Tinder is one of the best dating apps — for both hookups and dating, but sometimes it gets boring. It also gets confusing — people tend to mix their metaphors when it comes to dating, casual dating, and one-off flings.
Just figuring out what people want on the Tinder app can be a chore in itself. That said, asking straight out usually provides you with the best answers!
At any rate, when you need a break from dating apps like tinder that are more geared towards one thing or another, there are alternatives. And, hey, not everyone is on the Tinder app.
Below we’ve listed Tinder alternatives that are great when you want to explore your options.
10 Apps like Tinder | Tinder Alternatives:
1. Bumble
Bumble is a popular app like Tinder that empowers women. On Bumble only women can send the first message. It means women don’t receive the traditional “Hey, let’s get naked,” messages, which put a lot of women off. It usually means that if a woman actually sends you a message, she has an interest in getting to know you further.
When someone actually contacts you after matching, it means they want to start a conversation with you. Still, you might run into a small percentage of girls sending you hi on bumble. Bumble gears towards serious relationships making it better Tinder alternative. If you’re a man who always hated coming up with ice breakers, this is also a great app for you.
BumbleBFF Feature allows you to meet new friends instead. A great idea if you’re new to town, or want to meet people outside your immediate network. If we live in the same place and had the same job for some time, we tend to limit our social network. Bumble can help you change that.
Available for iPhone and Android
2. Ashley Madison
Ashley Madison is a hookup site designed to provide the best discreet dating experience online. If you interested in casual dating, having affairs & friends with benefits then Ashley Madison is the app you need to get on. Every single member on their app is looking for hookups only.
Setting up the profile is easy. The overall user experience you get on their app is great. The best thing about Ashely Madison is their design and features – Unlike other similar dating apps to Tinder, their site is not filled with over the top sexual imagery.
They have features like (premium) blurred photos and Travelling man. Blurred photos feature allows adding blur to the personal images for security reasons. In the Travelling man feature, you can message 30 women in a city you’ll be visiting soon. So before you step your feet in the city, you’ll most probably have a few ladies to meet up with and have action.
Available on iPhone and Android
3. OkCupid
OkCupid is a dating app that matches people based on interests, beliefs, and quirks. You fill out exactly what you want — the app offers you 20 sexual preferences and 12 gender identities. Whether you’re looking for a threesome or marriage, you can find it here. It also lets you fill in a number of different personality quizzes, so as to easier enable you to meet your perfect match.
As you can set your preferences, it’s easy to weed out the people you don’t want to meet. It’s one thing weeding out people who want one-night-stands when you want something more serious, but most other dating apps don’t also let you weed out people with certain interests, etc.
Some people love that OkCupid lets you browse other people’s profiles under the cloak of anonymity — the other person won’t know you’ve spotted them unless you reach out to them. Which is good if you’re a high profile so-and-so or simply don’t want your boss to know that you just read their OkCupid dating profile. Read our detailed OkCupid review.
Available for iPhone and Android
4. Elite Singles
EliteSingles is a site like Tinder that targets singles looking for serious relationships. It’s a dating app with over 85% of its users with above-average education and users are predominately aged 30-50. So, if you’re above 30 and looking for serious relationships then EliteSingles is a great option.
Once you signup, you’ need to take the personality test and fill your profile with preferences to get started. These details are then used by their professional algorithm which in return will find potential matches for you. You’ll receive 3 to 7 quality matches daily which are highly compatible. They perform regular profile quality tests to restrict fake profiles.
In the free version, you don’t get to do much except setting up your profile, sending likes to your matches. To initiate conversation and looking at your match’s photos, it’s necessary to subscribe to their premium membership package. Elite Singles is one of the best dating apps for finding professional singles.
Available on iPhone and Android
5. Coffee Meets Bagel
CoffeeMeetsBagel is a dating app like tinder inclined towards meaningful connections. Every day at noon, you receive 20 dating profiles to either like, or pass on. If there is a mutual like, you have 24 hours to talk to each other, then the match disappears off your list if the conversation has not been initiated.
