12 Best Dating Apps Like Tinder
While online dating apps have made it easier to go out and meet new people, a lot of them will ask you to sign up using your Facebook profile. Case in point, Tinder. It’s easy to set up, and you can play it like a game.
The Problem with Tinder
Tinder is hands down the most popular dating app in the world. However, there are two major issues with it:
One, you need a Facebook account to sign up for Tinder. Yes, they recently rolled out the option to sign up using your phone number, but it isn’t available for everyone, yet.
Second, since Tinder takes only seconds to sign up, more people play it like a game rather than a dating app. They really are just not that interested in meeting someone ASAP. It’s also why there are so many disinterested women on Tinder compared to other dating apps, swiping away left and right.
So, if you are getting tons of matches on Tinder with barely any conversations or dates, check out our selection of the best dating apps similar to Tinder.
Best Dating Apps Like Tinder
1. Plenty of Fish
Plenty of Fish or PoF is one of the largest and oldest dating sites in the world. With more than 70 million members across the world, chances are high that you will find someone you like. You can sign up using an email id and password.
Pros: PoF has a lot of members, probably one of the largest user bases, which means plenty of fishes for everyone.
Cons: The biggest problem with POF is unlike Tinder, anyone can message you unless you set up preferences. Also, since it’s free and easy to sign up for an email, you’ll find a higher percentage of fake profiles and bots.
Price: Freemium ($7.5/m paid annually)
Members: 100 million
2. Coffee Meets Bagel
CMB is a refreshing change of pace in the world of constant swiping, much like a cafe, it encourages you to take it easy while the app curates a list of matches for you. The app gives you fresh potential interests once a day which you can like or pass but instead showing prospects based on location, CMB generates them using its algorithm and user preference. For women, the app shortlists only those profiles which are interested in them, thereby eliminating the guesswork.
Pros: Refined search results, quality matches, smooth UI
Cons: Your prospects are limited by the app’s algorithm, beans are expensive
Price: (Free to use, beans cost $0.99 to $119)
3. OkCupid
OkCupid does allow you to sign up using your Facebook account, but that is completely optional. You can sign up using your email id. While the number of members is less when compared with some other alternatives, it offers plenty of opportunities to get hooked.
Pros: OkCupid believes in “You’re more than just a photo”. It encourages people to fill their profile by asking questions like ‘What I’m doing with my life”‘ and ‘What I’m good at’ etc. This not only gives you something to talk about but also a good indicator of whether you would like to talk to them in the first place. Another reason to prefer OkCupid over Tinder is its robust search features, that make screening matches easy. Plus, you can also see who likes you in the free version.
Cons: OkCupid's biggest flaw is that anyone can message anyone with no sort of filter. This means, from the girl's perspective, they receive dozens of spam and offensive messages every day. So, even your genuine message could get lost in their inbox.
Price: Freemium ($9.95/bi-annually for A-list and $24.90/bi-annually for Premium A-list)
Members: 10 million
4. Match.com
With the advent of OKCupid and swiping apps like Tinder, Match.com has been losing the popularity votes pretty fast. Match.com attracts an older crowd compared to the competition and focuses more on people who are looking for a serious relationship.
Pros: They have a powerful and more flexible search feature and are known to continuously add more features for their members. They also host group events from time to time. So, if there is one in your city, it is a great way to meet new people in person rather than seeing them online, which can be a fake experience.
Cons: Match.com is restrictive on what you can do for free. To get anything meaningful out of Match.com, you need to pay.
Price: Freemium ($20.99/m for 6 months)
Members: 7 million
5. Bumble
Bumble is one of the best Tinder alternatives. In many ways, it works like Tinder, i.e. you’re shown someone’s photo. If you like it, swipe right. If you don’t, swipe left. And then repeat it for every photo. If you’ve swiped right on someone and they’ve swiped right on you as well, it’s a match, and now you can begin messaging one another.
Pros: Men can only show interest, and only a woman can initiate a conversation. This gives more control to women and protects them from unwanted spam messages. You only get 24 hours to respond, which forces everyone to be more active. No more dormant profiles.
Cons: You cannot use Bumble without a Facebook account. Like Tinder, most decisions are made based on profile pics with no way to show your personality or fun side, which was expected from a site like this.
Price: Freemium ($9.99/month)
Members: 22 million
6. Happn
Happn is similar to Tinder, but instead of focusing on photos, it focuses on the people that you’ve crossed paths with throughout the day, within a range of 250 meters.
Pros: Happn provides a great platform to meet people around you, whether at your workplace or neighbor. Like Tinder, only mutual crushes can send messages to each other, so you’ll never get pulled into a conversation with someone that you don’t like.
Cons: Like Tinder, the only way to join Happn is to have a Facebook account. Also, in order to use the app, you need to keep GPS ON all the time, which might lead to additional battery drain.
