Dating over forty can be a minefield. And to be honest, so can dating sites designed for users over 40. I know, you’re not over the hill yet, but neither do you want to spend hours swiping through profile after profile and trying to decipher what young people are talking about in their bios.
Essentially, you’re old enough to be pretty sure of what you want, it’s just hard to work out where to find it with such a blinding excess of dating sites out there.
Well, to save you from your married friends setting you up with the one single girl at work who sits in the corner knitting the longest scarf in the world lunch break after lunch break, here is my list of the best dating sites for over 40s.
They vary from sites built only for serious dating to some that are perfect for finding fun, with a whole bunch somewhere in the middle. Good luck, and try to enjoy the dating journey.
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Eharmony
Click Here To Try Eharmony For Free
Best For: Anyone looking for a mature relationship.
Not For: Daters looking for a casual experience, anyone not ready to put work in.
The Lowdown
Eharmony is always the site I recommend to people who are a little nervy about online dating but serious about finding someone. In fact, I recommend eharmony to everyone serious about finding someone full-stop, because of its amazing success rate.
Not that there are no casual relationships on the cards at all on the site, just that a certain level of commitment to the process is an inherent part of using a site like eharmony. With personality testing at its heart and a basis in psychology, you have to devote a fair amount of time and capital to Eharmony.
Obviously, ‘a fair amount’ in internet time terms is actually only about a half-hour building a profile, but you know what our attention spans have —
Wait what was I talking about? Oh, what you get for your time and money investment in eharmony! Well, in return you get probably the best online dating experience available in 2023.
The site has repeatedly been voted the best in the business in terms of reliability, as well as users claiming officially that eharmony has the best dating pool of any online dating platform! And that’s important.
What’s the point of millions of active users if they’re all boring, not actually interested in dating, or married to their jobs? Or their pets. There are definitely some singles over 40 who are unhealthily co-dependent with their cats or dogs.
Pricing
| Pricing | Total Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ||
| 6 Months | $395.40 | $65.90 |
| 12 Months | $550.80 | $45.90 |
| 24 Months | $861.60 | $35.90 |
What You Get For Your Cash
As I mentioned above, eharmony is one of the most trusted and high-quality dating sites available. It’s not cheap, and I know that will disqualify it for some daters. I would never suggest that a dating site subscription should come above your basic needs!
But if you can afford a few months of eharmony, you’re unlikely to be disappointed. As a free member, you, unfortunately, can’t send messages, but you do get your daily matches.
So, if you’re unsure about forking out for an eharmony membership you can have a look at what’s on offer by signing up for free and making yourself a profile.
Busy? Here Are The Key Points
- The best dating site out there for making serious connections.
- Not cheap, but worth the money. Hundreds of marriages a year happen because of eharmony.
- The eharmony dating pool is regularly voted the best on offer!
- Matching is based on psychological theory and an award-winning algorithm.
Elite Singles
Click Here To Try Elite Singles For Free
Best For: Daters looking for an equal, whatever that might mean.
Not For: Anyone who feels intimidated by a strong, independent, and successful partner.
The Lowdown
Elite Singles is another dating site built on personality testing and psychology. Specifically, Elite Singles uses the Big Five theory which has been popular for decades and was often used by matchmaking agencies, to help work out which users make sense together.
You might be wondering what makes this dating site, which sees itself more as an online matchmaking service than a dating app and usually has international in-person meet-ups that get users involved the old-fashioned way, elite. Well, it’s all about those users of course!
There are no criteria for joining Elite Singles, but the premium the site puts on achievements and job success means that around 80% of its users have at least an undergraduate degree. The overwhelming majority of Elite Singles users also have impressive job titles, which are displayed prominently on profiles on the site.
Success is, of course, a matter of opinion, but Elite Singles certainly asks that all of its users put their best foot forward when selling themselves to potential dates! You will receive regular matches as a member of Elite Singles, and you can be pretty sure each and every one of them will be impressive in one way or another.
As success is such a big part of the matchmaking process at Elite Singles, users tend to skew older. That means that being over 40 isn’t unusual on the site, and you won’t find yourself constantly paired with 25-year-olds you have no idea what to say to!
Pricing
| Pricing | Total Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ||
| 3 Months | $173.85 | $57.95 |
| 6 Months | $269.70 | $44.95 |
| 12 Months | $383.40 | $31.95 |
What You Get For Your Cash
Elite Singles can be previewed pretty thoroughly with a free membership, though you won’t be able to send messages or see your matches’ photos until you sign up for premium.