There’s also a section that lets you scroll local matches that you can like. They don’t see the like immediately — you get put on their viewing queue. If you absolutely must get noticed by them, you can send them in-app flowers, but that costs — in coffee beans. Coffee beans are the currency used within the app.
A pro with the dating app is that you get three profile prompts: “I am…”, “I like…”, and “I appreciate when my date…” The answers have to be less than 150 characters each. This is great as it helps everyone who loathes writing profiles and it gives you a little insight into each match you get.
If you’re tired of just swiping on dating apps and want to see what a dating app considers your perfect matches to be, then CMB is a great option.
Available on iPhone and Android
6. Clover
Cover is a mix of Tinder, OkCupid, and Match.com. Clover is great if you want to speed things up and meet people in person. Clover has a bunch of impressive filters like ethnicity, height, occupation, and relationship intention. These filters help you to narrow down the list of recommendation potential matches. Not only it saves time but it also helps you date people that meet your criteria.
However, unless you’re from a big city, using filters to its maximum results in very few quality matches. The other problem with Clover is the communication part. Don’t get me wrong, the messaging on the dating app is great but you’ve to pay for it which can be a deal-breaker for many.
Asking questions, group chats, follow your faves, see who likes you, virtual dates are one of my favorite features of this app. It has to be one of the most versatile and unique dating apps.
Available on iPhone and Android
7. Happn
Happn is one of those brilliant Tinder alternatives that almost so brilliant it gets scary. We’ve all walked past someone in the street and wished we would have gotten their phone number, haven’t we? Well, with Happn, you might just get that number — Happn lists all singles who are signed up to the app that you’ve crossed paths with (within 250 meters) while you have the app-enabled.
Happn also shows you how many times you’ve crossed paths with someone. So if fate is trying to tell you something, you’ll notice. It could, of course, also be that they happen to work near where you do, not that you’re fated for a date…
The problem? Well, apart from the stalker angle (but you can disable the app off at any time, so you choose where you want it to track encounters), if you live in New York City you cross paths with a lot of people.
Available on iPhone and Android
8. Plenty Of Fish
Plenty Of Fish is a free to message app with over 3M active daily users. It’s also easier to date and move on when it doesn’t pan out, as there are so many other people out there. As POF has so many members, it is great in smaller cities where the dating pool is generally less to start off with. Another perk is that the app is absolutely free.
Unlike Tinder, this is an app that lets you set your preferences and actively search for other members. No need to swipe till your fingers turn blue! It simply gives you a much better overview of the members you’d like to meet, in one simple search.
The downside is, of course, that you have to search ever so often as new members join. As there is no curation going on, you have to wade through A LOT of profiles to find the ones you like. Expect some fake profiles.
Available on iPhone
9. Hinge
Hinge is an app like tinder but with a lot more serious approach. So if you’re tired of too many love requests, this might be for you. Hinge is for casual dating too, it just requires a bit more effort and tends to weed out the least serious users.
Hinge forces everyone to upload six profile pictures, which is great as some people on Tinder still haven’t caught onto the fact that it’s pretty difficult to get a glimpse of their personality with just one or two photos.
Another perk along the same lines is that Hinge forces you to fill out prompts — you can choose between 80 odd prompts, such as “The dorkiest thing about me is…” and fill out three of them. That allows everyone to get a glimpse of who you are.
As you can comment on prompts or photos, it allows for great ice breakers. Hinge is a freemium app that lets you see a certain number of profiles per day — you need to upgrade for unlimited matches.
Available on iPhone and Android
10. Zoosk
Zoosk is a dating app with 30 million users looking to get into a serious relationship. Zoosk uses an algorithm based on how you use the app to gather information to be able to help you find your perfect matches. You don’t have to answer lengthy questionnaires or do personality tests, you simply upload a profile and answer some simple questions about preferences so as to get better matches.
All verified users on this app get a green tick next to their profile, which helps you weed out the fake accounts though it’s not foolproof.
Zoosk offers ice breakers that you can use when first messaging someone, which is great for those who easily get tongue-tied. How good these ice breakers are, on the other hand, is debatable. You might be better off looking up Tinder conversation starters, I shared.
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