The 20 Best Dating Site In The World That Is For Free

If you want to stay social, you can check out the best 100 percent free dating sites, continue dating, flirting, and communicate with like-minded people within a safe online environment. There are traditional, gay, Christian, and black dating sites for your choice. With that in mind, here are the best (and OK-est) dating apps to try out. My recommendations are based primarily on my own dating-app experiences as a woman. Make of that what you will. After scouring the online dating scene, reading reviews, and creating profiles ourselves, we’ve determined the following free dating sites and apps to be the cream of the crop. Category Rating. Match.com has come a long way since it launched in April 1995.

• The 20 Best Dating Site In The World That Is For Free Movies
• The 20 Best Dating Site In The World That Is For Free Online
• The 20 Best Dating Site In The World That Is For Free Online

The best international dating sites have forever changed the dating scene by effectively eliminating geographical borders and introducing singles to love interests abroad.

Thanks to instant messaging and video chat, long-distance relationships have become much easier to maintain, and that has opened a world of opportunity to singles seeking love, romance, and marriage.

We’ve ranked the top dating sites with international networks to help singles find that special someone, no matter where in the world they are. Happy hunting!

Best Overall International Dating Sites

Sometimes local daters feel as if they’ve exhausted every possible date option in their area, and it’s time for them to go beyond the city limits to find a potential match. Browsing on an international dating site is a great way to broaden one’s horizons and build cross-cultural relationships.

We’ve picked out several global dating sites where you can chat with single men and women in other cities, states, countries, and continents.

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.com'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.com profiles 100% free»

The 20 Best Dating Site In The World That Is For Free Movies

Match frequently ranks first on lists like these because it has been around longer than any other dating site and it has more success stories to its name as well.

As an international dating site and app, Match has an active membership base in 25 countries and territories, and it is available in eight languages.

Match defaults to showing you date recommendations in your area, but you can set a mile radius of up to 5,000 miles, and you can always change your desired location in your match settings to find a single man or women in completely different time zones.

EliteSingles.com maintains a sophisticated network of young professionals seeking a relationship. Over 80% of its members hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree, and over 90% are over the age of 30. Elite Singles uses an intelligent matchmaking system to introduce daters to someone on their level.

• Over 2 million monthly users
• Premium members receive 20 wildcard matches a day
• Search features include age, height, education, ethnicity, and lifestyle habits
• Browse Elite Singles profiles 100% free»

A German team started Elite Singles to raise the bar in the online dating scene, and it has attracted an impressive crowd of well-educated and ambitious individuals from all over the world.

Elite Singles has members in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Spain, France, Norway, Chile, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and other European countries. On average, this vast database adds over 381,000 new singles each month.

Customized dating preferences and a personality test power the matchmaking system on Elite Singles, which brings together about 2,500 couples per month. You can set your address by country and ZIP code and then state how far you’re willing to travel to meet a potential partner and soul mate.

Zoosk is a socially savvy dating site known for its diverse membership base and behavioral matchmaking system. Over 40 million singles in 80 countries have joined the network so far, and it's growing larger every day. The platform offers many different ways to communicate and express interest in members, so it's easy to form a fast connection here.

• Send messages to premium members for free
• Over 3 million messages sent a day
• Premium perks include photo verification and sending virtual gifts
• Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free»

Silicon Valley is a place of big ideas, and two Iranian immigrants in 2007 came up with a doozy when they launched Zoosk, a dating app inspired by social media sites like Facebook.

Today, Zoosk has been downloaded over 30 million times in the App Store and Google Play, and it sees over 3 million messages sent per day. The international dating app stretches across 80 countries, and its chat features foster long-distance connections with its free matching and communication tools.

According to one Zoosk couple’s success story, “Steve and I both were not sure what we were looking for on Zoosk, but what we found was everything.”

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»

The eharmony dating site and app have created a time-tested formula for measuring and identifying relationship compatibility, and over 2 million couples have found love here.

