The Best Dating Apps for 2023

There's a dating app for everyone, whether you want a long-term partner or just a quick hookup. There are many, many options. Some are very specific, like FarmersOnly, JDate, and 3Fun. Others, like the ones we talk about here, are more general and cast a wider net. What kind of dating app only works on Thursdays? What a thought! As we'll explain below, many of them have even made special video services to help people date in a world without COVID.

With so many options, how do you find the right person to love? Here are the dating apps that we think are the best. Read on to find out our top choices and everything else you need to know about online dating.

1.Match - Best for Long-Term Relationships

Why We Picked It

Match makes it easy and smooth to meet people online. Rich profiles, not just hot photos, let you know if someone is worth your time before you talk to them. With the Vibe Check feature, two people who are already talking to each other can start a live video chat if they both agree.

Who It’s For

Match is for people who want to find love. It's a paid app for dating that gives you a paid experience. It wants you to really get to know someone and figure out if you are compatible with them before you decide to get serious with them. It was chosen by the editors as the best way to find lasting love.

PROS

• Robust, vetted profiles
• Intuitive interface
• Excellent filtering tool
• Video chat
• Features that specifically target longer relationships

CONS

• Expensive
• Profile approval isn't instant

2. Tinder - Best for Casual Dating

Why We Picked It

Tinder's young, Internet-savvy users are used to making connections online. It was the first dating app to use the "hot or not" mobile interface, which is now used by almost all dating apps. When swiping gets old, Tinder's Face and Face video chat app lets people who both agree to talk and get real.

Who It's For

There's nothing wrong with using Tinder to find love right now. Who can say? Some hookups stay casual, but others can lead to something more serious. Tinder is the Editors' Choice for young people who want to date quickly and focus on the physical.

PROS

• Simple, modern interface
• Swiping feature is addictive
• Free to use the basic app
• Video chat

CONS

• Geared more toward hookups than relationships
• Lots of incremental ways to spend money
   

3. Kippo - Best for Gamers

Why We Picked It

A dating app for gamers might sound like a bad idea, but Kippo does it well enough to be chosen as an Editors' Choice. You can make a stylish profile that shows off your geeky interests and enjoy premium features at prices that are easy on the wallet.

Who It’s For

Kippo is a great place for nerds looking for love because it is well-made and has clever features. It is also a safe way to try out the "metaverse" because it has shared social spaces where people can hang out and play games together.

PROS

• Stylish futuristic aesthetic
• Profiles let you express geeky interests
• Affordable premium version
• Fascinating arcade social space

CONS

• Only audio chat
• No web version

4. Bumble - Best for Woman-First Dating

Why We Picked It

Bumble lets its most vulnerable users send the first message when they're looking for dates, knowing that they won't get unsolicited messages back. Bumble also has many ways to talk besides texting. When you're ready, you can start a video chat, send audio notes, or add a Virtual Dating Badge to your profile.

Who It’s For

Bumble is for women and nonbinary people who don't want all the power in online dating to be in the hands of cis men. It changes who is in charge of the conversation because men can only talk to people who have shown interest in them. In a world that isn't fair, Bumble helps make things a little more even.

PROS

• Excellent privacy and safety features
• Robust free version
• Fun and inclusive interface
• Video chat

CONS

• Profiles less meaty than other apps'
• Superfluous friend-finder and business-networking options

4. Clover Dating App - Best for Community Socializing

Why We Picked It

Clover stands out because it has unique and useful features for dating. As they look for potential dates, users can join social communities and make calendars to plan dates within the app. You can not only video chat with dates, but you can also stream yourself live to different groups.

Who It's For

Clover is for people who want their dating app to feel more like a community, which is becoming more important as dating apps and social media services merge. It has some unique features that other apps could learn from.

PROS

• Slick interface
• Lets you schedule dates
• Cool social communities
• Gives you the ability to view and broadcast live streams

CONS

• Video features locked behind the paywall
• App sometimes feels its more for self-promotion than dating
• Lacks a web version

5. Hinge - Best for Beautiful Profiles

Why We Picked It

The attractive, detailed profiles on Hinge tell you a lot about a person and give you many ways to connect with their interests. Use video chat to take it further. Use the "Dating From Home" menu to start video calls and get close with audio recordings that answer Hinge's creative icebreaker questions.

Who It's For

Hinge is a great app for people who want something between the quickness of modern dating apps and the deeper dives you need to find a stronger connection. The profiles on Hinge do everything, and they do it all in a beautiful way.

