The 25 Best Dating Sites 

More than 1,400 UK dating sites serve people of different backgrounds and interests. Online dating and dating apps are becoming one of the most popular methods to find a companion. You may rest assured that approximately 20% of the UK uses dating apps, according to Statista, with 441 million active users globally by 2023.

We started with Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, eHarmony, and Plenty of Fish, the most popular dating apps with the most users and top reviews on app stores and sites. The finest dating apps for serious relationships, casual dating, free dating, and paid dating were then examined. We also considered membership costs and unique characteristics like Thursday only operating on specific days, Bumble demanding ladies initiate the initial message, and catfishing prevention. Since there are so many dating apps and services, each needs a USP to exist. You should discover one below that suits your needs. All of the dating apps below are LGBT-friendly, but our guide to the top gay dating apps and sites offers LGBT-specific advice.

The Top Dating Apps And Sites

1. eharmony

• Best for serious relationships: 10/10 Eharmony top dating sites and apps
• Harmony: A personality-matching algorithm finds an optimal match
• Limited free membership
• Around 5 million UK users are LGBT-inclusive.
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Eharmony says over two million individuals have found love on their platform. A quick questionnaire determines users’ basic values in connection to others, which generates compatibility scores, personality profiles, and relationship guidance to help them discover love. Register and download the app for free, then send smiles and pre-written Icebreakers to start the discussion. You must subscribe for personalized messages and unlimited match profile access. Monthly subscriptions start at £7.95 for 24 months.

2. Match.com

• Best for returning: 10/10
• Match.com’s top dating sites and apps
• Online dating pioneer Match debuted in 1995.
• Limited free membership
• About 3 million UK users are LGBT-inclusive.
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

The dating site Match.com has someone for everyone. Create a descriptive profile, then search by criteria for a companion. In “zen mode,” only those who fulfil your requirements will contact you. It’s free to join, but only subscribers may send and receive messages. A six-month subscription costs £12.99 each month.

3. Plenty of fish

• Ideal for dating without discomfort: 10/10
• Plenty of fish-top dating sites and apps
• Plenty of Fish offers free texting and premium services.
• Free membership for 150 million people globally
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Plenty of Fish, one of the earliest free dating services, debuted in 2003 and now has 800,000 UK users daily. A personality test-based matchmaker, forums, fill-in-the-blank games, and detailed profiles are available on the site. Along with age and career, you’ll uncover information like the longest relationship and siblings. Men outnumber women on Plenty of Fish by 20%. Purchase extra features for £9.99 per month. This lets you browse expanded profiles, read communication receipts and trash ads, know who has visited your profile, give virtual gifts, and appear in other members’ searches. Use the site online or on your phone.

4. EliteSingles

4. Top professional dating app: 10/10
5. Elite Singles greatest dating apps and sites
6. Over half of Elite Singles users have degrees.
7. Monthly cost: £24.95 | 170,000 users | LGBT inclusive
8. Online at the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Android Aptoide

EliteSingles, which matches users based on personality, may appeal to those who dislike swiping left. The extensive compatibility exam considers appearance, personality (including how optimistic and ambitious you are, your social skills, how friends perceive you, and more), and what you want in a spouse, including if you want children. Most users want a long-term relationship and intellectual compatibility, and 85% have degrees and are 30–55. You must subscribe to message your matches, view their images, and comment. It costs £24.95 per month for 12 months or £44.95 for three or six months to try premium membership.

5. Silver Singles

• Top pick for over-50s seeking love: 10/10
• The best silver singles dating sites and apps
• Silver Singles matches seniors by personality.
• Limited free membership
• Around 70,000 UK users are LGBT-inclusive.
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Silver Singles is most popular in the US, although it’s growing in the UK. To join the site, you must take a 15–30-minute personality test to find your perfect mate. Detailed profiles are behind a paywall. Sending communications to potential matches costs money. A 12-month premium membership costs £24.95 (£20).