In 2000, eharmony began as an American effort to strengthen the institution of marriage. Today, it has come to the aid of serious daters in 200 countries.

From the Compatibility Quiz to the Icebreakers, eharmony does everything possible to encourage singles to build a serious relationship that last.

The eharmony team says it best: “At eharmony, we’re dedicated to the success of our global community singles, and, unlike most other international dating sites, our innovative, scientifically developed matching technology matches you with compatible international singles.”

Christian Mingle is a faith-based dating website for singles who want a relationship grounded in Christian values. People of all religions and backgrounds turn to this site in hopes of meeting a good Christian man or a good Christian woman. Christian Mingle's claim to fame is that it has the highest percentage of Christian members of any dating site or app in the world.

• For singles interested in God-centered relationships
• Over 3.5 million monthly users around the world
• Available as an app on Google Play and the App Store
• Browse Christian Mingle profiles 100% free»

As part of the Sparks Network, ChristianMingle has a massive singles database in North America, Europe, and Australia.

Christianity is the largest religion in the world, and ChristianMingle is one of the most popular Christian dating sites in the world. The online dating site boasts having the largest concentration of Christian singles, but it doesn’t close the door on singles of other faiths. Anyone who wants to date or marry a Christian can join this values-driven network.

ChristianMingle offers a free membership that never expires and includes unlimited likes and searches. You can sort profiles by online activity, potential match percentage, distance, recent signups, or a random draw based on your Discovery Preferences.

Since its launch in 2002, BlackPeopleMeet has created an African American singles network that stretches across North America. This niche dating site has 1.5 million members who are attracted to Black and biracial people. It takes less than two minutes to create a full profile and start browsing through profiles sorted by age, location, and orientation.

• One of the largest Black singles networks in existence
• Straightforward search and matching features
• Use Tokens to appear higher in search results
• Browse BlackPeopleMeet profiles 100% free»

BlackPeopleMeet has the largest network of black and biracial singles in North America, and it supports thousands of flirtatious connections each day.

Since 2002, BlackPeopleMeet has empowered singles to follow their hearts and find dates who can appreciate their backgrounds, perspectives, and sense of style. Many of its success stories include long-distance romances and international relationships.

“I found someone that I’ve grown to love very much on this site,” said a Tampa resident. “He’s moving to Florida on the 21st of this month, and now I no longer need you guys.”

In 2004, OkCupid's founders decided to create a fool-proof formula for love, and they launched a free dating site to delve into what personal attributes made relationships work. OkCupid members can send unlimited messages for free. It's easy to discover mutual interests and compatibility on the platform's information-rich dating profiles.

• Free, unlimited communication for everyone
• Singles can swipe or search for a compatible date
• Over 91 million connections every year
• Browse OkCupid profiles 100% free»

The 20 Best Dating Site In The World That Is For Free Online

OkCupid is a forever free dating site and app where friendships and relationships can blossom. You can set your dating preferences to “located anywhere” to bring the most compatible international dates to your inbox.

It doesn’t cost anything to send messages on OkCupid, but the other person has to like you back before the conversation can really take off.

In a Reddit thread, users agreed that OkCupid is most popular and effective in English-speaking countries. “Seems to be quite successful here in England,” said clayalien in a reply. “I have no problems getting dates. I dated a French girl for over a year.”

Plenty of Fish prides itself on being one of the best dating sites for conversations. It supports 100% free and unlimited messaging for over 120 million monthly users in 20 countries. Since its launch in 2003, Plenty of Fish has developed a science-based matching system that has proven successful.

• Free registration, searches, and messaging
• The Chemistry Test creates a compatibility framework
• Over 1 billion messages sent per month
• Browse Plenty of Fish profiles 100% free»

PlentyofFish began as a Canadian dating website, and now it is available in 20 countries and has been translated into 11 languages. The dating network boasts having more than 150 million users around the globe.

As a completely free dating site (and app), PlentyofFish has an understandable appeal among young, frisky single people, but it’s not just good for casual dating. A lot of couples report finding the love of their life in the PlentyOfFish community.

