Whether you’re looking to find love or something less serious, do you know what your options are for dating apps? We’re aware that it can be difficult to meet people from the LGBTQIA+ community which is exactly why we’re going to share our recommendations for the best dating apps!
How can I meet & date people from the LGBTQIA+ community?
Technically, it’s possible to meet queer friends and dates almost anywhere but dating online has become the leading method to meet new people. Not only do you have the possibility to filter for things such as distance, sexuality, gender, and even possibly interests, but you can meet many more people online at once compared to in person.
Even though this article is about dating sites and apps, where else can you look to meet someone from the LGBTQIA+ community? This of course can depend on your own hobbies and interests, but we’ll share some ideas below.
- Social media apps such as Instagram
- LGBTQIA+ clubs or groups at school
- Local events
- Gay or LGBTQIA+ bars
These are only a few ideas and you can certainly meet more people elsewhere. The best advice is to find out what local events are happening in your area. Some places to check for events include Facebook and the app called Meetup.
The best LGBTQIA+ dating sites
Are you looking for a dating site or app to try but aren’t sure where to start? You’ve come to the right place! Below, we offer some of our suggestions that are categorized by your sexuality and gender identity. All of our suggestions have a free membership option.
Gay
Grindr is the oldest and most popular dating app for gay men. Grindr has recently updated itself to include other members of the LGBTQ+ community, but it’s originally and mainly used by gay men.
One thing to keep in mind is that many members use the app to look for hookups, so it’s a good idea to include if you’re looking for something long-term in your profile.
Grindr allows users to message anyone for free and also send “taps” to let a user know that you’re interested in them. However, because it allows anyone to send a message, there are possible issues of spamming and harassment, but there’s a feature to report and block users.
Lesbian
HER is one of the top dating apps for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. An interesting feature of this app is beyond being a dating app, it also includes LGBTQ+ news and lets you know if there are any local events happening in your area.
One thing to keep in mind is that you need either a Facebook or Instagram account to make a profile on HER.
All of the core features on HER are free, but it also has a premium upgrade that allows you to do things such as see who’s online and filter users by sexuality and gender identity.
Trans & non-binary
OkCupid and Taimi are a few of the best apps for transgender and non-binary people. OkCupid is credited with being the first dating app to allow users to set your gender identity and sexual orientation, so it’s one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly apps out there.
Not a lot of people have heard about Taimi, but it’s an all-inclusive LGBTQ+ dating app that also has a community feature that allows you to join groups based on your personal interests or identities. Besides swiping on potential matches, you can also find groups that you’re interested in and interact with those.
Bisexual
Bumble is a great dating app for bisexual people, especially bisexual women. Bumble is originally designed to allow the woman to be able to message their match first, but in a same-sex match, either person can send the first message.
Anyone from any sexuality and gender identity can use Bumble, but queer women have the extra advantage of both sides being able to message each other.
General
OkCupid and Tinder are great general choices if you’ve tried other suggestions on this list. As mentioned earlier, OkCupid has a long history of accepting the LGBTQ+ community as a whole and giving you many options to choose from to help display your authentic self on your profile.
Tinder of course isn’t exclusively for the LGBTQ+ community, but we’ve suggested it because of their large userbase. With the number of people that use Tinder daily, there’s a high chance that you could find a date!
Closeted people
Lex is great for closeted people who want to date as it doesn’t use profile pictures like most other online dating sites. It describes itself as being an older-fashioned dating app that focuses more on the personal information that you fill out on your profile, rather than having people swipe on you for your looks.
For a closeted person, there is a concern that someone could recognize you on dating apps, which is why an app like Lex may be a good choice for you.
What makes a good queer dating service?
The main thing that makes a great dating website or app for LGBTQIA+ people is how inclusive it is. At a minimum, it should have an option to choose or type in your pronouns, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
It’s not required, but it helps a lot when an app is more catered towards the queer community as it helps to provide a safe space for its users. An app like Tinder that’s used by many people around the world has the potential for LGBTQIA+ people to experience bullying and harassment by people they thought they were matching with.
Whether or not a general dating app is specifically catered to the queer community, it’s important for the site or app to have policies in place to deal with harassment and bullying so that problematic users can be removed.
Pros & cons of free dating apps
Now, let’s break down some of the pros and cons of using the free membership options on dating apps.
Pros:
- It’s free to use!
- Many apps allow you to use a lot of the main features for free.
- Large userbase apps such as Tinder also allow you to join for free, helping you have access to more people.
- You can often completely personalize your profile on dating apps for free.
Cons:
- There are usually paywalls to access premium features on dating apps such as being able to filter users or being able to see who has liked you.
- Depending on your budget, paying for premium features every month can be costly. Often the premium features on dating apps are over $10 per month.
- You may be faced with internal ads or notifications to try to get you to subscribe to the premium features.
