29 best dating sites and apps for finding love in 2023
Dating sites and dating apps – of which there are more than 1,400 in the UK right now – are the most popular way to meet people in 2023. Move over, real life: even those who imagined bumping into their perfect match on their morning commute (or on Love Island, ahem) are taking matters into their own hands, searching for the best dating sites and online dating services that’ll help them find love.
Forget what you thought you knew: thanks to in-depth matching systems and questionnaires, the best online dating services are home to profiles you will be interested in. In fact, new data by Zen shows that 31% of people in the UK know a success story of a couple who have met online, and over a third of Brits are confident that online dating will continue to rise in popularity. Match.com’s Dating Expert Hayley Quinn, agreed that free dating sites and dating apps can be genuinely effective – for both serious relationship and casual hookups. “If you're looking to connect with people who want serious partnerships, then using a site that really focuses on compatibility is a real win,” she told us.
That’s that, then. But which dating platform is the best? With Match.com, eHarmony, Coffee Meets Bagel, Bumble, Tinder and SilverSingles all promoting staggeringly good stats, how can you know which paid subscription will be home to the most appropriate dating pool for you? Ahead, GLAMOUR editors have tried and tested paid memberships for queer women, heterosexual daters and LGBTQ+ singles to give your love life the boost it needs.
What is the best free dating app in 2023? | What is the best dating site for a serious relationship? | Our best dating advice | How did we test these dating sites? | Our full dating site reviews.
Meet the expert:
- Relationship expert at Match.com, Hayley Quinn
Which is the best dating site in the UK?
- Best dating site overall: eHarmony
- Best dating app: OkCupid
- Best dating site for serious relationships: Match.com
- Best app for hooking up: Tinder
- Best dating site for over 50s: Ourtime
What is the best free dating app?
“I found Hinge to be the best free dating app when I was single,” GLAMOUR's Commerce Editor Sophie Cockett said. “It was home to a lot more people looking for something serious than Tinder was, but you don't get spammed with terrifyingly serious profiles talking about marriage and babies. You can send an unlimited amount of first messages, and the prompts, voice notes and videos give a welcome insight into a dater's personality. There are no read receipts, either.”
What is the best dating site for a serious relationship?
Eharmony is the best dating site for series relationship, since it's exclusively designed to match people find long-lasting love. You'll be matched based on compatibility scores, dealbreakers, personalities, habits and interests after taking a lengthy but worthwhile quiz, so countless new subscribers report it being more successful than making a go of things through social media.
How we chose the best dating apps and sites:
The GLAMOUR team is made up of those who are married, those who are single, those who have been in relationships since the pandemic and those who are embarking on sparkly new love stories – and many of us have met our partners through the best dating sites. We tested each of the dating sites in this edit over a course of at least a month, meeting potential dates IRL and scoring apps based on factors like whether they offered unlimited messages, how safe they made us feel, the quality of the icebreakers and how appropriate our matches felt.
Ahead, the best dating sites and apps to help you find love in 2023.
1. Best for: long term relationships
How much does it cost? Free membership, though this is limited, and you have to pay for more premium plans. Subscription costs start at £7.95 per month for 24 months.
Who is it for? Those looking for serious, monogamous relationships. The most popular age groups on the dating site are between 30 and 44, and 55 to 64.
Things we loved: According to the site's 'Married Couples by the Numbers' facts report, 71% of women and 69% of men meet their spouse on eHarmony within a year of joining the site. Setting up a profile is simple, and the algorithm filters matches by personality, habits and interests.
Things we liked less: You need to subscribe if you want to send customised messages and receive unlimited access to your match’s profile.
Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
2. Best for: beginners
How much does it cost? Free to join, but paid-for plans start at £12.99.
Who is it for? Singles looking for a long-term relationship. It's perhaps better suited to beginners in this field than eHarmony is. Around a quarter of users are under the age of 30, and another quarter of users are above 50. What's more, 59% of its users are single parents.