“Without POF, we would have never met each other,” Tyler and Jessica said in their testimonial. “We lived an hour away and didn’t know any of the same people. So I just wanted to thank you for everything. My life will never be the same, and I mean that in the best possible way.”

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 60 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»

Tinder became a worldwide sensation in 2012 when it pioneered its swiping-based matching and gave singles the power to filter their incoming messages.

Tinder is the dating app of choice in 190 countries and territories, and it has created over 30 billion matches to date. Plus, the app claims responsibility for arranging more than 1 million dates in the average week. That’s a lot of cups of coffee!

While Tinder is by definition a localized dating tool, singles can widen their parameters by upgrading to Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold subscriptions. People with these premium plans have a Passport that allows them to swipe around the world.

Since its launch in 2014, Bumble has positioned itself as one of the queens of the online dating world. The dating app turns gender stereotype on its head by empowering women to make the first move in a conversation with a man. Once you've made that mutual match, you have up to 48 hours to respond and make a connection.

• 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
• Browse Bumble profiles 100% free»

In 2014, Bumble positioned itself as the female-friendly alternative to swipe-happy apps and skeezy bars. A former Tinder Co-Founder named Whitney Wolfe Herd created the app to give single women the power to set the tone in the online dating scene.

Bumble offers powerful networking tools for dating, friendship, and business, and its unique messaging system has upended traditional gender roles by challenging female users to “make the first move” when matched with a man.

The Bumble Hive is active in 150 countries around the world, and it has over 50 million users, and it’s still expanding thanks to its Bumble Ambassadors, including Serena Williams and Priyanka Chopra.

Best Senior International Dating Sites

Senior daters face many challenges in the modern dating scene. It can be hard to meet and date new people while entering a new stage of life, and the dating pool of singles over 50 isn’t exactly the largest.

If you’ve reached your limits in the local dating scene, you may want to try expanding your search to include other parts of the world. International dating sites for seniors can do a world of good for lonely hearts seeking connection.

SilverSingles is serious about helping singles over 50 meet one another, and the site doesn't allow anyone under 50 years old to join the network. The secure signup process includes profile verification and fraud detection, so new members must portray themselves accurately to gain access to the platform. By fostering a safe environment, SilverSingles helps men and women meet mature dates in their area.

• An exclusively senior membership base
• Over 800,000 monthly users worldwide
• App available for free on Google Play
• Browse SilverSingles profiles 100% free»

We consider SilverSingles to be the best overall senior dating site because it offers high-quality matches and top-notch security features.

The 20 Best Dating Site In The World That Is For Free Online

Free members can browse the site for as long as they want, but they can’t view photos or send messages unless they upgrade to a premium membership. This paid site protects members from spammers and scammers online and ensures everyone in their inboxes is serious about making a romantic connection in their hometowns or in a foriegn country.

More than one-third of SilverSingles members are over 50, and more than 80% of users have a university degree and are seeking a potential partner on their level. SilverSingles is accessible to people in 20 countries, including the U.S. and the U.K.

OurTime is an over-50 dating site with a lot of helpful features to facilitate friendships and relationships. Senior singles can look for dates themselves using the search tools, or they can view a curated list of matches to find compatible folks. Singles can send likes, flirts, and faves for free, but they have to subscribe to send messages to their online crushes.

• 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
• Browse OurTime profiles 100% free»

OurTime is a senior-friendly dating site designed to help singles make a fresh start in the dating scene. Members can view profiles and send flirts and photo likes for free, but they’ll have to invest in the online dating experience to read and receive messages.

OurTime is a People Media site, which means it shares a network with the likes of BlackPeopleMeet and SingleParentMeet. This database grows by nearly 20,000 members per week, and thousands of like-minded singles have found romance on its niche products.

“I’ve found my soul mate. We’ve been together for six months and are perfect for each other,” said an OurTime user from Illinois. “He is one of the nicest, sweetest men I have ever met. I met him on my third encounter on your site.”

