The best dating apps can cure your app fatigue. So I put them to the test.

Read our full review of AdultFriendFinder.

Check out our full review of Match.

If you’re at a point in your life where you're so over the games and just want to find a real, serious partner, Match is where I'd send you. It's my go-to for daters in their 30s, 40s, and 50s who are established, know what they want, and are actually ready to find someone.

While the younger crowd is busy swiping on Tinder and Hinge, Match has carved out its niche as the go-to for a more mature demographic. And it's not just a vibe — the data proves it. Research group SSRS confirmed that Match is the most popular app for users aged 50-64 (45 percent) and 65 and over (42 percent).

In my experience, this means the people on Match are generally more invested (both emotionally and financially) in finding a genuine connection. It’s a platform that expects you to put in some effort, and it rewards you with solid features and a recent push for safety, like requiring three photos to crack down on fakes. It's an app for people who are willing to invest in finding a life partner, and for that, it's one of my top picks.

Match Group is also actively working to demonstrate its value and reach in other ways. Earlier this year, Match Chief Executive Officer Spencer Rascoff confirmed that HER (my No. 1 pick for queer women) is now a part of the Match family. HER is known for giving its members features that are usually paywalled on other apps, like Match. So we're curious how this acquisition will affect its user base and experience.

Check out our full review of OkCupid.

OkCupid (also a part of the Match Group) is my top pick for the open-minded dater who wants a feature-rich experience without having to pay for it. It's one of the most inclusive dating apps out there, proudly offering more than 22 gender and 12 sexual orientation options. This open-minded environment attracts a diverse dating pool looking for everything from a fun, casual hookup to a long-term relationship built on shared beliefs. Plus, with the option to list your pronouns, you'll be more likely to be addressed correctly from the get-go.

I picked OkCupid because it was one of the first apps to prove that compatibility is about more than just a pretty face, and its core features (the ones that actually lead to better connections) are available without a paid subscription. Its entire matching philosophy is built on an in-depth questionnaire. You answer questions on everything from your political views to your messy habits, and the app gives you a compatibility score with other users. In my opinion, it's an incredibly effective way to filter out people with hard deal-breakers before you even say hello.

What I find most telling is the data from its own users. In a recent survey OkCupid conducted, 93 percent of singles reported being completely honest on their profiles, and 75 percent said they always discuss boundaries with a potential partner. It's a platform where users are encouraged to be upfront about who they are and what they want, making for a more transparent dating experience.

Read our full review of Tinder Platinum.

Ah, Tinder. It's the OG swiping app that changed how people meet online (for better or worse). With roughly 50 million monthly users globally and over 100 billion matches made since launch, it's my top recommendation for anyone looking for casual dating, quick meetups, or just to see what's out there. New SSRS research confirmed that Tinder is the most-used app by a long shot for the 18-29 age group, with 73 percent of young daters having used it. While it's not impossible to find a serious relationship here (Mashable's tech editor met his long-term partner on Tinder), in my experience, the general vibe is much more focused on fun than commitment.

Simply put, if you're looking for the best hookup app, you've got to try Tinder.

I picked Tinder because, even after all these years, its simple "swipe right" formula remains the best way to find a quick hookup, but the biggest story in 2025 is its active push to evolve beyond its hookup-app reputation. Guided by new CEO Spencer Rascoff, the platform is adding more layers to the experience to help users make new connections. It's already added Hinge-style prompts and an "Explore" page to help you filter for categories like "Serious Dater," "Non-Monogamy," or "New Friends," theoretically connecting you with people on the same page.

The latest evidence of this shift is "Modes," a major feature launched in September that lets users switch up their matching experience. The default, "For You Mode," is the classic, chaotic Tinder you already know. But you can also navigate to dedicated spaces like "Double Date Mode," the evolution of the feature from this summer that lets you and a friend team up to find other pairs. Or, for university students, there's "College Mode," a revamp of the old "Tinder U" that compiles other students in one place.

Tinder says this is all in response to Gen Z users who are "craving easier, low-pressure ways to connect" and are looking for "better matches, not just more of them." Whether these new modes and other experiments can truly change Tinder's DNA remains to be seen, but it's a clear signal that the app is trying to offer more than just a quick hookup in 2025.

Check out our full review of Pure.