Things we loved: Match.com is one of the biggest dating sites in the UK, boasting over 3 million UK users. And according to their site 1.6 million people have, umm, met their match. While some dating sites can be a minefield of ads, notifications and messy layouts, Match's interface is very user-friendly. A bit like Tinder, Match will show you one profile at a time, and you can decide whether to match or skip them. But unlike Tinder, you'll be given more information on the potential match as a person, so you're not just judging their hotness.
Things we liked less: The demographic on Match does tend to be a little older, so if you're dating in your twenties, it might not be the dating website for you.
Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
3. Best for: mature singles
How much does it cost? Membership is free but you have to pay for a plan (starting at £19.99) if you want to access the features.
Who is it for? Those over the age of 40 looking for love.
Things we loved: Our Time is a dating website owned by the Match group, with free membership and over 150,000 active users. It's a fairly new addition to the dating site scene, but it's perfect for anyone who is tired of swiping left and right and just wants to meet someone in person for a walk in the park or a takeaway coffee. Your profile will appear on other dating sites owned by the Match group when you sign up, but that can only be a good thing, since it widens your pool of potential partners. They also host regular singles events which you can actually take up to three friends along to for moral support. No need to panic.
Things we liked less: It's aimed at over-40s, so consider what you're looking for before you sign up. You also have to pay to send messages, and the sign-up process takes a little bit of time.
Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
4. Best for: fussy daters
How much does it cost? Free membership, but paid accounts start from £7.95.
Who is it for? Anyone, really. The questions are super in-depth and it caters well for those in the LGBTqia+ community. There are slightly more men than women on OKCupid (64% male; 36% female, according to recent data), so it's perhaps a little better if you're hoping to date males. The median age is 32 years old, so it skews younger than eHarmony and Match.com.
Things we loved: There are more than four million users worldwide (2.5 million of whom are in the UK), and with OKCupid, you can choose everything from the type of relationship you're looking for (marriage/hook-up/short-term fling) to the gender you'd like to date (from 22 different genders, FYI) and the sexual orientation of the person you'd like to date (from 13 orientations). It's very inclusive. You then get to answer a tonne of questions about lifestyle, religion, politics and more, leaving you with matches who finally might fit into your very specific criteria.
Things we liked less: You have to pay to upgrade to the Premium membership for extra features.
Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
5. Best for: serious online daters
How much does it cost? Free limited membership, or from £14.90 per month.
Who is it for? There is a fairly even male/female split in the users, and 52 per cent of them are graduates. It caters well to the LGBTqia+ community.
Things we loved: Parship is a great dating site, which uses a pretty complex test to analyse your personality traits when you first sign up. Sounds complicated, but it really does mean you'll be able to start chatting to like-minded people more quickly. Prices start from £14.90 a month, and it's great for finding long-term relationships with other professional people. Most members on the site have fairly similar incomes and education levels, and there's a specific gay version of Parship for those looking for a committed and long-term same-sex partner.
Things we liked less: You can to pay above the basic free membership to be able to message your matches.
Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
6. Best for: personalised matches
How much does it cost? Free to join, but some features are paid-only. Plans include: £29.99 for a month, £20 a month for 3 months, £15 a month for 6 months.
Who is it for? Younger singles who have gotten bored of Tinder and Bumble. It has a modern interface, Tinder-like swiping mechanism to sort matches, and the average age is between 18 and 40. It's also hugely popular in the US, so if you live in America, check it out.
Things we loved: An all-rounder, whether you're looking for a short term fling or something longer-lasting, Zoosk has had over 30 million downloads since launch. Thanks to being super modern, Zoosk is often hailed one of the best dating sites in the country – though it's lesser-known, so it's a good one to try if you're tired of Tinder, Hinge and eHarmony.