Since 2003, SeniorMatch has built its reputation as one of the world's leading senior dating sites. The site offers free communication and searches to help singles over 50 find companionship and love. If you're interested in a mature dating experience, this dating site can meet your needs.

• Doesn't allow members under 45
• Available as a dating app in Google Play
• Dating advice and safety tips shared by senior daters
• Browse SeniorMatch profiles 100% free»

SeniorMatch stands out in the dating industry because it maintains an exclusively senior dating network. This senior dating site requires users to be at least 45 years old.

As a niche dating service, SeniorMatch doesn’t have the largest dating pool — over 1 million members and 50,000 downloads — but it has a lot of heart and community spirit.

More than 36,600 success stories from happy couples prove the merits of this dating site, and we expect it to continue racking up new signups, more matches, and countless love connections in the years to come.

Best LGBT International Dating Sites

Online dating has been a gift to the LGBTQ+ community, allowing them to mix and mingle without leaving home — or even coming out of the closet. In a 2017 survey, over 65% of same-sex couples said they met online, while only 39% of straight couples said the same.

Gay dating sites have carried the rainbow flag into other countries — even those that aren’t gay-friendly — and provide a safe social haven for singles exploring their sexuality and looking for a potential partner.

Since 1996, MenNation has connected over 93 million men around the globe. This men-only dating site measures its success by the number of conversations and dates it facilitates with its intuitive matching system. Gay men love having a site to call their own, and its helpful features keep members engaged and entertained as they look for a hot date.

• One of the largest gay hookup sites in the world
• Search filters for age, location, physical attributes, and more
• Available in 12 languages and counting
• Browse MenNation profiles 100% free»

MenNation has 99 million members all over the world, making it one of the largest gay dating hookup sites available.

This is an all-male dating community where singles and couples can find male companionship with a simple search. You don’t have to stick to a certain region or age range when looking for sex on MenNation — the paid site encourages Western men to get freaky in the search for a first date.

Single gay men don’t have to hold anything back as they pursue potential dates here.

LesbianPersonals.com is powered by Friend Finder Networks, so it encompasses a vast network of sexually active women. The female-friendly dating site allows women, couples, and groups to create a profile and find online and offline romance. With over 2 million women in its community, LesbianPersonals is fast becoming one of the most popular lesbian dating sites around.

• Free membership includes viewing profiles and sending likes
• Exchange revealing photos and videos privately online
• Simple search filters by interests and appearance
• Browse LesbianPersonals profiles 100% free»

LesbianPersonals has a global following of sexually active women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, or questioning. Lesbian singles, straight couples, and groups have flocked to this lustful scene and seduced women in private messages and video calls.

Whether you’re looking for a hookup, a threesome, or a poly relationship, LesbianPersonals can help you reach out to a woman who want the exact same thing.

Don’t be shy about flirting on LesbianPersonals. This international hookup scene promises to look out for the interests of women and block or ban anyone causing trouble.

HER is a women-only (or 'womxn' as the team says) dating app that helps cis, trans, and non-binary identified singles come into their own. This is a strict no-boys-allowed zone. HER encourages LGBTQ+ women to mingle by commenting on photos or events in the Feed, or they can like profiles to initiate a private conversation with a mutual match.

• A quirky and unapologetic womxn-only dating community
• Queer events get users connecting IRL
• The constantly updated Feed facilitates social networking
• Browse HER profiles 100% free»

In 2011, lesbian entrepreneur Robyn Exton created the dating app now known as HER on behalf of LGBTQ+ women everywhere. She developed it to be a high-integrity and womxn-only space where making friends and building a serious relationship came first.

“No one had truly made a dating product for women,” Robyn said in an interview. “So I decided to quit my job and start making it.”

Today, HER has over 4 million members, all of whom have been verified as authentic single womxn seeking womxn. Every day, more #WeMetOnHER stories come out on social media and inspire lesbian, bisexual, queer, and trans womxn to go online to find their own happily-ever-after endings.