6. Our Time

• Best for meeting local over-50 singletons: 10/10
• Our Time’s top dating apps
• Our Time: A safe dating site verifies profiles and photos.
• Membership free
• 150,000 active users.
• LGBT friendly
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Our Time is a breath of fresh air for individuals who are bored of swiping and want to meet someone IRL. The site organizes local older singles events where you may meet like-minded folks. Feeling shy? Bring up to three buddies for moral support. As Match Group owns the app, your profile will display on other dating sites, expanding your prospective mate pool.

7. Telegraph Dating

• Ideal for meeting like-minded people: 10/10
• Telegraph Dating top dating sites and apps
• Telegraph Dating: explore other profiles to match conveniently.
• Limited free membership
• 220,000 members worldwide
• LGBT friendly
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Telegraph Dating makes meeting like-minded people easy. When creating your free profile, explain the sort of person you want. Check out the profiles and send a message to someone you like. Free membership lets you view prospective matches’ communications and react with a one-liner. Conversations and personalized messages are only available to paid customers. Subscriptions cost £12 per month for 12 months. Upgrade to Premium for £10 per month to allow free message replies.

8. Parship

• Best male dating app: 9/10
• Parship top dating sites and apps.
• Parship encourages long-term relationships through compatibility.
• Free (limited)
• New members per week: 23,000 LGBT inclusive
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Parship helps you discover love scientifically. Based on 40 years of research on successful relationships, the site categorises users into 36 personality types and matches them using 136 rules. From your ideal spouse to whether you sleep with the window open, the compatibility quiz is broad. Users are about equally male and female, and 52% are graduates. About 4 in 10 Parship users find their mate, and 23,000 join weekly. Signing up, taking the extensive personality test, viewing your matches, and sending them’smiles’ are free, but messaging your matches costs money. From £14.90 a month for 12 months, you can trial the site for six months (£19.90) or three months (£29.90).

9. Initial Dating

• Highly recommended for eccentric singles seeking The One: 9/10.
• Original Dating: top dating sites and apps
• Original Dating: Speed Dating and Parties
• From £10 per event
• With over 250,000 users, we are LGBT-inclusive.
• Available online

Fed up with swiping? Original Dating emphasizes in-person meetings, unlike other applications. Speed dating events (including virtual ones) usually involve 15–20 individuals in one night. Original Dating requires online bookings to assure an equitable gender ratio, unlike traditional speed dating events. You may try an event for £10 or subscribe for savings and exclusive events.

10. OkCupid

• Best for eccentric, open-minded singles: 9/10
• OkCupid’s top dating sites and apps
• OkCupid is one of the most inclusive dating sites.
• Free membership for 4 million people globally.
• LGBT friendly
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

OkCupid features a lengthy personality test to improve compatibility. You may add flair to your profile by answering unusual questions like “Do you make your bed every day?” Only message your matches to avoid getting overwhelmed. You may download and talk to people for free or pay for Premium for more features. OKCupid was the first to provide 22 genders and 13 sexual orientations in 2014. OkCupid, which makes 91 million connections annually, is praised for its inclusiveness.

11. Bumble

• Best female dating app: 9/10
• Bumble’s top dating sites and apps
• The only dating app where women message first is Bumble.
• Membership free
• 22 million users globally
• LGBT friendly
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Women must start Bumble discussions to balance dating apps. Although profiles are less thorough than on other apps, you can video chat and get to know your match before meeting. Bumble penalises lazy users because you only have 24 hours to chat before the match ends. The app is free, but Bumble Boost lets you view users who have already ‘loved’ you for £11.16 a month for 6 months, or £2.49 per day.

12. Soggy Games

• Excellent for meeting rural people: 9/10
• Muddy Matches top dating sites and apps
• Finding rural buddies and partners with Muddy Matches
• Limited free membership
• 300,000 users
• LGBT friendly
• Available online

Muddy Matches, developed by two sisters from rural origins who struggled to find compatible spouses, receives our favourite name award. Around 200,000 UK users use the site weekly; 60,000 of them are active. The gender weighting is 60% male. Although it lacks the capabilities of current applications, you may browse, read the blog, modify your profile, and even ‘wink’ at other users for free on this basic dating site. Unfortunately, you cannot communicate with others without a premium membership. That costs £8 per month for a year or £12 per month, with alternatives in between.