Instead of completing the usual personality test upfront, Zoosk’s Behavioural Matchmaking algorithm gets to know each member as they use the dating site, then their SmartPick function gathers matches to pair you with singles you're likely to be attracted to. You can do video dates from the app.
Things we liked less: There aren't options to register as anything other than man or woman when you sign up to the site.
Availability: Online, Android, Apple Store.
7. Best for: British South Asians
How much does it cost? It's free to register and become a member of the site.
Who is it for? Mature professionals and British South Asians.
Things we loved: The Single Solution is a dating site for anyone between the ages of 25 and 60, although their typical members tend to skew slightly older and be professional. There's an Asian version of the site - Asian Single Solution - which, as the name suggests, is tailored towards Asian professionals looking for love.
Things we liked less: Single Solution isn't as user-friendly as some of the other dating sites in this edit, and the website does look a little old. It's only available in a select few UK cities.
Availability: Online only.
8. Best for: young people
How much does it cost? Free to download, with Hinge Subscription options from £10.49.
Who is it for? Younger people looking to date via an app, but who want something a little more serious than the matches Tinder offers.
Things we loved: Hinge is great for seeing someone's personality (as well as their looks) at first glance. It lets you customise your dating profile to add three key bits of personal information. You can add videos and voice notes to your profile but, even more essentially, the latest Hinge 'Date from Home' feature allows you to flag to your match when you're ready for a virtual date but just like when you match, they won't know until they've done the same.
Things we liked less: You can certainly tell more about your potential partners from their profiles on Hinge than other dating apps, but the catch? It comes with the pressure of coming across as witty, fun and effortlessly debonair. Plus the answers might get a little old – we get it, people hate slow walkers.
Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
9. Best for: curing dating app fatigue
How much does it cost? Free to download.
Who is it for? It's LGBTQia+ inclusive and the gender split is 52 per cent men to 48 per cent women. The age range skews younger, with most daters in their twenties.
Things we loved: It was only released to the masses back in May of last year and, as its name suggests, has been working only on Thursdays ever since. It encourages users to spend time on themselves six out of seven days of the week, then exchange numbers – and meet up – with people close to them when they can log on. Your matches disappear at midnight on a Thursday, so you have to act fast.
Things we liked less: It's only available in London and New York City.
Availability: Apple and Android app.
10. Best for: Indian daters
How much does it cost? It’s free to sign up to Shaadi.com. But there are some more comprehensive, paid-for packages which you can sign up to: Gold, Gold Plus, Diamond, Diamond Plus and Platinum Plus.
Who is it for? Shaadi.com is the best dating site for single Indians who are looking for love. In fact, you have to set your preference to "bride" or "groom" when you sign up, showing that it's exclusively aimed at those looking for marriage.
Things we loved: You can get a personalised membership which means you get a personal relationship advisor to help you out. Under the basic membership? You can still filter your choices based on height, religion, whether you have children etc.
Things we liked less: Shaadi is probably not for you if you're after something a little more casual.
Availability: Website only.
11. Best for: dating people nearby
How much does it cost? Free, with starter packs of coins available from £1.99.
Who is it for? Younger people living in cities.
Things we loved: Happn aims to connect you with people you regularly cross paths with. If you pass them IRL, they'll appear on the app – and Happn will rack up how many times you come close to each other. There's no doubt about it – this is the best dating app for approaching that guy you always stare at on the Northern Line without looking like a stalker.
Things we liked less: Living in a big city can cause issues – think needle in a haystack…
Availability: Android and Apple apps.
12. Best for: live video chatting
How much does it cost? Free membership for the most basic package. You can sign up to premium packages which start at £4.99 a week.
Who is it for? Those looking for light-hearted dating and the chance to get to know lots of people at once.
