Best Online Dating Sites For Serious Relationships
- >85% with a university degree
- Thousands of new members per month
- Great matching algorithm
The best online dating sites in the USA. Whether you are straight or a part of the LGBT community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and other), there are many fun and exciting places to date, to fall in love and begin a whirlwind romance toward happiness. Check out the best serious dating sites. The immense dating site has over 40,000,000 singles communicating in 25 different languages looking for both casual and serious relationships. When you're open to meeting anyone around the world.
- Designed to find your significant other
- Great filter options
- Check it out today!
- #1 trusted dating app in the US
- Matching made easy
- Plenty of success stories
- For serious relationships only
- Advanced search algorithms
- Very active community
- Flirt, chat & meet
- Open-minded community
- Big dating pool
- Sign up for free
- Great matches
- Your chance to catch love!
- True love is just a few clicks away
- Fast answers
- Effortless search tools
- New members daily
- Meaningful profiles
- Potential matches are waiting for you
Looking for different dating sites?
In the world of online dating sites, new services pop up frequently. For every new area of dating, there are dozens of websites popping up each month promising to help you find love and a date. However, the best dating services have stood the test of time and are popular for their success.
The best dating sites online have a range of free features for members that are typically reserved for paying members on other sites. Many people find the love of their life that they had been looking for quickly thanks to advanced matching algorithms with perfect matches.
They also tend to offer an app version of their site for users who like to be more mobile. In either case, these top online dating services offer a high success rate for starting a relationship. The best services are, in a nutshell, simply better at matching you with other people than the rest.
Table of Contents
The best online dating sites in the USA
Whether you are straight or a part of the LGBT community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and other), there are many fun and exciting places to date, to fall in love and begin a whirlwind romance toward happiness. Check out the best serious dating sites below!
EHarmony
When it comes to finding love on the internet, EHarmony has built a name on its long standing success to make singles happy as they find a partner. EHarmony’s value is in their use of one of the best matchmaking services available, making them popular across the United States.
Their effective ability to match people with other users looking for love leads them to have a high percentage of matches that lead to a life-long relationship. This has made EHarmony perhaps the best site for starting a relationship that may lead to marriage.
While the site is free to sign up for, your free membership will only allow you to use basic features, such as browsing profiles and doing basic matching. You will have to sign up for the paid membership to get the full benefits of an excellent match making site.
Match.com
Match is certainly one of the best places on the web to find a serious relationship. One of the special things about Match is that it emphasizes meeting users for only lasting love. You can even sign up for free to the site or app, making it accessible to users everywhere.
Users like Match for its effective service and the user friendly app that can be downloaded for free. The best advanced filtering and matching options make looking for matches more reliable than ever. Thanks to this, users can date happily knowing they are on the right track for love.
One issue that can come up with a dating app or site like Match is that most users tend to be located in urban areas. Even the best dating services are restricted to where people tend to be located, so you may have to expand your search if you aren’t finding matches easily.
OkCupid
As one of the leading sites of the dating giant Cupid Media, OkCupid is their best bet at finding a date through general matches rather than a niche dating category. Their wealth of experience has made them one of the best services at helping people who are looking for true love.
This is good as users can make use of their large connection of profiles and the free matching services OkCupid has to offer. Your odds of finding a partner increase over using other sites thanks to this. They even offer a great app to help users looking as they are on the go.
Of course, unlike other apps, the matching services can sometimes be a little limited depending on where you are. You will have to really work with the filters to find matches that are best suited for you, but this is the sort of effort that pays off.
OkCupid also offers a wide variety of options for gender and sexual orientation. This makes them one of the top competitors in the LGBTQ+ dating scene as well.
Zoosk
If you just want to keep your options open for meeting women and men, then Zoosk is an excellent dating site that blends serious dating for romance with the casual fun of Tinder hookups. This flexibility makes Zoosk stand out as a special dating site in the United States.
Users appreciate the ability to change what they are looking for on the fly, or to simply leave their dating options open as they check out a variety of profiles. As far as apps go, the Zoosk app is much like Tinder but with a wealth of information to help you find a better match.
The only problem is that you can sometimes get matches which don’t fit with what you were looking for. You may like getting a mix of messages, but not everyone wants to have profiles contacting them with a range of interests.
Elite Singles
Elite Singles is a dating site and app that caters to professionals and academic singles who are looking for love amidst their busy lives. This makes them special as their members are either people who are successful themselves, or singles who want to date the best out there.
Users like this as it means they can date comfortably knowing that matches they make with profiles on the app or site will be with people who understand their priorities, or are at least in a similar position as they are.