Grindr became the world's first gay geosocial app in 2009, and it continues growing its all-male user base more than a decade later. The app uses real-time GPS data to locate nearby date prospects and give gay and bisexual singles a chance to connect while they're out on the town.

• Social networking for gay, bi, trans, and queer men
• Location-based matches spark instant chemistry
• Grindr Equality advocates for LGBTQ+ interests on the global stage
• Browse Grindr profiles 100% free»

When Grindr launched in 2009, the app pioneered location-based matching in the gay dating scene. Grindr became famous as a local hookup app, but it didn’t stay local.

Grindr is now available in 234 countries and territories, and it had over 27 million members as of 2017. Grindr uses GPS technology to prioritize matches who are close in proximity to you. These tools make it a handy wingman on business trips and vacations to other parts of the world.

According to an Esquire review, “The app can make it easier to navigate foreign terrain as a queer person, turning each city into a map of latent romantic potential.”

Best International Hookup Sites

Seeking companionship on foreign soil? Then an international hookup site could be right for you. Such commitment-free zones are great for adventurous and sexually active adults. On the following hookup sites, singles and couples can enjoy messaging and video calling people from all over the globe.

BeNaughty invites singles to walk on the wild side and explore their sexuality in a fun, free-wheeling environment. This adults-only dating site is full of X-rated content, but users can blur nude photos if they'd prefer to leave some things to the imagination. Premium subscribers get the most bang for the buck because they can send messages, browse incognito, and receive alerts when their messages have been read by someone special.

• Sexually active adults in 10 countries
• Browse the Like Gallery for hot singles
• Stimulate conversation in intimate private messages
• Browse BeNaughty profiles 100% free»

BeNaughty is a legit hookup site where sex-driven singles can pursue hot dates at their pleasure.

The site allows free members to search for dates by city and set a mile radius of 20, 50, or 100 miles depending how far they’re willing to go for a hookup. The search tab also includes filters by age, gender, orientation, and appearance. Profiles with photos will automatically appear at the top of the list of viable dates.

BeNaughty can help singles successfully navigate the online dating scene and get laid, and it doesn’t charge members for the pleasure of sending private messages or mass texts to their crushes.

In 1996, Friend Finder Networks began harnessing the power of online networking to help adults meet sexually active singles in their area, and it has now grown into a global X-rated phenomenon with over 93 million profiles. Adult Friend Finder provides a safe, anonymous dating platform where singles and swingers can hook up with another.

• Among the largest online sex and swinger communities
• Completely free no-obligation registration
• Live chat rooms and discussion forums open 24/7
• Browse Adult Friend Finder profiles 100% free»

Adult Friend Finder is noteworthy for having the world’s largest sex and swinger community. The hookup site has been around since the mid-1990s, so it has had plenty of time to grow and attract sexually curious folks.

The AFF community includes singles, couples, and groups who are up for just about anything, including polyamorous relationships and orgies. You don’t have to dive into a sexual encounter right away, though. If you want to dip your toe in the casual dating scene, you can always flirt on the dating forums, which include over 170,000 groups.

The live model shows and AFF magazine also offer a voyeuristic experience for horny individuals seeking a release. Whether you’re watching, chatting, or hooking up, Adult Friend Finder lets you live out your fantasies and follow your passions.

FriendFinder-X specializes in delivering hot dates to your inbox. For the last 20+ years, this hookup site has amassed a huge following around the world and led to countless sexy encounters. Millions of people have created an account and searched for singles, couples, and groups who can satisfy their deepest desires.

• Open to casual daters in the U.S. and abroad
• Free members can browse profiles and watch sexy videos
• Chat anonymously in the forum or private messages
• Browse FriendFinder-X profiles 100% free»

Last but not least, FriendFinder-X is one of the best international dating sites because it offers a flirtatious place to meet hotties in your area and abroad. The hookup site has location-based searches, anonymous matching, and instant messaging, so all you need is the right pickup line to get something going.

