The Ultimate List of Every Dating App: 📱💜 Which One is For You?

If you're looking for that special someone, there are a lot of dating apps (like a lot) out there to choose from but you might be asking yourself, what dating app is right for me?? Surprisingly, nobody has put together one single list of all the best dating apps. The good news is we got really into it and put together this ultimate list of every major one + minor reviews of their best features. We'll try to keep this updated as we see new entrants coming onto the scene.

(If we missed any email us hello@lanterndating.com to be added)

It's grouped by these witty and creative dating app categories:

Top Three, Swipers, Hook Up, LGBQT+, Religious, Astrology, Super Niche, Old Guard & Shiny New.

Our Top Three

These are the top three best dating apps we recommend. Please date responsibly and make sure to check out our article on "Safe Dating Online" before downloading.

Hinge:

Hinge is one of the best dating apps if you're looking for a more serious relationship. You definitely need to put in work here but it seems to focus on finding you someone. You get to answer questions about yourself that essentially are your profile. Our only gripe is you're still doing an awful amount of work learning about other people you are never going to meet. Still this is for serious relationships and it is definitely geared toward it. Great user base, owned by Tinder parent company Match Group - it will be around for awhile and (hopefully) constantly innovating.

Download Hinge Here.

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Lantern:

Lantern is changing the game. Literally, by making the actual process of finding a match as fun as possible. It was created by a male/female couple with a deep psychology background (the lead psychologist on the project has co-hosted 12 episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show with Oprah- Gary Neuman.)

It uses gorgeous video to guide you along a choose your own adventure - self discovery journey where you meet people along the way. Imagine a beautiful forest with a glowing deer. Do you pet the deer or just watch it? Whatever you choose, you get to meet other people who made the same choice.  If you're confused that's a good thing. Lantern really is different and you have to experience it to believe it.

One of the biggest complaints of traditional dating apps is that the process is super boring + afterwards we kinda feel terrible (in a "I just ate a box of donuts" kind of way). Lantern is the opposite. You feel refreshed and happy coming out of it, like a meditation session.

Download Lantern Here

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Raya

A dating app exclusively for celebrities and people who are "highly successful". It has as strict vetting process through your instagram and they've done a good job of blending romantic dating with professional networking. We've met some great connections through Raya and can clearly see why users prefer this style. Just hope you can get in!

Download Raya Here.

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New:

FairyTrail:

‍This one is similar to Lantern in that you have to pick the same destination to match. It's a little early design wise but at least keeps the focus on personality and fun.

XO:

‍After you match, instead of talking you play fun games together. It's a fun way of breaking the ice and keeping the conversation going. Matching is the same as other dating apps but hey, that part seems to work for people.

Ship:

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‍This app lets you get your friends in on the fun by being able to send potential matches to them for their approval. Want to know what your friends think before matching? Invite them to download the app and they can give you approval from within the app. It's a clever way to make the matching process more social.

TasteBuds: Music Lovers:

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‍This app will ask you your musical tastes and then match you with others in your area. It's unclear if these users also share the same tastes (but we assume they do).

FilterOff: Speed Dating

Is a virtual speed dating video app that  allows you to filter out the people that don't interest you. You get to go on timed video calls with different singles in your area. It's an interesting idea and we're curious to see how it evolves.

Smore: Blurred Dating:

The concept here is simple. You don't know what they look like until you talk to them. The idea is to take the focus off appearances and place it more on personality. It's a great take but also feels a bit of a time waster. You're spending all this time chatting to unblur someones profile picture but if you don't like them you may feel you've wasted your time. Still it's better than swiping!

Snack: Tik Tok Dating:

This is essentially if tik tok was a dating app. You get full length video profiles etc. This app doesn't have a lot of traction but they recently raised a lot of money so it will be interesting to see where they go.

Curtn: Video Dating:

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‍Same thing as above essentially. Video based dating.

Lolly Video Dating:

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‍Same as above. Full length video profiles.

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Niche

Farmers Dating:

Yep. This is what is sounds like. Probably worth checking out just for the fun of it but this app shows the power of focusing on a forgotten niche and driving that tractor home. They verify photos, you can see recent instagram photos and its "Only for Farmers, Seeking Nature, Seeking Love!"

Hey Baby:

A super new entry into the field they bill themselves as serious and ready for love. Now I always thought single people with kids want to blow off some steam so maybe loosening up that messaging might be great but otherwise it looks like a well built app and we love to see new entrants catering to overlooked people.

Kippo: For Gamers

This app has also spawned lots of friendships as users look for others to join their guilds in warcraft or raid together in battlefront. If you're looking to find that special gamer girl head on over.