PROS

• Robust profiles
• Multiple ways to like profiles
• Great interplay between photos and text
• Video chat and voice recordings

CONS

• Very limited likes for free users
• No desktop version

6. OkCupid - Best for Thoughtful Questions

Why We Picked It

We can find out so much more about a potential partner through dating apps than we could from a random conversation in a bar. OkCupid has a wide range of questions, from fun tidbits to serious deal-breakers. These questions make your messages more interesting and increase the chances of you finding love.

Who It's For

OkCupid is for people who want to decide how much of themselves they want to show. You can answer as many questions as you want to give the algorithm more information to work with, but you can choose which questions you will and won't answer. It makes me feel strong instead of powerless.

PROS

• Most of the app can be used for free
• Robust profiles
• Inclusive identification options for gender and sexual identities

CONS

• Search function sometimes returns errant results
• Free interface serves ads and may invite casual browsers
• No video chat

7. eharmony - Best for Test Takers

Why We Picked It

Eharmony is a dating service that is a bit old-fashioned. For example, adding options for people of the same gender took a while. But by adding modern features like video dating to the traditional questionnaire, eharmony has kept up with the times without giving up what works.

Who It’s For

People who want to date through data use Eharmony. It has a long questionnaire with more than 100 questions to learn as much as possible about you. Then, it uses that information to find matches who are really good for each other in the long run.

PROS

• Robust privacy and security features
• Thorough profile-building process
• No in-app transactions
• Video dating

CONS

• Expensive
• Basic features locked behind paywall
• Sign-up survey can be daunting

8. Facebook Dating - Best for Facebook Users

Why We Picked It

It doesn't matter how many features a dating app has if no one is using it. Facebook is the biggest social network in the world, with almost 3 billion users, and a lot of them are probably looking for love. Facebook Dating uses information from your Facebook and Instagram accounts to make a profile for you and connect you for free with other users. Don't worry, none of this information will show up on your main feed.

Who It’s For

We understand if you don't want Facebook to be a part of your dating life. But if you want to use social media to help you find love, Facebook Dating gives you a platform that no other app can beat.

PROS

• Rich profiles are easy to build
• Connects with Instagram and other Facebook services
• Information not shared on public Facebook
• Completely free

CONS

• No desktop version
• No built-in video chat
• Requires Facebook account

9. POF (Plenty of Fish) - Best for Messaging Without Limits

Why We Picked It

Plenty of Fish (POF) doesn't put many barriers between you and the person you want to talk to. It also gives you tips on how to improve your messages. You can even live stream yourself to your date or the whole POF community.

Who It's For

Plenty of Fish is a good dating app for people who want to use it for free. Even though there isn't much of a barrier to entry, there may be a lot of spam or people who aren't worth dating. However, you want a big pool of people to choose from, and this service gives you that.

PROS

• Very few messaging limits
• Simple onboarding
• Lots of prompts to send quality messages
• Live streaming

CONS

• Free messaging could mean more spam users
• Can't link outside accounts like Instagram or Spotify

Which Dating Apps Are Totally Free?

Your level of commitment is the first thing you need to decide. How much are you willing to pay to make your heart beat faster? Some apps, like Plenty of Fish, let you look at profiles and talk to people without paying anything. Most of the others let you look at your potential matches for free, but you have to pay if you want to get in touch with them without limits, especially if you're the only one who's interested. The monthly fees for the apps we review here range from $10 to more than $40, but most of them offer a discount if you sign up for six months or a year. (You're not afraid of making a promise, right?)

There are also all the extras. Options like being able to pay to move up in search results, letting someone know you're really, really interested in them, or reversing a left-swipe that was meant to be a right-swipe cost extra. Even if some apps say they are free, they all want to make money from you in the end. Only Facebook Dating is completely free, and only if you don't think of your personal Facebook profile data as money.

How to Make the Best Dating App Profile

When it's time to put yourself out there and make a profile, all apps ask for the basics: your name, age, location, a photo, a short blurb about yourself, and (usually) if you can stand someone who smokes. After that, it's not always easy to tell. Tinder, for example, cares more about photos than personality. Before you can even look for your match on Eharmony, you have to fill out a long questionnaire. Still, Zoosk and other apps like it don't ask for much information, leaving you to wonder how they match you with other people who are also looking for love.