FriendFinder-X has millions of members around the world, and its personal ads are full of raunchy content and sexy propositions. Adults can let go of their inhibitions and discover sexy encounters on this free-wheeling dating service

“Our site caters to single, not-so single, and open couples looking for casual fun,” the FriendFinder-X team says. “FriendFinder-X.com is the place to be for average people looking to spice things up, without changing their current lifestyle.”

Which Dating Site is Completely Free?

Our dating experts consider OkCupid to be one of the most efficient, fun, and affordable dating platforms out there. It’s free to create a dating profile on OkCupid, and it’s also free to send messages to anyone you like.

OkCupid inspires dates and relationships by identifying specific areas of compatibility. The dating site and app has an endless questionnaire that allows single men to express who they are and what matters to them. OkCupid uses this treasure trove of information to generate highly accurate match recommendations and compatibility ratings.

• Men can leave a message to anyone they fancy
• A sophisticated match algorithm developed by Harvard math majors
• The site and app facilitate over 50,000 dates every week
• Browse OkCupid profiles 100% free»

Even the tightest budget can afford a free dating site, and it can be even more valuable if it comes with free communication and matchmaking tools. OkCupid definitely gives you a lot of bang for your buck in that regard.

OkCupid’s personality-driven algorithm creates over 91 million matches every year, and it has the power to bring compatible couples across vast distances to one another’s arms.

What is the Best and Safest Dating Site?

Safety is a top concern for many singles in the online dating scene. It can be nerve-wracking to chat with a faceless person online, but a reputable dating site can do a lot to give people greater peace of mind.

For instance, eharmony doesn’t allow free members to view photos or send initial messages on the platform. Singles must show they’re serious and genuine before becoming a full-fledged member of the eharmony community. Until then, they’re kept at arm’s length from members.

It may take some time to fill out eharmony's 32-dimension personality test, but the results are well worth it. This dating site goes the extra mile to get to know its members and deliver quality matches to their inboxes. Every profile has a compatibility rating to let you know your essential similarities and differences. Plus eharmony has inspired more than 2 million love connections since 2000.

• Designed to satisfy marriage-minded single women
• In-depth compatibility quiz generates high-quality matches
• Personalized Match Preferences on gender, age, income, religion, education, and more
• Browse eharmony profiles 100% free»

When it comes to safety, eharmony is among the best in the business. The online dating site’s moderators verify profiles, screen content, and permanently remove the profiles of anyone causing trouble.

In a recent survey, eharmony was voted the most trustworthy dating site on the market. International daters can rely on its screening tools to keep the scammer and spammers at bay.

Is Tinder Good for Meeting a Foreign Woman?

Tinder is a great free dating app for swiping on potential dates in your neighborhood or town, but it’s not great if you’re looking to expand your dating experience beyond the borders of your state or country. Tinder uses a location-based matching system that puts proximity first.

Sure, it’s possible you’ll meet a foreign woman visiting your area for a semester abroad or work visa, but in all likelihood the single women you encounter on Tinder will be locals.

What Dating Site Has the Highest Success Rate?

Success is in the eye of the beholder. As a serious relationship-focused dating app, Hinge measures success in turning first dates into second dates, which it’s really good at. On the other hand, Tinder is a more casual dating app so it focuses on creating as many online matches as humanly possible (43 billion and counting!).

If you’re wondering which international dating site has led to the most real-life relationships, though, the answer is Match. This dating website offers a fun dating experience where a first date leads to a serious commitment and marriage.

Since 1995, Match has made a name for itself as one of the most successful dating platforms in the world. The site empowers singles to find compatible dates and make a deep connection based on shared interests and lifestyles. Match.com is responsible for countless love stories, and the next one could be yours.

• Find quality women with advanced search filters
• Communicate with your Top Picks for free
• Add up to 26 photos to your profile
• Browse Match.com profiles 100% free»

In our estimation, the most successful dating sites have diverse membership bases, proven matchmaking tools, and plenty of success stories to their names. That fits Match.com to a tee.

