If you don’t want to pay for online dating, then you should check our 10 best free dating apps for Android phones. They are sure to bring your online dating to the next level.
The purpose of online dating apps and websites is usually the same. They are aimed towards bringing two people together. It is up to users to decide if they want to use the tool for hook-ups or for finding someone to start a relationship with.
Online dating became popular long before smartphones. From the beginning of 2000’s, people realized that the Internet has many other uses besides sharing information. So, after the pioneers of online dating like Match.com showed that online dating could be successful, many copycats emerged offering the same or slightly different approach to online dating. However, the real revolution in online dating began with dating apps. Now, everyone has the opportunity for online dating just by reaching into their pocket. Although, if you live in one of these 10 easiest countries to get laid in the world, you don’t really need online dating, do you?
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Casual online dating users are familiar with just a few mainstream dating apps like Tinder or Grindr, but there is so much more out there. While doing our research for the article, we came across the three main groups of dating apps. In the first group of dating apps are those that don’t require you to spend any money. You can use the full features of the app for free, and they are financed through advertising. They can contain some payment options that will give you a slight advantage compared to other users. The second group of dating apps we encountered, limits free users. The free users can still use the app, exchange the messages with people they find interesting, but usually, they don’t have access to some more advanced features of the app. Those advanced features can include an unlimited number of messages you can send, or to be able to see who visited your profile. In the third group of apps are those that are useless without paying. This means that you can get the app for free, set up your profile and browse through the app, but you can’t communicate with other users. And let’s face it; the communication is the sole reason that dating apps even exist in the first place.
To get our list of 10 best free dating apps for Android phones, we decided to use the research made by Survey Monkey. It was a research aimed towards finding out what is the most popular dating app alongside the age and gender distribution. We checked the most popular dating apps and checked them in terms of paying and their availability for Android. After we had found out those that don’t limit the free users in communication or browsing the app and can be used on the Android phone, we ranked 10 most popular ones.
10. Hinge
At the very beginning, Hinge was labeled as anti-Tinder. The app has an interesting model of setting up their users. First, you can’t use Hinge if you don’t have at least one friend who uses it. Secondly, the app will only set you up with users with whom you have mutual friends. So, there will always be some kind of connection there. Hinge creators explained this by stating that they are looking to connect people for relationships and not hookups. Hinge is still free at the moment, but there are some freemium rumors surfacing on the internet, so you should try it for free while you still can.
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9. FirstMet
More experienced online dating users may remember a dating site and app called Are You Interested that ranks 9th in our list of best free dating apps for Android phones. Well, FirstMet is rebranded AYI. The app uses your Facebook information, but you can choose to skip this and create your profile from scratch. The claims are that this app has over 70 million users, but you’ll have to take them with caution. After you make a profile, you have the ability to determine your interests by picking three images. The app then matches you with people with whom you share the similar interests. You should have in mind that according to the research, this app has the lowest number of users aged 18 to 29. If you are looking for someone older, then it doesn’t hurt to try it.
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8. Clover
What do you get when you take Tinder and remove the swiping? You get Clover, another “improved” version of Tinder that is trying to find its place among the top dating apps. Using Clover is like using Tinder, at least at first. You connect the app to your Facebook profile, then you upload up to 30 pictures, and the app gives you a selection of people based upon your location. This is where it gets interesting. You don’t need to swipe, you just browse through the profiles and leave a like to the person you fancy. The best thing of all is that you can even see the users that liked you without even liking them back. If you want an ego boost, this may well be the way.
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7. Coffee Meets Bagel
The next dating app on our list of 10 best free dating apps for Android phones has an interesting story. The app was created by three sisters, who pitched their idea on a popular show Shark Tank. One of the investors on the show, Mark Cuban, offered the sisters $30 million for the app on the spot, but his offer was rejected. What makes this app stand out from the rest is that users receive a limited number of “bagels” or users that they can like or pass. If the both users like each other, they can start messaging. The twist is that the conversation can only last for 7 days, and after that, it is deleted by the app. This is also the app with the highest number of females on the list.
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6. happn
This app ranks 6th in our list of best free dating apps for Android phones. It is all about coincidences and random encounters. It was created in France, but quickly spread to the UK and the United States. The start is almost the same; you link the app with your Facebook account and then you set the preferred age and radius. Then the app uses your GPS to track your movements and matches you with a user with whom you crossed paths. You can send a “charm” to the user you like and then wait. If you get a “crush”, congratulation, you can communicate. If not, you’ll have to find someone else.
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5. Bumble
This one on our list of best free dating apps for Android phones is a women’s favorite. Bumble decided to add a neat twist to the whole online dating thing. Everything is basically the same as with Tinder. You get people profiles on your screen, and you swipe right if you like someone and swipe left if you don’t. If you get a match, you can talk. If the communication hasn’t started in 24 hours, the match is deleted. But, unlike other apps, on Bumble only women can initiate the conversation. The guys can only pick one match per day to extend the possible conversation’s life for another 24 hours. Young people obviously like this, since it’s the app with the most users aged 18 to 29.
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4. Grindr
Up next in our list of best free dating apps for Android phones is Grindr, which is unique because it is aimed exclusively towards gay and bisexual men. Users create their profile on the app and set their preferences. The app uses GPS to locate men in the radius user specified and displays images on the phone screen. The user can browse through the pictures and see the profile information when they click on one of the pictures. If they like someone, they can initiate the conversation. There is also a premium version of Grindr called Grindr Xtra that offers even more advanced options like filtering and no advertising.
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3. OKCupid
OKCupid ranks third in our list of best free dating apps for Android phones. It began as an online dating website but jumped on the dating app wagon as well. OKCupid is well known for their matching system. When a user creates a profile, he is given a number of questions. The app then uses the answers to match the user with people that had the similar answers. Users can see how other people responded to the same questions. This is the third most used dating app according to the research.
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2. POF (Plenty Of Fish)
Up next in our list of best free dating apps for Android phones is POF or Plenty of Fish which also has a website that operated well before the dating apps became a thing. The best thing about POF is its large user database. It has one of the largest (if not the largest) number of registered users, standing at 90 million. Out of those 90 million users, more than 3.5 million logs each day. After you create a profile on POF, you answer a questionnaire that is labeled as a Chemistry Test and enables the app to find you better matches. There is also an optional premium package that unlocks some advanced options like seeing if someone read or deleted your messages and being featured more often among the profiles.
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1. Tinder
We doubt you are surprised with the last out of our 10 best free dating apps for Android phones. Tinder is the ruling king among dating apps for some time now. The simplicity of Tinder is what makes it so appealing. After you set up your profile, you need to determine an age group you are interested and the radius from which you would like to meet someone. Then the fun begins. The profiles appear on your screen, and you can swipe right if you like someone. If you don’t, then you swipe left. If the both users like each other and swipe right, they become a match, and they get an option to communicate through messages. Although Tinder is getting some fierce competition, it’s still the best free dating app out there. However, we can’t guarantee it will remain like that for a long time.
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