The 8 Best Dating Sites and Apps for People Over 40

Best Small Dating Site: Love Again

LoveAgain is a solid alternative to many larger dating sites for those looking for a different ocean to cast their net in. Creating a new account is very fast and only requires answering a few basic questions and an email confirmation before you can dive in.

Searching for a potential partner on LoveAgain is simple and intuitive to navigate, with options to refine a search by distance and age made readily available. Impressively, LoveAgain allows users to add a filter for bisexual people, which is rarely seen on these dating sites, typically assuming that everyone is either straight or gay.

The lack of an iOS or Android app is a bit of a disappointment, so you’ll need to use the official LoveAgain website for your browsing and messaging.

Most Stylish Dating App For Singles Over 40: Hinge

Hinge genuinely feels like the beginning of the next generation of free dating sites for any age group. Its striking visual design bears more resemblance to Instagram and TikTok than its rivals' early-2000s social network vibe.

User profiles on Hinge contain all of the usual information one would expect in a dating app. However, all of it’s presented in such a way that encourages more exploration of a profile, subsequently exposing you to images, videos, and text you probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

This modern design aesthetic means viewing a profile can take longer than on apps like Tinder, which encourages super-fast liking or disliking, but the experience feels more rewarding.

Communicating with other users on Hinge is completely free. However, you can sign up for a premium subscription for more advanced search filters and the ability to see everyone who likes you instead of just a select few. Monthly payments for this premium membership begin at around $10 per month.

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Best Dating App For Professionals 40 and Over: Bumble

Bumble is a popular matching service launched in 2014 and has well over 55 million users worldwide. What sets Bumble apart from the other dating apps and services on this list is its three individual modes allowing people to begin searches for friends, business contacts, or potential romantic interests. This approach keeps inappropriate messages out of those conversations meant for socializing and work, but it also seems to attract more mature and professional orientated individuals to the dating searches. This is a massive boon for those dating over 50 or 40 and looking for someone who has their life together or is motivated to do so.

While Bumble does have a large userbase, it can still be straightforward to swipe through all of the search results if you’re using it in a rural area or are searching for someone of the same sex. One of the most popular dating sites for older people, Lumen, shut down in late-2020 and merged with Bumble. This closure likely boosted the number of people using Bumble somewhat.

However, the volume of search results is still low compared to those seen on Tinder and other dating sites. Another minus is the temporary nature of matches and messages on Bumble, which can expire within 24 hours unless you pay for Bumble Boost. This mechanic is meant to encourage users to respond to matches quickly, but it can be frustrating if you don’t have time due to work or social obligations and lose the ability to talk to someone you really liked.

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Best Dating Site For Over 50s: OurTime

OurTime is a spin-off of Match dedicated solely to matchmaking for singles over the age of 50. Every user must be over this age; those younger are redirected back to Match during the signup process. This singular vision for OurTime makes it a great place for those over 50 who know they want to be in a relationship with someone else around the same age. However, it limits options for those who don’t mind dating people in a slightly younger demographic, such as the 40s.

Signing up for OurTime is fairly straightforward and only takes around 10 minutes. Unfortunately, there are no apps for smartphones and tablets, so you’ll need to do all of the setup and searching on a computer.

Something else to watch out for is the monthly premium subscription required if you want to message someone you’re interested in. OurTime is free to use, but you’ll need to pay if you actually want to make a connection.

Dating App For 40+ Single Parents: Plenty of Fish

Founded in 2004, Plenty of Fish, or POF for short, is one of the oldest dating services online and boasts over 4 million active daily users. While Plenty of Fish is open to adults in all age brackets, its modern iteration clearly targets mature singles over the ages of 40 and 50 with detailed profile questions relating to past relationships, kids, income, and family specifically designed to make dating as an adult (with experience) easier.

Unfortunately, Plenty of Fish’s age does show with its design, which seems to negate any dating preferences chosen during the account setup process and often results in people from outside your preferred age bracket, or even gender preference, showing up in your search results and matches. Random profiles showing up in search results also happens on other dating apps, but the problem seems to be much bigger.

Despite these flaws, the sheer volume of singles on Plenty of Fish does guarantee at least some matches very quickly, so it can be worth checking out if you’re struggling to find a match on other dating sites.

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Most Trustworthy Dating Site: Zoosk

Zoosk is a popular dating service with a strong presence in over 80 countries. It features all of the usual search features as many of its rivals. Still, it manages to set itself apart by emphasizing account verification, which is incredibly important in this age of online dating scams.

Users on Zoosk can verify their account with their phone number and Facebook account. They can also apply to verify their profile photo, which is done by emailing a selfie video to the site admins. The one major downside of Zoosk is its private messaging feature, which requires a paid membership of around $25 per month to send and read texts.

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Most Active Dating Site and App: Tinder

Tinder is one of the more popular dating services due to its ease of use and GPS functionality, which allows you to match with others in your area. Signing up for an account only takes a minute or two and can be done using either a traditional username and password or by logging in with a Facebook account.

Tinder’s layout is incredibly streamlined, and it’s effortless to adjust your settings so that you’ll only be shown other users who match your preferences.

Tinder’s popularity means you’re bound to be shown many other users regardless of where you’re located and how specific your requirements are. There are some limitations on free accounts but, unlike other dating services, these restrictions don’t get in the way too much for the average user. Such limits include being limited to around 50 likes every 12 hours and inability to change location without signing up for a premium service.

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