Whenever the phrase “totally free” is applied to online dating sites, it’s natural to feel a little skeptical and look for the catch. Some sites offer free memberships, but you have to upgrade to send messages or see who’s liked you. Some apps have hidden fees that come as a nasty surprise on your credit card statement.

However, every so often, an online dating service is actually, totally, and completely free, and daters don’t need to worry about being billed for the basics.

Singles must put on their detective hats to find the hidden costs in the online dating world, and that can be taxing. We want to save you some time (and money) by highlighting the totally free dating sites that make it worth your while to sign up and fill out a dating profile.

Overall Best Totally Free Online Dating Sites

Choosing the right dating site can be tricky because there are so many different options available, and they have pros and cons. Free dating services can sometimes fall under the too-good-to-be-true category, so it’s important to do some research, read several reviews, and make sure the dating site or mobile app actually works.

We’ve listed the top 10 dating sites and apps that are 100% free to join and can give you a lot of bang for your buck.

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

Match is absolutely unrivaled in the online dating scene. It secured its spot as the best dating site when it launched in 1995, and its highly sophisticated match system has led to the birth of over 1 million babies and counting.

What’s more, Match is completely free for any adult looking for a real relationship. Free members can mingle and even communicate using instant messaging without paying anything. As a free member, you can send likes and favorite profiles, and you can also send messages to Match’s Top Picks.

Match is a premium dating site and app, but it offers enough free features to get singles interested and help them reach out to the cream of the online dating crop.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 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

Speaking of the cream of the crop, Elite Singles in an online dating app that caters exclusively to the most successful and desirable daters. Over 80% of members have graduated from college, and some have gone on to earn post-grad degrees.

These singles can afford to pay a pretty penny for online dating services, but Elite Singles starts off with a free membership plan to establish its worth and build trust with users.

Elite Singles lets singles sign up, set dating preferences, search for matches, and send unlimited likes without a full subscription. However, viewing photos and sending messages does cost a little extra. If you read our Elite Singles review, you can get a sense of how the site works and why it’s worth the price of admission.

3. Zoosk

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5.0
  • Send messages to premium members for free
  • Over 3 million messages sent a day
  • Premium perks include photo verification and sending virtual gifts

Zoosk is a free dating site and app where singles can discover local dates or create international romances — and all for the low price of $0.

A free Zoosk membership includes a lot of various communication options, but it’s worth nothing that you can only respond to a select number of members who have messaged you. These free greetings are helpful if you’re getting a lot of incoming mail from people who interest you.

Zoosk has over 40 million members, and the online dating site sees more than 3 million messages exchanged per day, so you should always be able to find a new person to chat with you on this popular site and app.

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

Since 2000, eharmony has endeavored to help singles build lasting relationships, and it has distinguished itself as a quality-first dating platform. While it may not be as totally free as swipe-happy apps, this online dating service provides enough free features to build trust with singles seeking something real.

It’s free to create an eharmony profile and complete the in-depth Compatibility Quiz, and you can also send Icebreaker quizzes and greetings to certain members in your matches. However, only premium members have the ability to send messages to anybody they like in the eharmony database. Our dating experts think eharmony is worth the cost because it weeds out flaky and superficial singles and instead appeals to serious and authentic people in the online dating scene.

Over 2 million couples have fallen in love on eharmony, and the dating site creates a new connection every 14 minutes, making it one of the most effective dating sites on the web.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.3/5.0

ChristianMingle provides a unique values-driven dating site that connects Christian singles all over the world. This is the perfect dating pool for Christian people who want to build a life with a soulmate who shares their faith.

In a recent survey conducted by the site, 84% of ChristianMingle members said they would recommend the dating site to their friends and family members, and the online dating site claims to be responsible for nearly one-third of Christian marriages in the U.S.

ChristianMingle is free to singles of all orientations, ages, and faiths, and it doesn’t shut its doors to anyone in the dating world. That means atheist, Muslim, and Jewish singles can join this popular dating app. As long as you’re open to dating and marrying a Christian, you can create a dating profile and start building worthwhile connections on the free dating app or website.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.2/5.0

Ashley Madison is a discreet dating site and app that allows online daters to explore their desires without judgment. The free membership appeals to single and not-so-single people who want to browse profiles and flirt anonymously in a safe online environment.

It’s true that Ashley Madison is best known as a wingman for affairs, but for singles it can also be the best dating app for casual dating, sexting, and anonymous flings. All female users have totally free chatting on the dating site and app, while male users can take advantage of the credits system to explore new romances with a potential partner.

