Key Points
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Online dating is more challenging for men than it is for women, but using the best dating app for men gives better matches with less effort.
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With the right app, profile, and approach, men can find anything they are looking for on a dating app.
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Overall, the best dating app for men is Hinge thanks to its thorough profiles, the versatility of users, and free platform.
Every dating app has its pros and cons, so it may be difficult to find the best dating app for men. Each one offers different features, communities, and opportunities. Once you know exactly what you're looking for and what each app offers, it's easy to select the perfect one for you.
Say goodbye to the days of swiping through several dating apps hoping to find the perfect match. Hinge is the best dating app for men because the basic features are free, the app has a lot of users available to match with, and every user has an in-depth profile.
Dating Apps for All
Living in a digital age, it seems everyone is flirting and finding dates exclusively on dating apps rather than “the old-fashioned way.” According to statistics from 2021, nearly 324 million people use online dating apps. Dating apps are available for endless niches and desires in a relationship, so there is almost guaranteed compatibility out there.
Happy relationships are a catalyst for a happy and healthy life, and dating apps provide the most opportune way to create a relationship in the modern day. It is important to know what type of fling, hook-up, situationship (an undefined relationship somewhere between casual and romantic), or romantic relationship you are looking for when choosing the right app and creating your profile.
Dating apps tend to be trickier for men than for women. While women often feel they have to sort through creeps or pick their favorite suitors, men must find a way to stand out in the crowd, and put in the hard work. Finding the right app and creating a profile that shines are the keys to success.
Put Your Best Foot Forward
Women seem to find it more natural to put together a profile. Oftentimes they have a whole team of friends backstage making sure they have a killer profile that's guaranteed to get that mutual right swipe. Men typically take fewer photos of themselves and have societal pressure to flex in a “manly” way on their profile.
According to dating consultant Eddie Hernandez, "Many people don’t put much effort, thought into a profile or dating apps. I am a firm believer that you get out what you put in. If you are not going to treat dating with the time, effort, patience, sincerity that it requires, don’t bother."
With the right profile and approach, men are more likely to stand out to potential matches and increase their chances of finding love in the digital dating world!
Take these tips into consideration when creating your perfect profile:
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Choose attractive photos. It’s best to have your first photo focused on your face — a photo that shows what you really look like. Make sure you are smiling and by yourself. For the remaining photos, include pics of yourself engaging in your favorite hobbies, on vacation, with friends, or more that show your best angle. Avoid photos of you drunk at the bar, showcasing a fish you just caught, or where it’s impossible to tell which one you are in a group. Bonus points for a video of you being goofy or doing something to show some personality!
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Put your personality in your bio. An engaging bio that describes what you like to do and who you are is far more likely to catch the attention of potential matches. Try not to flex how cool you are, but rather show some vulnerability. Include information about your lifestyle, hobbies, and values to attract people who have things in common with you. List your favorite meal, proclaim that being a morning person is the way to go, or utilize apps with prompts for some added spice without needing too much creativity. Check out these tips for creating the perfect bio.
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Spark an interesting conversation. No matter how attractive your profile may be, a “hey!” landing in someone’s inbox is boring and may not warrant any response. Asking them a question about themselves, sharing something interesting about you, or offering an interesting topic to debate off the bat is the best way to go. Engage with questions to learn more about your match without shallow questions like “how are you?” or “where are you from?" Try asking about a dream vacation, what meal they could eat for the rest of their lives, or what personal goal they are working towards.
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Don’t stay on the dating app too long, but don’t rush it either. If you feel the conversation flowing, ask them on a date. Meeting on a dating app delays the opportunity to get a vibe check, so people often lose interest more quickly. Initiating a date early on prevents the dating app banter from dying and never hearing from your match again.
Choosing the Right Dating App
There are countless dating apps available to download and it is a task in itself to choose the right one for you. Hinge is the best dating app for men overall thanks to the assistance it provides in completing a compelling profile, the ability to see likes, and the versatility of users and dating intentions.
With so many dating apps on the market, it is difficult to pick the right one. Although Hinge is the best overall dating app for men, there are many options to choose from based on what you are looking for.
Tinder
Tinder has the most users of any dating app and is well-known around the world. This creates opportunities to see and like a plethora of profiles, but weeding through them all is quite a task. To get a substantial amount of quality matches on Tinder, you need to have a show-stopping profile.
Tinder has a basic swiping and messaging platform that is free and easy to use. While there are paid upgrades, they're not needed to get good use out of the app.
Tinder is notorious for being the hook-up dating app. If you are a male in your 20s or 30s looking for casual sex with no strings attached, then this is certainly the app for you. Look for anything you like on the app, but finding hook-ups is often the main intention.