Chispa: Latin Singles:

‍Swipe format focused on Latin community. It does have a fun play function where you can answer fun questions that are later displayed on your profile.

BLK - dating for black singles:

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‍With over 180K ratings and a 4.5 average this is definitely one of the better rated apps out there. It functions like a standard swipe format but people seem to enjoy it. The discover page gets rid of that format if you want to change it up.

Hoop- Snapchat Dating:

Very interesting this app shows you people via their snapchat profile and if you want to connect it sends a friend request to their snapchat. If they accept you are off the races and can chat. It's a clever way to tie this back to snapchat.

BBW - chubby and curvy:

‍‍‍Yea... that's basically it. It's an app. Swipe through. Focused on the heavier demographic.

WooPlus: Meet Curvy:

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A secondary app focused on plus sized people.

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Astrology Based Dating Apps

Yes, we need an entire section just for these. You'd think we wouldn't... buuuuut we do.

Nuit:

‍A super new entry but beautifully designed, it provides you with astrological matches based on your star signs. It shows you a beautiful compatibility chart that has romance, business, magnetism and friendship on it. If you really care about astrology this is the app for you!  It also provides astrological compatibility ratings for every single person to ensure that Nuit matches are made well.

Nebula:

‍It has a fun hand scanning thing which goes ahead and "analyzes" your palm. It feels a little like a magic trick than an actual compatibility measure but sure... go for it, maybe you both have super long life lines (that's a thing right?). They also offer astrological consultations because... why not! (Also there's a slide to help "Cut your hair as celebrities do..." I feel like we're getting away from oursel here.)

Struck:

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‍Saw this one floating around twitter its a beautiful entry and has a very 1995 feel that will feel comforting to a lot of millennials. (and retro to gen z? Someone who's under 30 weigh in here please). They have a decent amount of users for a new entry we hope they continue to grow!

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LGBGT+

Grindr  

Grindr is the primary popular dating app for gay and bi men. It was sold in early 2020 for close to 600 Million dollars so hopefully this will continue to innovate.

HER

Her, formerly Dattch, is a geosocial networking app geared towards lesbian, queer, bisexual and straight women and non-binary people. It is available for iOS and Android. Users can join the app with their Facebook account or email address. Cisgender men are not allowed to create profiles on the platform.

Taimi

Taimi bills itself as the worlds largest LGBTQ+ platform & social network. It operates on the standard swipe format and has a "digest" where users can

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Religious:

JSwipe: Jewish Dating

A "like tinder" style dating platform based on religion, this has become the go to for the jewish crowd. The free version lets you filter by levels of how religious you are. It's a nice touch trying to bring the system of jewish dating to the technological world. Created by David Yarus this dating app was purchased by JDate.

Muzmatch: Muslim Dating:

‍They allow you to filter by Sect, Ethnicity, Education etc to really give the muslim community control over who they match with. They have a gold membership and a claim to have created over 100,000 muslim marriages which is awesome!

Christian Mingle:

Not sure if you can tell but this one is gearing to the christian crowd. You choose some topics you're interested in, upload a photo and off you go.

Upward: Christian Dating: (Formerly FTH)

‍Standard swipe app dedicated to christian dating.

Lox Club: Jewish Dating

A dating app for Jewish singles that bills itself as a more exclusive alternative. Mind you this is not to be confused with Jswipe. Lox is going for ultra chic and you have to find code words to get in (or be invited by a current member). Once you are in its a certain amount of people per day to talk to. We have heard feedback that you need to pay a little too much to be involved but we're glad that Jewish singles have another option!

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Time / Location Based:

Happn

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‍If you're looking for something more wild than just random matches in your area, then Happn might be worth checking out. The company's motto is "The future of love starts now." It functions similarly to the traditional dating app but instead of matching users by proximity alone, it takes into consideration how often they cross paths throughout

The League:  

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A community designed for the overly ambitious.  They authenticate with L in - every day at happy hour they give you curated selections of people. They also claim to include a flakiness score so if you match with people but don't message back it hurts your score (just like your uber rating. That's right. it's coming back to haunt you.)

Thursday:

Thursday is an extremely new entry to the scene, this app is only live on Thursday for an hour. It's doing the whole exclusive shtick that is very in but they recently raised a decent round and should be around for a while so it will be interesting to see where they go!

The Hook-Up Apps

Feeld App:

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Formerly 3ndr, this app started as a threesome finder. Single women joining couples are called "unicorns" and the app had a contentious start after being sued by Tinder in early days. Still, it managed to flourish and came out with a passport feature during covid that allowed users to explore more cyber-sexual activities. This is definitely our recommendation if you are looking to spice up your romance.