What is International Cupid?

International Cupid is an international dating site with over 1 million members to its name. Cupid Media launched the dating service in 2004 to connect singles with an international frame of mind. People of all nationalities are welcome here, and borders don’t matter when it comes to flirting and chatting.

“I am very happy to say that I have found my true love here on International Cupid,” said a foreign woman in a testimonial. “Nothing more I could ask for.”

Love Beyond Borders with the Help of International Sites

Active daters no longer have to stick to the local bar scene or singles events to meet someone special. They can go online and meet people who live in different cities, countries, or continents.

Nowadays, flirting across borders has never been easier, and the best international dating sites have become well-known flirtatious hot spots for singles seeking love and romance abroad.

For your convenience, we’ve ranked and reviewed some of our favorite dating sites with international membership bases, but there are thousands more out there, and any one of them could lead you to your soul mate. Good luck!

Whether you're looking for a long-term relationship or a quick booty call, there's a dating app for everyone. From the hyper-specific—FarmersOnly, JDate, 3Fun—to the general ones we review here that cast wider nets, there are many, many options. Bars, nightclubs, and other traditional meeting places may be starting to reopen, but how safe are they? Dating sites and apps are the way to go these days, with new services cropping up all the time. A dating app that only works on Thursday? What a concept! Many even have special video services they've introduced specifically to deal with dating in a post-COVID world, as we'll explain later. With so many choices, how can you find your perfect, loving match?

Getting Started With Dating Apps

The first thing you need to decide is your commitment level. As in, how much do you want to pay to make your heart go pitter-patter? Some apps, like Plenty of Fish, let you view profiles and send messages for free. Most of the others let you view your potential matches without charging, but they make you pony up and subscribe if you want to actually reach out to them without limits—especially if the interest is one-sided. While the monthly charges for the apps we review here range in price from $10 to more than $40, most offer a discount if you commit to a long-term subscription, such as six months or a year. (You're not afraid of commitment, are you?)

Then there are all the add-ons. Options—letting you pay to boost your ranking in search results, letting someone know that you are really, really interested in him or her or them, or undoing a dreaded left-swipe that was supposed to be a right-swipe—will cost you extra. While some apps may advertise themselves as free, all of them try to get a buck from you in the end. Only Facebook Dating is totally free, and that’s only if you don’t consider your existing personal Facebook profile data to be currency.

Selling Yourself

When it comes down to actually putting yourself out there and creating a profile, all apps ask for the basics: name, age, location, a photo, a short blurb about yourself, and (usually) if you can stand a person who smokes. Beyond that, it can be a bit of a crapshoot. Some apps, like Tinder, value photos over personality. Others, like eharmony, make you fill out an endless questionnaire before you can even think about browsing for your match. Still, Zoosk and other, similar apps ask so little that you're left to wonder what's being used to actually match you with like-minded love-seekers.

If you don't fall into the cis-hetero dating pool, you'll be happy to know that most of the apps reviewed here are inclusive. Even eharmony now finally allows for same-gender couples. However, some are friendlier to the LGBTQ community than others. For example, OkCupid goes beyond forcing users to choose between being a male or female, including options like Hijra, genderfluid, and two-spirit. Other apps target identities beyond gender and sexuality. For example, Kippo's nerd-friendly features attracts gamers, Vinylly connects matches people through shared love of music, and SilverSingles reskins EliteSingles for a senior audience.

Time to Connect

Once you pick that perfect selfie and write paragraphs to sell all your best attributes to your future mate, it's time to start browsing. This is where the big differences between these apps are apparent. For instance, Tinder, with its famous hot-or-not swiping interface, makes it quick and easy to find your next date. Bumble, on the other hand, puts all the power in women's hands; men can't even contact a woman unless she's first expressed interest. Others, like Match and OkCupid, have robust profiles that let you dive deep into a user's personality (or at least the one he or she has decided to present to you), before you decide to go on the pursuit. Hinge lets users create profiles that are a beautiful blend of visuals and text.