Bumble
Bumble has secured its place as one of the top dating apps. The app itself has a nice interface and lots of cool features for users to enjoy. The free version gives you everything you need, but there are upgrade options that you must pay for.
Bumble is unique in that it requires women to message first. With this role reversal, Bumble is a great app for shy guys or guys who are tired of sending unanswered messages on dating apps. Be careful because you must message each other within 24 hours of matching or you are unmatched. This is frustrating if you don’t use the app much, but it’s an important feature to avoid wasting time with serial swipers.
Bumble has a large pool of users and provides lots of opportunities to find someone you are interested in. Users on Bumble are in search of all kinds of relationships including hook-ups, situationships, relationships, or a date to see where things go. Be clear about what you want on your profile or when matching with someone to make sure you are on the same page from the beginning.
If you are tired of sending the first message or just appreciate the social experiment of only women messaging first, give this well-trusted app a chance to see what kind of fish are in the sea.
Silver Singles
Silver Singles is a dating app intended for people over 50 to match and meet. Men are happy with the gender ratio of users on this app. With more women available, it gives men an advantage for more matches. This dating app is rather new, but it's on the rise and users seem to be very pleased with it so far.
Other dating apps may be frustrating for men over 50 as they are cluttered with younger people. Silver Singles attracts singles over 50 to give you the best options available. You don’t need to be 50 to sign up, but the name attracts an age-appropriate crowd.
It's free to download the app, but you'll need to pay to have access to features that make it usable. Check it out before you decide if subscribing is the best option for you.
Grindr
Grindr is a well-established app in the gay men community. It has millions of users and is mostly used for hook-ups with a near-door-dash-for-sex style approach.
Grindr shows you all the queer men in your area who are mostly looking for no-strings-attached sex. It is possible to make friends or find partners on the app, but be clear about this in your profile and don't be alarmed when you see a few naughty pictures along the way.
If you are a queer man looking for sex, or possibly more, then Grindr is the best dating app for you.
OkCupid
OkCupid is an early-days dating site that has modernized into a dating app.
Originally it was created for straight people but became more inclusive in 2011 when they debuted a feature to hide straight people from your profile. This revolutionary feature attracted a large community of queer users and it still maintains a large LGTBQ+ community. OkCupid remains a fantastic dating app for gay or straight men.
OkCupid has plenty of profile options for everyone on the gender and sexuality spectrum. This inclusivity attracts a large LGBTQ+ crowd, as well as more open-minded people. There are also more men on the app than women, adding icing on top for gay or bisexual men.
The app asks thorough questions to guide you in creating a profile that optimizes matches based on compatibility. The questions are time-consuming but well worth it once your quality matches start rolling in. This in-depth approach attracts users looking for a relationship rather than hook-ups.
If you are a queer man or an otherwise open-minded man looking for meaningful dates and a potential relationship, OkCupid is the best app for you.
Hinge
Hinge is a well-established app within the dating world with a large user base looking for all types of relationships. You'll find men or women interested in hook-ups, situationships, relationships, and maybe even friendship. Hinge has coined the phrase “designed to be deleted," implying that the purpose of the app is to find a partner and get off the online dating scene.
Hinge is the best dating app for men overall. Its profile criteria require users to upload at least six photos or videos and answer three written or voice prompts. This assists you in creating a compelling profile that shows your personality. Basic demographic information is included in the profiles as well as political views, religious beliefs, smoking or drinking habits, and much more. The app's ability to direct men in creating a well-rounded profile is impressive and incredibly helpful to those who feel stuck when trying to be eye-catching.
Hinge features an option that lets you set your location to anywhere in the world. It's perfect for travelers, people who are moving, or anyone otherwise looking to match somewhere beyond their neighborhood.
The matching feature works similarly to social media. As you flip through local profiles, you have the freedom to like or leave a comment on a photo, video, or prompt. This allows you to catch someone’s attention before you even match! You're also able to see everyone who has liked you, which is amazing for men who are tired of swiping through profiles in hopes women will also match with their profile.
Hinge is the best dating app for any man in search of a date with a cutie who they have things in common with. Hinge truly helps you create a complete and compelling profile to find your perfect match within its huge basis of users. All of the amazing features on Hinge are available to use for free, but upgrading to a paid profile gives you additional settings, likes, and more.
Get Swiping!
Thanks to technology, finding the love of your life — or even just a fling — is as simple as laying on your couch and swiping on your phone.
Find the right dating app for you and create the perfect profile to catch the attention of singles around you. Hinge is the best dating app for any man in search of matches thanks to its versatility and thorough profiles. Download it from the app store, choose your best pics, and get swiping!