Things we loved: Badoo will leave you spoiled for choice; it's a great app for keeping for options open. Dating profiles are made up of basic information, and you can drop in on people's live video chats. According to sheer popularity, analytics firm Statista reports that Badoo is the most popular online dating service in the world with more than 100 million visits per month, so you'll be spoiled for choice. What's more, you can select what you're looking for when you sign up: a chat, casual dates a serious relationship or to stay open-minded.
Things we liked less: You get notifications every time someone messages you or sends you a like, but since there are SO many users, things can get overwhelming.
Availability: Android and Apple apps.
13. Best for: casual dating
How much does it cost? Free, with Tinder Plus options from just 79p.
Who is it for? Most Tinder users are aged between 25-34, but 55 and above account for 16% of all users. It's best used for those who are after casual hook-ups or friendship.
Things we loved: It’s no secret that Tinder is one of the most widely used, most saturated apps and if you’re looking for a whole host of options, Tinder’s the place for you. You can get swiping immediately, you can choose how much you reveal about yourselfd, and it even has a catfishing-proof feature called Loops where you can see GIFs of potential matches.
Things we liked less: Tinder seems geared towards casual dating, so if that's not your bag, you might look towards a dating site or app like Hinge. What's more, profiles aren't quite as detailed as they are on other apps – it's just your name, job, education, location and links to your Spotify and Instagram accounts which can be included. It has been reported that not all users are real people.
Availability: Android and Apple apps.
14. Best for: Jewish daters
How much? Membership is free.
Who is it for? Jewish singles looking for love. It's LGBT inclusive.
Things we ,loved: JDate is the internet's largest Jewish dating service, and it has been around for nearly two decades. You simply upload a bio of around 100-150 words and up to six photos. Then, you can browse other dating profiles to your hearts' content, filtering by physical features, hobbies, religious practise and the type of relationship they're after. There's a Look Book feature which makes it super easy to track who has liked you, and who you've liked in return.
Things we liked less: There aren't quite as many members as other dating sites.
Availability: Website, on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
15. Best for: ambitious and career-driven people
How much? £89.95 a month or £29.95 a month for 12 months.
Pros: Elite Singles is best for finding someone with similar aspirations. If career goals and intelligence are what turns you on, then Elite Singles is definitely the site for you. According to their website, 82% of its members are graduates and with pretty steep fees, it's clear this dating site is targeted at those who have not only have disposable income, but have grown out of quick hook-up culture and want a mature relationship.
Cons: It's quite expensive in comparison to some other dating sites, particularly if you pay monthly.
16. Best for: Christian daters
How much does it cost? Free membership, though this is limited. Packages start at £24 per month.
Who is it for? This award-winning dating site is the best dating site for Christians. If you want someone with the same religion as you, make a beeline. It's for those who want a long-term relationship, but who struggle to find likeminded people outside of their church and work.
Things we loved: There are more than 110,000 users worldwide, and all it takes to strike up a conversation is a simple “wave".
Things we liked less: There are lots of questions to answer when you first sign up, but that can only be beneficial in the long-run. Membership is free but this only allows you to match, send waves and preset replies.
Availability: online, on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
17. Best for: music lovers
How much does it cost? From £5 per month, depending on how long you sign up for.
Who is it for? Singles who want to chat to people who have the same music tastes as you. You can agree to go to gigs for your first date. Sounds fun, right?
Things we loved: When you sign up, you select the gender(s) you'd like to date, and enter three bands or artists who float your boat. (Does Mamma Mia count?).
Things we liked less: Tastebuds is lesser-known, so there aren't quite as many dating profiles to scroll through as you might expect on Match or eHarmony.
Availability: Online and app.
18. Best for: setting up your mates
How much does it cost? It's free to create a profile, nbut to unlock all features, you'll need to be a subscriber. Subscriptions start at £10.50 a month.
Who is it for? Those who find dating websites super cringe, hate blowing their own trumpet and feel too shy to strike up a conversation with someone.
