The world now offers people a new and easy way to meet a partner thanks to the help of dating apps. In the UK alone, numerous apps cater to people from different walks of life and varied interests. This is why no one can blame you if you want to start trying these apps yourself, hoping to get a taste of how they change and redefine modern relationships. Now more than ever, dating apps are getting bigger, better, and more specialized than ever. It doesn’t matter if you are a fine wine connoisseur, you have an intense passion for saving the environment or you are a certified pet lover, you might just be several clicks away from someone whose interests are the same as yours.
We conducted deep research to choose the top dating apps in the UK right now that you can try for yourself.
2023 recommendations for best dating apps in the UK
- eharmony: Best overall dating app
- Tinder: Best for meeting local people everywhere
- Bumble: Feminist dating app where women make the first move
- Hinge: Best for building long-term connections
- Badoo: Best dating-focused social network
- PURE: Best hookup app starts with personal ads
- Hily: Best for quality conversations
- Meete: Dating app with a high match rate
- OkCupid: Best for making meaningful connections
- Match: 356,000 conversations start every month
- Coffee Meets Bagel: Dating App for Real Connection
- Happn: Find the people you’ve crossed paths with
#1 eharmony
The eharmony app is known for its remarkably high success rate when it comes to helping its members find and marry each other. In fact, approximately 70% of people were able to find their match in just a year. Being one of the biggest names in the online dating world, the eharmony app boasts a large selection of potential matches. It is partly because of the site’s patented eharmony Compatibility Matching System that is based on the questionnaire that will show you like-minded people. Your best potential matches will then be sent to you directly to your inbox to save you from the hassle and trouble of swiping.
#2 Tinder
Tinder app has now become so omnipresent that it is almost synonymous with online dating. With 75 million users and 55 billion matches made, these huge numbers imply both the biggest benefit and also the biggest downside of Tinder. For one, it is no doubt the biggest directory of singles in the world. Almost everyone is on the app, so it feels somewhat daunting to swipe through a lot of potential local dates. It is also not a secret that some users are not really into serious dating. But it still doesn’t change the fact that Tinder remains one of the top apps you can turn to if you hope to score a date sooner than later.
#3 Bumble
Whitney Wolfe that was formerly of Tinder is the original founder of the Bumble app in an attempt of redressing the heavy imbalance in power that ladies experience in many dating apps. Female users of Bumble are the only ones who are allowed to make the initial move and start an icebreaker with a potential match. The conversation will disappear if no chat begins within 24 hours. Bumble has also grown to feature other benefits since then. It has numerous security features that make app users feel safe with the guarantee that they are not being scammed. There are also variants where users can meet other members for platonic and business connections if they need some palate cleanser.
#4 Hinge
The Hinge app was formerly an app that let its users meet friends of friends. Since then, the app has gone through a complete refurb as it now strikes the perfect balance between letting you view photos of potential matches and allowing you to like some other things about them. Every profile on Hinge feature people who answer a series of prompts of their choice. Each can also be the reason to help match you with other members instead of just because you liked their gym selfies or photos with their dog. Being a free dating app, you will only get ten matches daily on Hinge to prevent people from becoming serial swipers.
#5 Badoo
Badoo app is the best app to go to if you wish to be spoilt for choice. Upon signing up for Badoo, you get to choose exactly what you are looking for, whether it is to stay open-minded, find a casual date, chat, or have a more serious relationship. The app features a swipe function although members are also allowed to drop in on the live video chats of other people. Profiles include basic personal details, and you will also receive notifications every time someone messages or likes you. However, it can get a bit overwhelming because of the large number of users.
#6 PURE
The PURE app is one of the famous hookup apps you can find today that women can use for free. It means that you might want to avoid using this app if you are looking for a more serious relationship. PURE has only one purpose and that is to help its users get laid as soon as possible. Although it has already been around for several years, PURE continues to feel like a new player in the world of casual sex apps. The Tinder rival has consistently grown its user base for the past few years, with many of them enjoying the fact that it remained true to its original concept.
#7 Hily
The dating landscape of the Hily app has become very saturated in the past several years to ensure that even the inexperienced won’t feel so lost as it treads through a minefield of potential dates. If you happen to be single and hoping to form some meaningful connections based on similar interests and values, this decision has gotten so much easier and faster with the launch of the Hily app in the UK. Despite being a newcomer, launched just on March 9, 2019, HIly has already made it to reach the top of the download charts of both the Play Store and Google Store. The dating app is free to use for open-minded and young singles and uses algorithms based on learning to help increase your chances of meeting more potential matches.
#8 Meete
Meete app functions just like other dating apps today for the most part. All you have to do is create your dating profile, send likes to members who caught your interest, and start a conversation if the two of you are a match. What sets Meete apart from other others is that ladies can benefit by just engaging in conversations with the gents they have matched with. Although women can use the app for free, the men who use the app are required to buy gems so that they can message and match with women. Men can also show their affection using other methods such as sending virtual gifts such as teddy bears and flowers.
#9 OkCupid
OkCupid app boasts a clever USP compared to its rivals as it asks users a personality quiz filled with questions that you need to answer as much as you like and continue coming back to choose the things that are important and not so important to you. The app gives the members a percentage of compatibility according to how much the two of you are aligned. However, most features of the app are locked behind the paid premium membership versions although a free version is also available. While the app mainly focuses on serious and long-term relationships, if you happen to be searching for something more avant-garde, you can also expect to meet someone here who might prefer a less serious and shorter-term relationship.
#10 Match
Match app has more than three million users in the United Kingdom alone, with around 1.6 million users meeting their match with the help of the service. The app also takes pride in getting one of the cleanest and slickest interfaces. The user experience is also different from that of other dating sites. The app also shows you one profile at a time, almost similar to Tinder which is also under the ownership of Match Group. You can either choose to say no or yes. But Match also offers a better-rounded profile as the basis to make it easier for single members to fall for the entire picture.
#11 Coffee Meets Bagel
As you can easily tell from its moniker, the main fanbase of the Coffee Meets Bagel app is located in the United States. But the app definitely brings something different to the table. The stand-out USP is the fact that the app will only send you a single match daily. It means you need to consider if the other person is a perfect match for you instead of requiring you to just swipe left without giving it a second thought. With a free membership, it is not surprising that the app has already amassed 7 million users all over the world. You can also upgrade to a premium membership so you can check if the other members read your messages and access your match stats.
#12 Happn
Happn aims to help cowardly singletons to seize more exciting opportunities to meet new people and go out with them. This app does away with the hassle of having to muster up your courage just to ask a person you met on the street to go on a date with you. The app helps you find people you can connect with whom you won’t otherwise physically cross paths with in real life. It has more than 100 million registered users, you will never get messages from someone who is not your type.
