Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, dating apps with voice chat were rising in popularity, especially among millennial singles. Then lockdowns and quarantines made the use of voice notes and other non-text options even more attractive to young singles, and the dating industry continues to roll out options on dating sites and apps.
According to fans of voice chatting functions, the ability to send a quick voice message takes the pressure off a first date and helps establish the vibe before online daters decide to meet someone new. It’s also an easier option than endless texting for many people. It’s more personal than a quick text message but less awkward than a regular phone call.
Our experts have compiled the best dating apps and sites for voice chat and voice call features, based on factors like cost and ease of use.
1. Match
Match.com has come a long way since it launched in April 1995. This well-reputed dating site has honed its match algorithm to identify long-term compatibility and facilitate countless first dates, serious relationships, and successful marriages. Match’s esteemed dating experts go to great lengths to guide singles to a seriously good match.
- 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
- Browse Match profiles 100% free »
Match announced a new function for its dating app in 2020: Vibe Check. The new feature was in development before the lockdowns at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the worldwide shift to sticking close to home gave the dating platform good reason to roll it out with plenty of fanfare.
The premise is simple: Once you’ve matched with another member, and begin chatting, you’ll see a black video icon in the top right corner of your chat window. If you’re ready to go live on video with your match, tap the icon and the app will let your potential partner know that you’d like a vibe check. If your match accepts, you can video chat for as long as you want, and stop whenever you’re ready.
Match points out that since the interaction happens completely in-app, users have an added layer of safety: None of their personal information (like phone numbers) is out there.
2. eharmony
Since its launch in 2000, eharmony has endeavored to find the formula for love. Its 32-dimension personality test uses psychological truths to identify areas of compatibility between two individuals. The dating site’s mission is to foster relationships that last, and every potential match has a reason behind it.
- 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
- Browse eharmony profiles 100% free »
Like the Match Vibe Check, the eharmony video date feature is more than just a simple voice chat or voice notes exchange. You get a full video chat function on both the dating app and the desktop website. The site bills it as a more rounded experience than just a voice provides and a way to get to know your prospective matches before you commit to meeting in person.
What kinds of activities can you do on your video date? While you can do whatever you like, eharmony offers suggestions like enjoying a virtual dinner and a movie, throwing a socially distanced happy hour together, or cooking a meal while on the video chat feature. Both you and your date have to be online at the same time, so make sure to schedule your virtual date to make sure you don’t miss your match.
3. Bumble
Bumble originally launched as an online dating application, and then it added Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz to expand to broader social offerings. So it’s no surprise that Bumble offers both video chat and voice chat options through its social networking platform.
Whether you’re looking for a potential match through the dating service or a new friend or business mentor through the networking service, Bumble can facilitate and deepen a relationship through text and video chat.
Since Bumble’s messaging features are free, you can get started on a voice call or video chat as soon as you’ve made a mutual match. Women get first say in the conversation once a mutual match occurs; single men on the app have to wait for the woman they match with to make the first move.
4. Hinge
In the wake of the first lockdowns, Hinge announced the launch of a voice recording feature on its dating platform. In a press release, the app’s development team suggested that Gen Z daters just coming into the dating scene view voice notes as a way to get at a richer conversation than through text messages or even sending videos.
Hinge CEO Justin McLeod said in an interview that audio dates could be a way to have a richer dating experience without the stresses of video. The app provides prompts for voice messages, helping guide Hinge users to make the right connection with someone new.
5. Happn
Happn has a reputation as a hookup app for big city singles, but its video chat and audio chat functions stand apart because, unlike many of the other apps on this list, it restricts your access to video and audio conversations. Happn gives users just one opportunity to video or audio chat with someone they share a Crush with.
This is because, according to Happn, they want to encourage their users to meet new people face to face, rather than keeping things to virtual dating. The real person connection is the goal, so it’s best to use the Happn video chat and audio chat function efficiently. Use your one video call to decide whether you want to meet and get to the good stuff.
6. Plenty of Fish
As with many other dating apps, Plenty of Fish launched its expanded messaging systems in 2021. Conversation Powers gives POF users the ability to voice chat, video call, and even send pictures to other users. There is a catch, however: You have to get to know the other member a bit before you unlock those abilities in the social app.
You have to have gotten the app through either the Google Play store or the App Store to get the full features, but you can listen to voice messages either through the app or on a computer browser. POF notes that that function isn’t available if you’re on the site via a mobile browser, but getting the app to access it is easy.
7. Tinder
Tinder doesn’t provide a simple voice chat or voice message system, but Face to Face allows users to opt in for video chat functions with mutual matches. In fact, to get a Face to Face option with another Tinder member, you both have to unlock the feature. The first person to do so sends a notification to the other, giving the other half of the potential match the chance to back out.
Once both parties have opted in, either one can start a Face to Face session by following a few easy steps. It works very much like Skype and other video messaging platforms, but all within the Tinder app. Best of all, just like messaging, it’s completely free.
8. JWed
JWed is a Jewish dating site with thousands of success stories to its name. Now it has added a voice message feature as well. Voice Intro allows users to leave an audio message to potential matches, so they can make a good impression using more than just text.
From the outset, JWed has intended to help Jewish singles find a lifelong partnership, and its new voice messaging feature will allow for deeper connections to form more quickly online.
“We enable members to creatively personalize their profile,” said JWed CEO Derek Saker. “Allowing for a maximum of 60 second recording, members are able to very simply record and share any type of audio intro.”