Now that you've perused the dating pool and have your eyes on that special someone, it's time to bite the bullet and actually reach out to them. Each app offers different ways of showing your interest. Match will let you Wink at a fellow member for free, and Plenty of Fish doesn't charge for messaging. In most dating apps, messaging is typically free when both users like each other. However, free users only get so many likes per day, with Hinge being especially limited. In other instances, you'll get charged for reaching out. If you're not ready to express your feelings in words, Bumble lets you send Bumble Coins to prospective matches, for $2 a pop. Zoosk offers the slightly creepy option of buying coins to anonymously browse profiles, as well as reward anyone who views your own profile (for an additional fee, of course).

Staying in Touch

As this is 2021, all of these services, even the decades-old Match, offer both iPhone apps and Android apps. Most also have desktop counterparts for when you're at work and want to take a break from your spreadsheet to set up a weekend tryst. Just be aware that the functionality can vary substantially between the app and desktop interfaces. For example, there's no swiping on Tinder's browser version. Facebook Dating and Hinge are only available as mobile apps.

Once you've installed these apps and signed up for the services, get ready for a barrage of notifications and email. Some, like daily match suggestions, are helpful, while others, like alerts that tell you every new 'like' you get, can just be annoying. The good thing is you can easily tweak these alerts by drilling down into the settings menus in each of the apps.

Any activity that involves meeting strangers from the internet carries some safety risks. If you find yourself in a toxic situation and need to cut off contact, all of these apps let you block and report users who haven’t taken the hint. These services try to vet their profiles and keep unwanted inappropriate material from appearing. Bumble blurs nudes with AI. Tinder lets you secretly alert emergency services if you’re on a particularly bad date. There are even third-party solutions. UrSafe is a hands-free, voice-activated personal safety app with features for online daters who are looking to meet up with their matches in-person. Not having to use your hands is especially appealing during a viral pandemic, which brings us to our next section.

Dating While Social Distancing

In case dating wasn’t difficult enough, our social lives were upended by the COVID-19 epidemic. Ideally, online dating should lead to meeting up in real life. However, sometimes the responsible thing to do is to stay home, and that created quite a dilemma for dating apps. Fairytrail, a dating app for connecting via shared travel destination dreams, saw an bittersweet increase in use. Similarly, Zoosk's Great Dates feature lets couples virtually tour exciting locales safely at home.

The most straightforward virtual dating solution is video chatting, which lets you at least see each other face to face instead of just texting. Bumble, Clover, eharmony, Hinge, Match, Plenty of Fish, and Tinder all offer video chat. Apps with more specific target audiences are also adopting this feature, including the mobile-only Muslim dating app Muzmatch. Snack introduces TikTok-style video functionality to dating profiles.

Even apps without video chat acknowledge the crisis in their own ways. OkCupid added personality questions about how you’re coping with the pandemic. Facebook Dating users can choose to use other Facebook communications apps, such as Messenger or the experimental Tuned and Sparked, apps specifically for quarantined couples and speed dating, respectively. Kippo created an entire online shared social space, a 'metaverse,' where matches can connect and play games while communicating over audio chat.

Which Dating App Should You Use?

Dating is hard work, so we did some of the legwork for you by taking a deep dive into 10 of the most popular apps. We weren’t popular enough to get into The League, the dating app for celebrities. Everyone's needs and wants are different, so not every app will be a great fit for you. Match and Tinder are both Editors’ Choice picks because they excel in their respective lanes: lasting relationships and fast hookups. Other apps have strengths, too, and you can learn more by reading our in-depth reviews. If things don't work out, we a have a handy list of the best breakup apps, too.

For more on dating, check out: How I Ended Up in a Tinder Ad Campaign, Match vs. Tinder: Which Dating Service Deserves Your Everlasting Love?, and the Best Hookup Apps.