If you are looking for apps that are new or can give you all the best features, Elite Singles isn’t as up-to-date as other sites. However, it is still very good at connecting you with new profiles and helping you to set up dates, making it one of the best on the market today.
How to choose a dating site that fits your needs
Whether you are using a computer at home or a mobile app via a mobile phone, like an Iphone or an Android, you will still need to find the service that rightly fits you. Narrow your field down to whether you want to date for sex, a serious relationship, or if you want to stay flexible.
Once you have found a dating site that approximately matches your interests, do some research and check out what the different kinds have to offer. Does one give you better privacy options? Does one have better information in the profiles? Try to narrow it down to one that you like most.
A lot of dating sites nowadays offer apps to complement their services, so if you want to be mobile while you look for a date then make sure they offer something which facilitates this. You should also be on the lookout for dating sites with social network features like Facebook.
If you are looking for serious dating options, then try to find a site that offers you the most intensive kind of profile information you can fill out. If they have a questionnaire, great! You also want more options for communication than email, like instant messaging.
Click here for more tips and guides on Serious Dating
Pros & Cons of online dating
Pros
- Easy to meet new people outside of your immediate circle
- Can double as a social network to help you meet non-dating people on the internet
- Is one of the most popular ways to start a relationship for either casual or serious dating
Cons
- Can take a long time to meet someone if you live in a rural area
- Some sites may be expensive depending on the month to month membership you upgrade to
- There is no catch-all dating site for all of your needs
How to be successful with dating on the internet
Dating on the internet can be difficult, but as long as you are patient and you take the time to fill out your profile and give a solid profile picture, you are off to a good start. You just need to follow up and maintain an online presence with matches you make until you can meet in person.
You don’t need a photograph that would trend on Instagram, but a decent profile picture with good lighting and taken at least semi-professionally will help you immensely with being successful when dating.
Additionally, filling out your profile and answering all questions honestly ensures that the matches you meet not only are actually compatible with you, but that they have something to go off of for your interests. Afterall, it’s always nice to read up about a potential match’s hobbies.
Finally, just keep at it! You will need to be patient and spend some time contacting singles and letting them know you are interested, just as you will have to respond to messages yourself. Sometimes it can take a month or more to find a good match.
Why is dating online so popular?
Online dating was one of the most popular ways to meet singles even before the pandemic, with a wealth of free and paid sites and apps available to people across the world. Just looking at some forums like reddit will show you how popular dating on sites like Coffee Meets Bagel is.
This is because there is a lot of convenience to be found in online dating. Sites offer you a great platform for meeting other singles quickly and easily, especially when compared to the alternative of hoping to bump into other singles at bars and events on weekends each month.
Now, instead of having to wait to go out and look for someone, you can log in to a dating service and search, match, and contact singles locally and abroad in minutes. There are free sites and apps that are accessible to everyone, encouraging people to sign up even without advertising.
However, this is only part of the answer. The other, bigger reason is that online dating is successful. It is as simple as that, because a convenient service on its own isn’t enough to convince people to join if it isn’t actually helping people meet and date.
Online dating has been successful since its early days, and it continues to grow and foster relationships as more and more people find themselves connected online.
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With so many dating apps out there, it can be really difficult to choose which one is best. As a dating coach, I will often take on a client only to find that they have been dating on an outdated site or app for years. No wonder they aren’t getting any results! Dating apps are tools and in order to be the most effective, you need to be using the right one. Here is my recommended list for the best dating apps for relationships.
7 Best Online Dating Apps For Serious Relationships
#7 – OkCupid
Summary Of OkCupid:
OkCupid is best for users under the age of 35. It attracts this age group because of its progressive outlook on dating. For example, they offer the ability to select among multiple different genders as well as sexual orientations. Another reason it attracts a younger crowd is that you can use all it’s features 100% for free.
OkCupid is more of a traditional platform in the sense that you don’t swipe for matches, which limits your viewing to only one at a time. Instead, you can run a search using your filters (like height, religion, etc.) and see all the men that meet your criteria at once. This can really speed up the process filtering process.
How To Use OkCupid For Serious Relationships:
Better Filtering and Screening:
OkCupid is one of the best dating apps for relationships because it allows access to longer profiles. This gives you more information on potential matches without having to small talk text them as much, like you would on Bumble or Tinder. Since OKCupid also allows you to search for all matches at once, you can easily filter and message the men you are interested in the most.
May Attract More Serious Minded Young People
Many people in the younger age group are tired of swiping. They don’t want to go on dates with people who don’t match up with their lifestyles. This means that people who are tired of the quick dating scene that is Tinder and Bumble will look for an alternative, more “serious” minded site and likely turn to OKCupid.
If you’re ok with spending some extra time reading longer profiles, OKCupid can make it easier to filter for high-quality matches and increase your chance of finding a real relationship.