Pure is for the adventurous dater who is so over the mainstream options and the endless stream of "Hey's" on other platforms. If you value anonymity, witty conversations, and getting straight to the point, this app is a breath of fresh air. It's designed for people who are tired of small talk and want to connect based on their unfiltered desires (which, ironically, you can filter for in the app).

After testing it for a month, my verdict is that Pure is "hot, weird, and way better than Bumble" for finding a connection. The app never asks for your name, and all chats self-destruct in 24 hours. This creates a space for bold, honest conversations that I found were leagues above what I've experienced on other apps.

While total anonymity can be a red flag elsewhere, Pure balances it with clever safety features. There's a Photo Verification Badge you can add to your profile. For those who don't have it, the "True Photo" request lets you ask for a live photo in your chat to confirm you're not talking to a bot or a catfisher, which gives some much-needed peace of mind. Plus, the app is completely free for women, which creates a great gender balance and a more active community. It's an unconventional but surprisingly effective platform (especially if you're into steamy phone sex with strangers!).

Check out our full review of Bumble Premium.

I recommend Bumble for women and non-binary people who are tired of unwanted DMs and want to take control of their dating experience. By giving you the power to start every conversation, Bumble helps create more respectful connections from the start, especially among younger daters. According to SSRS, 45 percent of users aged 18-29 have tried the app. In my experience, the vibe hits a sweet spot somewhere between the casualness of Tinder and the relationship-focus of Hinge.

Bumble's initial appeal was clear: it flipped the traditional dating script, putting the power to initiate contact primarily in the hands of women and non-binary people. This was designed to filter out the flood of unwanted messages and creepy encounters often faced elsewhere. Features like "Opening Moves" still allow women to steer early conversations, and the app did update its Dating Intentions to include options like “ethical non-monogamy” and “intimacy without commitment.” The 24-hour time limit for responding to matches before they disappear is still in place to encourage engagement and prevent ghosting. And you can still use Bumble Bizz and Bumble BFF to expand your professional and social networks.

However, the buzz around Bumble in 2025 has been complicated. In a leadership shuffle, founder Whitney Wolfe Herd returned as CEO in January 2025, a move that came as the company faced declining growth and a stock price that's lost 90 percent of its value since 2021. The brand's challenges were compounded by user trust issues, with users on Reddit reporting they were repeatedly seeing profiles they had already blocked.

In response, Bumble is attempting a major brand revival. In late 2025, it launched a new global campaign called "For the Love of Love," pivoting away from casual swiping to focus on real, meaningful relationships. Alongside the new campaign, the app has been refreshed with an enhanced photo verification process and a new dating advice hub. While Bumble has a steep hill to climb, this clear shift in strategy is the company's direct answer to the "dating app fatigue" that has challenged the entire industry. I'm keeping it on my list because it still offers a powerful and effective experience for its target audience.

Check out our full review of eharmony.

If you are 100 percent focused on finding a life partner, eharmony is the app I recommend. It's for daters who are ready to invest time in a thorough, data-driven process to find someone who shares their values. This naturally attracts a more mature and intentional dating pool, and the data backs this up. SSRS found that eharmony is one of the most popular apps for users aged 50-64 (35 percent) and 65 and over (32 percent).

I picked eharmony because its staying power comes down to one thing: a deep belief in compatibility. Its famous, in-depth personality test is still one of the most thorough ways to find a compatible partner. While the quiz takes time, I think of it as a relationship investment — you put in the effort upfront to find a better match later.

What I find most impressive, though, is how the company has modernized and committed to inclusivity. So much so that it angered the conservative group One Million Moms, who started a petition claiming the app was "glorifying sin" for its LGBTQ+-friendly ads. To me, that's a badge of honor. The company even teamed up with GLAAD to create a report on LGBTQ+ dating, proving that eharmony is serious about helping all singles find meaningful connections.

I recommend Coffee Meets Bagel for people who are completely over the endless swiping on other apps and want a more curated, less overwhelming experience. It often attracts young professionals in their late 20s and 30s who are looking for something more meaningful (it's like EliteSingles for the younger crowd).

