The best free dating sites for finding serious relationships (2024)

OkCupid's 2017 redesign is more than just millennial aesthetics: It's geared towards ensuring that you don't end up on a date with someone who doesn't pay attention. The addition of 12 gender identities and 20 sexual orientations makes it a safer space for non-binary and queer individuals to find love while using the pronouns they love.

Don't let OkCupid's cheeky ads about being "left-leaning" (like politics, but also...you know) make you put it in the "hookup" category. The focus on such weighted issues and profiles that require thought are a pretty big deterrent for people who aren't taking dating seriously, and you can tell that most users are putting effort into finding lasting connections. Users can illuminate the issues they hold dear and weed out people they'd want to argue with by answering deal-breakers.

Politics aren't the only compatibility factor here. OKCupid has in-depth user bios, but profile building isn't long or tedious at all — the questions are smart and dive into your dating style without being too mushy. You'll even get to see the percentage of how much you have in common based on question answers. It's an algorithm that OKC has been perfecting since launch just a few years after eharmony.

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Young people looking to at least go on a few dates with the same person instead of everything turning into a friends with benefits situation was a major blind spot for dating sites — until Hinge blew up. The premise and user base might be in the same realm as Tinder and Bumble, but Hinge's unique profile criteria and algorithm based on that criteria set the scene for matches with real-life potential.

Despite the fact that we're actively seeking out new dating apps and feel a rush every time a cute contender swipes right back, no one looking for something serious wants to be on these. The whole point of online dating is to find your person so you can stop looking for your person. That's the whole idea behind Hinge's 2019 rebrand to "the dating app designed to be deleted." But catchy slogans mean nothing without real-world success. Thankfully, these Hinge statistics offer a vote of confidence for anyone who's skeptical about whether dating behind a screen can actually foster connections IRL. Beta trials of a feature called "We met" asked Hinge users how the first date went. Some 90% said the first date was great and 72% said they'd be down for a second date.

There's a common understanding among users that Hinge isn't just for sex, but there's no pressure to rush into a relationship either. Instead of extensive cheesy questionnaires and spam emails about the 50 winks you were sent, Hinge uses your personal prompts, ethnicity, religion, education, and more to find you anywhere from five to 15 matches per day. Prompts range from "The most spontaneous thing I've ever done" to "Two truths and a lie." Seems like a good recipe for a first convo that's not about sex, right?

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Between creepy men pretending to be women and straight girls looking for another girl to have a threesome with their boyfriends, most heteronormative dating sites don't give lesbians or bi women a great shot at finding a relationship. Her, an award-winning app made for queer women by queer women, is the perfect place to go if you're tired of the only lesbian you know being your ex girlfriend.

The app that wants to "introduce you to every lesbian you've ever wanted to meet" is growing rapidly: Her has grown to 4.5 million users since its rebrand in 2015, and according to Statista, that's pretty damn close to what Bumble is working with —and they're all women. If you tried Her a few years ago and were discouraged by swiping through the same people, your experience will be much different this time around.

In 2019, Her revamped its minimalistic profiles to let users get more creative in categories like gender, sexuality pronouns, diet preferences, and star signs, as well as a "What does this mean?" field in the sex, gender, and pronoun categories to create more well-rounded understanding of identity. There's also a space for a text bio where you can showcase your sense of humor describe what type of relationship you're looking for.

The lack of any real science behind the matches past age and location is a bummer, but unlike Tinder, this doesn't mean you'll be suffocated with a hookup vibe.

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Grabbing coffee is the low-pressure date idea that lets you skip trying to choose a dressy-but-not-too-dressy outfit for a concert or a restaurant. Coffee Meets Bagel is aiming to bring that easy-going atmosphere to the world of dating apps.

Millions and millions of active users is usually a plus. It is nice to know that your options are virtually limitless, but things go from flattering to chaotic real fast when people hit you up 30 seconds after matching. This happens on eharmony and Tinder alike —people want that connection, and they want it now. CMB's slow and steady approach is great for singles who are rusty, a bit more introverted, or who simply don't feel like scrolling every time they have a free minute. Every day, CMB offers seven of its best matches (bagels) for you, chosen by your answers to prompts, who you said yes or no to in yesterday's batch, and who has already expressed interest with you, too.

CMB encourages users to get the ball rolling by only keeping your match for seven days. It's less pressure than Bumble's 24-hour time limit but still eliminates a list full of matches who don't care enough to plan a meet-up. Plus, not being bombarded with available hotties 24/7 gives you more time to contemplate whether you genuinely want to get to know or if you're just messaging them because you're bored.

Your bagels are limited regardless of if you upgrade to a paid account, which doesn't offer much past increasing your allowance of daily likes. Premium perks can also be earned for free just by using the app.

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NOTE: Though not free, this site is great for long-term love. Dive deeper into our picks for the best dating sites for finding something serious by going here.

Long-term relationships are the name of the game at Match. You can admit that it's kind of comforting that you've been seeing TV adverts about the success of Match for the past 20-some years. Launched in 1995, its decades in the business help Match bring a comforting level of experience to the table for singles wary about online dating. The OG site is so confident in the blueprint it's been perfecting over the years that it guarantees that you'll find someone in six months. If you don't, you get six months for free.

Match continues to solidify its spot as a well-rounded choice for all ages because it refuses to get lost as an antiquated, corny dating site. Match has so many online daters in its arsenal (more than the population of New York City, in fact) that it's hard to avoid the notification onslaught even if you live in a less-populated area. However, it should slow down once the algorithm starts learning about your swiping behaviors.

Most daters would like to believe that anyone paying £15 per month is genuinely looking for a seriously relationship, but Match has had its fair share of extreme catfishing. But they're working to make this better. In fact, Match is set to follow Tinder as the second Match Group app to utilise location-based emergency services via Noonlight as well as photo verification to authenticate users and ensure that they're the same person that's in their profile pictures.

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NOTE: Though not free, this site is great for long-term love. Dive deeper into our picks for the best dating sites for finding something serious by going here.

Ever see an advert for eharmony and wonder if a dating site that corny actually works? Weirdly enough, it does. As you might expect from a site that's all about settling down and getting married, the sign-up process is a doozy. eharmony uses a comprehensive questionnaire with 29 dimensions to match you with people based on your long-term compatibility. You'll rate yourself on prompts like "I'm an honest partner," with sliding scale responses.

On paper, asking deep questions like these right off the bat makes total sense when pairing two people together —but they're so basic.Then again, eharmony promises to pay for three months if you're not satisfied after those three months, so they're clearly pretty confident that all of those questions work. Profiles also look really nice, like a fancy CV designed by a graphic designer. You even have the option to put your favourite TV shows, music, sports, and more on your profile.

It should be noted that eharmony hasn't always felt like a welcoming place to members of the LGBTQ+ community.Following a 2010 lawsuit, their gay and lesbian spin-off site Compatibility Partners has been folded into eharmony's overall site, but users on Reddit as recently as 2019 say that it still seems geared more toward straight people.

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