The best sex apps can provide instant access to a world of flirtation, attraction, and sexual freedom. While hookup sites support a lot of anonymous lurking, local sex apps bring even more functionality to the table and connect singles in a fast-moving swipe network.

Of course, not all sex apps are what they’re cracked up to be. Some tease users with fake profiles and false promises, and others have become overrun with spammers. We’d like to help today’s savvy casual daters avoid such seedy places, and that’s why we’ve picked several legit dating apps that can facilitate hookups and threesomes.

We’ve rated and reviewed some great sexy apps so single people can discover places where flirting leads to sexting and sexting leads to a no-strings-attached date.

Best Overall Sex Apps

Let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? After all, casual daters aren’t about wasting time, so here are the overall best sex-positive dating apps where singles and swingers can find plenty of hotties online.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.8/5.0
  • Discreetly arranges one-night stands and extramarital affairs
  • More than 80 million profiles worldwide
  • Travel-friendly features for seeking matches in other cities

Ashley Madison has made waves in the dating scene by liberating married individuals from the bonds of monogamy. The affair dating app helps single and not-so-single people meet new partners for casual encounters. The dating platform has over 54 million members total, and it sees upwards of 5.7 million monthly active users.

Available on the App Store and Google Play, the Ashley Madison app is free to use, and its security features ensure confidentiality for married people seeking discreet hookups and sex. Users can search for free locally or in other towns and cities.

In fact, if you’re looking for an out-of-town sexual encounter, you can use the Traveling Man or Traveling Woman feature to search for dates in other cities and find an attractive man or woman to meet up with you while you’re taking that business trip or pleasure cruise.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.8/5.0
  • A global network of naughty singles over 18
  • Ability to blur nude and explicit content, if desired
  • Advanced search filters and one-on-one messaging

Second on our list is BeNaughty, the go-to hookup app for singles about town. Anyone who desires a no-strings-attached relationship can use BeNaughty’s search tools to find willing playmates.

BeNaughty has had several crowning achievements since its launch. Its most popular feature is the Like Gallery, which uses a swiping system to establish mutual matches quickly. As you rate the cuteness of various profile pictures, you can discover what you like and see what’s out there.

If you feel super confident in your flirtatious abilities and want to save some time, you can send a mass message to all BeNaughty users who meet your dating criteria.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5.0

The thing about Adult Friend Finder is that it’s not exactly a dating app. It’s more of a mobile-friendly hookup site for adults. However, we’ve placed it at the #2 spot on this list because it has over 100 million users in its database, making it one of the largest hookup communities ever.

AFF is full of people who love to explore their feelings, try new partners, and make their sex life more exciting. Anyone over 18 can sign up to Adult Friend Finder, and many singles, couples, and groups have used this sex-positive environment to spice up their nights.

There are a lot of ways to get into the action and create intimacy on the AFF website. You can browse sexy profiles, send messages, watch video broadcasts, or read X-rated content on the dating forums. Adult Friend Finder has fostered over 14 million group discussions about sexual health and sexual activity. AFF members can get pretty explicit about how they like to party, so leave your inhibitions behind and play along.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
  • A massive user base of over 70 million dating profiles
  • Send a free private message or Flirtcast to get something going
  • Exchange nude pics or adult videos with a Flirt member you trust

Flirt is a fantastic hookup platform where sexy singles can send five flirty messages a day without paying anything. Plus, the Flirtcast allows members to send a pre-written message to every potential partner who meets their dating standards. That way, you can get a lot of attention online.

Since its launch in 1997, Flirt.com has seen over 70 million signups, and it supports over 100 million conversations a month. If you’re seeking a casual encounter, you really couldn’t ask for a better (or more flirtatious) dating pool.

Thanks to Flirt’s mobile-friendly interface, you don’t have to download anything to keep in touch with your matches on your phone and turn an online romance into an offline hookup.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.5/5.0
  • A casual personals site for singles, couples, and groups
  • Profiles have suggestive photos and strip tease videos
  • Chat live via a two-way webcam or private messaging

FriendFinder-X has gotten attention by encouraging “good girls to do bad things” on a no-holds-barred sex platform. Men, women, couples, and groups can create profiles here anytime they want to mix things up in the bedroom.

The search tools on FriendFinder-X can help users discover attractive and sexually active dates in the same area. By sending a few explicit messages, singles and swinger couples can then arrange an instant hookup on the fly.

FriendFinder-X is technically more of a mobile-friendly site than a sex app, but that’s good news in our book because you don’t have to download anything on your phone to take part, and you can still access it from any Android or iOS device.

This discreet hookup and dating site can satisfy your desires for a potential partner with a simple search through local singles.

