If you talk to straight men about online dating, they’ll often tell you there are no women on the apps. So many single men swipe and swipe, but they get very few matches and even fewer conversations1.
But if you talk to straight women, they may tell you the opposite: They get overwhelmed with likes and messages from men on dating apps, and it’s difficult for them to focus.
It feels like online dating is a losing game no matter what gender.
Clearly, there are people on dating apps. But what’s the actual gender breakdown, and why does it feel so hard for anyone to find suitable matches that turn into suitable dates?
| Apps Where Men Outnumber Women | Apps Where Women Outnumber Men | Apps Where the Gender Ratio Is About Even |
|---|---|---|
| Grindr (93.2% male) | HER (100% female) | OurTime (52% female) |
| Tinder (78% male) | Christian Mingle (56% female) | Match.com (51% female)2 |
| Ashley Madison (71% male) | The League (55% female) | OkCupid (50% male) |
| Hinge (64% male) | Chispa (55% female) | BLK (55% male) |
| Bumble (62.5% male) |
1. About 34% of American Men Have Used a Dating App
Over one-third of American men have used a dating platform at some point. According to Pew Research Center, 34% of men have tried a dating app3.
When you consider how many American men have been in relationships since before dating apps were an option (though that doesn’t stop all of them), that’s a pretty high number.
2. Just 27% of American Women Have Online Dated
The difference in the percentage between men and women who have used dating platforms is pretty stark. The same Pew Research Center study found that only 27% of American women have used dating platforms4.
While a 7% gap might not seem huge, when extrapolated to the dating population, that 7% means that millions fewer women have tried online dating.
Don’t let the difference get in your head. It’s not the whole story. This stat doesn’t account for intentionality, dating app churn5, and success rates. It just tells you women are a little less open to trying the apps than men are.
3. At 52%, Women Just Slightly Outnumber Men on OurTime
Women and men have a nearly even split on OurTime, the top dating app for seniors, at 52% women and 48% men6.
Women tend to live longer than men, and about two-thirds of wives outlive their husbands7, which might explain why there are slightly more women than men on OurTime.
As we age, our dating styles and priorities shift. And that’s true for people of all gender identities. If you ask me, the maturity factor is why senior dating sites like OurTime tend not to see as big a gender divide as the casual dating apps swarmed by young men. Which brings me to Tinder.
4. About 78% of Tinder Users are Men
With its reputation for being a hookup app, it’s not terribly surprising that Tinder is pretty male-dominated. As many as 78% of Tinder users globally are men, though that goes down to 65% when you look at the United States8.
Apps like Tinder are well-integrated in American dating culture; it’s not taboo for American women to online date.
Still, such high male ratios can be daunting to men, who imagine their chances of finding an interested woman are low. It can also intimidate women, who may feel overwhelmed by the sheer number — and intensity — of men on Tinder.
5. About 1 in 3 Hinge Users Are Women
Hinge has a similar gender breakdown to Tinder in the U.S. According to a report from Tawkify, about 36% of Hinge users are women9.
While 36% seems pretty low, many women use Hinge as a more serious dating app. It’s marketed as a place to find a long-term partner, meaning that even if there aren’t a ton of women on Hinge, the ones who are there are in it for the long haul.
6. Bumble has a Slightly Higher Ratio of Women at 37.5%
Bumble is the app that puts online dating into women’s hands. So it’s no surprise that Bumble has a more even gender breakdown than Tinder or Hinge, with 37.5% of users being women10.
If anything, it’s somewhat surprising that more Bumble users aren’t women — I would think that its design would make it the go-to spot for women looking to find a respectful male partner. But, as the tradwives trends11 tell us, not all women want to make the first move.
As a general dating app, Bumble is still vulnerable to some of the same problems that Hinge and Tinder deal with: There are simply more men online dating than women.
Bumble aims to create a progressive and feminist space in online dating. But it’s having trouble fighting against dating norms that go back generations.
7. Unsurprisingly, Just 6.8% of Grindr Users are Women
Grindr is one of the few apps where most people are happy to find that it’s overwhelmingly male. The gay dating app, best known for gay men looking to hook up, is only 6.8% female12.
Of that 6.8%, it’s reasonable to assume that many are likely trans or exist outside the gender binary. And I suppose, there’s always the possibility that they were unaware of who the target demographic of the app is, in which case, they’re likely in for disappointingly sparse matches!