Ashley Madison has a lot of solid dating options in its database, which includes millions of people across the globe.

7. OkCupid

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0
  • Free, unlimited communication for everyone
  • Singles can swipe or search for a compatible date
  • Over 91 million connections every year

OkCupid is known for being a totally free dating site and app. It’s free to create a profile, and it’s free to search for dates, and, most importantly, it’s free to message everyone online.

Since 2004, OkCupid has promised to improve the online dating experience by creating valuable matches free of charge. The dating platform uses a data-driven matchmaking system to introduce singles to the right match. OkCupid’s profiles are rich with information about someone’s interests, pet peeves, hobbies, values, and lifestyle, and all that gets factored into the compatibility ratings.

OkCupid is a highly effective dating site and app, and singles love its free features — particularly the unlimited communication between all matches.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0

In 2003, Plenty of Fish built an online dating community where singles can chat, match, and flirt for free, and it now has over 150 million registered members in 20 countries. Every day, 65,000 new users come aboard looking to meet someone special.

Plenty of Fish is a completely free dating platform where singles can browse according to their own standards. They can view people who are online now or who are nearby, and they can send messages to anyone who strikes their fancy. No fees. No mutual matching. Just straight-up, cost-free online dating.

Match Group acquired POF in 2015, but it has not changed the online dating site’s pricing policy and promises to continue offering free chatting for all members seeking loving connections.

9. Tinder

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.0/5.0
  • Supports active daters in 190+ countries
  • The swiping system creates over 12 million matches per day
  • Tinder Plus members have unlimited likes and 5 Super Likes

Tinder has become an online dating sensation since its launch in 2012. This free dating app is best known for inventing swipe-right dating, which empowers men and women to navigate the dating pool in a way that makes sense.

Tinder’s mutual matching system lets you take control of your inbox and only talk to people who you find attractive and who are interested in you. To date, Tinder has created over 60 billion matches worldwide, and it has been downloaded more than 430 million times.

Singles can chat on Tinder for free for as long as they like, but almost 6 million users have chosen to pay for a Tinder subscription so they can get access to premium features, including a passport to like singles in different cities or countries.

10. Bumble

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.0/5.0
  • A feminist dating app puts singles on equal footing
  • 60% of Bumble matches turn into dates
  • Bumble Bizz and Bumble BFF spark non-romantic connections

Since its launch in 2014, Bumble has raised the standards of the online dating scene and positioned itself as the world’s leading feminist dating app. And it’s completely free to join.

Bumble supports single women who want to take the lead and pursue dates online, and it fosters mutual respect with its women-first messaging policy. When a man and woman match on Bumble, the woman has 24 hours to make the first move and send a message. If she doesn’t, the conversation will disappear.

“I call all the shots! I love this,” said Kimberly B. in a Bumble review. “It’s worked very well for me, and all for free!”

Best Totally Free Senior Online Dating Sites

Most seniors don’t have money to waste on dating because they’re either saving for retirement or living on a fixed income. Over 25 million American seniors are economically insecure, so they can’t afford to gamble their hard-earned cash on a costly dating site or app.

Fortunately, many senior dating sites offer enough free services to get singles where they want to be. We’ve listed a few reliable platforms where seniors can meet age-appropriate dates without straining their finances.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.5/5.0

Silver Singles is a free dating site designed exclusively for a senior audience. If you’re a member of EliteSingles, this site should look familiar because it belongs to the same parent company and has identical matching features.

One of the things we like about Silver Singles is how it respects user privacy and makes sure only verified members can view photos or send messages. Free members can view profiles and send likes or photo requests, but they aren’t able to communicate in a meaningful way unless they take the extra step of subscribing. This ensures that spammers and scammers do not have access to Silver Singles profiles and inboxes.

12. OurTime

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.4/5.0
  • Open to straight, gay, and lesbian singles over 50
  • Free match recommendations and conversation starters
  • Use Tokens to promote your profile and send virtual gifts

OurTime gives singles of a certain age plenty of opportunities for a single person to make a perfect match and ask someone out on a first date. The senior dating site provides an abundance of match recommendations and search tools, and you can send free flirts and photo likes to anyone online. OurTime also offers some free communication features.

The OurTime communication system is great for single seniors who want to save some money and meet people their own age. You can go to the Reply For Free tab in your OurTime inbox to see if a premium member has invited you to chat.