6. Tinder

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.4/5.0
  • The dating app of choice for millions of sexually active singles
  • Accelerating the dating process through swiping
  • Has led to over 97 billion mutual matches

Tinder has embraced hookup culture with the motto “single, not sorry.” Android and iOS users can play the field on this casual hookup app and pick up dates who aren’t looking to settle down anytime soon.

When it launched in 2012, Tinder created the swiping culture that currently dominates the dating scene.

This fast-paced app is responsible for over 75 billion matches globally, and it inspires over 1.5 million dates per week — and it’s still growing! Local singles are sure to find hot dates within a few swipes on the Tinder app.

7. OkCupid

Category Rating
★★★★ 3.9/5.0
  • Free private messaging available to all members
  • Users can state that they're seeking hookups on their profiles
  • Responsible for 50,000 dates per week

OkCupid is a free dating site and app where singles can date on their own terms. You can send as many messages as you want on the platform without paying a cent — and that appeals to casual daters who aren’t looking for a long-term investment in the dating scene.

Every year, OkCupid creates more than 91 million romantic connections by giving users the space to express themselves and find a fun-loving partner who shares similar interests and goals.

If you want a hookup, you can put that on your OkCupid profile under the “Looking for” section and make your intentions clear from the get-go. You can confide in the online dating app and trust its matchmaking power to improve your sex life one free message at a time.

8. Match

Category Rating
★★★★ 3.9/5.0
  • Free profile browsing and liking
  • Private chat rooms and video dates for Match members only
  • Fast-working, time-tested AI match algorithm

Match is a trustworthy dating platform that can facilitate all types of relationships from long-term commitments to no-strings-attached sex.

During the day, the Match crowd may appear respectable and serious, but, after hours, you’ll see a different crowd browsing the dating site and seeking romance. Casual relationship seekers tend to match and message in the wee hours when only the horniest of singles are loitering on a dating site or app.

Match offers a lot of ways to get into the action — it even hosts singles events across the country. A single person can go online to use advanced search filters for age, distance, appearance, interests, and other factors to meet an agreeable partner. Another good option is to use the Discover section to swipe through a curated list of compatible profiles. If a person is labeled as a Top Pick, that means you and your perfect match can chat for free.

9. Zoosk

Category Rating
★★★★ 3.8/5.0
  • Fast-paced dating scene available in 80 countries
  • Full members can send unlimited messages
  • Advanced search filters help you zero in on the hottest dates

With over 40 million members to its name, Zoosk is one of the most popular dating apps around. It uses Facebook integration to make the signup process a breeze, and the chat app has multiple communication tools to make things run smoothly.

Free members can send likes and winks across the dating app, while premium members have the ability to crank things up a notch with real-time messaging and virtual gifts.

Zoosk uses a behavioral matchmaking system to connect singles online, which means the more you like and view Zoosk profiles, the better the algorithm will get at matching you with a compatible user who is your type.

Best LGBT Sex Apps

The adult dating apps we’ve listed are undeniably great resources for straight singles, but they may not have enough potential matches to satisfy LGBTQ+ singles seeking companions. When the mainstream dating scene runs dry, gay men, lesbian women, and other queer singles can depend on LGBTQ-friendly apps to provide date options across the spectrum of sexual orientation.

The following LGBT sex apps boast having match features that can spark same-sex hookups and casual dating experiences.

10. MenNation

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.4/5.0
  • A massive men-only sex and swinger community
  • Browse profiles and send private messages to your favorites
  • Profiles feature erotic videos and sexually explicit blogs

MenNation supports the world’s largest gay hookup network with millions of profiles to its name. The site maintains a strict no-girls-allowed space. It’s all men seeking men here.

If you’re looking for a hot guy in the gay dating scene, you can create a free account on MenNation and take your search to the online scene. Lots of helpful search tools can guide you to the most attractive profiles and turn a vast dating network into a handful of viable date options.

MenNation keeps gay men swiping and matching at a break-neck pace, and nothing stands between you and a casual encounter on this discreet hookup platform.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.3/5.0
  • Create a free profile in less than a minute
  • Search filters can identify attractive singles and couples in the area
  • Strip tease videos, revealing photos, and other adult content

LesbianPersonals invites its users to “find love, lust, and more” online. The female-friendly dating network only allows men to join if they’re part of a straight couple or in a group of swingers.

Typically, lesbian or queer women create personal ads on the LesbianPersonals site because they enjoy being chased and want to experience a low-key sexual encounter, including one-night stands and threesomes. Sometimes a straight couple logs onto this casual sex site because they want to woo a woman and add a bit of kink to their sex life. Whatever your sexual orientation, you can be honest in chats with potential matches online.

It’s free to join LesbianPersonals and browse thousands of profiles at your leisure. If you see a person or couple you like, then you can initiate contact by sending a message, a photo, or a video in a private chat on the adult dating site.