An interesting fact about OkCupid is that according to DatingSiteReviews,“In the wedding section of the New York Times, OkCupid is the most mentioned dating app.”
Word of Warning
One thing I will mention here (and this is the same for Match.com) is that you dont’ want to get too caught up in arbitrary filters. Giving people a chance even if they don’t meet your minimum height requirement or don’t eat the same ice cream as you can really boost your chances of meeting a high-quality man. So, don’t go too crazy on the filters!
Related: 10 Most Important Dating Tips for Women
#6 – Match Mobile
Summary Of Match:
Match Mobile is the dating app version of the traditional dating site, match.com. According to statistics, this dating app is best for users aged 24-38 (DatingSiteReviews). But, my personal experience with clients on this site has determined that you should be between 30-60 to get good results. I wouldn’t recommend this app if you’re under the age of 30. Instead, you should try OKCupid (above).
Match has been around for a really long time (since 1995) and some people might think this is a bad thing. I once suggested using this site to one of my clients and she freaked out saying that “no one has been on there since 2004!”
My client was dead wrong.
Millions of people use this dating site and it continues to be one of the most popular dating apps.
How To Use OkCupid For Serious Relationships:
Relationship-Minded Users:
Statistics from DatingSiteReviews show that “91% of Match members have attended college” and that “income and ‘wants kids’ are the most important criteria. This is great news for anyone looking to score a real relationship from a dating app.
Paid Subscription Leads To Higher Barrier of Entry
Match also requires a paid subscription in order to message other members. This is a great way to filter out spam, catfishers and people looking for casual flings. It also means that the average Match subscriber has a little extra money to spare, making them more likely to be financially stable.
Allows You To Search For All Suitable Matches At Once (No Swiping)
Just like OKCupid, Match allows you to search for all suitable matches upfront, and it has much longer profiles than Tinder or Bumble. This means you can do a much better job at filtering out potential matches and you don’t have to spend time swiping! The other great thing about match is that you can run a search for men in your criteria before you pay for a subscription. This allows you to take a look at the available pool of matches before jumping in with a paid subscriptions.
I highly recommend this as one of the best dating apps for relationships if you are within the age group stated above.
#5 – The League
Summary Of The League
The League is an excellent choice for highly educated professionals. As soon as you land on their website, the first thing you’ll read is:
“Are your standards too high? Keep them that way!”
Their whole schtick is that they only accept the best looking, best-educated, and highest quality matches. In order to make sure all their matches are meeting their strict criteria, all members are put on a waitlist to have their profile vetted. If you’re in, great! If not, tough luck because they don’t accept any payments to bypass the waitlist.
I find this app is best for users between the ages of 22 and 35. If you’re older than that, I’d just give it a try for a month to see if it’s worth it.
This app does not allow you to swipe freely like Tinder or Bumble and you cannot search for members openly. You are only given 5 matches a day that are selected by the League’s algorithm.
How To Use The League for Serious Relationships:
Great for Time Saving
The League chooses matches for you based on your criteria. If you’re a busy professional this is a good way to filter for high-quality matches without investing the time yourself.
The only downside of this system is that you have to wait for them to give you your 5 matches per day. If you don’t like any of them, you have to wait until the next day. Although you’re not doing any work to find these matches, it can extend the dating process by weeks or months if you are picky.
Much Higher-Quality Matches
The League is great if you’re highly educated or very successful and looking for a partner who shares the same qualities. The vetting process is not perfect, but it does weed out a lot of the fluff. Since it has a paid subscription model and the vetting process is so strict, it does attract people who are more relationship-minded and not just looking for a fling.
#4 – Facebook Dating
Summary Of Facebook Dating
Facebook Dating is a new addition to Facebook that just launched in 2019. It is still gaining in popularity but I would recommend it for all ages at this point. Especially since it’s free and easy to use if you already have Facebook.
You don’t have to download a new app to use it, you can simply access it via your Facebook app. All you have to do is hit the hamburger (three lines) menu button on your app and select “dating”. Here’s what it looks like:
Then, you will go through the process of creating your profile.
The dating app is completely independent of your Facebook profile. It will not show your dating activity to friends or family on Facebook.
How To Use Facebook Dating For Serious Relationships:
Filters Based On Preferences and Interest
Ok, I know its creepy that Facebook knows so much about us, but if it can get you a real relationship, that’s not so bad, right?
Facebook uses the interests and preferences of each person to send you suggested matches for who they think might be a good fit. Other dating sites like eHarmony and EliteSingles claim to do this as well, but we all know that Facebook has the most accurate representation of who we are as people. So technically their algorithm for finding like-minded matches should be spot on.
