Seriously!
There you sit, cruising dating apps at intervals all day long. Your married friends don’t understand why you’re talking to people you will probably never meet about, well, absolutely nothing.
You: “Hi. How are you?”
Stranger you will probably never meet: “Good. How are you?”
You: “Good.”
Stranger: “Great!”
End of conversation.
Two days later:
You: “So what do you do for work and fun?”
Wait three days for a response.
Stranger you will probably never meet: “Hi. How have you been?”
End of conversation, forever.
Of course your married friends don’t understand. They’re not in the sea of single craziness. And they don’t understand that many of us have no choice but to use dating apps. We’re busy. It’s the most efficient way to connect.
If you’re in the same boat we are, take a look at this list. We’ve set out to find out just what dating apps are out there. Many you’ve heard of, some might be new. Take what you like and leave the rest.
Here’s to finding that one true love. Good luck, ladies!
BBWCupid (BBW and their admirers)
BBW Cupid is a site specifically designed for plus-size singles. You can look for friends … or more. Interestingly, BBW is a part of Cupid Media, which owns more than 30 dating sites. We haven’t tried it, but we thought we’d throw it out there for your research.
Bumble (Lady-driven)
On Bumble, the woman is in control. You are shown pictures and either
“like” them or “X” them out. After you, the woman, “like” a photo, the guy has 24 hours to respond to your like. If he “likes” you, a text box pops up, and boom, you’re chatting. That said, you have to make the first move to chat. If you don’t, it’s a missed connection. You can, however, upgrade to a paid subscription to get it back. (This is how they get you; it’s otherwise free.)
Coffee Meets Bagel (New matches at noon daily)
Coffee Meets Bagel delivers new matches to you everyday at noon on the dot. In other words, it’s consistent. The good thing about this app is that you can skip the typical “hi…” “hello…” (awkward pause in between). That’s because it offers icebreakers that get you talking about meaningful things. They also have an algorithm designed to minimize random swiping. In their own words, they want to “get to the heart of meaningful connections.”
Farmers Only (Not for city folks)
Andrea made Mary Beth try this one for one month. Its tagline, “City Folks Just Don’t Get It” is definitely fitting. MB received daily pics of combines, tractors, chickens, horses, cows, hens and even hay bales. One man even gave her detailed information about how his livestock were weathering during a storm. Great dating app if you’re into agricultural life. MB, however, didn’t find that it was for her.
Happn (Designed to find people you’ve crossed paths with)
To be honest, we just don’t get this one. MB signed up and we tried to figure it out between the two of us, and well, we couldn’t. All we can tell you is that there’s an app and there’s a map to find people you crossed paths with. (Hey, we rhyme!) Beyond that, we’re stumped because clicking on the map continued to send us to Africa. Hmmm …. We’re trying again as we write. It’s still saying “wait for it, we’re looking for profiles you’ve crossed paths with.” (Side note: It’s been at least 45 minutes and the app is still searching for our missed opps. Maybe that’s because the company appears to be in France? We deleted. Long way to travel for a date.)
Hinge (Claims to learn your type)
Hinge is known for supposedly connecting you with your “perfect match.” You match with people. They show you the matches, and then they tell you who you are “most compatible” with. Andrea has been using this app for a little over a week and is talking to, well, seven people. She likes that it breaks conversations down into a text-style format.
Match (The granddaddy)
This is one of our favorites. You have probably already tried Match, but it’s still worth mentioning because it’s the granddaddy of all dating apps. We know tons of people who have met on Match and gone on to get married, meaning it’s a good one if you’re looking for a long-term commitment. You do, however, have to pay to be able to communicate.
POF/Plenty of Fish (Take a chemistry test)
Hello, hookups. This used to be MB’s favorite. Best friend Andi put her foot down and said “you’re not going to meet a quality guy on POF.” This isn’t necessarily true. She did meet her dear friend Ralph who lives in Seattle. So yes, you can meet quality people on POF, but you’ve gotta weed through the ones who wanna hook up.
Raya (Meet creative types)
Raya is an elite networking app for creative people — writers, artists, you know the type. It’s all about creatives and exclusivity, and you have to be approved to join in on the fun. Referrals are huge on this site, and there’s a waitlist. If someone recommends you, you seem to have a better chance of getting in. Reportedly, there are also celebrities on this site.
Ship (Set up your friends)
If you’re single, you’ll click “I’m single AF.” We thought this was humorous. You’ll then share the usual: height, photo, what you’re looking for, and the school you went to. It won’t ask you an age range, so get into the settings and do this yourself. When MB tried it, it was matching her up with 18- to 25-year-olds. She’d be robbing the cradle. Once she adjusted that, it started to share more age-appropriate options. Like Tinder, it’s a swipe-and-like-type thing.
However, there’s something kind of fun about Ship that is different than other options. You can bring your friends onboard. These folks join a “crew” and swipe for you. They can even chat about it. So hey, if you trust your people, this app is kind of fun.
The League (Snobs keeping the riff-raff out)
This one is a good bet if you’re career minded, picky and live in a larger city. Big warning here. This is a bit of an elitist dating app. There’s a waiting list, and they do vet you. Really, it’s a status thing, which we’re not sure how we feel about. If you’re into education, social standing and climbing career ranks, this app helps to weed out that person who might not be what you’re looking for. It’s not cheap, at nearly $200 to $1,000 per month.
Tinder (What single hasn’t tried it?)
Andi is on this one right now. She has a love-hate relationship with it. She’s met two guys that she was super into on Tinder. But one of them was a douchebag, so her opinion is a little slanted. For those of you who haven’t tried Tinder, give it a try. It’s pretty easy. You swipe right or left to like or dislike a pic. (Side note: We’re writing this out loud and MB just had a Freudian slip and said “you swipe left or right to like or dicklike a pic.” True story.) It used to be the big hookup site, and still is to an extent, but it’s not as “hookuppy” as it used to be.
WooPlus (For plus-size love)
This site is geared more toward plus-size women, but is for both sexes. Like Bumble, you have 24 hours to connect with someone or the match goes away. Once again, you can pay to have it reinstated, etc. The interesting thing about WooPlus is that you can give gifts. You get points every day for logging in, and with those points you can send gifts. Of course, they aren’t real gifts, more like little photos of flowers, wine, underwear and kisses. You know, the usual stuff (wink).
Do you use a dating app that we missed? Share it here.