Price: Freemium ($20/month)
Members: 28 million
7. MeetMe
MeetMe is a fun and activity-centric app that will allow you to meet new people nearby. Facebook sign up is optional. MeetMe is used not just for finding love but also for casual and professional meetups. In that sense, it is somewhat similar to Facebook in nature. You will get notifications when there is a potential meet in your area.
Pros: You can play games, which increases participation and is a fun way to know each other. Sending and receiving messages is free for all members, whether or not you are a free or paid member.
Cons: There are very few questions asked in the profile. It is very basic and doesn’t allow people to know each other on a deeper level. The search feature is also limited, making it difficult to narrow down possible dates.
Price: Freemium ($40 for 3225)
Members: 100 million
8. Badoo
Badoo is probably one of the first few and the best dating apps that allow users to upload videos along with photos in their profiles. This allows users to present a better case and show their skills or let’s say fun side.
Facebook sign up is optional. Badoo differs from several other dating sites by offering quizzes and games that users can participate in. One of the primary reasons why the app went viral in the first place. It is a social platform for dating with lots of fun elements thrown into the mix.
Pros: A lot of dating sites come with spam, a lot of it, but on Badoo, there is less of it. Kudos to the team for taking care of it. Phone verification is compulsory, leading to less spam. Unlike some other dating sites, you will not be asked to upgrade for every little feature. In fact, a lot of features are free for the members anyways.
Cons: Although several features are free, if you had to upgrade to access some advanced features, it is really expensive. It’s like they are charging for what was free earlier. The matching algorithm is not the best in the dating world. In fact, it is mostly location-based only.
Price: Freemium ($9.99 for 550 credits)
Members: 380 million
9. Skout
Skout divides profiles into two separate categories based on your age, which are teens and adults. The idea is to help you meet people not only with similar interests and hobbies but also mindset. Not just restricted to dating, you can meet people to explore new places, do activities, and finally, fall in love.
Facebook sign up is optional. The app is free to use but offers a subscription for advanced features like sending additional invites and participating in events.
Pros: Skout feels more like a community than a dating site, even though it is the latter. This is why it is great for casual dating and meetups. The free version comes with a surprising number of features.
Cons: Skout has a fake profile problem. A lot of users have complained about this issue, but the team has failed, so far, to resolve the issue. There are too many ads in the free version, which quickly makes it annoying to use.
Price: Freemium ($69.99 for 12 months)
Members: Unknown
10. Zoosk
Zoosk verifies each profile by asking members to submit a video selfie along with their photographs to prove they are who they say they are! You can also verify using your Facebook profile, but that is optional. The app is free to use and works on a freemium model.
You can also conduct searches based on body type, religion, and height, among others. Zoosk is spicing things up by matching couples based on location as well as behavior using their Behavior Matchmaking.
Pros: Zoosk has a large user base with a great looking UI. There are more ways to promote your profile.
Cons: The search feature is limited to very few ways to filter profiles. Only paid members can send messages. Free members can only respond to emails. The profile is not rich and offers little ways to personalize.
Price: Freemium ($99.99 for 12 months)
Members: 40 million
11. Lovoo
Lovoo, just like any other dating app, allows you to go on a date based on your location and interests. You can connect by messages not only with those who are your profile match but also with others too.
The app is free to use and comes with a subscription model, which will allow you to send more messages, view profiles, view likes and profile views, and remove ads.
Pros: The database is huge, and Lovoo actually promotes conversations over choosing partners based on profile pics. Sending messages is free for all members.
Cons: Comes with a verification system that is not strong enough. You need to pay to send messages to famous users! This is weird, and most users have complained about it. Security is not their top priority.
Price: Freemium ($10/month)
Members: 50 million
Reddit to the Rescue
Well, if none of the apps above did it for you, then you should probably give Reddit a chance. For the uninitiated, Reddit is an online community for every topic. If you can think of a topic, chances are that there is a subreddit for that niche. So, if you want, you can give r/dating a try. It’s a subreddit dedicated to venting and sharing your experiences. Other subreddits like r/LetsChat, r/hookup, r/CuddleBuddies, etc can be of great help if you’re not looking to get something meaningful out of it.
Wrapping Up: Dating Apps Like Tinder
These are the top 11 dating apps that will allow you to sign up without having to connect your Facebook profile. This way, you have more control over what members can see and how they know about you.
Different dating apps have different features and while most of them are free to begin with, each of them has different plans and features. But then again, love is priceless!
Jim's passion for Apple products ignited in 2007 when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. This was a canon event in his life. Noticing a lack of iPad-focused content that is easy to understand even for “tech-noob”, he decided to create Tabletmonkeys in 2011.
Jim continues to share his expertise and passion for tablets, helping his audience as much as he can with his motto “One Swipe at a Time!”