12. Grindr

Category Rating
★★★★ 3.8/5.0
  • Sexually active men can create free profiles
  • Matching system uses GPS information to find local dates
  • Millions of prospects available in 192 countries

Finally, Grindr has our vote as one of the best gay dating apps because it uses location data from an iOS or Android device to find local hookup options within the same ZIP code.

Since 2009, Grindr has been one of the top sex dating apps for gay men. The app is on a mission to identify the hottest and closest dates, so queer men can meet up and enjoy an instant hookup. The app is a men-only space, and its swiping list fuels anonymous flirtations between gay, transgender, queer, and bisexual singles who are out and proud, just experimenting, or in the closet.

It’s super easy to hook up with gay men using Grindr’s location-based system. It’s a three-step process. You match, you chat, and then you ask, “Wanna meet?” Sometimes the person will be one bar over or a block away, and that proximity is awfully tempting to casual daters.

What’s the Best App for Sexting?

We’ve listed a lot of great hookup apps to help sex-driven singles get some action, but not everyone is eager to jump straight to bed. Some people would prefer to send sexually explicit messages and photos (aka sexting) without making an IRL commitment. For these daters, a sex app can help them build confidence, create intimacy, and work on their moves and pickup lines.

BeNaughty is a good sexting app because it allows singles to send private messages using an anonymous profile. It helps a single person explore kink conversations without making any commitment.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0

BeNaughty is a terrific chat app sexy singles seeking a sexual encounter, but it’s not the only game in town. Other sexting apps offer useful features like automatically deleting chat history and facilitating video chats, so a user can choose to bare everything to a potential partner of any sexual orientation.

What are the Best Free Hookup Sites?

We’ve pretty much already touched on this because most well-known hookup sites are also — get this — hookup apps. That’s right, they go both ways! A popular online dating website can diversify its audience, expand its reach, and increase the sexual activity on the platform by creating a companion app.

Almost all of the casual sex apps on this list (not Tinder) have a casual dating site that has all the same match capabilities and features.

Adult Friend Finder has a solid claim as the best hookup site around because it is a veritable goody drawer of sexy profiles and erotic content. The dating service is available in the App Store, but Android users have to access the mobile-friendly site if they want to meet a sexual partner.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.0/5.0

Adult Friend Finder offers a nonjudgmental hookup site where singles and swingers can pursue their pleasures without restraint.

Finding a casual hookup, a casual relationship, or some other casual encounter should be no problem on Adult Friend Finder, and you don’t need a Facebook profile or social media login to get started. That’s why we rate AFF as the best hookup app for anonymous sex.

Is Tinder Just a Hookup App?

Tinder has the reputation of a hookup app, but that’s not all it’s good for. The dating app can help people fall in love just as easily as it can help them fall into bed. We’ve heard plenty of success stories from couples who met on Tinder.

People download Tinder for many different reasons. It’s a very popular dating app. Some new users are curious, some are serious, and some are just browsing, but many of them harbor dreams of meeting someone special for longer than a one-night stand.

Tinder recently conducted a survey and found that 80% of Tinder users want a meaningful relationship. Now, it may be true that some respondents were hesitant to admit their desire for a sex partner, but our dating experts think it’s an encouraging sign that so many younger folks on the Tinder app are serious about finding a potential match for the future.

What’s the Best Alternative to Craigslist Personals?

The Craigslist personals section closed up shop in March 2018 in response to a government crackdown on online sex trafficking. Craigslist did not want to be held responsible for the actions of its sex-crazed users, so it got out of the dating game for good. Don’t worry, though, because many alternatives to Craigslist can still get you in the arms of a sexy stranger.

Screenshot of Pernals

Pernals is a good alternative to the Craigslist personals section.

Pernals, for instance, closely resembles Craigslist in its setup, but this personals app also has a few surprises in store. The app has categories, including strictly platonic, misc romance, and casual encounters, to help users find exactly the type of relationship they desire.

The kink talk and personal ads on Pernals are similar to former Craigslist activities in the local hookup section.  But Pernals puts greater emphasis on safety and sexual wellness.

The Best Sex Apps Satisfy Your Carnal Desires

No dating app — not even a sex-oriented dating app — can make romance a sure thing. That’s your job. All the top-rated online dating platforms can do is put you in the same virtual space as sexy singles. A good sex app may even provide search filters, messaging tools, and matching algorithms, but only you can turn those free features into fast connections.

If you want to enjoy casual sex with a new person, then you’ve got to put in the work on a chat app and charm potential matches.

Ultimately, a great app is just a tool, not a guarantee. Your actions will determine your success on casual dating platforms. If you play your cards right, you can flatter your way into a potential match’s good graces, spice up your sex life, and build self-confidence over time. Just remember, a local hookup or a one-night stand may not happen after every message. It may take some persistence and patience to arrange a sexual encounter with a stranger. But perhaps all that foreplay will make the end result that much more gratifying. Have fun!

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