8. Almost Three-Quarters of Ashley Madison Users are Men
Men have a bit more of a reputation for stepping outside their marriages than women, and that seems to be confirmed by the gender breakdown of Ashley Madison. According to our colleagues at DatingAdvice.com, just 29% of Ashley Madison users are women. A whopping 71% are men13.
While this may suggest a gender difference in who cheats, it could also reflect the different ways men and women do it. It’s possible that women cheat at similar numbers to men; they just don’t do it online.
9. HER’s User Base Is 100% Women & Nonbinary People
Many of the dating apps where women are the majority are lesbian–focused apps, like HER. According to DatingAdvice.com, HER is made up of 100% women and nonbinary people14. The moderators make sure of that.
HER was the first specifically lesbian app to hit the market, and it has maintained its place as the go-to app for queer women ever since.
Part of its success is due to its unwavering focus on being a space for sapphics to find each other instead of expanding into different pockets of the dating market.
10. There Are 5% More Women on The League
As women have begun to surpass men in academic success and college degrees15, it stands to reason that they make up 55% of users on The League, an app for college-educated singles to meet16.
Many highly educated and successful women struggle to find partners who have achieved similar levels of success to them and want an equally successful partner17.
While men often want partners at a similar or lower level of success to them, women often want partners at a similar or higher level of success, which can make dating difficult for those with advanced degrees.
11. Women Lead Latinx App Chispa at 55%
Another app where the odds favor single men is Chispa. The app — designed for both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking Latinx singles — is tipped slightly toward women at 55%18.
Now, a 5% difference isn’t huge, but men might notice they get slightly more attention from women. It’s a niche app with a strong following, so it might be worth a try for Latinx daters feeling tired of the mainstream swiping.
12. On Christian Mingle, Women Make up 56% of Users
Christian men who are looking for a God-fearing partner should look no further than Christian Mingle. This is a female-friendly dating app with the numbers to back it up. Women make up 56% of the app’s membership base19.
The gender breakdown may be due to norms in Christian dating, where more traditional gender roles are at play. Christian women may find it more difficult to flirt with and pursue men in person, so Christian Mingle provides a great opportunity for them to meet eligible partners.
13. Men Just Slightly Outnumber Women on BLK at 55%
BLK is one of the top apps for Black singles, and fortunately, they don’t need to fight too hard against an uneven gender split.
According to DoYouLike? BLK is made up of about 55% men and 45% women20. While not a perfectly even split, when compared to truly uneven sites like Ashley Madison, that’s a pretty even playing field.
14. OkCupid has an Exact 50-50 Gender Split
Looking for a completely even gender split? OkCupid seems to have it figured out. This compatibility-focused app has a perfect 50% men, 50% women gender breakdown21.
OkCupid’s even split may be due in part to how choose-your-own-adventure its compatibility matching is. Unlike eharmony, the questions aren’t mandatory. You can answer 10, or you can answer 1,000; it depends on how deep (or shallow) you want to go.
The app is flexible for casual dating, serious dating, poly dating, and everything in between. And it’s totally free to chat with matches, which appeals to all genders.
FAQ: Why Are Dating Apps Male-Dominated?
The numbers suggest that dating apps are overwhelmingly male-dominated. You might be wondering: Why? It doesn’t have to be that way.
The main reason is that dating feels especially dangerous for women (and it is actually more dangerous if you look at the stats). Meeting strangers online or offline carries inherent risk for women, and that's not generally the case for men.
Many women avoid online dating out of a sense of personal vigilance. Some avoid dating altogether22. It’s much easier for men to casually go on a date with someone off the internet than it is for women.
How Much Does the App's Gender Ratio Really Matter?
It depends on who you are and where you’re swiping. While most dating apps have a slightly higher percentage of male users than female users, the bigger issue is in the unequal distribution of matches. A small percentage of men (between 10-20%)23 get a majority of matches.
The attractiveness of the dating profile makes a difference. If you're not getting a sufficient number of matches, go update your photos and profile responses. Polish your profile to be the best it can be.
The high competition on online dating can feel intimidating, but a single person can make it into the top tier by being active, having good-quality photos, and making an effort to sound approachable, sincere, and fun.
And don’t count yourself out yet — you can do a lot of work to improve the success rate of your profile, regardless of how you look.
Are Dating Apps Getting Better or Worse?
People have a lot of opinions about how dating apps could be better... and safer.
Despite the detractors, dating apps have seen measurable success. They're not the primary way that singles look for partners, and in 2025, The Knot found that 27% of engaged couples met online24.