If waiting for someone to message you first isn’t your style, you’re welcome to subscribe to OurTime and start taking more proactive steps to initiate conversations and land hot dates with a person in the same age range.

Category Rating
★★★★ 3.7/5.0

Since 2003, SeniorMatch has become one of the leading senior dating sites and established a membership base of over 1 million singles over 50.

SeniorMatch sees over 6,000 daily active members, and it facilitates over 1.6 million conversations each month, so you shouldn’t have any shortage of date options here. The free online dating site is free to join, and the app is free to download on Google Play or the App Store.

As a senior dating service, SeniorMatch welcomes singles who range in age from 45 to 85. To date, SeniorMatch has collected over 36,000 success stories.

“I would highly recommend SeniorMatch to anyone looking for company,” said a member who met someone on SeniorMatch and hit it off over dinner and on the dance floor. “It was a wonderful time.”

Best Totally Free LGBT Online Dating Sites

The LGBTQ+ dating scene can seem intimidating if you’re newly single or have just come out of the closet and are wondering where the heck you even go to meet people and ask someone out on a first date. Not everyone enjoys mingling at a gay bar or club, and you can’t always depend on your friends or family members to introduce you to a compatible date.

Online dating has provided an easy solution for gay singles on the prowl. You don’t even have to leave home to make the perfect match on the following totally free gay dating sites.

14. MenNation

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0
  • Free registration and unlimited profile browsing
  • Add online crushes to the Hotlist or My Network
  • Enjoy private conversations in the Message Center

MenNation is an appropriately named hookup site for men in the mood to party. Its network includes millions of registered accounts, and all of them were created by men seeking men.

It’s free to join the MenNation database and start browsing for gay singles or gay couples in your area. The site has fast-working search tools to help you narrow a diverse dating pool to the most viable candidates. Members who are active on the site will naturally appear higher in the search rankings, and you can flip through their personal photo galleries to see if you’re interested in taking things to the next level.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0

LesbianPersonals is one of the world’s largest lesbian dating sites, and it has millions of sexually active singles, couples, and groups in its database. You don’t have to provide your real name or credit card information when creating a LesbianPersonals account, and you can also wait until later to upload a photo or complete your profile.

The main goal at LesbianPersonals is to get people flirting with women they find attractive, so you’ll find an abundance of search, matching, and chat tools at your fingertips.

Whether you’re looking for a one-night stand or a casual relationship, you can use LesbianPersonals to up your flirting game and meet people who share similar desires and fetishes.

16. 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

As a free dating app for lesbians, HER has over 10 million members who have been verified as authentic members of the LGBTQ+ community. Straight men need not apply.

HER is a quality-driven app available exclusively to women seeking women. The moderators are serious about removing fake profiles and creepy guys from the database, and they uphold strict community guidelines to make sure all members feel safe and comfortable meeting online.

HER’s newsfeed provides plenty of space for sharing ideas, jokes, and dreams with like-minded folks. Thanks to its free matching features and events calendar, the HER app can help queer women build friendships and relationships that last a lifetime.

17. Grindr

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0
  • Among the most popular gay social networks in the world
  • Men connect via private and group chats
  • View nearby profiles using real-time GPS data

Grindr is undeniably one of the top gay dating apps in the world. It has been around since 2009, and it has over 27 million users in 234 countries and territories. You can download the app for free to see what all the fuss is about.

A free Grindr membership never expires, and it includes unlimited chatting with your mutual matches. The Grindr matching system prioritizes local dating profiles, so the app is best for single men seeking real-time connections and casual dates. Sometimes a Grindr date even turns into a serious relationship.

One Reddit user recalled, “I hooked up with a hot guy once, and seven years later, we’re still together. Dogs. Mortgage. The works!”

Best Totally Free Online Hookup Sites

If you’re just looking to hook up, you probably don’t want to mess with subscription plans or token systems. Fortunately, there are many no-strings-attached hookup sites that don’t charge a penny for access to their sexy databases. We’ve picked out a few sites with legit membership bases and no hidden fees.

18. BeNaughty

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0

BeNaughty is the #1 free hookup site in our book because it offers free private messaging. All you need is a dating profile picture, and you’re good to reach out to anyone you want.

You can browse the Like Gallery, use search filters, send mass messages, and engage in flirtatious chats on BeNaughty without paying for its tiered subscription plans. However, if you want a little extra security, privacy, or matchmaking ability, then you can upgrade at any time.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.0/5.0

Adult Friend Finder has over 100 million members in its singles database, which makes it the largest hookup site and chat room in the world.

