It's never been easy to find a partner, and challenges from COVID-19 has made dating even more complicated. Luckily, even if you're not getting out as much as you used to, online dating sites and mobile dating apps can help you make connections that lead to a long-term relationship (or even a fun fling!). Yes, the internet is a wonderful thing.
But where to start? There are lots of good dating websites and apps, whether you're looking to meet new people, try casual dating, find others with similar interests or finally find your ideal match for a long term relationship.
I took into consideration everything from each online dating service's dating pool to whether it provides daily matches to whether it's a free dating app or a paid service. A new person that fits your exact dating profile is sure to be out there!
Here's an overview of the best dating sites on the market. My recommendations are based primarily on my own experiences in the online dating platform arena as a woman, with some word-of-mouth impressions from friends thrown in for good measure.
Best Dating Sites for 2022
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for these top dating sites or apps, start chatting and maximize your chances of meeting your perfect match. We'll update this list periodically.
Bumble
Bumble is basically Tinder for women... and on a timer. Bumble is a free dating app that requires women to message first. If the guy doesn't message back within 24 hours, he loses the potential dates. Because that's the one thing my love life was really missing: Arbitrary time limits.
The timer is designed to encourage contact and some people really do appreciate that feature. But if you're someone who procrastinates, Bumble may not be for you.
Because women must message first, Bumble tends to weed out the more insecure males from the dating pool. However, the rate of overly confident men tends to be higher than I've seen on other apps. Bumble also has a BFF feature to help you meet new people, but that's really not our focus, so I'll save it for another time.
Tinder
Whether you're looking for a casual hookup, potential date, friendship or an LTR (long term relationship), Tinder has you covered. It's basically the first stop for those entering the dating world. If you want to play the odds when it comes to online dating, you need to be swiping where everyone's swiping.
On the upside, the profiles are brief, which helps you to make decisions quickly. The downside is that a short dating profile makes it harder to figure out what a lot of people are looking for.
Knowing very little about a person can also make initial messaging a lot more challenging. You'll need to wade through a sea of profiles, which makes it easy to pass over people you might have given a chance under different circumstances.
Hinge
Hinge finally won me over, becoming my favorite dating app. Originally the app focused on common connections and mutual friends that you and a potential partner shared on Facebook, which was a gimmick I was never sold on.
But it has since pivoted away from this model. Hinge has designed the app to make user profiles more engaging (and helpful) than on apps like Tinder.
You have the option of displaying a lot of useful information that could be deal breakers: Your political leanings, your religion, your alcohol consumption frequency or even your interest level in having children someday.
The prompts provided by Hinge make it easy to create more engaging profiles. Hinge's current slogan is "designed to be deleted," so if a potential match for a serious relationship is what you're looking for, this is the dating app I would recommend.
Coffee Meets Bagel
Coffee Meets Bagel hopes to offer people better-quality matches by sending curated daily matches, or "bagels," each day at noon. They suggest ice-breakers for first messages and the profiles are more in-depth than Tinder.
For people who like a little extra hand-holding, CMB isn't the worst option. However, I found the app confusing to use, with too many features and a lot of gimmicks. I shouldn't have to look up online tutorials to figure out how to use a dating app. Plus why call matches Bagels?
I was also disappointed in the notifications, which I found too pushy. CMB was constantly "gently" reminding me to message people I'd matched with. I eventually disabled the app after receiving the following notification: "Show [match name] who's boss and break the ice today!"
Should a potential future relationship be rooted in a hierarchical power dynamic? At the end of the day, I have friends who've had the perfect match on CMB, but it isn't one of my favorite online dating apps.
Plenty of Fish
Plenty of Fish launched in 2003 -- and it shows. The problem I come across over and over again is that POF is filled with bots and scams, even though it may have the most users of any dating app. POF's issues don't mean you won't be able to find love on it, but the odds might be stacked against you. Unless you're into dating bots.