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Discover our top picks for serious relationships, casual hookups, &amp, more. 11 Best Dating Apps We Tried In 2025 (& The Worst) Julie Nguyen is a relationship coach, Enneagram educator, and former matchmaker based in New York. She has a degree in Communication and Public Relations from Purdue University.

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Myisha Battle, M.S., is a certified clinical sexologist and sex and dating coach, educator, and speaker. She has a master's in Psychology from The New School in New York City. We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links. Research shows happy relationships are one of the greatest predictors of happiness and overall well-being—and dating apps have quickly become one of the most popular ways to connect. There are currently more than 1,500 dating apps and websites available in 2025, with options for casual hookups, senior daters, and even single parents. This makes finding the right app for your dating goals a length process, especially when every new app promises to fix the common complaints of online dating. Luckily, we have you covered. Not only have we spoken with relationship experts to find the most successful dating apps, but we also had singles across the country put them to the test to determine the best dating apps of 2025. Our final selection was vetted by the size of the dating pool, quality of matches, and user interface—plus, whether they led to real-life connections. Below, find our favorite expert- and tester-approved dating apps for casual flings, serious relationships, and everything in between. Best for serious relationships: eHarmony Best for serious relationships: Hinge Best for over 50: Match Best for kink: Feeld Best for hook ups: Tinder Best free dating site: OkCupid Best free dating app for women: Bumble Best for single parents: Facebook Dating Best for gay men: Grindr Best for lesbians: Her Best for working professionals: The League. Why we write about dating apps. mindbodygreen might not be a tech site, but we believe connections are key to our longevity. Plus, many of our editors found their partner through dating apps, so we know a thing or two about swiping for love. Active users: A larger (and active) user base is essential to finding your match. We stuck with services that have at least 1,000 ratings on the App store. Recommendations: We tapped dating experts for their recommendations on the best dating apps. Testing: The only way to know how an app truly works? By using it. We tested every app to see how long it takes to set up, how easy it is to use the app, and whether the app actually leads to in-person dates. Variety: Research shows about 44% of people in the U.S. use dating apps hoping to find something serious, while at least 40% of people want to keep things casual. Whichever bucket you fall into, you'll find a dating app catered to your preferences below. Dating App by eHarmony. Pros & Cons. Compatibility scores for potential matches. Ability to see who viewed your profile & vice versa. Most users focused on long-term matches. Profile takes a long time to set up. Almost no capability with free membership. 6-month membership: $359 ($59.84 per month) 1-year membership : $388 ($32.25 per month) 2-year membership: $699 ($29.13 per month) You're not going to find many dating apps that take the time and effort that eHarmony requires, every new user needs to create an in-depth profile and take a hefty questionnaire , complete with poll questions and an image selection game that vaguely reminds us of a Rorschach Inkblot Test. Profile setup takes at least 25 minutes , but experts say this step is key to making eHarmony' one of the best dating sites for serious relationships. The profile list is limited since it's for [the people] who don't want to deal with the ups and downs of dating app culture and want to settle down," says marriage therapist Omar Ruiz, LMFT. Don't miss our full eHarmony review to find out why mindbodygreen still recommends eHarmony despite needing a paid membership. Kathleen Wong says eHarmony "feels like the place to go when you feel tired of the so-called endless options on other apps, like Tinder or Hinge, and don't want to waste your time." Diana King, 64 , says she felt more confident on dates with men from eHarmony, knowing they had similar interests, preferences, and dating intentions—plus, she didn't get caught in the "pen pal" stage trying to learn if they would be compatible. Braelyn Wood, 30 , liked the amount of effort put into the profiles. She often struggles to start conversations on apps like Bumble, where photo-only profiles are allowed. But Wood isn't willing to pay the membership fees needed to access the full lineup of app features due to other free dating apps better suited to her age range. (25 to 35 years old). Kesiena Boom, M.S., noted the app feels geared towards traditional monogamous values—which didn't mesh well with the writer who was seeking an open marriage. She also disliked that the app asked you to disclose income as part of the matching process. Hinge. Pros & Cons. Limited likes to encourage thoughtful matches. Fresh interface with videos & prompts on profiles. Allows you to share dating intentions & relationship type. Last active status to find other active users. Must sort through matches in order. Best matches hidden behind paywall. One week: $24.99 per week One month: $49.99 per month 3 months : $99.99 ($33.33/month) 6 months: $149.99 ($24.99/month) I think Hinge stands above its counterparts because it really leans into showing off your personality alongside photos. These tiny profile details act as built-in conversation prompts, so it's easier to chat with your matches. Online dating coach Perri Schneider says this also makes the app great for people who are new to the online dating scene, as there's less pressure to come up with a clever opener. You're also limited to just 10 "hearts" per day with free profiles. This motivates you to slow down and see each profile as a person, instead of another face in a sea of faces. I'm over mindless swiping! Just be warned: Hinge may be one of the best dating apps for serious relationships, but it's moved away from the initial "designed to be deleted tagline." You can seek everything from a casual hookup to a life partners on the app, with options for both monogamous and non-monogamous relationships. Check out our full Hinge review to know why so many editors love this app. Carleigh Ferrante, 34, says Hinge is the app that made her get more serious about dating. After interviewing countless experts, Ferrante focused her dating energy solely on Hinge. Once she put a bit more effort into her profile and got intentional with swiping, she was shocked by how quickly she met serious contenders on the app—leading to her first serious relationship in years. , 41, has used Hinge for three years, while she hasn't found a serious partner on the app, she says there's a "level of maturity in many of my matches on Hinge that I don't see on other dating apps." Braelyn Wood, 30 , notes a similar experience to Ferrante (sans meeting a partner), but agrees with the common online joke that Hinge can humble users with its match recommendations. She also dislikes that the app often hides what she refers to as the "biggest catch" behind the rose paywall ($2.99 per flower). Match. Pros & Cons. Free one-on-one sessions with dating coaches. Personalized match recommendations. Detailed profiles with up to 26 photos. Need membership for app's best features. Not as many active users as some other dating apps. Time-consuming set up process. One month: $44.99 6 months : $118.99 ($19.84/month) 3 months: $116.99 ($39/month) 6 months: $129.99 ($21.67/month) I think of Match as the in-between of eHarmony and Hinge. It pushes in-depth profiles to help serious daters find a long-term relationship through compatibility, but it still brings the fun of Hinge's personality driven prompts. A 2018 report found that Match's fastest-growing demographic is the 50+ age group—making it one of the best dating sites for those over 50.













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