Sexually active singles and couples can become part of the AFF community to trade erotic stories, engage in flirty chats, and arrange a casual fling with hotties online.

Since 1996, Adult Friend Finder has distinguished itself as a legit hookup site with enough free features to tantalize and satisfy horny daters.

Category Rating
★★★★ 3.9/5.0

The FriendFinder-X dating service powers local hookups with its instant search tools, and it doesn’t charge singles anything for the pleasure of seeking dates here.

This discreet dating site offers adults the chance to be honest about their intentions and meet real people who have a high sex drive and very few inhibitions. The personals on FriendFinder-X get straight to the point, and that can take the guesswork out of dating for sex.

The FriendFinder-X motto is “where good girls do bad things,” which means it’s OK to be a little naughty and go after what you want in this sexually charged environment.

What Dating Sites Can You Message for Free?

OkCupid is famous for its completely free messaging system. You can chat on the OkCupid website or app for as long as you want without character limits or paywalls holding you back.

When you create a dating profile on this totally free dating site, you can review your potential match list and reach out to new people without paying for an OkCupid A-List subscription.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.3/5.0
  • Only messages from mutual matches appear in your inbox
  • Insightful profile questions help singles get to know one another
  • A-List members receive additional perks such as seeing who liked them

The only limit on OkCupid communication is couples must establish a mutual match before they can engage in a conversation. You can send a greeting to a new person who hasn’t liked you, but that convo isn’t going anywhere until it becomes a mutual match.

Which Dating Apps are Totally Free?

Facebook Dating is a totally free dating site and app where online daters can discover chemistry and enjoy a casual fling or a serious relationship on their terms. You don’t have to pay for any communication features or search tools on the Facebook app, so put your wallet away and get flirting!

If Facebook Dating isn’t for you, then you might want to try the best free dating site and app that works without Facebook — Plenty of Fish. The POF dating service offers a totally free instant messenger and video chat tool for getting to know local singles.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.0/5.0
  • Prompts more conversations than any other dating site
  • 30% of members get in a relationship within a month
  • Success stories include engagement and wedding announcements

The POF community is a popular place to meet new people and see what happens, and it doesn’t cost anything to mix and mingle on this free online dating service.

Many online daters prefer using the POF dating website or app because it offers a totally free chat room with zero fake profiles or scammers in the membership base.

Are Any Hookup Sites Actually Free?

Yes, plenty of hookup sites follow through on their promises and deliver free online dating opportunities without charging users a single penny. BeNaughty is one of the most legit free hookup sites on our list, and we recommend it to budget-conscious singles in the mood for sex with a person they just met online.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0
  • Over 13.3 million monthly users worldwide
  • Cute or Not swiping game introduces you to hot women
  • Switch to Full Safe Mode to limit contact to verified members

BeNaughty keeps things real and offers affordable and useful online dating tools for real people with adult intentions, so you never need to shell out your hard-earned cash just to pick up a hot first date in a chat room.

How Can I Meet Local Singles for Free?

Meeting people who measure up to your expectations can be difficult, and it’s ever harder if you’re looking for a date within a certain mile radius. Fortunately, many popular dating sites offer location-based search and matching tools that prioritize nearby date prospects.

Match is by far our favorite dating website for local singles. As soon as you create a free account, you’ll have access to hundreds (maybe even thousands) of local dating profiles with high match probabilities.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.9/5.0
  • Find quality women with advanced search filters
  • Communicate with your Top Picks for free
  • Add up to 26 photos to your profile

If you’re having trouble meeting local singles, you may have to go outside your comfort zone and see what the online dating scene has to offer. The Match website’s search filters and potential match recommendations could go a long way toward helping online daters find true love.

An online dating service like Match.com can help you take control of your dating experience and meet new people who exceed your expectations.

Totally Free Dating Sites Are Totally Awesome

Most dating sites are kinda sorta somewhat free, but only a handful can honestly claim to be totally and completely free for everyone. We’ve highlighted some of our favorite totally free online dating sites for singles who are looking for a date — not a paid subscription.

A single person can use a dating website to make the perfect match and build a serious relationship one free message at a time.

All of these dating sites and apps offer free membership packages that help real people build trust, enjoy flirty conversations, and land a first date with someone who’s exactly their type. You don’t need to pay for the privilege of online dating with these top-notch resources in your pocket. Just create a free dating profile and see if anyone special catches your eye. Good luck!

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