Best Free Dating Sites and Apps for Singles On a Budget

The anatomy of dating apps

Almost all dating apps have a few features in common. That includes location-based results, profiles, and some method of communication. All ten of the dating apps on this list have those features. The first feature, location, makes recommendations from us to you a little difficult. Most big cities have a decent supply of potential matches for most types of people. However, your success in any given dating app is ultimately reliant on how popular that app is in your area.

This is why Tinder is so popular. Tinder is popular basically everywhere, so there is a healthy selection of matches in most well-populated areas. Something a little more niche, like Happn or Bumble, may not have a huge user base in your area and, thus, matches be rarer than you would like.

Before we get started, our blanket recommendation for everyone is to find the apps with a larger user base in your area. That helps ensure you get plenty of matches, and by extension, a higher chance of finding someone actually compatible with you. If you try one of the niche apps and don’t get results after a week or two, we recommend ditching it entirely for a more popular option. If all else fails, our best recommendation is Tinder because, as stated, it’s popular everywhere. Good luck!

Bumble

Bumble is one of those dating apps that tries to shake things up. It’ll match you like normal. However, women get to initiate chats first. She’ll have 24 hours to do so and then the man will have 24 hours to reciprocate. In homosexual matches, either one can go first. Many have touted this as a way to weed out creepy people. However, we couldn’t verify that one way or the other and it makes things a little difficult for male users. The app does, in fact, show you possible matches and it gives you the opportunity to talk to new people. It has problems, but it’s still a cut above a lot of others. We do like it for non-straight people, though, since they do get the classic dating experience without any bottlenecks.

Clover Dating

Clover is an up-and-coming dating app. It’s a more traditional dating app. You’ll search for people like you and hopefully it works out. It offers the ability to set up dates, join mixers, find events, and a lot more. Unlike most, this one boasts a free chat. You can also set your profile to just look for friends instead of dating. That makes it somewhat decent for platonic relationships as well. It’s not overly popular so you may not find many results in your area. However, the reviews are more positive than most. This one has a bit of a problem with spam bots, though. We recommend some patience if you use this one.

Coffee Meets Bagel

Coffee Meets Bagel is one of the more popular dating apps out there. Every day at noon, men will get a curated list of women in their area. Women will get a curated list as well, but the list will prioritize men who have already expressed interest. Matches are given a private chat room to get to know one another better. It’s also LGBTQ friendly for you folks out there. It’s a clean process and perfect for those who have busy lifestyles. No flicking through profiles all day long. Like most, it has its fair share of problems, but most of them are somewhat tolerable. You can also buy in-app currency to get perks like more visibility and other features.

Happn

Happn is a local dating app. It uses your GPS to find people close to you. It does so with varying degrees of success depending on where you live. Like most dating apps, this one won’t do you any good if it’s not a popular app in your area. Thus, if you don’t get a ton of matches, you should probably give up on this one. The app works by showing you who you cross paths with in real life. Once it happens enough times, their profile shows up on your timeline. You can then connect and chat. This is a neat concept because you’re automatically matched with people who are usually in the same kinds of areas you are and that can be a helpful ice breaker. You can buy coins as in-app purchases. Like Coffee Meets Bagel, they’re useful for adding functionality and increasing your visibility to other users.

MeetMe

MeetMe is another one of those location-based dating apps. It features a simple. colorful interface that’s easy to use. It also boasts over 100 million downloads and uses between all the various platforms. Its original intention is to be used as a way to meet people in your area. However, if enough sparks fly, those people can easily become more than just friends. The biggest issue with this one is the fake profiles and it’s a fairly serious problem. However, most of these apps have fake profile problems so we’re not sure when enough is enough. Still, we recommend this one for patient people and, by all means, if you can’t find anything in a few weeks, get rid of it.

OkCupid

OkCupid is one of the most popular dating apps out there. It’s also owned by Match Group, owners of Tinder and Match.com. You’ve probably heard of this one before. It boasts over 40 million people although we’re not sure how many of those are daily active users. It uses a more traditional dating site method. It’ll ask you a bunch of questions and try to find matches based on similar interests. It also has some more modern dating apps features, like swiping away profiles you want or don’t want. It’ll ask you to subscribe to a monthly payment plan to unlock all the good features. The app has some strict, ambiguous rules about some things and the app itself is occasionally slow and buggy. Otherwise, it’s actually not half bad.

Plenty of Fish (POF)

POF is definitely among the best dating apps on the list. It allows you to join for free, message people for free, and engage with the app for free. However, the idea that it bills itself as a free dating app is hogwash because you definitely have to pay money for more advanced features. Anyway, this one seems to work pretty well. The interface is clean and everything is simple to use. There are some issues here and there, but nothing too drastic. It works pretty well, at least for a dating app.

Tinder

Tinder is essentially the modern dating app. You’ve probably heard of this one already. Every time you load up the app, it shows you some profiles. You swipe one way if you like them, or swipe the other way if you don’t. If a match is made, you can converse in a private chat to arrange a meet up. This app can be used for doing anything from finding friends to one night stands and everything between. It has bugs, some spam accounts, and some other issues. However, it’s a good place to get started in the dating apps scene. In addition, the popularity helps ensure that people in most areas get profiles to look at that are also real people, and popularity actually does matter with dating apps.

Zoosk

Zoosk is another one of the most popular dating apps out there. It has a ton of users although we’re not sure how many of them are active. It’s a fairly standard dating app. You’ll create a profile, meet people, and hopefully things go further. Zoosk uses an old-school social media style for their service rather than the more modern quick match style like Tinder. However, that also makes it a prime candidate for spam bots and other such stuff. This one is kind of a wildcard, so use it at your own risk. The service also has two paywalls and we’re not big fans of that.

Chat room apps

Chat room apps can be decent dating apps if you’re the right type of person. Some people don’t mind online dating and some people may actually prefer it. Chat room apps give you a chance to join tons of chat rooms, find people with similar interests, and get to know them better. It definitely helps scratch that social itch that single people often get and the online aspect makes it a little easier to manage. Of course, it doesn’t substitute a good cuddle or other real human contact. However, we thought it would be a good idea to mention that this is an option to cover every conceivable base. We have a list of chat room apps you can find by clicking on the button above.

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