13. HER

• Best for queer women networking: 9/10
• Her top dating sites and apps
• HER offers monogamous and polyamorous profiles.
• There are 4 million free members globally.
• Only for queer women and non-binary persons
• On the Apple App Store and Google Play

HER helps gay, bisexual, and lesbian women discover their perfect match, bringing a unique perspective to the dating app world. The software lets you see profiles, add friends, and chat for free. HER Premium lets you sort users by sexuality, view online users, and more. HER discusses LGBTQ+ news and local events, and there are smaller chat rooms where you may meet other users.

14. The Inner Circle

• Best for young professionals: 9/10
• Inner Circle’s top dating sites and apps
• Inner Circle: selective dating for ambitious singles
• Membership is free for 5 million people globally.
• LGBT friendly
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Inner Circle ads feature couples in black ties and cocktail dresses, resembling Glyndebourne ads. To prevent false profiles and assure serious daters, this dating software checks users on safety, effort, and mentality. Inner Circle matches ambitious, career-savvy young professionals in 66 locations in 29 countries with 5 million singles on the app. The combination includes London businesspeople and Brazilian creative directors. You may download the app for free or subscribe to a premium plan. There are exclusive member events. Anyone for park polo?

15. Happn

• Ideal for busy people: 9/10
• The best Happn dating sites and apps
• Happn: A location-based app helps you initiate.
• Membership free
• 50 million users globally
• LGBT friendly
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

In movies, people meet on the train, talk, and fall in love. Indeed, we are too uncomfortable and British to act impulsively. Here comes Happn. A user you met will appear at the top of your Happn page. Send a heart if you like what you see, and start a discussion if they do. Only an approximate location is supplied. The app is free, but you can subscribe for premium features like 10 ‘Hellos’ and access to your likes.

16. Hinge

• Best for young lovers: 9/10
• The top dating sites and apps
• Hinge: Answer profile questions to start chatting.
• Membership free
• Worldwide, 5.5 million members are LGBT-inclusive.
• On the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Apple Aptoide

Millennials call Hinge ‘the relationship app’, a Tinder competitor. A profile requires more than images and a one-line bio. Instead, answer three questions (e.g., “My childhood crush?…Andrew Garcia”), and possible matches can ‘like’ and chat. The app is free and allows unlimited profiles, swiping, and messaging. You may upgrade to Preferred Membership to filter results better. Six-month contracts start at £13.83 per month.

17. Tinder

• Best for casual dating: 8/10
• Tinder’s top dating apps and sites
• Swipe right to like a Tinder profile, left to dislike.
• Membership free
• Globally, about 50 million users are LGBT-inclusive.
• On the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Apple Aptoide

The dating app Godfather. The photo-heavy app Tinder has 2 billion daily views. Swipe right to potential mates, then communicate and schedule a date. The site claims the software handles 1 million dates every week. It appears that Tinder is for casual dating. Although profiles are less thorough than on other applications, you may include your name, job, company, education, location, and Instagram and Spotify links. A tiered membership structure starting at £3.64 a month lets you see who liked you, check ‘top picks’, and rewind if you swipe the wrong way on a match.

18. Thursday

• Ideal for reducing dating app tiredness, 8/10 Thursday top dating apps and sites
• Thursday: just be active once a week to avoid mindless swiping.
• Free (limited) membership
• More than 320,000 users
• LGBT friendly
• On the Apple App Store and Google Play

The Thursday app mixes the conventional with the new by closing every day until Thursday, when it opens for 24 hours of matching and chatting. The creators observed that dating apps are most popular on Thursdays, likely to avoid spending weekend evenings with strangers. Unfortunately, most events are in London (with the occasional one in Manchester), so keep an eye out for growth. Thursday promises to “bridge the gap between online dating and offline experiences.” The gender ratio is 52% men and 48% women.

