These days, it seems there’s a new online dating platform every day. From the popular dating app Tinder to the “old school” dating website eHarmony, it can be overwhelming to decide which platform to choose.
Do I use just one platform or several? Do people still use Tinder? Which apps have the best male/female ratio? In this article, I’ll answer those questions and outline the best dating apps to get on in 2024.
Should I use Dating Apps?
I highly recommend dating apps for any guy who is either trying to go on more dates or find a long-term partner. Many people have trouble meeting new partners in day-to-day life, and online dating provides an extraordinary level of reach that is very difficult to achieve simply by meeting people while out and about.
To illustrate, a whopping 53% of adults 18-29 years old and 37% of adults 30-49 years old have used dating apps in the past, according to a study. That means in Austin alone, there are approximately 57,000 women between the ages of 25-35 who have tried using online dating. How long would it take you to meet that many women in person?
Online dating isn’t just for hookups either. A study by Pew Research found that 1 in 10 adults who are in committed romantic relationships (dating, living together, or married) met through dating apps. I met my girlfriend of over a year and a half on a dating app, so it’s not just stats!
How many dating apps should I be on?
It’s best to be on at least 2 different dating apps or platforms. There are two reasons for this:
Firstly, not everyone is on everything. If you want to maximize your chances of going on more dates or meeting someone, you’re going to want to expand your reach. Being on more platforms will expose you to more people hands down. This also could potentially improve your chances of matching with someone who is on multiple apps, since seeing you in two places can create a sense of familiarity.
This is a large factor in the world of advertising, which has the “Rule of 7”. This rule states that customers need to see an ad at least 7 times before they are ready to make a purchase.
While the marketing world doesn’t translate perfectly to dating, there are a ton of parallels. A study by Trinity College Dublin found that people rated faces of strangers they saw multiple times as more attractive. Use this to your advantage!
The second reason to be on multiple dating apps or platforms is that it makes you better at texting. Being on a lot of apps will by proxy get you more matches, and the more matches and opportunities you have to talk to people and go on dates, the less important each match will be.
This is crucial because generally, the harder you try to make a date happen, the less likely it is to work out. When you really need something to work, it subconsciously drives the other person away. Creating a lot more options for yourself will automatically make you more smooth and less attached to any outcome, increasing your chances of success!
What are the best dating apps to use?
1. Hinge
# Active monthly users: 16 Million
M/F ratio: 64% men/36% women
Average User Age: 25 years old
Overview:
Hinge is a dating app that has exploded in popularity over the last few years. This is partly due to people getting tired of “hookup apps”. I personally had very limited experience with Hinge, but amongst my friends, it is by far a favorite.
Hinge also has the best (most even) male-to-female user ratios on the market with 36% of users being women. Tinder users, by contrast, are only 24% female.
Hinge also has a unique feature that greatly limits the number of people you can like a day to only 8. This causes people to think a lot more about who they’re swiping on, which results in more matches with people you actually want to meet up with. This also prevents matches from stacking up too much, since everyone has a limited amount. You have fewer options and therefore it’s easier to choose. Here’s an illustrative quote from a woman on Reddit:
“As a woman who is not paying for an app, I like Hinge and feel like men have a better chance at grabbing my attention there. Bumble and Tinder are overwhelming, the likes acquire too fast and I don’t want to spend the time sorting through all the profiles. But if a man sends me a message via Hinge, I will look at his profile and might respond.”
Hinge also has the best premium features of any dating app, according to 30 respondents.
The final thing I love about Hinge is that it gives you a lot more options to show who you are. Tinder only allows for 9 photos and a bio, whereas Hinge allows for photos, a bio, prompts, and even a recorded voice memo response to a prompt where you can share a bit of personality.
2. Tinder
# Active monthly users: 75 Million
M/F ratio: 75% Men/24% Women
Average User Age: 26 years old
Overview:
There’s no denying it, Tinder is the most popular dating app out there. With a whopping 75 million active monthly users worldwide, there are literally more people than you could ever meet.
It’s great for travel as well since it’s popular across the world. I remember on a trip to Barcelona one year, my friends were getting matches left and right with Spanish women.
Plenty of people find relationships on Tinder as well, including myself. I met my girlfriend on Tinder over a year and a half ago, and I have plenty of friends who have found long-term relationships there as well.
Though the volume of potential matches is immense, the downside to Tinder is a general lack of investment. Many people swipe on Tinder “just for fun” with only the occasional intention to actually go on dates.
It still definitely works though and since the number of active users is expected to grow in the coming years, Tinder is an excellent option for anyone interested in trying out online dating.
3. Match.com – Best for Ages 35+
# Active monthly users: 40 Million
M/F ratio: 65% Men/35% Women
Average Age: 36 years old
Overview:
Originally launched in 1995, Match.com is one of the oldest online dating services around. This dating website came before the era of apps and works by having you enter information about yourself (education, appearance, whether you have pets, etc.) as you create a profile. It then gives you several potential matches a day based on your profile.
Match.com tries to find chemistry. Instead of showing everyone to the user, it uses algorithms to find people that you specifically might be a good fit for. This has the advantage of increasing the likelihood of going on dates.
I personally haven’t ever used Match.com since it mainly appeals to an older crowd. The average user age on the app is 36. Hinge, by contrast, has an average user age of 25. The male-female ratio on Match.com is also one of the best out there and comparable to Hinge.
4. Bumble
# Active monthly users: 12.3 Million
M/F ratio: 76% Men/24% Women
Average User Age: 26 years old
Overview:
Bumble was created as a response to Tinder, with an important difference: only women can text first, and the first message must be sent within 24 hours of the match. The following first response must then be sent within 24 hours of that first message.
This was meant to give women more of the conversational power at the beginning as well as to encourage people to actually text their matches.
In my experience, these rules on Bumble only tend to increase conversation slightly. As it turns out, women don’t really like sending the first message. Often, as a man, you’ll match with a woman and immediately receive a message saying “hi”. At first I thought this was their opening message and so I would respond back with something unimaginative like “hey, whats up?” This was a mistake.
In fact, these “hi” messages were actually just a way to preserve the match and invite the guy to send the real first message. So cleverly, women figured out how to place the onus back on men to make the first move. This was probably an inevitable evolution since 76% of Bumble users are men so there is a larger “crowd” that men have to stand out from.
All in all, Bumble is very similar to Tinder, but with fewer people. It allows for slightly more information that you can add to your profile. Much to the dismay of short kings, it also lets you filter out who you see based on traits.
I always had both Tinder and Bumble and ended up going on a similar amount of dates from each. To Bumble’s credit, sometimes I matched with the same person on both, and the conversation would always sparked off on Bumble rather than Tinder. I attribute this to the built-in time constraint.
Conclusion
There are many more dating apps and platforms out there to choose from, but these are some of the biggest and best. Hinge is my top pick since it combines the fun elements of other swipe apps with features that increase the likelihood of making it to the date. If you are in a less populated area, however, there may be some issues with having enough people on the app, since it’s relatively small.
Hinge, Tinder, and Bumble are your best bet if you’re under 35 years old. Match.com is an excellent option if you’re getting into the online dating game at a bit older age and is more geared towards relationships.
Overall, I recommend using multiple of these online dating platforms in order to get the best possible results.