9. Vocal
Vocal sets itself apart from other dating apps and platforms by consciously moving away from the swiping mindset. According to the company, blind audio dates are the way of the future and a better predictor of a good relationship than a condensed profile essay and some pictures.
Dates on Vocal last for two minutes, and consist of a question-and-answer format started by the “date host.” Once the session is over, both of the people on the date can choose to reveal their longer profiles to the other; but the profiles only show up if both of the daters choose to reveal them. The chat app makes a compelling argument for its blind speed dating approach, geared toward establishing a rapport quickly and more deeply than swiping allows.
10. String
Another app that’s geared toward audio dates is String, which uses a text message format that allows users to send voice notes as part of an ongoing conversation. The app allows you to sign up through social media profiles like Facebook and set your profile with prompts for others to use to start conversations.
The app is still relatively new, with bugs reported by users, but the team behind it has big plans for new features to make the voice dating experience even more immersive and interesting. Simply download the app, and make your profile, complete with an initial voice message to welcome other users to contact you, and you’re on your way to a voice date.
11. Vox
Vox is a dating app, but the platform also promotes finding new friends and engaging in conversations with new people as part of the process. Unlike most of the other apps on this list, Vox gives its users the option to stay anonymous or connect more deeply with real people, with voice-only chat functions.
The app has both free and premium memberships. Paid perks include increased daily Like limits, the ability to find out who liked your voice, and being able to begin conversations without having to wait for the other person to Like your profile first. As a free user, you can still get the core benefits, and meet new people via voice chat.
12. Goodnight
Goodnight is for insomniacs looking for love, and the chat app brings a lot of features to the table to make it easy for people to get to know each other before they make a match. Live audio streams function like a chat room, and forums help users connect over hobbies, questions, and more.
Although the service itself is free, Goodnight also offers premium subscription features. Among them are the Goodnight Disco subscription with unlimited boosts, the ability to contact people without matching, and exclusive texting features. The Goodnight Boost and Goodnight Supermatch help users gain an edge in meeting and matching with people, making it easier to get one-on-one.
FAQs: Can You Chat on Bumble for Free?
Yes, messaging on Bumble is free once a mutual match occurs. Billing itself as a feminist dating app, Bumble puts women in the driver’s seat. And since the founder of the dating app came directly from Tinder, the app’s leadership understands that most daters want to be able to message potential matches without spending money.
Premium membership on Bumble is still worthwhile. You get access to features like Beeline which lets you see the users who have already swiped right for your profile, and Busybee, which lets you extend match deadlines indefinitely. Another feature you can access as a Premium member isRematch, which lets you get back expired mutual matches after the window of opportunity closes.
Can You Voice Call on Tinder?
Tinder doesn’t have a voice chat option, but it does offer a video chat function for mutual matches. The video calling feature requires both users in a potential match to opt-in, and then pull up the feature in the chat window.
In 2012, Tinder pioneered a swiping-based match system that empowered singles to connect with dates who liked them back. Tinder users can message their mutual matches for free on this fast-paced dating app. Since its launch, Tinder has created over 97 billion matches worldwide.
- 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
- Browse Tinder profiles 100% free »
The feature is available for both Android and iOS user accounts and allows you to have a virtual dating experience without needing to actually meet face to face. You also have the usual options to decline an incoming call, let it ring, and if you feel unsafe, block the other person from contacting you.
What is the Best Free Dating App?
The best free dating application for you depends on what you’re looking for. There are so many dating apps, each of them tailored to specific goals, that anyone can find a match anywhere. If you want to find the right person for a long-term relationship, Match.com or Coffee Meets Bagel are your best options.
If your goals are a little more social, finding a new friend or chatting with new people with no specific relationship type in mind, Facebook Dating and OkCupid are good choices. Both offer free messaging, and the platforms are flexible on what users are looking for.
Finally, if you just want to find a good hookup or casual encounter, our experts recommend HUD, which is all about direct communication and honest discussion about what you’re looking for.
What is ooVoo? Do People Still Use It?
The ooVoo app was a go-to video chat and voice chat option for many iOS and Android users starting in 2007 and 2008. The company became a social networking option and worked with other social platforms to extend free HD video calling, but it shut down in 2017.
Some die-hard fans would still love to use ooVoo, but there are no signs that it will come back in any form.
Is it a Good Idea to Have a Phone Call or Video Chat Before Meeting In Person?
It’s a good idea, as a safety measure, to have some contact with a new person before you meet them face-to-face, but of course, it’s not for everyone. Some people find that even audio chat and voice message options are uncomfortable or awkward. Video chat can be even more difficult for daters who feel insecure about their homes or how they look on camera.
But video chat is a good way to screen strangers and see if there’s a meaningful connection to be found without having to spend money on a coffee date or dinner and a movie. A video or voice chat can also help establish whether someone is who they say they are before committing to a date. It’s a chance to establish trust and keep strangers from getting too close too quickly. This can be particularly important for single women and LGBTQ+ daters who are vulnerable to dating violence.
Calling All Singles: Voice Chat Dating Apps Are The Future
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our lives is fading, dating apps with voice chat features are here to stay. These apps allow users to get to know a new romantic prospect more intimately than they’d normally be able to with just texting, and a call can speed up the process of becoming comfortable with a prospective match before meeting.
Plus, video dates and calls are much cheaper and more convenient than coffee dates, so some online daters have switched to this screening method and don’t seem likely to go back. After all, if you can meet an attractive person and not have to put on shoes or leave your house, that’s a win.
Whether you opt for a dating app with a voice notes feature, or go for an app that exclusively allows voice chats through calls, you can find plenty of chatty partners on these popular apps and sites!
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