Facebook dating is still very new to the dating world so time will tell how effective it is at matching people up. For now all of its features are free so it’s worth a shot.
#3- Coffee Meets Bagel
Summary Of Coffee Meets Bagel
Ever since Tinder took the dating world by storm, many people quickly grew tired of the swiping model. It often lead to casual hookups rather than more serious relationships. Both Hinge and Coffee Meets Bagel are marketed as dating apps for relationships, not hookups. This means they do not rely on the swiping method.
The Coffee Meets Bagel website specifically states:
“It’s the meaningful dating app for people who are sick of swiping.”
This is another app that uses an algorithm to match people based on similar criteria and preferences.
Coffee meets bagel works well for people under 35 who live in more populated cities. For some reason it is also very popular in the Asian community so if you are Asian yourself or looking for an Asian partner, this is the best app to be on.
How To Use Coffee Meets Bagel for Serious Relationships
Limited Number of Matches
Coffee Meets Bagel limits the amount of people you can like per day. This encourages you to really look at each match individually. You can see if you might have a connection rather than endless swiping to see “just one more.”
Encourages The Dating Process To Move Forward
Coffee meets bagel also has a countdown system that only allows you to chat back and forth on the app for 7 days. After the 7 days are up, the conversation will expire. This encourages people to actually meet up and go on dates rather than creating penpals.
#2 – Bumble
Summary Of Bumble
Now, Bumble is the only one that I have on this list that uses the traditional “endless swiping” method but it still has less of a hookup culture than Tinder. Bumble markets itself as being a place to have deeper connections, while Tinder markets itself for quick hookups.
The profiles on Bumble are short and you must swipe and match people before you can talk to them. Women initiate all conversations by being required to send the first icebreaker.
The reason I put Bumble on here as one of the best dating apps for relationships is because it is so popular. This app is the second most popular app (after Tinder) so the number of options for high-quality matches are endless.
Pretty much anyone that you’ll find on any of the other dating apps I mentioned will have tried Tinder and then also Bumble.
This makes it a great choice for people who live in less populated cities.
How To Use Bumble For Serious Relationships
Best For Lower Populated Cities
Since Bumble uses the endless swiping and the short profile method, it can be a little harder to filter out the fluff and find someone that is serious. This is why I only suggest using Bumble if you live in a smaller city (less populated) or have tried some of the other options on this list and had no luck.
Related: How To Write A Good Online Dating Profile: The Do’s And Don’ts
Best App For Endless Options
Bumble works in your favor in terms of numbers. There are many, many people on it and if you keep swiping and talking to people, you are bound to find someone.
The only problem with this is that it can get time-consuming really quickly, so use this one with some caution. As a dating coach, the biggest reason why people are single is that they get too tired of online dating and they give up. Pushing it aside year after year. Bumble has the potential to make you feel that “dating fatigue” much faster.
#1- Hinge
Summary Of Hinge
We made it to number one! Hinge is the absolute best dating app for relationships because it was specifically built with that in mind. The CEO and founder of Hinge has stated that he wanted Hinge to be like the serious relationship version of dating apps. Much like Match was for serious relationships and Plenty Of Fish was for casual relationships, he wanted it to be the opposite of apps like Tinder and Bumble.
Years later, Hinge has taken off and is becoming one of the most popular dating apps out there. It definitely tops the list for best dating apps for relationships.
Related: How To Delete Tinder Permanently And Get On With Your Life
How To Use Hinge For Serious Relationships
Doesn’t Rely on Swiping
Best Online Dating Sites For Serious Relationships
Hinge doesn’t use the swiping model, and instead you can interact directly with people’s profiles. You can send them a like on their photo, or answer one of their many “prompts”. The prompts are conversation starters that encourage people to connect on a deeper level rather than just starting things with a “hey, what’s up” like you might get on Tinder or Bumble.
Gaining In Popularity
Although traditional sites like OkCupid and Match still have millions of users, the the growing trend for dating is gravitating towards phone apps. Since phone apps have had the culture of quick swiping/hookups, Hinge is actively trying to change that. They are trying to mesh the convenience of the phone app with more serious dating. Bcause of this, it has really taken off in the past few years and I can see it continue to gain popularity as the years go by.
How To Find Serious Relationships Using Dating Apps
The hardest part about dating online is that it is time consuming and emotionally draining.
Best Online Dating Sites For Long Term Relationships
The best way to increase your chances of success is to make sure you’re doing everything you can to attract high-quality matches. If you need help with this, check out my Free Guide: “How To Attract Higher-Quality Men” by clicking here.
Conclusion
Thanks for checking out my list on the best dating apps for relationships. If you need help with getting better at online dating, feel free to check out these related posts:
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