The most important dating apps
Have you just come out of a failed relationship or are you simply tired of being single? Then you’ve come to the right place. We’ll introduce you to the most important dating apps that will help you fight your singlehood!
You will come across these technical terms in the dating apps
Swipe: Swiping is nothing more than swiping. In many dating apps like Tinder, other users are introduced to you. Swipe left to reject the other person, swipe right to express your interest in that person.
Match: The other person does the same. If the other person expresses interest in you and your profile (by swiping to the right), a “match” is made. Depending on the dating app, the match function is a central component (you can only send messages when the other person has also swiped to the right) or optional.
Dating apps are expensive
While all the apps on this list are free to use, they all offer premium features that can only be used if you pay. These premium features often include things like “swiping back” if you have accidentally rejected a profile, contacting without swiping beforehand, and more. The problem: these functions are very expensive: prices of over CHF 40 per month are not uncommon. These subscriptions are automatically renewed – in the worst case, there can be nasty surprises if you forget to cancel.
Our tip: Even if it’s more expensive in the first month: Don’t let yourself be pressured by 3/6 or 12-month offers. Instead, choose monthly subscriptions – you can cancel them at any time and don’t have to worry about expensive, unforeseen subscription extensions. Because in the worst case, your 12-month subscription will be extended for another 12 months.
Apps for Everybody
Tinder: The market leader
Tinder is the reason why we don’t talk about the “best dating apps”, but only about the “most important”. Because the top dog among dating apps uses a lot of semi-legal design tricks to keep you in the app. Nevertheless, there is no way around Tinder: 1.8 billion swipes are made daily by its more than 75 million users. The simple concept of swiping has revolutionised the dating industry – gone are the days when you had to spend a lot of money on a dating platform.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Tinder | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Bumble: Women first
Bumble was launched in 2014 by Tinder’s former head of marketing. Unlike Tinder, women have to make the first step here, i.e. “swipe”. A match is only made when the woman has expressed interest in a man – so men can’t contact women just like that. The man then has 24 hours to reply, otherwise the match is dissolved. For homosexual users, each side can make the first step and send a message.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Bumble: Dating, Friends & Bizz | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
OkCupid: The curious dating app
Like Tinder and Hinge, OkCupid belongs to the Match Group and has existed since 2004. Instead of using swipes, OkCupid brings users together through questionnaires. These questions are meant to find out compatibility with each other. For example, if you are a vegan video game enthusiast who likes to travel, you are matched with users with similar interests. According to its own information, this brings together more than 91 million connections every year.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| OkCupid: Dating, Love & More | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Hinge: The scientific dating app
With Hinge, the focus is not on swipes, but on “likes”. Here, users give likes for pictures and prompts. Filters such as “religion” or “height” ensure that only relevant people are shown to you. Hinge uses a special algorithm to make suggestions. However, you can also write to other people without prior likes.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Hinge: Dating & Relationships | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Badoo: The multifaceted dating app
Badoo is one of the largest dating platforms and, according to its own information, has over 500 million users. The company behind the app belongs to Bumble Inc. On Badoo, you have several options for meeting and contacting other people. You can contact people in your vicinity, search for specific users or, like on Tinder, get to know people via swipes.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Badoo: Chat, Dating & Friends | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Jaumo: The social dating app
Jaumo takes another approach. Here, the focus is on the community idea without swipes and likes: online events like “Single Nights” are supposed to help you make new dates and friends. Jaumo was developed in Germany in 2011, but can also be used in Switzerland.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Jaumo Dating App: Chat & Flirt | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Summary of the general dating apps
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Tinder | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Bumble: Dating, Friends & Bizz | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| OkCupid: Dating, Love & More | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Hinge: Dating & Relationships | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Badoo: Chat, Dating & Friends | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
| Jaumo Dating App: Chat & Flirt | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Dating apps for the LGBTQ community
Her
Her claims to have 10 million users and is the largest app for lesbian, queer and non-binary women. The app claims to offer a “safe space” for these women that does not exist on Tinder, Bumble and the like.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| HER Lesbian, bi & queer dating | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Zoe
Zoe is also aimed at lesbian, bisexual and queer women and has around 4 million users. The concept is similar to Tinder: you swipe left or right to meet other women.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Zoe: Lesbian Dating & Chat | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Scruff
Homosexual men should take a look at Scruff – over 20 million men use the platform. In addition to a “Browse” function, there is also the swipe function known from Tinder. With the travel function, you can show other users when you are in their city and chat with local users before you arrive.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| SCRUFF: Gay Dating & Chat | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Romeo
With two million members, Romeo is rather small, but due to its German-Dutch development, it is very well represented, especially in Europe. Like Scruff, the app is aimed not only at homosexual men but also bi- and transsexual men.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| ROMEO – Gay Dating & Chat | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Taimi
Taimi is similar in concept to Jaumo, but is aimed at the LGBTQ+ community. Taimi is similar to a social network: users can post and share stories, host and join livestreams, and make video calls. Taimi has over 15 million users worldwide, making it one of the largest LGBTQ+ dating platforms.
| App name | iOS | Android |
| Taimi LGBTQ+ Dating: Meet-Chat-Love | Download for iOS | Download for Android |
Conclusion: You can find even more great apps on the alao blog
Dating can be a beautiful thing. However, not every date ends successfully. You can find out how to protect yourself in our text on lovebombing and the like.
By the way: We have already presented some of the best apps in the areas of weather, budget, sleep tracking and password storage. You can find an overview of the best apps in our blog.
And if you want to make sure you don’t pay too much for your mobile phone subscription when you chat with your new crush, check out our mobile phone subscription comparison. Here you’ll find the best deals from Salt, Yallo, Wingo, Sunrise and more at the lowest prices and you can easily switch your subscription online. We’ll take your phone number with us free of charge and cancel your old contract. This article was last updated on 14 December 2024.