Things we loved: Wish your friends could do all the hard work for you? Well, you're in luck. My Single Friend is the best dating website for shy/cringed-out singletons, because every person on this site (including yourself) is recommended by their mates. The result? A fun and friendly space for you to chat to likeminded people - sans personal trumpet blowing - and hopefully fall in love.
Things we liked less: You can only select “man” or “woman” as your gender when you sign up, making it a little less inclusive than others.
Availability: Online only.
19. Best for: country bumpkins
How much does it cost? Membership is free but you can only send messages to your potential matches if you pay the £94 annual subscription free.
Who is it for? Aimed at those who live in the countryside in the UK and Ireland (or those who have a thing for anyone that does), Muddy Matches plays on the idea that you need someone with similar interests and ideas of the "perfect lifestyle" to embark on something long-lasting and fulfilling.
Things we loved: There's a fab, easy-to-use app, and you can take the brand's quiz to find out just how “muddy” you really are.
Things we liked less: The membership fee is pretty expensive, and it's not quite as popular as some of the other dating sites in this edit.
Availability: Online and app.
20. Best for: dating over 50
How much does it cost? There's a free version, with options to upgrade your membership at various costs from £9.99 per month.
Who is it for? PoF has 32 million visit each month, according to recent data, making it one of the most popular dating sites of the year. Bear in mind, the number of men on Plenty of Fish outnumber women by 20 per cent.
Things we loved: Like eHarmony, Plenty of Fish has been around since the early 2000s and has focused on modernising its technology, aesthetic and approach. When you sign up, you upload a photo, basic info, and answer a pretty lengthy 'chemistry test', which is how the site matches you with those of similar character. Subscription rates for dating sites can be pricey, so if you're looking to match on a budget, PoF has got your back.
Things we liked less: It isn't the prettiest of websites, and others are definitely more user-friendly. But they do have more than 150 million registered users worldwide at last count, and they claim to be responsible for creating more relationships and conversations than any other free dating app. So do the graphics really matter?
Availability: Online, on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
21. Best for: those who care about looks
How much does it cost? Prices start from £7.50 for a six month membership, and there are regular members’ events to attend if you fancy it.
Who is it for? Those who place a high importance on what their dates look like.
Things we loved: The people behind this dating site claim that by filtering daters based on their looks first, they’re removing the first hurdle of dating. Whether you agree or not is a different story.
Things we liked less: Whether or not you're beautiful enough to join is decided by members of the opposite sex, who "vote you in" when you apply to join, which is quite shallow.
Availability: Online.
22. Best for: young professionals
How much does it cost? The app is free but you can spend on premium packages.
Who is it for? There are over 5 million users worldwide and it's LGBT inclusive. This is the best dating site for 25-35's looking to take dating more seriously, helping likeminded, ambitious people meet their match.
Things we loved: Members get together every 6.9 seconds with Inner Circle. It has a human screening process (the screeners behind the app are a group of stay-at-home mums, also the matchmakers of the app), to verify each profile is genuine and protect against cat-fishing.
Things we liked less: The app is free to download, but to get the most out of it, you'll want to upgrade to the premium packages on offer.
Availability: App and site.
23. Best for: music lovers
How much does it cost? Free.
Who is it for? Londoners.
Things we loved: POM is a unique and inclusive dating app that says goodbye to the traditional swipe-left and swipe-right dating experience. POM connects you to like minded people based on your music tastes and your emotional responses to music.
Things we liked less: It's exclusively in London right now.
Availability: App only. Apple and Android.
24. Best for: LGBTQIA2S+ dating
How much does it cost? Core features are free, with premium options from £13.99.
Who is it for? A top pick for lesbian, bi, queer, trans and non-binary or non-conforming gender identities, HER offers a safe space for non-cis and non-heterosexual singles alike to meet and connect, not to mention being an 'editor's choice' app on the Apple app store.
Things we loved: Great for meeting new friends in the community as well as potential partners and, for users in sleepy towns, it allows them to extend their dating scope into busier, neighbouring cities with a more thriving LGBTQIA2S+ scene.
