5 Best Free Dating Sites of 2019

Using a free dating site to form romantic relationships and make new friends online is a hugely popular activity. However, finding the best dating site of 2019 can be difficult because of the sheer number of options there are out there.

This is the list of dating sites for you if you want to cast the widest net to meet the most people possible from various locations and backgrounds. The alternative would be to use a not-so-normal dating site to find really specific dates.

Below is a collection of the best free online dating websites that deliver a consistently balanced experience for anyone who's looking for connections with like-minded people.

Online Dating Tips You Should Know

These websites are supported by ads because there aren't membership fees, but please know that not all of the ads are considered family-friendly. Please use caution when visiting these online dating services.

There are also online dating apps if you prefer to match with people from your phone or tablet. All of the dating sites in this list are also available via an app.

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OkCupid

What We Like

Find matches that fit your personality and desires.
Shows a match percentage for easy swiping.
Send messages to anyone you 'like.'

What We Don't Like

Long signup process.
Can't send videos through chat.
Payment required to see who likes you and to send unlimited 'likes.'

One option you have for a free dating site is OkCupid. What sets this dating service apart from most others is that you're matched up with people via a mandatory personality test.

During the test, you're asked various questions such as whether you're carefree or intense, if politics is important to you, how you feel about dating someone with debt, etc. You're then asked to choose an answer for your ideal person. During these questions, you can mark them as important or irrelevant so that the matching algorithm favors people who answered in the way you're wanting them to.

Like most dating websites, you're taken through a setup wizard after signing up, which involves not only the personality test but also adding images, introducing yourself, deciding who and what you're looking for, and more. Once your account has been made, there are additional profile questions you can answer for viewers to get an in-depth look at what you stand for.

As you click through matches, you can see a simple percentage that indicates how well you might work together based on the personality test. You can even see which answers you agreed and disagreed on before matching.

Here are some other useful features you'll get with this free dating site:

Super advanced search tool
Sort matches by match percentage, online status, or distance from you
View the people you've liked, even if they haven't liked you back
Add your Instagram feed to your profile
Use the dating site from your phone with the OkCupid mobile app

Visit OkCupid

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Bumble

What We Like

Clean, ad-free design.
Controls spam through auto-expiring messages.
Fast signup process.
Includes a payment option to stand out.

What We Don't Like

Doesn't feel as interactive as some dating sites.
No personality matching options; mainly location-based.

How to Use Bumble

Bumble is an interesting free dating site because unlike some of these where you can message someone at any time, this one requires the woman to initiate the conversation before the man can say something (if you're matching with the opposite gender), else the match expires.

In your profile settings are a few parameters you can set such as the gender you're interested in, an age range, distance to look for matches from where you are, and filters. You can choose two filters so that your potential dates must match up with whatever you choose, such as that they exercise often, never smoke, are non-religious, are of a certain height, etc.

After matching with someone, you can exchange text, pictures, and GIFs.

Bumble also lets you:

Snooze your account to hide from Bumble without losing your matches or closing your account. You can un-snooze at any time
Find friends and business opportunities through the two other areas of the site: bumblebff and bumblebizz
Use the dating website from the Bumble app

Visit Bumble

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Tinder

What We Like

Simple and straightforward.
The experience feels more immediate.
Two premium options if you want more features.

What We Don't Like

Has a reputation as a hookup site rather than a dating site.
Based mainly on appearance, which has sparked controversy.
No pre-made questions to answer for a fuller profile.

What Is Tinder? Should You Try It?

Tinder is a location-based dating site, and it's extremely popular. It popularized the "swipe right" idea where you match or ignore people with a swipe motion. If you're using Tinder from a computer, the right arrow is the same as swiping to the right.

Unlike some dating sites that seem to find a few matches and then force you to wait for days for new users, you'll likely find other people on this site no matter where you live.

Matches can be found anywhere from 1-100 miles from your location, and there's an app that lets you take Tinder with you wherever you go.

The Tinder dating site has some other features worth mentioning:

Set the age range anywhere from 18 to 55+
Message via text but also send songs, GIFs, and contact information
Hide yourself from Tinder if you're communicating with matches and don't want more right now

Visit Tinder

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Plenty of Fish

What We Like

Always fresh with new users.
Digs deep into understanding what you're like to help find valuable matches.
Lets you send messages to anyone.

What We Don't Like

Not ideal for quick signups; there are lots of initial questions.
Some really useful features are available only after you pay.
Stale website design.
Logs out and refuses signups seemingly randomly.

Plenty of Fish is one of the world's largest dating sites. It advertises that tens of thousands of people sign up every single day, and there are consistently hundreds of thousands of users online at any given time.

Right after you register, you've asked lots of really specific questions about yourself, which is great for finding matches, but not so great if you just want to sign up and start meeting people right away.

The Plenty of Fish free dating site also lets you:

See a list of "Will Respond" matches for people who are more likely to respond
Define several parameters when searching for people
View everyone who's online
Find matches and interact with people from the mobile app

Visit Plenty of Fish

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Meetup

What We Like

Easy joining process.
Fosters matches based on mutual interests.
Hundreds of thousands of groups available in more than 45,000 cities worldwide.

What We Don't Like

Group organizers must pay a nominal monthly fee.
Not geared specifically to online dating.

If you're not a fan of the idea that you need to go out on a date right at the start of a relationship, consider using Meetup to find friends first.

This site isn't your typical dating service because it doesn't revolve around finding people to go out with like Tinder and these other websites do. However, it's a fantastic way to find people who are interested in the same things you are, from mountain climbing to book-of-the-month clubs, language learning, and everything in between.

There are groups gathering in your area for virtually any interest you can think of, and many friendships and relationships spring out of these casual gatherings. You can even search for singles and hope that there's a group just for that.

The search tool on Meetup lets you pick any city to find Meetup groups anywhere from 2 miles away to any distance.

The Meetup mobile app makes using this website even easier.

Visit Meetup.com