Follow this flow chart to see what online dating method is right for you.
Credit: Metro
Match.com, eHarmony and OKCupid are the OGs when it comes to online dating: The three sites require users to fill out lengthy questionnaires for their profiles and are geared toward people who are willing to put in time to either sift through or write (hopefully thoughtful) messages. Now, the market is flooded with sites and apps that meet the needs of your short attention span. With a huge crop of up-and-coming apps and sites, how do you know which one is right for you? Check our flowchart to find your ideal matchmaker.
Coffee Meets Bagel: Men will have plenty of options on this female-heavy site: Sixty percent of users are women. This free site gives you just one match a day, usually a friend of a Facebook friend, which makes it a great option for busy people who don’t have time to sift through profiles. The app targets educated millennials: One third of users boast higher education and 71 percent of users are in their 20s and 26 percent are in their 30s. One drawback: If you don’t live in Manhattan, you may not get as much love. Most of the members are based in Manhattan and overwhelmingly prefer users from Manhattan.
Another fun fact? Judaism is the most represented religion on Coffee Meets Bagel. Twenty-two percent of members identify as Jewish, followed closely by Christians at 21 percent.
Are You Interested?: Free dating site Are You Interested? has a game-like quality to it, in that you are presented with infinite members and you can click “Yes” or “Skip” until you get bored. AYI has a wider spread in terms of age: In Manhattan, 35 percent of users are between 21 and 34, a whopping 26 percent of users are over 65, 19 percent are between 35 and 49 and 16 percent are under 21. Most AYI users in Manhattan are either Catholic or Christian.
Tinder: This free location-based app lets users see photos of people nearby and swipe left for “nope” or swipe right for “like.” If you both like each other, you can start chatting. Tinder will use Facebook to show you if you have mutual friends, but it does not exclusively show you friends of friends. The average Tinder user is between the ages of 18 and 24 in New York, and the male to female ratio is 55 to 45.
Hinge: Hinge lies somewhere between Coffee Meets Bagel and Tinder in concept. It provides users with five to about a dozen matches or more a day and chooses from friends of friends on Facebook. The majority of users live in Manhattan and almost 80 percent of Hinge members are in their 20s.
Grouper: Grouper bills itself as a social club, not a dating service, but it’s an easy way to meet members of the opposite sex while hanging out with two of your buddies. It sets you and two friends up on a blind meeting with three members of the opposite sex and costs $20 per person, which includes one round of drinks. Grouper is good if you’re unsure about online dating and want to meet people in a more casual setting.
Tawkify: Tawkify will set you up on a blind date (matchmakers will choose someone they think is a fit) in which you can either talk to your match on the phone, go for a walk with them or go on a mystery date. You can join for a pricey membership that includes extra special attention and other perks, or you can pay per date.
