Key Points
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The top five dating apps include both swipe-based matching and algorithm-based matching.
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Dating apps cater to their users' interests and dating goals, so consider whether you're looking for hookups or more serious relationships.
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Variety is the spice of life, and dating apps make meeting new people in the 21st century fun and easy.
Dating is hard, especially now, as the dating scene flows further away from meet-cutes and parties and closer to the ever-expanding world of the internet. As social interactions become more online and less personal, you find yourself wondering what to do. With so many different online dating apps, choosing the best for you is challenging.
If you're searching for the meaningful connections app of your dreams, check out these top five dating apps.
Tinder
Starting off strong with one of the more well-known online dating apps, Tinder is your basic swipe-based matching system. Founded in 2012 and originally named "Matchbox," the developers quickly realized that the name was too similar to the popular dating website Match.com. The iconic flame logo never changed, though, staying consistent despite the rebrand.
Tinder was actually the first dating app to utilize the swipe-based matching system that many dating apps use today. The system is modeled off of a deck of cards because, as the developers said in a 2014 Time interview, they like to think of Tinder as a game. Matching is the goal, and swiping is the fun.
Tinder in the 2020s is more of a hookup app. Long-term relationships are absolutely a possibility, but because you don't even need to write a bio in order to get started with your swiping, it encourages more looks-based matches. Tinder is awesome for a date or two, an interesting conversation, and a fun little dopamine rush when the app splashes "It's a match!" across your screen in that blocky green font.
Bumble
Bumble launched in late 2014 off the back of a sexual discrimination lawsuit filed by its CEO and founder against her previous employer, Tinder. The idea was female empowerment dating — an app where the women needed to contact the men first in order to start a conversation. In the case of same-sex matches, this restriction doesn't apply.
The thought process behind this feature is a simple one. Women on dating apps often get a lot of unwarranted harassment from the people they match with, so female empowerment dating apps are highly appreciated. On apps with photos, many of those photos are of genitalia. A study by the Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of young female dating app users have had an unsolicited sexually explicit message sent to them, as opposed to 28 percent of males in the same age range.
Who knows why so many people think being gross online makes them modern Casanovas? Surely there isn't a person in the world who enjoys genital-based puns enough for them to actually work.
Bumble, like Tinder, doesn't offer much information about the people you're swiping on. Using it is less like a personalized matching system and more like the equivalent of starting up a conversation with someone who's caught your eye at a bar. It's good for casual dating, but be wary if you are both a straight woman and bad at starting conversations. With carefully implemented safety and security features, this app gives you less room to be shy, but with the awesome upside of freedom from all the awful pickup lines.
Hinge
Hinge launched in 2013 with the branding of being "the relationship app." And the relationship app it is, using a mix of comprehensive profile building and an advanced matching algorithm to feed you an array of people that match both your interests, past matches, and what people "like you" seem to like. It even allows you to report when you go on a date with someone and how it went to better inform said advanced matching algorithm.
Unlike its swipe-based predecessors, Hinge encourages more of a personalized matching system. To even begin the profile viewing part of the app, you first need to upload at least six photos and fill out three prompts that let people know a little more about you.
When sending likes, the system makes you respond to a specific photo or prompt of your choice. This is a helpful way to understand a person's motivations. For example, if one of six of your photos is cleavage-heavy, and that's the one someone has chosen to "like," you can reasonably assume what they want from you.
On Hinge, the other person gets a notification when you send someone a like. They can then open your profile and choose whether or not they want to match with you. You can attach a message with your like, or send the like as-is.
People still use Hinge for hookups, but its mix of comprehensive profile building and personalized matching systems means you're much more likely to find a meaningful connection on this app.
OkCupid
OkCupid was the first major dating site to launch an accompanying app. Founded in 2001, the company launched different initiatives before settling into what they do in the 2020s, including a 2007 blind dating service called Crazy Blind Date. The brand is also famous for running experiments on users, saying that it would actually be more unethical not to since the experiments allowed developers to learn what a good dating site needs to run. Still, the company's safety and security features make sure that no actual harm will come to users.
When signing up to the site, OkCupid has you fill out a detailed questionnaire. These questions range from not very serious (reading preferences, clothing style, favorite color) to extremely serious (political and religious affiliation, voting choices, opinion on cilantro).
When looking through profiles, you get a "Match%," telling you how many of your answers lined up. You can also see how many of your answers were in conflict with each other, called an "Enemy%." This feature allows you to try dating someone who disagrees with you on absolutely everything for the fun of it.
Many users actually cite the Enemy% as being more useful than the Match%, as they draw your attention to the things that matter and are more indicative of whether or not a relationship would work.
In one of their many experiments, for example, OkCupid provided users with placebo Match% numbers that were higher than they were in reality. They found that, when told they would be a better match, users tended to act like it, with conversations petering out after the real Match% reveal.
It seems OkCupid is a bit of a mixed bag as far as dating goes. It works for some people; it doesn't for others. It takes up less room in the public sphere but has more users than Tinder does, as well as providing very detailed options for gender presentation and dating preferences. If you're someone looking for something more specific than just "casual" or "serious," OkCupid is a good choice.
The League
Founded in 2014, The League is an exclusive dating service. Signing up means hanging out on a waiting list as your entire professional and school life is thoroughly analyzed. This process carries out by connecting your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles. A professional dating network like this is perfect for people with higher dating standards.
You can bypass this waiting list by paying, or if you have a friend who already has an account, they get one ticket to give away, which you can use to get in. This professional dating network only shows you five potential matches to respond to a day, and access to its top features can cost up to $1,000 a week.
People who are in high positions in society and want to date within certain standards will naturally find themselves attracted to the exclusivity of this dating service. It's got many accusations of being elitist, which frankly, it is, but if you're someone looking for the elite, this is the place to go.
Good Luck!
According to 2023 online dating statistics, "Some 42% of users aim for marriage by using online dating sites. When we consider how many people look at online dating as a 'nothing serious' type of deal, this is a fairly surprising statistic. If you use online dating apps to find a marriage partner, you have millions of potential matches."
Whether you're looking for a "Mr./Ms. Right" or a "right now," there's a popular, highly-rated dating app for you. If you're into swipe-based matching, try Tinder or Bumble. If you want algorithm-based matching to help guide you, check out Hinge or OkCupid. For professional elitists, aim for The League.
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