But at the same time, dating apps have become more expensive and added more paid upgrades. Even as apps try to address frustration with swiping,25 complaints are on the rise. All over Reddit's threads, daters lament how much worse the apps have gotten26.
"Bumble has always been hit and miss for me, but it has become more pay to play... Women are overwhelmed with matches, guys aren't getting enough." - Alexmate84 on Reddit
Some dating apps have seen declines or plateaus in daily usage. According to one study, users went from spending around 100 minutes per day on dating apps in 2015 to 51 minutes in 202527. Perhaps apps have lost their novelty.
Swipe burnout is leading to a hunger for in-person events, but the apps are still going. And adding improvements. I wouldn't count them out yet.
Is Online Dating Harder for Men or Women?
Men and women face different challenges when it comes to online dating. Men have too few options, while women have too many.
Pew Research Center found that 54% of women feel overwhelmed by the number of messages they receive, while 64% of men feel insecure about the lack of messages they receive28.
The sea of profiles can be challenging to navigate because competition is fierce, and the grass is always greener when unlimited swiping is involved.
Women also have more online dating safety concerns than men. In the same Pew Research Center study, 56% of women aged 18-49 who used dating platforms said they had been sent an unsolicited sexual image, while 11% had been threatened with physical harm.
I've never dated as a man, but I have feared for my safety while walking to my car after a date, so I'm going to go ahead and say dating is harder for women.
Regardless of Gender, Dating Can be Tough
Many singles find it easy to attribute all their dating difficulties to something outside their control. In this case, gender. It’s tempting to imagine the other sex has it way easier.
But dating is difficult for everyone, regardless of their gender or sexuality.
You might find more immediate matches if there are more singles of your desired gender, but that doesn’t make it easy to find a partner. No matter how many people are interested in you, finding the one is always a search.
- https://www.reddit.com/r/OnlineDating/comments/1ra2sff/i_swiped_right_on_around_3_thousand_girls_and/ ↩︎
- https://www.datingadvice.com/review/match-com#user ↩︎
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/ ↩︎
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/ ↩︎
- https://www.datingadvice.com/studies/dating-app-churn-rate-statistics ↩︎
- https://www.datingadvice.com/online-dating/dating-site-male-to-female-ratios ↩︎
- https://modernwidowsclub.substack.com/p/the-widows-paradox-why-70-of-wives ↩︎
- https://datingzest.com/tinder-statistics/ ↩︎
- https://tawkify.com/blog/dating-methods/hinge-vs-bumble-dating-apps#which-is-better-for-men ↩︎
- https://tawkify.com/blog/dating-methods/hinge-vs-bumble-dating-apps#which-is-better-for-men ↩︎
- https://www.parents.com/tradwife-meaning-and-why-its-controversial-8656603 ↩︎
- https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/from-the-web/these-dating-apps-have-the-highest-proportion-of-female-users ↩︎
- https://www.datingadvice.com/online-dating/dating-site-male-to-female-ratios ↩︎
- https://www.datingadvice.com/online-dating/dating-site-male-to-female-ratios ↩︎
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/11/18/us-women-are-outpacing-men-in-college-completion-including-in-every-major-racial-and-ethnic-group/ ↩︎
- https://www.datingadvice.com/online-dating/dating-site-male-to-female-ratios ↩︎
- https://akarolotuquai.medium.com/why-smart-successful-women-cant-find-partners-and-why-lower-your-standards-is-garbage-advice-a2223e00c894 ↩︎
- https://www.datingsites.com/reviews/chispa/ ↩︎
- https://www.datingapps.com/comparison/upward-vs-christian-mingle/ ↩︎
- https://www.doulike.com/blog/online-dating/blk-app-reviews/ ↩︎
- https://www.datingadvice.com/online-dating/dating-site-male-to-female-ratios ↩︎
- https://www.datingadvice.com/for-women/what-does-boysober-mean ↩︎
- https://martinvidal.medium.com/dating-apps-are-setting-men-and-women-up-for-failure-but-for-different-reasons-f56ab44d2c71 ↩︎
- https://www.theknot.com/content/online-dating-most-popular-way-to-meet-spouse ↩︎
- https://www.datingnews.com/industry-trends/tinders-year-in-swipe-data-signals-a-2026-rebound-as-user-fatigue-drops/ ↩︎
- https://www.reddit.com/r/Bumble/comments/1lj02id/have_dating_apps_gotten_noticeably_way_worse_for/ ↩︎
- https://www.wired.com/story/dating-apps-by-the-numbers/ ↩︎
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/02/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s/ ↩︎
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