles is best for finding someone with similar aspirations.
- Availability: Online.
- Pros: Daily profile quality checks to ensure a safe dating experience with real people.
- Cons: It's quite expensive in comparison to some other dating sites, particularly if you pay monthly. The stats on their site are a tad outdated.
Best dating app for British South Asians: Single Solution
The Single Solution is a dating site for anyone between the ages of 25 and 60, although their typical members tend to skew slightly older and be professional. There's an Asian version of the site - Asian Single Solution - which, as the name suggests, is tailored towards Asian professionals looking for love.
- Cost: It's free to register and become a member of the site.
- Who is it for? Mature professionals and British South Asians.
- Availability: Online only.
- Pros: Tailored dating pool.
- Cons: Single Solution isn't as user-friendly as some of the other dating sites in this edit, and the website does look a little old. It's only available in a select few UK cities.
Best dating app for setting up your mates: Mysinglefriend.com
Wish your friends could do all the hard work for you? Well, you're in luck. My Single Friend is the best dating website for shy/cringed-out singletons because every person on this site (including yourself) is recommended by their mates. The result? A fun and friendly space for you to chat to like-minded people - sans personal trumpet blowing - and hopefully fall in love.
- Cost: It's free to create a profile but to unlock all features, you'll need to be a subscriber. Subscriptions start at £10.50 a month.
- Who is it for? Those who find dating websites super cringe, hate blowing their own trumpet and feel too shy to strike up a conversation with someone.
- Availability: Online only.
- Pros: Takes the pressure off.
- Cons: You can only select “man” or “woman” as your gender when you sign up, making it a little less inclusive than others.
Best dating app over 50s: Plenty of Fish
Like eHarmony, Plenty of Fish has been around since the early 2000s and has focused on modernising its technology, aesthetic and approach. When you sign up, you upload a photo, basic info, and answer a pretty lengthy 'chemistry test', which is how the site matches you with those of similar character.
- Cost: There's a free version, with options to upgrade your membership at various costs from £9.99 per month.
- Who is it for? PoF has 32 million visits each month, according to recent data, making it one of the most popular dating sites of the year. Bear in mind, that the number of men on Plenty of Fish outnumber women by 20 per cent.
- Availability: Online, on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
- Pros: Good value.
- Cons: It isn't the prettiest of websites, and others are definitely more user-friendly. But they do have more than 150 million registered users worldwide at last count, and they claim to be responsible for creating more relationships and conversations than any other free dating app. So do the graphics really matter?
Dating app FAQs, answered:
“Contrary to popular opinion, when I was single, I found Hinge to be the best free dating site and perfectly suited to serious relationships,” GLAMOUR's Senior European Commerce Editor Sophie Cockett said. "Many of my friends have met fantastic partners on Hinge, too. It has countless people who don’t want to mess around – way more than Tinder did – and you can send an unlimited number of first messages. As well as prompts, voice notes and videos. It helps you to get an insight into a date’s personality before you meet them.”
Elsewhere, eHarmony is the best dating site for serious relationships since it's exclusively designed to match people to find long-lasting love. You'll be paired based on compatibility scores, dealbreakers, personalities, habits and interests after taking a lengthy but worthwhile quiz, so countless new subscribers report it being more successful than making a go of things through social media.
This is a subject still up for debate. Some would argue that paid dating apps, or those with premium features which require an upgade membership have additional perks, such as increased visibility — both of your profile, and of who is liking yours — as well as better filters for potential matches and fewer fake profiles. However, many people find love using free dating apps, especially on apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge.
Personally, I'd recommend Match, Bumble and Hinge, considering both have user-friendly interfaces and setting up a profile is fairly simple. They also have a wide user profile, meaning they also work as suitable dating apps for single parents and dating apps for professionals who may have a few more non-negotiables when it comes to finding a match.
A guide to swiping for seniors.
Meet the experts:
| Hayley Quinn | Relationship expert at Match.com. |
| Logan Ury | Director of Relationship Science at Hinge. |
| Jo Mason | Founder of Cherry Dating. |
| Marsha Goei | Co-founder of Breeze. |
| Ana Kirova | CEO of Feeld. |
| Karima Ben Abdelmalek | CEO and President of happn. |
| Dana Rosewall | CEO of Seeking. |
| Tegan Broomfield | Founder of Evntful Dating. |