Your monthly payment, which is pretty darn reasonable as long as you go for a longer subscription, gets you full access to the site as well as to regular IRL events in major cities internationally. I mean, Elite Singles is full of successful people, of course, there’s an entrance fee!
Busy? Here Are The Key Points
- A dating site for successful professionals.
- More of a matchmaking agency than a dating app, with IRL events to augment the online element.
- Matches are based on psychological factors as well as the preferences you express.
- You do have to pay for Elite Singles to use the site properly, but it’s great value if you opt for 3+ months.
Silver Singles
Click Here to try Silver Singles for free
Best For: Over 50s who aren’t past it!
Not For: People who aren’t over 50 or interested in dating over 50s.
The Lowdown
This is one for the over 50s. Silver Singles is a site built exclusively for older daters, though you don’t have to be over 50 to join. There are a fair number of users who are under fifty but mature enough to be up for dating an older partner.
Silver Singles matches 2000 new couples each month – that is, 4000 people go on a very successful first date (and then second, third, etc.) through Silver Singles. Most users are in the USA, so if you’re an American over 50 looking for love then Silver Singles may well be your best bet.
Silver Singles members are largely looking for serious relationships, but as with all dating sites, you can also find people open to something more casual.
This is another site based on a personality test – on Silver Singles, the test is 100 questions long. Maybe that sounds overwhelming, but remember each answer brings you a step closer to finding a great match! As with all of these dating sites, you get out what you put in.
The more honestly you answer the questions, the more likely you are to wind up with matches that excite you. If you want to try the site out, here you go!
Pricing
All prices are paid in full at sign-up.
What You Get For Your Cash
When you pay for Silver Singles you get access to the profiles of eligible singles throughout the UK, USA, and Canada. Millions of users frequent the site, and you can message any one of them if you have a membership.
Silver Singles is particularly careful with digital security, which is a huge plus for a dating site. You also get daily matches, so even if you’re busy you’ll get help finding the one, along with compatibility ratings for all users on the site so you know who you’re likely to click with (or, indeed, have fiery and exciting rows with if that’s your thing).
Busy? Here Are The Key Points
- A dating site for over 50s who aren’t done with romance and fun!
- The site has a huge international user base.
- Compatibility ratings tell you just how well you should get on with every user.
- One of the best, and best value, dating sites for older users who don’t want to slow down and take in life from the sidelines just yet!
AdultFriendFinder
Click Here to try AdultFriendFinder for free
Best For: Over 40s looking for a bit (or a lot) of fun.
Not For: Anyone squeamish about sex!
The Lowdown
AdultFriendFinder is almost as old as you are! Or, at least as old as your kids. The site was set up in 1996, so has been a stalwart part of the online dating scene through every one of its iterations.
These days, AdultFriendFinder is probably the best place online to find a one-stop-shop of fantastic user-generated content and the possibility of a real connection.
You might log on for the forums, groups, user-generated videos, and erotic stories available on AdultFriendFinder, or you might use it only as a dating site. Either way, there’s an awful lot to play with on the site.
You can chat, video chat, and share photo galleries with other users, and AdultFriendFinder even provides matches that the site’s algorithm has deemed particularly promising.
Basically, if you’re looking for no-strings enjoyment but you feel like you’re too old for Tinder, Grindr, or whatever other swiping app the kids are talking about this month, then AdultFriendFinder is the place for you! Sign up here.
Pricing
| Pricing | Upfront Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ||
| 3 Months | $149.85 | $49.95 |
| 6 Months | $227.70 | $37.95 |
| 12 Months | $335.40 | $27.95 |
Busy? Here Are The Key Points
- A hookup site with a vast array of features, from video chats to user-generated erotica.
- A fun, safe, sex-positive environment.
- A huge array of users spanning all ages, gender, sexualities, etc.
- Membership is of great value given the level of content.
Bumble
Best For: The young at heart who want to get into the swipe game.
Not For: Traditionalists.
The Lowdown
I have heard from several older people that Bumble is the only swipe-based app they can stand. And sorry about ‘older’, I know, 40 is not old. Forty-year-olds are literally millennials. But however you spin it, a lot of swipe-based apps are exhausting.
Bumble is a little different. You probably know that the app was built with the intention of giving women the upper hand; female users have to message first for a match to be confirmed.
This, of course, reduces male creepiness and empowers women to control their own dating choices. But over the years the team behind Bumble has added a whole host of features that keep all users far more safe, calm, and in control than comparable apps allow.
You can Snooze your Bumble account at any time, for example, by opting out of the swiping game and concentrating only on existing connections. You can also request that a connection takes a moment to photo verify themselves so you know that you are talking to a real person (the real person whose photos you have scrolled through, to be precise).
These are just a couple of the standouts, but overall Bumble is user-focused and calmer than most equivalent apps. If you want to get into swiping, it’s your best bet. As many older users agree!
Pricing
Bumble Boost
| Pricing | Upfront Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Week | $9.99 | $39.99 |
| 1 Month | $14.99 | $14.99 |
| 3 Months | $39.99 | $9.99 |
| 6 Months | $47.99 | $15.99 |
Bumble Premium
| Pricing | Upfront Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Week | $19.99 | $79.96 |
| 1 Month | $32.99 | $32.99 |
| 3 Months | $66.99 | $22.33 |
| Lifetime | $199.99 |
What You Get For Your Cash
It’s all very simple on Bumble. The site is eminently usable for free, with 25 likes per day for all free users and unlimited free messaging. Bumble Boost gets you unlimited likes plus a backtrack button and a few ‘super swipes’ – basically right swipes on steroids to show you REALLY like another user.
Premium, the more expensive paid membership option on Bumble, will net you all that plus Beeline, a feed that shows you only users who have already liked you, and Travel Mode, so you can plan dates in new-to-you cities before you even arrive.
This is one of the few dating sites where the various membership levels really are basic, a bit better than basic, and premium. You can get buy on any of them, making this a good site for beginners in dating who aren’t ready to commit to a subscription or anyone who doesn’t have the cash to spare.
Busy? Here Are The Key Points
- Tinder’s woke sister.
- A swiping app, just like the kids are into.
- This app has a little more substance than the others, with plenty of features to enhance mental well-being while online dating.
- Totally usable for free, but with two paid options with extra features.
Match
Best For: Daters who want the balance between modern online dating and traditional getting to know one another.
Not For: Anyone looking for no more than a wham bam thank you, mam.
The Lowdown
Match is a great middle ground. Though, as with all middle grounds, being in the middle means there are a few things to be desired at either end! Match is another veteran dating site. It was launched in 1995, and apart from a brief period in the wilderness in the mid-2010s (yeah, just after Tinder and crew hit the scene), it has been going strong ever since its inception.
Match is available worldwide and has an incredibly impressive 38 million monthly users. It has always been a slightly cheeky dating site, with an attitude all of its own, and that has helped it survive over the years.
Now, as online daters swing back to looking for serious relationships rather than just hookups, Match is once again coming into its own.
Users range in age from early 20s to 50s, making this one of the most catch-all serious dating sites in the game. Match is incredibly in-depth in the questions it asks of you, in finding out your preferences, and in what it shows you of others.
You can upload an unprecedented 26 photos to the site, for example, which is far more than anywhere else allows! Match is modern and fun, but it does ask you to really invest in your dating life, in turn showing you pretty much as possible to know from an online profile about your potential dates.
If you’re one for details, Match is an excellent choice of dating site for you!
Pricing
| Pricing | Upfront Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ||
| 3 Months | $77.97 | $25.99 |
| 6 Months | $137.94 | $22.99 |
| 12 Months | $239.88 | $19.99 |
What You Get For Your Cash
Match is bang in the middle in terms of usability as a non-paying member, as you would expect from the site. You can message users you have matched with on Match.com without paying, but if you sign up for a subscription you can message any user you like.
You can also attend Match events as a paying user, which is a draw for many, especially people who think that there’s no substitute for meeting people face to face before you make a decision on whether or not they’re a good choice for a date!
Again, Match is usable without a subscription, but it’s also reasonably priced and, as with many of these sites, worth the money if you can spare it!
Busy? Here Are The Key Points
- Match.com has been around for 25 years and has always been a favorite with serious daters.
- Reasonably priced, but usable without a subscription.
- A wide range of users in terms of age and preferences.
- Match events are a big draw – these IRL events are a chance to meet other singles face-to-face in various cities worldwide.
