When we say “dating app,” what do you think of? The first app that likely comes to mind is Tinder. Tinder first launched in 2012 and since then, it has truly changed the way that we date. Tinder normalized “online” dating. It brought “The Swipe” to our lives. And it made dating fun again. Tinder is a dating app, of course, but it is also fun. The app comes out at bars in big groups of friends who can’t wait to help each other select who might be the next person you end up dating.

Tinder is a dating app, of course, but it is also fun. The app comes out at bars in big groups of friends who can’t wait to help each other select who might be the next person you end up dating. But Tinder is clearly not the only dating app out there, and it is certainly not for everyone. MUST READ: 10 Best Dating Websites Like Tinder For Dates or Hookups. Tinder Alternatives for Relationships. While people in the online dating environment may seem like they are primarily focused on casual hook-ups, there are really a lot of cases when people find true love and long-term partners online. Eharmony is a longstanding site that is similar to Tinder in so far as it has built a solid reputation for reliability. But it prides itself on its dedication to matching site members based on compatibility through in-depth questionnaires rather than anything as superficial as swiping one way or the other. OurTime (Best Sites Like Tinder). With Tinder, the world’s most popular free dating app, you have millions of other single people at your fingertips and they’re all ready to meet someone like you. Whether you’re straight or in the LGBTQIA community, Tinder’s here to bring you all the sparks.

But Tinder is clearly not the only dating app out there, and it is certainly not for everyone. If you’re just not that into Tinder, or if you like to keep your options open, here are some other dating apps you should look into.

Coffee Meets Bagel
Coffee Meets Bagel is an app that relies heavily on the woman’s choice. If you’re a woman using the app to meet men, you will only see suggestions from men who have already expressed an interest in you. One of the app’s slogans is, “Ladies, choose from guys who already liked you!” Basically, guys receive up to 21 matches a day, who they either like or pass on. Then women receive a select number of curated matched from the collection of the men who expressed interest in them that day. So if you’re a straight woman who doesn’t like to wonder whether or not a guy is interested, Coffee Meets Bagel may be up your alley.

MissTravel
Are you passionate about travel? The aptly titled dating app “MissTravel” is perfect for you. When you match with someone, you can immediately start making travel plans, rather than planning to meet at a bar or a restaurant. MissTravel doesn’t use GPS like most other apps, so you can reach out to anybody, anywhere. This app is super specific and may be best for someone who is out and about in a new location.

Bumble
Bumble is one of the more well-known dating apps for a few reasons. First off, men aren’t allowed to reach out to women first, which puts the ball in the woman’s court and helps alleviate unwanted contact from strangers on the app. If you’re a woman and you’d like to chat with a man, you have to take the first step. (In same-sex matches, either person is encouraged to make the first move.) And if you’re interested in connecting with people for more than just dating, Bumble has branched out into other areas as well. Bumble also has a feature for making friends (called Bumble BFF) if you’d just like to meet people in your neighborhood rather than date them and a feature for making business connections (called Bumble Bizz) for person-to-person networking.

OkCupid
OkCupid, or as people familiar with the app call it, “OKC” was actually launched before Tinder. But to keep up with the times, OkCupid launched an app (rather than just a desktop version) and is now one of the most popular ways to online date. OkCupid works on the premise that you can refine your search based on interests and passions and offers a lot more options for people in terms of gender identity (including bigender, hijra, interxes, non-binary, two spirit, and more) and connections you’re open to (including hookups, new friends, long-term dating, and even non-monogamy). If you’ are more into searching for people based on interests and passions, or need more gender and relationship choices you can’t filter by on Tinder interests, passions, hobbies, and the like, OkCupid is a great alternative. You aren’t swiping based solely on looks with OKC. Warning: many of their features are available only to people who pay for the service.

Hinge
Hinge is another app that’s been steadily making a name for itself. It started as an app that connected you to friends of friends using your Facebook profile and then they revamped their look, and their style, to be the anti-Tinder relationship app. That means, no more swiping. Instead, Hinge has a steam of profiles that you scroll down through before saying no. The profiles have a different style too—they use photos and short questions you can like and comment on.

Zoe and Grindr
Grindr is one of the most well-known non-Tinder dating apps, but it is exclusively for LGBTQIA men or people who identify as men. Zoe is the same idea, but for women, and people who identify as women. If you don’t consider yourself straight, check out these apps for a much more fine-tuned selection of people and features.

Skout
This app is all about friendship—well, mostly. The app is similar to Tinder in that you can say “yay” or “nay” on certain profiles, but Skout is all about relationships and not just attraction. Skout claims that they are “all about preserving the magic of unexpected meetings.” They promote the idea of friendships and romance. Check it out if you’re bored by Tinder.

Happn
Originally started in France, Happn is a dating app founded on the idea of missed connections. (Yes, just like Craigslist.) It tracks your location and sends you matches based on where you’ve been but doesn’t disclose the exact place you’ve passed by. It’s a great way to get to know people in your area and has some fun extra features that let you send songs of voice messages to each other.