If you're not a cis-hetero, you'll be glad to know that most of the apps we've talked about here are open to everyone. Even eharmony finally accepted couples of the same gender. But some are more welcoming to LGBTQ people than others. OkCupid, for example, doesn't make people choose between being a man or a woman. Instead, it gives them options like Hijra, genderfluid, and two-spirit. Some apps don't just focus on gender or sexuality. For example, Kippo's features appeal to gamers, Vinylly brings people together based on their love of music, and SilverSingles is like EliteSingles but for older people.

Finding Matches on Dating Apps

Once you've chosen the perfect selfie and written paragraphs about all your best qualities, it's time to start looking for your digital Valentine. Here is where you can see the big differences between these apps. For example, Tinder's famous "hot or not" interface makes it easy and quick to find your next date. On the other hand, Bumble gives all the power to the women. Men can't even contact a woman unless she's shown interest first. Others, like Match and OkCupid, have detailed profiles that let you learn a lot about a user's personality (or at least the one they choose to show you) before you decide to pursue them. Users of Hinge can make profiles that are a beautiful mix of pictures and words.

Now that you've gone on a few dates and found someone you're interested in, it's time to take the plunge and reach out to them. There are different ways to show interest in each app. You can send a free "Wink" to another member on Match, and messaging is free on Plenty of Fish. Most dating apps let users message each other for free if they both like each other. But free users can only get a certain number of likes per day, and Hinge is especially limited in this way. Other times, you'll have to pay to get in touch. If you're not ready to say how you feel in words, you can send potential matches Bumble Coins for $2 each if you're not ready to say it in words. Zoosk lets you buy coins so you can look at profiles without being seen. You can also give coins to anyone who looks at your profile (for an additional fee, of course).

Staying Safe on Dating Apps

Even Match, which has been around for decades, has both iPhone and Android apps. Most of them also have desktop versions for when you're at work and want to set up a weekend date while you're taking a break from your spreadsheet. Just know that the app and desktop interfaces can be very different in how they work. For example, the browser version of Tinder doesn't let you swipe. The only way to use Facebook Dating and Hinge is through their mobile apps.

Once you've downloaded these apps and signed up for the services, you'll start getting a lot of emails and notifications. Some, like daily match suggestions, are helpful, while others, like alerts that tell you every time you get a "like," are just annoying. The good news is that you can easily change these notifications by going into the settings menus of each app.

Any activity where you meet people you met on the internet is a safety risk. All of these apps let you block and report users who don't get the message if you're in a bad situation and need to cut off contact. These services try to check out their profiles and make sure that inappropriate or unwanted content doesn't show up. AI is used to hide nudes on Bumble. Tinder lets you secretly call 911 if you're on a date that's not going well. There are even solutions from outsiders. UrSafe is a hands-free, voice-activated safety app for online daters who want to meet their matches in person. During a virus pandemic, not having to use your hands is especially nice, which brings us to the next section.

COVID-19's Impact on Dating Apps

As if dating wasn't hard enough, the COVID-19 epidemic turned our social lives upside down. In an ideal world, online dating would lead to a real-life date. But sometimes the responsible thing to do is to stay home, which put dating apps in quite a pickle. Fairytrail, a dating app that helps people connect through shared travel destination dreams, saw a rise in use that was both good and bad. Zoosk's Great Dates feature lets couples virtually visit exciting places while staying safe at home.

Video chatting is the easiest way to date online because it lets you see each other's faces instead of just texting. Video chat is available on Bumble, Clover, eHarmony, Hinge, Match, Plenty of Fish, and Tinder. This feature is also being added to apps with more specific audiences, like the Muslim dating app Muzmatch, which is only available on mobile devices (Opens in a new window). Snack (Opens in a new window) adds video features to dating profiles that work like TikTok.

Even apps that don't have video chat have their own ways of addressing the crisis. OkCupid added questions about how you're dealing with the pandemic that are based on your personality. Users of Facebook Dating can choose to talk to each other through other Facebook apps, like Messenger or the experimental Tuned and Sparked apps, which are made for couples who want to stay together and for speed dating. Kippo made a whole online social space called the "metaverse" where people can meet and play games while talking to each other over audio chat.

Which Dating App Should You Use?

Dating is hard, so we took a close look at 10 of the most popular apps to save you some time. We were not famous enough to get into The League, which is a dating app for famous people. Everyone has different needs and wants, so not every app will work well for you. Editors' Choice picks for both long-term relationships and quick hookups, Match and Tinder are both great at what they do best. There are also good things about other apps, which you can find out more about by reading our in-depth reviews. We also have a list of the best breakup apps in case things don't work out.