The coffee shop meetup is a low-pressure date idea that lets you skip trying to choose a dressy-but-not-too-extra outfit for a concert or a restaurant. Coffee Meets Bagel is like the "grabbing coffee" version of dating apps, aiming to bring an easygoing atmosphere to folks who might just be a little rusty. The now-successful Shark Tank bust is one of those rare dating apps that actually gets decent feedback on Reddit. Every profile shown to men has already been okay-ed by the women, so the chance of getting unsolicited messages from creepy guys (or the worry of being seen as creepy) is less likely.

The matching process is pretty straightforward. Each day, you'll receive anywhere from five to 21 curated matches depending on your gender, lifestyle preferences, location, and whether or not you're a premium member. The algorithm curates these "bagels" based on your preferences and the bagels you weren't hungry for in the days prior. If you're in the mood to search more once you've gone through suggested matches, you can always check out other users nearby under the "Discover" tag. 

It's worth noting that Coffee Meets Bagel is undergoing some internal shifts in 2025. Delbert Ty, the Chief Marketing Officer credited as a driving force behind the platform's 50 percent growth and unique content creation strategy, stepped down in the spring. Ty, who also established a four-day work week at CMB, told Marketing Interactive he was moving on as "CMB is now headed in a different direction," and has since founded his own brand consultancy.

If you're a queer woman looking for love, chances are you've had your fair share of frustrating experiences on heteronormative dating sites. Between straight people looking for threesomes and creepy men pretending to be women, finding a safe and inclusive space to meet potential partners can be tough. That's why I recommend HER, a dating app designed specifically for LGBTQ+ people, queer women, and non-binary individuals.

I picked HER because, as an app truly designed by and for queer women, it offers a refreshing and much-needed alternative to heteronormative platforms. But here's some tea: in May, Match Group announced it had acquired HER. While this has made some users nervous, founder Robyn Exton has reassured the community that HER’s core mission isn't changing and that it will remain "the same app... just getting stronger, faster, and even gayer than before."

With a rapidly growing user base of over 13 million and now the backing of a major player, HER is quickly becoming the go-to app for queer women who want to expand their dating pool. I'm keeping it on my list because it's still the best in its class, but I'll be watching closely to see how the Match Group acquisition affects the user experience, particularly which features remain free.

Read our recent review of Grindr XTRA.

Grindr is the dating app for gay men. And while queer guys have more options in 2025, Grindr is still the go-to app for millions of gay and bisexual men seeking men. If you've had enough of the mainstream dating apps, Grindr is the perfect place to be yourself. It's also a great option for those who want to experiment with their sexuality, as Grindr allows users to filter their search by sexual preferences, including bisexual men.

Keep in mind that Grindr is a very NSFW environment where many guys go to hook up. You might get lucky and meet your soulmate on the app, but that's generally not why people use Grindr. We should also note that modern-day Grindr is plastered with ads and many beloved features are now behind a paywall, so you may want to consider upgrading to Grindr XTRA.

I picked Grindr because it's been the top gay dating app since 2009 for one simple reason: it's damn near-instantaneous. Instead of swiping, the app uses geolocation to show you a grid of nearby guys, which is especially useful if you're in a small town with a limited queer population. While the sheer number of users can be overwhelming, it also means there's a huge pool of men ready to chat. Most users who are just looking to hook up will tell you that they're not trying to make small talk — and that warning may come in the form of a dick pic.

That's not to say it's not for relationships — a lot of men do meet their forever person on Grindr — but on the surface, it's a tool for quick, casual encounters. To make those in-the-moment meetups even faster, the app recently supercharged its "Right Now" feature with a live "Map View," which shows users who are available immediately on a real-time map of their vicinity. (Don't worry, it's opt-in, and for safety, the map only shows an approximate location, not an exact address.) If you're seeking something more serious, you can adjust your filter to look for "dates," though this will decrease the number of potential matches.

The app has also added more tools for user control and safety. In March, Grindr added a feature called "Profile Hide" to deal with the potential awkwardness of seeing an ex, your boss, co-worker, or whoever else you'd rather not see your Grindr profile. It lets you preemptively make your profile invisible to specific users you haven't chatted with and hides them from your grid.

To bring a little more reality to the grid, Grindr released "Taken on Grindr." If someone snaps a pic using the Grindr camera inside the app, they get the option to add a small watermark showing it was "Taken on Grindr" plus a timestamp (like "just now" or "3 days ago"). It's not mandatory, so don't expect it everywhere, but seeing that little badge offers a bit more confidence that the photo is recent and actually from the person.