In this article, we will be taking a look at 15 free dating sites in USA. To skip our detailed analysis of online dating websites and their popularity, you can go directly to see the 5 Free Dating Sites in USA Without Payment: 2023 List.
Online Dating Industry: An Analysis
Online dating is a phenomenon that has long prevailed on the internet, with more people becoming interested in the idea each year. With social media and the internet making it possible for people to bridge barriers and interact with others all across the globe, online dating has steadily gained popularity. Additionally, with the world rapidly becoming more career-oriented, a glaring reality is becoming more evident: people barely have the time to meet like-minded others and develop lasting relationships with them. As a result, most young and ambitious people busy with professional lifestyles have also begun adding to the user base of various online dating websites.
The result of the above trend is that major dating website managers like Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL), Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH), and even Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) — after the introduction of Facebook Dating — have begun profiting even more than before. According to a Wall Street Journal article published in July, analysts unsurprisingly expected companies like Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL) and Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) to generate over $4 billion in revenues for the financial year of 2022.
In many ways, analysts were right to expect dating website companies to turn a profit in 2022, as seen by the performance of Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL) in the fourth quarter. The company generated revenues of about $241.63 million in that quarter, beating analyst estimates by $5.73 million and demonstrating a year-over-year increase of 16.04%. Shares of the company have also been performing well, posting year-to-date gains of about 18.3% as of March 1. Such performance is undoubtedly aided by the ever-growing interest in, and popularity of, online dating.
With more single people across the globe looking for a quick way to find lasting relationships in light of unrelenting professional lives, it is understandable that this trend is becoming more popular. At the same time, there is a sense of unease associated with online dating because users may be worried about not finding the right matches without real-life interactions. It is because of this sense of unease that many dating applications and websites offer their services to users for free, showing them all that is possible with a dating profile on a reputable and popular website. On our part, we have compiled below a list of these free dating websites available for Americans.
Source: AdobeStock
Let's now take a look at the 15 free dating sites in USA.
Our Methodology
To select websites for our list below, we have used SimilarWeb to screen free dating websites based on their monthly visits. This shows us the relative popularity of these websites, and we have thus used this data to rank them on the basis of each site's monthly visits as of January 2023. They are ranked from the lowest monthly visits to the highest visits. Several of these websites are categorized as "freemium" websites since they offer basic features for free while requiring payment for more advanced features.
Free Dating Sites in USA Without Payment: 2023 List
15. PlentyOfFish
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 246,900
PlentyOfFish is an American dating website with about 50 employees. The website have over 150 million members in 20 countries, offering users a diverse pool of dating partners to choose from.
The website offers free dating services, but it also has a premium version. Premium membership can cost about $10 per month for 12 months. However, the website is still attractive because, in its free services, it offers instant messaging to all members. The only limitation placed is that members can only send 55 first messages per day to prevent spamming. PlentyOfFish also runs a free-for-all chat room for its members, where people can discuss virtually anything.
PlentyOfFish, like Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL), Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), is a dating website offering a diverse pool of dating partners to all its members for free.
14. Hinge
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 802,100
Hinge is a dating website with headquarters in New York and about 200 employees. So far, it's only available on phones, not laptops or computers. The website is well known for helping dating aspirants find serious relationships.
The tagline used by Hinge is "designed to be deleted." This signifies the website's confidence in its ability to help users find lasting matches, so they have no use for it anymore. The website offers unique ways to share information between users, such as its introduction of biographical categories labeled "virtues, vitals, and vices." Such categories enable users to share their basic information in an interesting and engaging way, all for free. While the website can be used for free, paying for the $30 subscription gives users access to advanced features such as unlimited likes and advanced filters.
13. ChristianMingle
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 1.1 million
ChristianMingle is a California-based dating website with about 50 employees.
The website has been offering its services online for over 20 years, during which it has managed to strengthen Christian relationships by giving them an essential platform where they can meet. The website is available to everyone for free, and it doesn't even restrict access to Christians alone.
12. Silver Singles
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 1.2 million
Silver Singles is a dating website with headquarters in Utah. The company running the site has about 50 employees. The website primarily caters to older people and is among the best dating websites for singles over 50.
To register on Silver Singles, you only have to provide your email, after which you can access the website and all it has to offer for free. The match system on this website allows users to search for partners by screening for their age, location, height, education, ethnicity, and religion.
11. Elite Singles
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 1.4 million
Elite Singles is a Delaware-based website with about 500 employees. It offers a free standard membership that does not expire and targets busy, single professionals looking for partners.
Professionals in various industries and sectors who don't have the time or energy to actively date are attracted to this website because it can help them find lifelong partners on an equal footing. Over 80% of the website's users have at least a Bachelor's degree. Elite Singles attempts to unite these individuals by screening for people whose lifestyles would match.
10. Grindr
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 1.8 million
Grindr is a dating website primarily targeting gay or bisexual users. Its headquarters are in California, and it has about 500 employees.
Like Tinder, Grindr matches singles based on their location. To match with someone, you can swipe right on their profile as it shows up on your device. The website offers its services for free, giving users full freedom to edit their profiles, swipe on matches, and chat with others as much as they want.
9. BlackPeopleMeet
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 2.3 million
BlackPeopleMeet is a dating website that targets black and biracial singles. It is based in Arizona and has about 200 employees.
The website allows users to search for partners using location, age, religion, and other filters. BlackPeopleMeet offers its most important features for free. These include the registration feature, the view profile feature, the receiving daily matches feature, and communication features through chat, and more.
8. eHarmony
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 5 million
eHarmony is a dating website with headquarters in California. It has about 200 employees.
Like ChristianMingle, eHarmony is another dating website that targets Christian singles primarily. As a result, most users on this website are looking for a long-term commitment with people who have Christian values and lifestyles. The website offers all its features for free, including its 32 Dimensions of Compatibility Quiz. This quiz makes users aware of their own, and each other's, unique personality traits that can help them gauge their compatibility with other users more accurately.
7. OurTime
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 5.5 million
OurTime is a dating website based in Texas. It has about 200 employees.
The website is a sister site of Match and has become a leading dating site since its launch in 1999. The features offered on OurTime are mostly free, and it has an incredibly simplified user interface making it easier to handle for all users. Typically, the user base for OurTime is made up of 50-year-olds and above, making a simple user interface a necessary quality.
6. Zoosk
Visits Per Month as of January 2023: 10.6 million
Zoosk is a Utah-based dating website. It has about 200 employees.
The website was among the first to offer social media integration, which means that it allows users to integrate their information and images from other social media platforms, like Facebook, with their Zoosk profile. The website also allows users to set their preferred distances for matches. It offers most of its services and features for free, apart from advanced features like having your dating profile highlighted.
Zoosk, like Bumble Inc. (NASDAQ:BMBL), Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH), and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), is a highly popular dating website among singles today.