What Our Readers Say: The Pros and Cons of 5 Most Popular Dating Apps Today
There was once a time when it was difficult for single folks to meet prospective partners for dating. Social circles were limited, and you had to bank on bumping into your “ideal matches” while studying, at work or, worse, at family gatherings.
Nonetheless, times have changed now, and the advent of online dating apps has made it much easier to meet new people. The initial stigma around online dating has also been appreciably debunked. If you are worried about people judging you for using these apps, you can put your concerns to rest.
But, which dating app should you register with?
Even though Tinder continues to dominate the online dating space as the most frequently used app, there are several other dating apps that have earned favour in recent years among the young populace.
Here, we take a look at the top dating apps, their pros, cons and if they can help to put an end to your search for love. Especially, we asked our readers about their experiences with dating apps and have got some firsthand comments for you.
So, before swiping right, scroll down to see which dating app suits you best!
Tinder
Tinder was launched in 2012 as a platform through which 18+ users could anonymously check profiles and like/dislike them based on criteria like common interests, bio and, of course, photographs. Tinder matches are mostly established by analysing the user’s location, social graph, common interest, and mutual friends.
Tinder was the first propagator of the “Swipe” feature which has now been adapted as the primary feature for most dating apps. The easy-to-use interface of this online dating app has been favoured by many users!
Price — The basic version is free of cost. Tinder Plus is £4.99, which gives you unlimited likes, 5 super likes a day, 1 boost a month, “passport” so you can swipe anywhere around the world, no ads, and the ability to rewind to the previous swipe. Tinder Gold, at £7.49 per month, grants you all the Plus features and the ability to see who likes you and new top picks every day.
Pros — With the highest number of users, Tinder is the one place where you will never run out of options. This makes the end-goal of the app much more easily realisable. It’s also very easy to use and has many new features coming.
Cons — Tinder is pretty lax when it comes to user guidelines. As a result, there have been a few data privacy and cyber security related issues with the app. Plus, there are many bots and scams reported.
Recent News
What our readers say
“I can’t find someone suitable to date long-term. 90% f*ckboys!” Female, 24, UK.
“I thought I would find someone to talk with but it seems that people on this app just look for one night stands or friends with benefits. Maybe I am not lucky enough to find my Mr. Right on these dating apps so I deleted the app.” Female, 25, Vietnam.
“Not for people with little self-discipline like I do. Gained more regrets than success.” Male, 22, US.
OUR RATING: 3.5/5
OkCupid
One of the very first dating apps, OkCupid has been around since 2004. It is pretty much like other online dating platforms, except that you get to fill out long questionnaires about yourself and learn about other users in-depth. Furthermore, your answers to these questions will help create a compatibility score with other users, showing you exactly who is most likely to be the love of your life.
Price — A basic account is free forever. You can see all of your potential matches, exchange likes and messages. Subscriptions start at £7.95 and can go up to £24.90 a month. Some paid features are profile boosts, read receipts, no ads, see a list of who has liked you before you’ve liked them, unlimited likes, and incognito mode.
Pros — The app makes an in-depth analysis of your profile to find suitable matches for you. It also takes into account a wider spectrum of gender identities and sexual preferences. You can both browse through a list of users and use the swipe functionality like on Tinder.
Cons — OkCupid users have often cited that the app interface is somewhat of “an overkill” when it comes to finding matches with too many different functionalities (swipe, browse, compatibility score). Also, spams and unsolicited messages are expected since users are free to contact each other.
Recent News
What our readers say
“Easy to sign up, easy to delete. Bad quality matches. Though the match scores were quite telling.” Female, 28, UK.
“Not very reliable.” Female, 23, UK.
OUR RATING: 3/5
Bumble
Bumble was launched by one of Tinder’s co-founders in a bid to make the online dating space safer for women. While it operates on the same “swiping” functionality of Tinder, on Bumble only a woman can message the user they have been matched with, within 24 hours. Otherwise, the match disappears.
Price — The basic version is free of cost while it can cost you £20.99 a month to access all the premium features: see everyone who swiped right on you, rematch with expired connections, extend your matches by 24 hours, search with unlimited filters, unlimited swiping, rematch and search for users based on specific criteria.
Pros — A safer app for women, for sure since they do not have to worry about creeps bombarding their inboxes ever so often.
Cons — It is not too friendly towards non-heteronormative couples or non-binary gender users.
Recent news
What our readers say
“Not that different from all other apps except that the women have to message the guys first. At least there won’t be any sleazy opening lines in my inbox.” Female, 32, UK.
“Bumble is interesting by completely flipping the cultural norm of courting by making women make the first move. That said, I have gotten dates from every app except Bumble.” Male, 24, US.
OUR RATING: 3.5/5
eHarmony
If you are looking for something more than a casual fling, eharmony can be the best dating app for you. It was initially launched solely as a paid-for space, which made it somewhat exclusive for people looking to start something serious. It now, however, allows people to sign up for free and access its basic features like sending “Smiles” to a potential match.
Cost — The basic plan is free, but unlocking most of the app’s features can cost you £29.99 a month. Premium capabilities include unlimited matches, enhanced search features, viewing photos of all your matches, and unlimited communication.
Pros — Has a user-friendly interface and a compatibility score; is ideal if you are tired of casual dating and looking for a serious relationship.
Cons — Pretty expensive compared to other apps! Lots of complaints on TrustPilot about being ripped off.
Recent news
What our readers say
“Actually I joined eHarmony because I liked filling in personality quizzes at the time. But the algo was rubbish though and the quality of guys was not desirable.” Female, 41, UK.
OUR RATING: 2.5/5
Hinge
Hinge is another relationship-oriented app branded as “designed to be deleted.” The app requires users to be relatively thoughtful and intentional when creating their profiles as they have to choose a few meaningful questions to answer. This user-friendly app has many interesting features such as “Your turn” and “We met” to avoid ghosting and improve the quality of matches.
Cost — A monthly subscription starts at £17.99. As a “preferred member”, you can see everyone who likes you, set advanced preferences, and send unlimited likes.
Pros — Easy to use and less superficial than Tinder.
Cons — Can’t send images or files on the app and pricey subscription.
Recent news
What our readers say
“I liked it. After I filtered the matches, the quality of guys was pretty good. But the app didn’t respond sometimes.” Female, 26, UK.
“Simple and easy to use, nice to look at and very diverse people. Socioeconomic and ethnic diversity.” Female, 41, UK.
“Nice. Good that they charge a high price. There’s a higher quality of people.” Male, 34, UK.
“Similar to Coffee Meets Bagel but more diverse.” Male, 24, US.
OUR RATING: 4/5
Apart from these, you can look into Grindr (especially if you are a part of the LGBTQ community), Coffee Meets Bagel, or Facebook Dating. If you’re Asian, you might also want to try East Meets East. If you’re Muslim, there’s Muzmatch for you.
Now that you know what to expect from each of these apps, get on to creating that dating profile that you have been putting off for so long. Have fun dating!
Here are some of our best articles on dating to help you:
