Okay, so I’m not talking about the most patriotic, bald-eagle-boasting, red white, and blue dating apps. I’m not sure how I would compile that list, or what it would include.
Especially given that the USA stretches from tropics to jungles to great lakes and the Midwest!
Instead, I have compiled a list of all the most popular dating apps in the USA, trying to cover all possible bases.
So if you’re in the USA and trying to get into online dating, you’re bound to find a dating site or dating app on this list that suits you. I promise!
I cover everything from sites built for serious relationships, to hookup sites, to married dating.
And all of the sites on my best dating apps USA list are popular in the states, with a bunch of users to choose from whether you’re in Alabama or Wyoming!
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Zoosk
Click here to try to see my full review of Zoosk
Best For: The sweet spot between apps and old-fashioned dating sites.
Not For Anyone purely interested in swiping.
The Lowdown
When did actual desktop dating sites become old-fashioned? I don’t know, but they did, at least in the view of many zoomers and millennials.
But do you know what? Desktop dating sites serve a purpose!
And if you’re looking for a real relationship, or, you know, even just strapping on training wheels and starting to think about looking for a real relationship sometime soon, then you should probably think about hopping on an actual dating site.
Zoosk is a good place to start. Owned by the prolific and successful Spark Networks, Zoosk has gone from strength to strength recently after a few years out in the cold.
There’s a great mobile app that’s free to download, and there is enough of a Tinder-era vibe to Zoosk, including a matching game called Carousel, that it doesn’t feel like a dating site your parents might use.
That being said, you do have to pay for some of Zoosk’s features, and perhaps for that reason, it tends to attract a slightly more mature clientele than the swiping apps.
Basically, Zoosk is an easy way to graduate from the life of the swipe. It’s also the 4th most popular desktop dating site in the USA and boasts a whopping 40 million users worldwide, so why not give it a try?
I mean, if it’s good enough for those 40 million, who are you to turn up your nose at Zoosk?
Pricing
| Pricing | Upfront Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 1 Month | $29.99 | $29.99 |
| 3 Months | $59.99 | $19.99 |
| 6 Months | $74.99 | $12.49 |
What you get for your cash
The free version of Zoosk doesn’t allow you to send messages.
Obviously, that’s a pretty fundamental feature in a dating site, meaning that the free version of Zoosk is more of a taster than anything else.
The good news is if you go for more than a single month of Zoosk upgrading is pretty reasonably priced. As well as the ability to send unlimited messages to other users,
Zoosk premium gets you to access to the more casual chat feature, incognito mode, and Zoosk’s matching service SmartPicks.
Busy? Here are The Key Points
- Zoosk is a great halfway house for anyone outgrowing Tinder, but not ready for the expensive and completely serious dating apps.
- Users are looking for all sorts, from fun to marriage.
- Zoosk works great on desktop and on mobile, with an app for Android and iOS that feels clean, easy and modern just like the swiping apps you’re used to.
- With 40 million users worldwide, the dating pool is both deep and wide!
Eharmony
Click here to try eharmony for free
Best For: Finding the one
Not For Finding a one night stand
The Lowdown
Eharmony is regularly voted the best dating site in North America, and on top of that, it also has the best dating pool according to surveys.
If you’re a regular Dude Hack ready you’ll know that I am a big fan of eHarmony, but that it isn’t a site for everyone (more on that in my full eharmony review).
There’s no disguising the fact that eharmony is a bit pricey.
But the price point is elevated for a reason. This is a real matchmaking site and it uses psychology and personality analysis to encourage connections that will last.
To put it more simply, it’s not a site for casual dating and the eharmony approach to finding romance really works.
If you are ready to find love and in a position that means you can spend a bit of money conducting your search, then eharmony is about as close to a sure thing as you will find in the online dating world.
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
Although it’s probably the best dating site on the internet, eharmony is trying to pull some Jedi mind tricks with its pricing system!
Prices are very reasonable if you go for a year or more of premium (though with eharmony’s success rates, there’s a reasonable likelihood you’ll meet someone before six months is up!) and of course, Premium gets you access to eharmony’s top of the range psychological matching technology.
This is another dating site that isn’t really usable without paying for premium, but you can certainly make a profile and have a look around before you commit.
Why not have a gander and join the site using my Dude Hack link?
Busy? Here are The Key Points
- Eharmony is consistently voted the best serious dating site in the USA.
- Matches are based on psychology, so there is an in-depth questionnaire to fill out.
- It’s a little pricey, but that’s because it works. Plus, the price of entry keeps out time wasters.
- On eharmony, you’ll only find other daters who are serious about finding the one.
Coffee Meets Bagel
Click here to see my full review of Coffee Meets Bagel
Best For something like Tinder, but more exclusive
Not For: anyone afraid of apps, or anyone who wants a huge dating pool
The Lowdown
Coffee Meets Bagel has been a slow burn. It started up a few years just in New York City but has expanded to other US cities since.
That initial tight focus allowed Coffee Meets Bagel to grow in a different way from most dating apps, securing a fanbase in one major city before moving on.
It also created something all-important – buzz – so by the time Coffee Meets Bagel arrived in San Francisco and Chicago, daters were eager to try it out.
Being a slightly smaller app helps Coffee Meets Bagel to avoid the occasional PR disasters that hit the more omnipresent swiping apps, as well as allowing them to pivot very quickly to video dating through 2020 and 2021.
But apart from the business model, what’s special about Coffee Meets Bagel?
Basically, this app sends you suggested matches daily rather than allowing (or encouraging) endless swiping. There’s a lot of CmB terminology – matches, for some reason, are bagels? – but that’s beside the point.
The idea is that you’re still using a dating app, and there isn’t the pressure of a ‘real’ dating site like eHarmony, but there’s also not the time suck of being able to swipe until the cows come home.
Plus, most of CmB’s users are between 30 and 49 years of age, so it’s an app with an added level of maturity and, dare I say it, perhaps an added level of class too!
Pricing
| Pricing | Upfront Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ||
| 1 Month | $35 | $35 |
| 3 Months | $75 | $25 |
| 6 Months | $120 | $20 |
What you get for your cash
You can absolutely get by with the free version of the Coffee Meets Bagel app, including matching with your bagels and chatting with them.
The paid version offers additional features like unlimited ‘woos’ (likes), access to information on mutual friends you share with matches, and free ‘beans’, which are an in-app currency, and act to sort of gamify dating.
You earn beans even as a free user as long as you complete simple tasks like logging in for a certain number of days in a row.
These beans can then be used for things like sending a message to a match that can only be unlocked once they have taken a look at your profile, re-matching, or even finding out your CMB ranking.
All of that is fun enough, but not essential to finding a date.
Honestly, the one thing that can be a little off-putting about Coffee Meets Bagel is all the complicated additional features and silly coffee shop themes (or sometimes seemingly irrelevant) names for things.
Zone that out though, and you have a fun, usable dating app with an older user base than Tinder and more depth to boot!
Busy? Here are The Key Points
- Coffee Meets Bagel is a Tinder-style app without the swiping
- The user base is a little more mature than on Tinder, falling mostly between 30 and 49 years of age.
- Coffee Meets Bagel started in NYC and has spread to several other major US cities. The pool is smaller than on some apps, but that’s a good thing, it means it also stays higher quality.
Adult Friend Finder
Click here to try Adult Friend Finder for free
Best For hookups and online content
Not For finding someone to settle down with asap
The Lowdown
Adult Friend Finder is hands down, the best hookup site in the US. It’s also a treasure trove of user-generated content, from amateur video to erotic storytelling to a whole bunch of different groups and forums, there really is something for everyone on Adult Friend Finder.
Plus, if you don’t want to go out on dates immediately, there’s also the option of getting to know other users (and having a bit of fun) through text chat or video.
This is a really sex-positive site, and you can let whatever freak flag you might have in your back pocket fly if you so wish without judgment.
On the other hand, users vary from experienced kinksters to nervous newbies just looking for a little bit of excitement!
It’s overall really quite welcoming, and whether you’re after a steamy IRL affair, want to meet like-minded people for something rather specific, or just fancy looking at some private galleries, Adult Friend Finder is the place to find what you’re looking for!
The site itself feels slightly dated, after all, it has been around for a solid 25 years, but if you can look past that you’ll discover not only a great dating site but a great community!
Pricing
| Pricing | Total Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ||
| 1 Month | $39.95 | $39.95 |
| 3 Months | $80.85 | $26.95 |
| 12 Months | $239.40 | $19.95 |
What you get for your cash
You can access much of the content available on Adult Friend Finder without paying a cent, but as is often the case you do have to pay if you want to communicate in real-time with users who take your fancy.
If you’re a little nervous about being active on such a sex-positive, explicit dating site then feel free to join up and build your profile slowly, checking out the message boards, groups, erotic stories, and the profiles of other users before you take the leap yourself.
It’s a good idea to get comfortable enough before you commit to paying that you want a 3-month membership at least because a single month is priced rather steeply.
Busy? Here are The Key Points
- At 25 years young, Adult Friend Finder is a golden oldy. But it caters to everyone!
- This site is a treasure trove of (amateur) content, from private galleries to videos to good old-fashioned message boards, there’s something for everyone
- You can arrange real-life dates, or chat with members around the world and engage in online fun. It’s all about what you feel comfortable with.
Christian Mingle
Click here to try Christian Mingle for free
Best For finding someone serious, with faith in mind
Not For people who aren’t respectful of Christianity
The Lowdown
Christian Mingle is an incredibly successful dating site with an amazing 9 million members worldwide.
The site’s users are mostly aged 25-44, they tend to be looking for serious relationships, and yes, most of them, though not all, are some denomination of Christian.
Faith is obviously important on this dating site, it’s in the name after all, but more than that it’s about finding serious relationships for family-oriented singles who are ready to settle down!
Even if you’re not exactly an every Sunday churchgoer, Christian Mingle could be a great place to look for a partner.
The site itself is pretty simple, and it’s very quick and easy to sign up. You’ll get daily matches, meaning that the site isn’t a time suck, and it’s very clean and well-designed.
I did a full review on Christian Mingle here, in case you’re interested to learn more about this dating site.
Obviously, Christian Mingle isn’t a place to look for hookups, and I wouldn’t advise it if you have no interest in faith or belief in God, but if you are somewhat lapsed or relaxed about your Christianity, don’t rule out Christian Mingle based on its name alone!
After all, it is the most successful religious dating site in the US and one of the most successful serious dating sites in the USA period.
Pricing
| Pricing | Total Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ||
| 1 Month | $49.99 | $49.99 |
| 3 Months | $104.97 | $34.99 |
| 6 Months | $149.94 | $24.99 |
What you get for your cash
Christian Mingle’s structure is slightly confusing, because as a paid member you can send messages to anyone, including non-paying members, and they can message back.
That means if you are a non-paying member yourself, you can engage in conversation but you have to wait to be approached.
There is certainly an argument for holding back on paying for a membership and just making your profile and pictures as appealing as humanly possible, while also sending flirty ‘smiles’ to everyone you like, but it’s obviously far easier to get to know people if you pay for a membership.
This is especially true because profiles are reasonably minimal – this is a site that encourages getting to know one another beyond just profile scrolling.
Plus, there are options for one-day and one-week memberships, so you can fully try before you buy for as little as $2.99.
Of course, it’s helpful that the option of not spending money is there because we don’t all have the cash to splash on dating sites, even dating sites that are good value.
Plus, as a paid member of Christian Mingle you of course get more than just full messaging privileges. The main premium features apart from messaging are privacy-based – you can browse anonymously, hide from matches you don’t want to be seen by, and hide your online status.
If you’re worried about privacy online, or about being seen to be online dating, then these are great options to have.
Busy? Here are The Key Points
- The most successful Christian dating site in the USA, boasting millions of members
- Christian Mingle claims to be responsible for 30% of Christian Marriages between couples who met online.
- All denominations of Christianity are welcome, including nondenominational.
- Most users are looking for serious relationships or marriage, but some may be open to more casual dating.