PURE:

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Best for attachment free sex. Pure is very upfront about the whole "stay anonymous sex" thing. It encourages you not to contact the other person the next day and to create a safe space. Your likes and conversations all self destruct every 24 hours. It asks you for a phone number but that's just to make sure you're a real person. It sends out the sex version of an uber request although its a little bit of a sparse user base.

Skout:

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‍The main features here are you can see who checked you out. It shows people in more of a grid like format. There are a lot of costs and subscriptions needed. There is also a video functionality where you can go live that can be seen by everyone so its a nice way of broadcasting yourself.

HUD:

Hookup & Commitment Free Dating: This app has some nice features like a panel that shows what kinks your matches have etc. A scrolling feed of people available in your area instead of swiping and is big on inclusivity.

Ashley Madison: Find an Affair

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‍Ok this isn't so much a hookup app as "an app for people who want to cheat. Ashley has a storied history and a lot of haters. But if you're looking to cheat on your spouse this is the platform for you.

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Over 50 Crowd

Our Time

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Our Time is a great dating app entry focusing on stories and common personality indicators over matching. It seems worth it if you're looking to find someone in this category.

Silver Singles:

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‍Also an interesting take this app focused on personality by giving you a screen of statements  ("I Take Others into Account") and asking where you stand on each of these statements.

Elite Singles:

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‍Ok this is for the 30-50 crowd but is it definitely focusing on people who want to find relationships. A unique personality test developed by world renowned psychologists etc.

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Standard Swiping Apps

Tinder:

We all know about Tinder and its been given a pretty bad reputation. Its working hard to overcome that and we've seen them incorporate some pretty good features in the last year. Still the people on it are looking for quick hits and unless you're looking for a hookup your time is probably best spent elsewhere.

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Bumble:

The first thing you'll notice about Bumble dating app is they have a much more female empowering message. Women make the first move and it's not just because of their gender. The whole point was to empower women but we don't really see that at play or any difference than the other dating apps out there (it does seem like people on here are nicer). It's still like tinder with the same swipe swipe experience with some ice breakers thrown in after you match.

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Badoo

With half a billion users (there's a ticker on their website if you don't believe me) this is pretty standard swiping but you won't ever run out of people if that's your issue. They have a beautiful grid that shows everyone by location and video features.

Cons: Limited number of swipes till you have to pay

Pros: Lots of Users

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OkCupid

You will have heard of them. The process is a little much when signing up - it goes through a bunch of really to the point questions "How long do you want your next relationship to last," Which word best describes you: Carefree or Intense.  Are you ready to settle down and get married. It feels a tiny bit like a chat with your mom but the idea is this is for very serious people.

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MeetMe

Has a map to see people you can connect with based on location. Video chatting.

Zoosk

Very old school. Feels like all the OkCupid style dating apps.

Skout:

‍See above. Literally same thing.

Clover:

‍Same thing as above but they do have an Apple Watch app in case you want to really challenge your eyesight and look at semi pixelated versions of profile images.

Plenty of Fish:

‍Same thing. They say 17 million conversations a day so your chances of talking to someone seem high.

Waplog:

A pretty standard swipe based on appearances entry. The website proudly proclaims that "It works on your computer and your mobile," so that's good. It has a story functionality at the top so you can watch stories by your matches.

Hily:

‍They must have the best SEO team in the business because they always come up when searching dating app (even though they have less users) than ones that come up later. It's the same swipe format with live videos and stories. Claiming to have 20 million users worldwide.

Facebook Dating:

‍If you're wondering why you haven't heard of it it's because Facebook really had the chance to do something different here and it didn't. It's the usual swiping format with an algorithm that takes who you're friends with into account. If you use Facebook for the rest of your social life this is a good tie in to everything else.

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OLD Guard

Match.com

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Match is for those who want to find a relationship that lasts, and they are really good at helping members meet their match with the site’s incredible depth of profiles. Match offers an abundant number of ways to contact other singles: you can go on some quick introductory emails or have just one conversation over email before deciding if you want to meet in person.

Eharmony .com

Best for those who are looking for a long-term commitment and this site does not allow you to send messages before paying or upgrading your membership.

Coffee Meets Bagel:

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For those who are looking to meet new people and want a low-pressure experience. There are a lot of micro transactions that they call "coffee beans". You have to purchase coffee beans and then use that to see matches and talk to people.

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Conclusion

Well there you have It. A round up of all the main dating apps in the online dating market. Keep in mind, whatever the "best dating apps" for you might be, for someone else it's something different. That's the beautiful thing with these online dating platforms. The human experience is vast and different souls will connect differently. We're glad to be moving you on the path!

If you're looking for things to do once you've matched with someone make sure to check out our article on virtual dating ideas Here.

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