Dating is hard, but it can also be a blast. With the rise of dating apps in the past few years, it has certainly made dating seem easier, or at least more accessible. If you’re interested in trying out some non-Tinder dating apps, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

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The magnetic pull of dating app addiction seems to have sucked unsuspecting Millennials in faster than you can say 'let's hook up.' When you live in a huge metropolitan area like LA, Chicago, or NYC, it might seem that, despite being surrounded by people, it's impossible to actually meet someone that you could see yourself dating. Enter: the vast array of online dating options, including Tinder, which might be one of the best dating apps and is definitely the most popular. If I'm feeling particularly salty about the IRL pool of suitors, I'm comforted by the fact that I could swipe through Tinder until my fingers bleed and still not run out of potential friends/lovers/boyfs. (If you live in a less populated city, this may not hold true, but it still beats hanging out at the same dive bar hoping a sexy stranger will sweep you off your feet, right?)

We've all been that person who's standing in the corner of the bar on a Friday night fiendishly swiping left and right — whether it's because we're bored, drunk, or lonely is irrelevant. Even if you're surrounded by people, thanks to dating apps, there's now the undeniable feeling that you could be missing out on someone better who's only a few subway stops away. While that may create a culture that's never satisfied, it nevertheless has its benefits: Namely, you're never out of options.

Whether you're mind-numbingly bored, want to expand your current dating pool, or simply want to add yet another dating app to your repertoire, there are seemingly endless apps to choose from. Check out my top 5 dating app picks and feel free to text Tinder to say you're just not feeling it anymore. If you get overwhelmed and have to go crawling back to Tinder, don't worry — it will always be there for you.

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1. Bumble

Other Dating Sites Like Tinder

This app made by women, for women aims to give ladies control over their virtual dating lives. It's basically feminist Tinder: Men are not allowed to message first, leaving it up to the girls to start off the conversation however they see fit. If the lady doesn't start a convo with a match within 24 hours, the chat disappears forever, providing an incentive to actually make connections with people rather than just playing the 'who'll make the first move' waiting game. While it's true (and great) that many women may already feel empowered enough to send the first message, Bumble is a fun Tinder alternative for girls who are on the shy side. Plus it's never a bad thing to remind women that they're in control of their own bodies, despite what many gross trolls would have them believe.

2. Happn

This app could basically be renamed 'Stalkr,' but that doesn't stop it from being a personal favorite of mine. By turning on your location services, the app shows you people you've 'crossed paths with,' within one city-block. Then, like Tinder, you can 'like' someone which opens up the option to chat. So next time you're on the subway and are too scared to actually approach a Ryan Gosling lookalike, download Happn and pray to the Sex Gods that he has the app, too. Bonus: Spotify teamed up with Happn to let you send songs to potential dates, so you can send a girl or guy a not-so-subtle hint by messaging them 'Pony' by Ginuwine in lieu of a cheesy pickup line.

3. Coffee Meets Bagel

Other Dating Sites Like Tinder

CMB functions a little differently than Tinder: You get only one match — called a 'bagel' — a day, every day at noon (it sends you a push notification to let you know when it's ready). Then you can either 'accept' or 'pass' on this person; if you both accept, then a chat line opens up and stays active for a week. The lack of endless matches is both a positive and a negative — it's not as overwhelming as Tinder, but there's also not the possibility for limitless hours of swiping entertainment. However, you can earn or purchase 'coffee beans' that you can use to unlock more matches if you so desire. One more awesome thing: If you 'pass' on a person, it will ask you why — presumably to make your future matches better suited to you — and then offers you another 'free' bagel for the day (sometimes more than one if you continue to hit 'pass').

4. Hinge

Hinge uses your real-life network (and by 'real life' I mean Facebook) to find potential matches that aren't necessarily sketchy strangers. It hooks you up with friends of friends, so the people you're chatting with can be vouched for by people you trust. Like Tinder, your profile is built around your Facebook photos and interests, and then you can chat with someone once you've both 'liked' each other, but the similarities end there. Hinge provides only a 'select list' of matches rather than an endless amount, so the number of potential baes is more of a gentle stream than a roaring waterfall. Once you've run out of second- and third-degree connections, the app makes more 'tangential' connections, still trying to find you people based on your social networks. Even more good news: The app now calls out users who are already in relationships, putting their Facebook relationship status on the app so no one is deceived.

Other Dating Sites Like Tinder Page

5. OkCupid

Putting OkC on this list was inevitable, right? I don't think I need to explain it since it seems to be just as popular with Millennials as Tinder, but it is worth including since it has such a large network of people to choose from. If you're tired of simply swiping and want to procrastinate for hours by penning the world's wittiest dating profile and answering hundreds of match questions, OkCupid is perfect for you. Plus, reading typo-ridden messages and profiles is half the fun of OkCupid, so you can do that to kill time on the subway, even if the more serious 'soulmate search' isn't your cup of tea.Though all that can be rather time-consuming and is surely not for the everyman who just wants to hookup with someone new every weekend, OkC has other options as well. It has a Tinder-like feature called 'Quickmatch' where you can swipe through people nearby — if you both 'liked' each other, it lets you know (although you can chat with them either way, unlike on Tinder). I can't even tell you how much of my life has been spent staring blankly at the OkCupid app — trust me, I wouldn't steer you wrong.

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