Things we liked less: You'll have to bypass a paywall to unlock unlimited swipes and gain access to certain intel, such as who's already liked you.
Availability: App and website.
25. Best for: millennials
How much does it cost? Free to download and use, with premium options available for a surplus.
Who is it for? 18-35 year-olds looking for serious relationships, flings and casual dating. The male/female split is fairly equal.
Things we loved: The world of dating is filled with tiresome tropes like ‘you’ve got to wait 72 hours before you send them a message' or rather, in heterosexual relationships, ‘only the man can propose!’ Bumble sets out to dismantle those archaic traditions and seeks out forward thinking individuals as the crux of its user base. Suitable for both Apple and Android devices, Bumble takes a somewhat feminist stance and challenges long outdated norms of the dating world - i.e. that men have to make the first move. Yep, for heterosexual couples, Bumble asks its female users to start conversations and then gives their male counterparts 24 hours to respond before the connection expires. Plus, for those not up for an intimate relationship, Bumble's also well know for its BFF finder - great for users just moving to new towns and cities.
Things we liked less: For same-sex relationships, both parties are encouraged to message first, thus rendering the unique ‘quirk’ of the app a little targeted in favour of straight couples.
Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
26. Best for: same sex hook-ups
How much does it cost? Free to download and use with XTRA and Unlimited add ons available for a cost.
Who is it for? Designed to close the gap between gay, bi, trans, and queer people and their community, Grindr has been around for over 10 years and, unlike some of its equally successful competitors - namely Tinder - the hookup app removes some of the barriers of dating, for instance, requited attraction.
Things we loved: Users needn't wait for potential hookups to ‘like' them back and anyone on the app can message anyone.
Things we liked less: Said free-for-all messaging can result in unsolicited pictures in your DMs.
Availability: Android and iPhone apps.
27. Best for: those who put deem intelligence to be important
How much does it cost? Free for entry-level features, upgrades after that start at £89.99 for a month.
Who is it for? Designed for individuals who put intelligence, ambition and achievement above most else, The league is dominated by a mostly ‘successful’ user base and sets out to avoid compromising on any one user's dating standards. You'll need to live in the following EU cities for it to work: London, Dublin, Manchester, Oxford, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Oslo, Athens, Zurich, Istanbul.
Things we loved: All profiles are put through a 24-hour (minimum) validation process to verify that each user is real and not a bot, and is a top pick for individual looking for a serious, fulfilling relationship.
Things we liked less: Not our recommendation for those looking for a casual flirt, not to mention the app is quite exclusive and certain users without the desired academic background might not be approved.
Availability: App and online.
28. Best for: non-conformist dating
How much does it cost? Free to download and use with membership options with added features for a fee.
Who is it for? For individuals with a penchant for exploring new things and looking beyond the age-old outdated archetype of a nuclear family, Feeld will likely be worth your time.
Things we loved: Eliminating the judgement barrier that those open to polyamory and sexual fluidity (to name a few preferences), Feeld makes accessing your romantic and sexual passions more of a reality - play the Feeld, as it were.
Things we liked less: Some users claiming the app needs a bit of work, curation wise, with sex workers using to the app to advertise paid services.
Availability: App: Android and Apple.
29. Best for: the Muslim faith
How much does it cost? Free to download and use with gold membership available for a fee.
Who is it for? Designed for Muslim users who want to guarantee respect towards their religion and views, Muzz - formerly Muzmatch - has over 200,000 relationship successes within its vast community.
Things we loved: Muzz makes meeting a partner in a halal manner possible and, for those worried about bumping into friends and family on the app, it gives users the capacity to keep photos and names obscured.
Things we liked less: Said privacy feature makes finding a match for those with looks at the forefront of their non-negotiables a bit trickier.
Availability: Apple App Store and Google Play.