19. Heybaby

• Best for US dating: 8/10
• Heybaby top dating apps and Sites 2023
• Hellobaby: family-minded singles
• Membership free
• Available in the app store

For US readers or those seeking love on vacation or business trips, we offer Heybaby. A new dating app for parents was established during the 2020 pandemic. The dating app is now only accessible in the US and on iOS, but it will grow. After signing up for Heybaby, you’ll be asked a few questions about your work and travel habits and whether you desire kids. The simpler queries include, “Were you allowed to eat sweets as a kid?” You should discover compatibility with others based on money, religion, and your views on having children.

20. Badoo

• Best for flexibility: 8/10
• Badoo’s top dating sites and apps
• Badoo: Most users are under 35.
• Limited free membership
• With over 497 million users globally, we are LGBT-inclusive.
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Badoo offers a plethora of options. Choose conversation, casual dating, a committed relationship, or open-mindedness when you sign up for the app. The software lets you join live video chats and swipe. User profiles provide basic information and alerts for likes and messages. This might be overwhelming due to the number of users. Package and subscription rates vary, but premium prices start at £4.99 weekly.

21. Coffee and Bagel

• Best for lovers: 7/10
• Coffee Meets Bagel: top dating apps and sites
• Coffee Meets Bagel: just for long-term dating
• Membership free
• Globally, 7 million users are LGBT-inclusive.
• On the Apple App Store and Google Play

As its name implies, this software is popular in the US. It adds a unique element to dating. Its main draw is that it only delivers you one match every day, forcing you to think about whether this person is a good match before swiping left. However, you can like a few individuals every day under the ‘Discover’ option. If you match, the app proposes a tailored icebreaker (“Ask Thomas about his recent trip to Thailand!”). Download the app and chat with matches for free. However, you may pay a premium to check if your messages have been read and view match information like response time.

22. Christian Connection

• Best for long-term Christian commitment: 9/10
• Christian Connection’s top dating sites and apps
• Christian Connection: wave if you appreciate someone’s look.
• Limited free membership
• Globally, 110,000 users are LGBT-inclusive.
• Available online via the Apple App Store and Google Play

Christian Connection users can discuss their work, politics, fantasy vacation spots, favourite films, and religion. If you like someone, you can wave and message them. Membership is free but limited to matching, sending waves, and preset answers. The membership service allows unlimited texts and reduced social event registration for £24 per month after a 3-day trial.

23. Sauce

• Best for young TikTok addicts seeking love: 7/10
• Membership is free and LGBT-inclusive.
• Available on the Apple App Store
• The sauce top dating apps and sites
• Video-based dating app The Sauce

Qemistry, a new dating app for 18-35-year-olds of all genders and orientations, is refreshing. Although it launched on September 3, it has immense promise. Upload TikToks, Instagram Stories, or a funny or boogie video to your profile to use it. This showcases your personality, unlike managed photo profiles that emphasize abs.

24. FB Dating

• Best for Facebook users: 7/10
• The best Facebook dating sites and apps
• Facebook dating won’t match Facebook friends.
• Membership is free and LGBT-inclusive.
• Available anywhere Facebook is (online, Apple App Store, Google Play, Android Aptoide).

Facebook added dating a few years ago to compete with Tinder. Instead of having its own area, it’s free and adds features to the Facebook website and app. Imagine having millions of friends to pick from. Facebook hasn’t provided membership information, but The Conversation discovered it’s limited, supporting prior stories. Having a scout is free and doesn’t require downloading an app, so you have nothing to lose.

25. Muzz (previously Muzmatch)

• Best for Muslim singles seeking love: 9/10
• Muzz’s top dating sites and apps
• Muzz emphasises marriage above casual dating.
• Membership free
• 1 million members globally
• On the Apple App Store and Google Play

Muzz is known for its humorous ads (“Halal, is it me you’re looking for?”). However, the free dating app has several more advantages that may explain its 25,000 success stories. It safeguards your privacy by letting you use an alias and hide or blur your images until later, so friends and relatives won’t see your profile. A ‘Wali’ can accompany you in conversations, and all users are vetted. The app lets you swipe, match, and talk for free. Upgrade to Instant Match to chat with someone before they like you.