Cuffing season is almost over! That means the apps are soon to be flooded with single-tons looking to meet their match in 2023.
It’s never been easier to hook up with someone online. Just a swipe here and there, and before you know it, you could be with the woman of your dreams.
Well, at least for one night, anyhow…
Online dating sites are in demand, and there are more in the market than ever. It’s a multi-billion pound industry growing at around 6% each year, with so many choices; which is the right one for you?
We’re sharing our dating app’s top pics for 2023 to help you find the relationship you’re after (whatever that might be).
How to pick the right dating app
The kind of dating app you download will very much depend on your age, sexual preference and whether you are looking for a serious relationship or not.
Before you download a dating app and meet a potential match in real life, it’s probably a good idea to work out what you are looking for in a partner. Most dating apps will ask you to fill out a profile.
Is it just a one-nighter, or something more long-term?
Write down all of the characteristics you want in a partner.
Are they vegetarian, sporty, movies, music lovers, quiet, outgoing or maybe you want someone who likes partying?
Once you’ve made your list, you can prepare yourself for the many questions you’ll be asked when updating your profile in your app of choice.
Let’s take a deeper look at the best dating sites out there and see if we can match you with the right dating app.
*Please note: prices can change at any time.
EliteSingles
Image credit: David – stock.adobe
Best for: educated singles in their forties.
From $25 per month,
EliteSingles is a high-brow dating site specializing in “intelligent” singles aged forty-plus; over 80% of users have a degree and are between 30 and 55.
This app uses a personality test to see who you’re compatible with. The test will assess your looks, ambitions, social skills and the all-important “Do you want children” question.
It’s ideal if you’re looking for a long-term relationship and are fed up with “timewasting” no-hoper dates. Let’s face it; if you’ve filled in the questionnaire and passed the credibility checks, you’re probably in it for the long haul!
Plenty of Fish
Image credit: Gary L Hider – stock.adobe
Best for: taking the awkwardness out of dating
Free, then $9.99 per month
With 150 million users worldwide, this is one of the more popular dating apps and is more laid back than some of the elite apps. Whether you’re looking for a short- or long-term partner, this app can find someone for you.
There are plenty of questions to answer, such as the length of your longest relationship and family background. Still, you’ll quite quickly build up a picture of your potential partner, which will hopefully help to steer you in the right direction.
The app is free, but if you want to see if your messages have been read and avoid the adverts, you’ll need to upgrade to the subscription option. Paying the subscription fee will also enable your profile to be more visible in the app, and you’ll also be able to see who has checked out your profile.
Bumble
Image credit: rarrarorro – stock.adobe
Best for: Guys who don’t want to make the first move
Free, then $11.16 per month
This is a great place to go for men who find it challenging to start a conversation. Bumble has the unique feature of allowing only women to start conversations. It’s an app that turns other dating apps on their heads.
For example, you are allowed to do things that you wouldn’t usually be able to do on other apps, such as making video calls before you meet. You’ll need to be quick, though. The match will expire if you don’t reply to a message within 24 hours.
It’s mostly free, but you can upgrade for additional features, such as checking out which users have ‘liked’ you.
Hinge
Image credit: boumenjapet – stock.adobe
Best for: Younger daters
Free or $30 per month.
This top dating site boldly states that it’s designed to be deleted. In other words, they’re confident they’ll find your perfect match, so you’ll not need to use the app again.
Strong claims indeed, but they’ve got every reason to be confident as it’s built on an acclaimed Nobel Prize-winning algorithm.
What more could you ask?
Hinge is free to download and use, but there is a subscription option for extra features. Hinge’s “Preferred Membership” will give you unlimited likes, additional filters, and more for $30 per month.
Hinge users can also buy Roses and Boosts, which prioritize your profile for other users. You set up your profile and need to answer three questions, and potential matches can ‘like’ your answers to start a conversation. It’s got a lot of built-in prompts so makes it easier to write your profile in a fun way than some of the other apps.
Tinder
Image credit: Diego – stock.adobe
Best for: Casual dating & hookups
Free or $4 per month
The app, which has achieved notoriety as the go-to for casual daters, has grown so big it now boasts over 2 billion views per day. They claim to help to set up over 2 million dates each week.
It’s an app for the casual dater rather than those looking for something long-term, though that’s not to say you might end up finding the ‘one’.
It’s free, but if you want to pay for more, $4 per month will give you features like seeing who liked you, viewing ‘top picks’, and will allow you to rewind if you accidentally swipe the wrong way on a match.
Badoo
Image credit: boumenjapet – stock.adobe
Best for: All-round dating
Free membership with pay-for-premium membership add-ons
Badoo doesn’t specialize in any dating area; it lets you choose. If you are looking for something casual, that’s fine. If you are looking for something more meaningful, you’ve come to the right place too.
The only issue might be that you are spoilt for choice, as this is one of the most popular dating apps worldwide, with 497 million users. With so many users, sometimes there’s too much information, which can become overwhelming, so make sure you refine your profile and preferences to ensure the right people contact you.
With nearly 500 million users worldwide (a pretty hefty proportion of the entire world’s population), there’s a better-than-average chance of you discovering a partner on Badoo. If you don’t, at least you know you’re not alone.
Coffee Meets Bagel
Image credit: Rafael Henrique – stock.adobe
Best for: Romantics and people who like to put a bit more thought into choosing their partner
Free with premium upgrades.
Another top dating app, this is for the hopeless romantics (yes, you thought we’d left you out) comes an app that almost makes it feel like dating used to.
Unlike the many apps that will give you so many potential partners to choose from that match your criteria, Coffee Meets Bagel will send you just ONE match per day.
Based in the US, it’s an excellent app for getting you to put some time and thought into your matches rather than just swiping after a split second.
The sign-up process is easy, and you are allowed to “like” a certain number of people for free, but you’ll need to upgrade to see if your messages have been read and for statistics on your matches.
Match.com
Image credit: Игорь Головнёв – stock.adobe
Best for: Ease of use
Free, then $12.99 per month
Another great dating app that should have someone for anyone, Match was one of the first dating apps to appear. The more detailed your profile is, the better your chance of finding the “one”.
You can search for a match by selecting the criteria of your choice, and you can even choose to have your profile visible only to those who match these criteria. Pretty cool.
The app has stood the test of time and has been upgraded many times over the years to keep up with the times and add new and improved features. It’s one of the best apps, and if you’re looking to get back into the dating scene, this is an excellent place to start. Potentially the best dating app.
Grindr
Best for: The LGBTQ+ community
Price: Free or $9.99 for Xtra and $50 for unlimited
Grindr launched in 2009 and has since grown into the largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people. They have millions of daily users who use our location-based technology to find love in almost every corner of the planet.
Their focus is and has always been to create a safe space for the LGBTQ community to navigate the dating scene.
Grindr is free to use, but you can upgrade to the ‘XTRA’ or ‘unlimited’ package, which gives you additional features such as unsending messages, seeing who has viewed you etc.
Kinkoo
Best for: Kink-specific dating
Cost: Free of $16/month
While you might be able to find someone on the previous dating apps with your special brand of kink, Kinkoo is a kink-specific dating site that lets you find people that are into exactly what you are into.
It’s swipe-based (like Tinder, Bumble etc.), only this time you can indicate precisely what you are looking for (think BDSM, voyeurism, feet fetish etc) and a little bit about you to find someone who is compatible.
- Related content: Mission-ary accomplished: why we need to stop kink-shaming
Ready to meet your match
There is certainly no shortage of dating apps available at the touch of a button. And no matter who or what you are into, there is a dating app to help you find them.
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