Everyone has a different story about finding their person — dating a friend, being introduced by mutual friends, getting to know each other in a work setting, or even meeting online.

According to a Pew Research survey, 12% of American adults responded that they had started a relationship or gotten married by using dating apps. The best part is that meeting a special person online doesn’t require spending your hard-earned money.

If you’re looking for free dating sites that work, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for our reviews of the best dating sites that will help you save money while still finding dates.

Free Dating Sites for Relationships

Online dating is an effective way to meet singles who share your preferences. , Dating apps provide plenty of options, whether you want someone next door, a well-educated person, or someone with green eyes and dark hair. The following platforms help you find hot dates and people who understand you.

1. Match

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Match is the world’s longest running dating site
  • The Discover section has search filters by interests, looks, lifestyle, and more
  • Match is available in 50 countries and 15 languages

If you’re looking for a free dating site that doesn’t skimp on quality, Match fits the bill. and gives singles plenty of value. You can create a free account by providing an email address and information about yourself and your ideal date.

You can personalize your experience by filtering matches based on age, height, education, gender, city, sexual orientation, eye and hair color, ethnicity, and religion. If someone catches your eye, click the like button to form an instant online connection.

Once you’re in, you can communicate with your Top Picks — or the most compatible matches according to the algorithm. Singles can rest assured that they’re in good hands, as this platform has been around since 1995 and has more success stories than any other online dating site.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5.0
  • Over 2 million people have found love here
  • Users can filter their match recommendations by age or city
  • Compatibility Quiz identifies common interests, lifestyles, and goals

Founded in 2000, eharmony is a well-known online dating site for commitment-minded singles who want to find their soulmates. You don’t need to play the swiping game because the eharmony algorithm helps send you highly compatible matches based on the platform’s Personality Quiz. If you like a suggested profile, the app will even send icebreakers to get things going. 

It’s 100% free to set up a dating profile on eharmony and take the detailed personality test. But you must upgrade to a premium membership to enjoy unlimited messaging. When it comes to success stories, eharmony claims to have helped form more than 2 million relationships and created a new match every 14 minutes in the United States. These stories might inspire singles to take action to find love.

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★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Over 2 million monthly users
  • Premium members receive 20 wildcard matches a day
  • Search features include age, height, education, ethnicity, and lifestyle habits

Elite Singles offers a community for those who want a serious relationship with high-caliber individuals. Most of its members are over 30 and hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Each month, more than 2,500 Elite Singles members find love thanks to its personality test, which helps singles form relationships based on deeper values and shared interests, not just appearance and location.

You can join Elite Singles for free to register, browse, and enjoy some level of communication. But if you want to have complete access to your inbox and see photos of other members, you need to upgrade to a premium membership. Elite Singles also has you covered if you want to try a local dating approach. Set the city you want your match to be from and let the algorithm find someone who has a higher chance of clicking with you.

Free Dating Sites for Casual Hookups

Not everyone’s looking for something serious. Sometimes, people just want to have a good time without the pressure of turning it into a lifetime commitment. Thanks to online dating apps, you can find a partner who wants the same thing. And these four dating apps are a great place to start.

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★★★★★ 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 is a unique online dating site because it helps singles and married people find a naughty partner or long-term affair. Given the nature of the app, Ashley Madison allows its members to blur or mask their profile pictures and browse anonymously. And just in case someone comes to snoop, you can use a panic button, which quickly shifts away from Ashley Madison to an innocent website.

The vast majority of Ashley Madison users are men looking for a low-key romance. All male users must pay for credits to send messages online and get the most out of this sultry dating site. The more they want to use Ashley Madison, the more credits they need to buy. Luckily for women, they can enjoy all the features for free. 

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★★★★ 4.0/5.0

Some people are not fans of stable, long-term relationships. They just want to enjoy a casual relationship or a local hookup. That’s where Adult Friend Finder comes in. Here, you can find other adults looking for something naughty. AFF has users looking for one-night stands, threesomes, swinging, affairs, and fetishes. You should find someone who catches your eye in the site’s database of more than 100 million people. 

You don’t have to sign up or pay to check out sexy photo galleries, erotic blog posts, and chat rooms in AFF. But if you want to unlock private messaging and live model video feeds, you must upgrade to a Gold Membership. Singles and couples are equally welcome to express their desires and search for all kinds of sexual adventures without judgment.

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★★★★ 4.0/5.0
  • Over 70 million registered users
  • Naked photos, videos, and private messaging available
  • Send a Flirtcast to get in touch with all potential matches

Flirt.com was founded in 1997 as a dating site for people who want to flirt and have fun without any strings attached. Your appearance and seductive ways matter most on this platform. If you’re too busy to pick your match, you can use Flirt’s innovative mass messaging feature, Flirtcast, which makes it easy to start a conversation with anyone inside the platform. 

Its search features are also top-notch, and they allow you to sort your matches by age, distance, activity, and even photo quality. Unfortunately, only paid members can view full member photos, and you must be aware of the many suspicious users and fake profiles on the website.

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★★★★ 4.1/5.0

BeNaughty is another platform that suits your needs if you’re looking for a local hookup. The free sex site has 13.3 million monthly users of various ages, genders, sexual orientations, relationship statuses, locations, and appearances. Users seek all kinds of sexual encounters, including one-night stands, threesomes, and swinging partners. 

You don’t need to worry when you’re having fun in the app, as all members are verified, and SSL encryption is employed to keep your information safe. Plus, you can block and report members who make you feel uncomfortable.

Free Dating Sites for Senior Singles

Whether seniors become single due to divorce or a lost spouse, they don’t need to stay that way forever. Online dating brings a new way to ignite their love life. After tackling the learning curve in navigating online dating, seniors can find the best experience.

8. OurTime

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Thousands of success stories from all over the world
  • Find senior dates using advanced search filters and match suggestions
  • The Help Center offers quick tips and guidance

According to the United States Census Bureau, all 73 million Baby Boomers will be age 65 or older by 2030. The demographic deserves to enjoy its golden years, particularly when it comes to companionship. Common dating sites are typically crowded with people under 50, but OurTime fills the gap by helping older singles find dates. 

OurTime makes it safe and easy for Baby Boomers to find a pen pal, make a new friend, or maybe even fall in love. Best of all is that it’s free to try. Simply complete a personal ad with basic information, set some match criteria to fit your preferences, and start connecting with new people.

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★★★★★ 4.5/5.0

Silver Singles is another dating app designed for single seniors in the over-50 age group. It has a clean and intuitive interface and simplifies the process for mature singles who aren’t tech-savvy or who may feel nervous about this new way of dating. The app is designed for people who want to find friendships and long-term relationships, not casual hookups.

Registration is easy, and navigation is streamlined with features such as filtering searches, receiving compatible profiles, and sending messages. All new members must take a personality test and fill out the profile sections to help the algorithm find the best potential partners. Users can try Silver Singles for free to see if it works for them. 

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★★★★ 4.2/5.0
  • Open to all Christian denominations and other religions
  • Seniors can sort their matches by age and location
  • Enhanced Privacy Control, Badges, and other premium perks

Many people say sharing religious beliefs with a spouse is important, so men and women who follow Jesus often want to find each other. Christian Mingle is your best bet if you’re one of those followers. This app caters to those who seek serious relationships, as 29% of all Christian marriages that start online happen through Christian Mingle. 

You can sign up for Christian Mingle, upload information and photos, browse, receive match suggestions, and experience interest-based chat rooms for free. To find your person, you can rely on the curated match suggestions from the app or actively browse on your own. Since its launch in 2001, more than 3.5 million people have visited the platform every month, offering plenty of connections. 

Category Rating
★★★★ 3.7/5.0

Since its founding in 2001, SeniorMatch has become another reliable online dating site for older women and mature men seeking like-minded singles in the same age group. The app aims to create an inclusive and friendly online dating experience for seniors to find love and meet new friends. In the last two decades, more than 2.7 million people have been active on the site, providing senior singles access to a large dating pool.

The dating site has become so successful that the team launched a mobile app to expand its reach in the market. In Google Play, SeniorMatch gets mostly positive marks from more than 2,000 reviews. And if you find it difficult to use the app, you have 24/7 support from a customer care team.

FAQs: Is Online Dating Safe Without Phone Numbers?

Not everyone feels comfortable sharing their phone number on a dating app — and for a good reason. If the number gets into the wrong hands, it can increase your vulnerability to scams or someone finding out your identity. Luckily, many platforms allow you to verify your account without providing your phone number. Apps like Tinder and Bumble (and other legitimate dating sites) have adopted many ways to verify members, including text verification, email authentication, photo verification, and video chat.

But if you’re lucky enough to hit it off with someone on a dating app, they’ll probably ask for your phone number to prove you are the real deal. Before providing it, our experts recommend that you use another method, such as a dating app’s video call feature. This allows the other person to see that you’re real without giving out your personal information. Once you meet in person, you can provide your number if you want to connect on a deeper level. 

Does Facebook Dating Require a Phone Number to Work?

Facebook Dating officially became available to American singles in September 2019. If you have a Facebook profile, you are eligible to join Facebook Dating.

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★★★★ 3.8/5.0
  • Totally free communication for all users
  • Dating activity is separate from the mainstream FB newsfeed
  • Detailed profile information includes Facebook events and interest groups

You can access this free dating service only through the Facebook app. But don’t worry, your friends can’t see your activity on Facebook Dating. You can’t even take screenshots in the app, so rest assured that your dating life will remain private. 

Because Facebook Dating is connected to your Facebook account, you don’t need to give up your phone number to verify your profile. If you’re wondering how Facebook Dating works, or if it’s any good, check out our Facebook Dating review to decide whether this app is your cup of tea.

What’s the Most Popular Dating App for Queer Women?

In the old days, online dating was primarily for straight singles. Now, online dating includes the LGBTQ+ community, whether you’re looking for men seeking men, women seeking women, or anything else. We’ve been hearing a lot from lesbian readers who are unsure which dating app is the best for them. 

Overall, we recommend that queer women give HER a try. HER, formerly known as Daatch, strives to help lesbian women find their person. Whether you’re looking for a travel buddy, seeking a friend in a new city, or searching for the love of your life, HER has you covered.

HER

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.2/5.0
  • Free private messaging to all mutual matches
  • Post comments or send likes to connect with local lesbians
  • A safe, friendly, and one-of-a-kind dating app

This lesbian dating app has a database of more than 13 million women from across the globe who are 100% lesbian. That is encouraging, because it can often be difficult for lesbians to find dates in real life. HER is available in the App Store and Google Play, so you can download it on your phone for easy access. And if you’re interested in meeting people in real life, HER hosts festivals, seasonal parties, and speed dating events.

A Dating App Free Membership Can Offer a Fresh Start

Love shouldn’t come with a price tag, and many singles don’t want to drain their bank accounts to find a date. A free online dating site can work just fine. Dive into these fun-loving dating pools to find whatever partnership you want, from casual sex to a long-term relationship.

All you need is a valid email address, time to create a dating profile, and your best selfie as your profile picture — no phone number required.No matchmaking algorithm can make love fall into your lap, so be ready to do your part to search, match, and connect with people. If luck is on your side, you’ll find your person. Pick one of the free sites we’ve shared on this list, and keep your credit card and phone number safely tucked away!

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