Does swiping through Tinder and Bumble leave you feeling overwhelmed or unsatisfied? You’re not alone. Niche or tailored dating apps have been popping up all over the place lately. These apps are where singles can expect all the other users to have some specific shared interest and/or lifestyle in almost any area you can imagine.
The goal of these niche dating apps is to more efficiently find partners and hookups whose passions or identities overlap closely with yours. Here are a 12 handpicked specialty dating apps we chose to jumpstart your 2022 into being the year of micro-focused love and exploring dating in new uncharted waters. You just might meet the love(s) of your life, or at least, have fun trying.
Coffee Meets Bagel
If the name “Coffee Meets Bagel” sounds familiar, it’s probably because you saw it on Shark Tank. Founded by sisters Soo, Dawoon, and Arum Kang, the ladies-first app wants to make sure that you actually see all your matches and feel secure with meet-ups. They pride themselves on “creating meaningful connections that spark hearts and inspire people to share themselves authentically and enthusiastically,” according to their website. They strive to deliver six matches who have already liked your profile every single day. After discovering that men were twice as active on dating apps than women were, the founders worked with women on what they actually wanted out of their time on dating apps—and the result is Coffee Meets Bagel!
Want to meet up for some coffee and bagels?
Cougar Life
Cougar Life is the platform for men looking to date older women—and for women interested in dating younger men, or “cubs” as they’re known. If that sounds intriguing, Cougar Life is probably worth checking out, whether you’re a “cougar” or “cub.” Cougar Life prides itself (see what we did there?) on waving away the idea of age as anything but a number. They uphold the belief that “our members know that fulfilling connections happen when both partners see eye to eye on the important things and communicate their needs honestly. Members on Cougar Life share openly about what they are truly looking for, whether it’s a fling, a casual date, or something more long term.”
Are you a cougar seeking cub? Or a cub seeking cougar?
Feeld
Feeld is an app for people who know what they want. It describes itself as a place to “meet open-minded couples and singles near you,” making it the number one app for unicorns and unicorn hunters, or those who want a more openly kink-friendly app experience. While that may sound pretty niche, there are plenty of profiles that the average dater or curious mind can appreciate. Knowing that all dating profiles are looking for easygoing, fun people to enjoy each other within a judgement-free zone means that you can skip over those awkward first few dates and early-sex convos, trying to find out where each of you stand. Instead, you can dive right into more open-minded sexual encounters. The added bonus is that if you end up with someone long-term, you’ll know that he or she is fully aware of your sexual and emotional interests right from the start!
Ready for some open minded fun?
Veggie Date
Veggie Date is a one-stop shop for vegetarian daters looking for vegetarian only experiences. Steve, Urow the founder of Veggie Date, says, “I’m just trying to play a positive role and bring positive energy into the world and help facilitate things to occur. I mean, I wouldn’t want to take too much credit here. I want to take credit for being a participant, sort to speak, in connecting people.” The Highland Park resident founded Veggie Date back in 1999 to create a place for those who have chosen to abstain from meat. That’s not all though; now vegans, vegetarians, lacto vegetarians, ovo vegetarians, pescatarians, raw foodists—tens of thousands of them from New York to California, from Thailand to France, have met on this vegetarian dating app and found friendship, companionship and love…and many have also discovered delicious recipes! Veggie Date came to fruition as a safe place for vegetarians to share their lifestyle with other vegetarians around the country and now, the globe.
Searching for veggie recipes AND love? Look no further.
HER
HER is the #1 dating app and safe space for LGBTQ+ and queer folks who are looking for love or connection, and it’s currently over eight million users and growing! HER is one of the world’s leading dating apps for LGBTQ+ women and queer folks. Created for queer people by queer people, HER is known as a safe and inclusive space where you can discover and connect with queer women, find LGBTQ+ events near you, catch up on all the latest news and content, and maybe even find your next connection! HER allows users to join smaller community-focused group chats, find singles in their area, or just make a few new friends.
You and HER connections might be found here
Happn
Happn is one of the relatively newer options for modern singles. Happn is a rather peculiar social app that lets you know if you’re about to cross paths (in the street, in a restaurant, on the bus, wherever) with someone who you might like to know. It’s a location-based dating app that’s designed for you to “meet-cute” with the singles that you already cross paths with throughout your day. The app uses your location to show you a personalized timeline of singles who frequent the places that you already go—or who are in the same room as you to swipe. Happn is a fun modern sort of app for meeting new people, however it only works if there are enough users in your area.
You’re likely to find Happn handy if you want to date someone nearby!
The Atlasphere
Ayn Rand fans everywhere now have a place to rejoice and unite thanks to Joshua Zader’s dating and social networking site, The Atlasphere. Zader’s intellectual relationship with Ayn Rand began as it does for so many, in his college years. Zader took his fascination and awe a step further than most by creating an online networking and dating site for the fans of Rand’s novels, with particular emphasis on The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. The Atlasphere, which boasts a total of 26,000 members, is made up of two parts. The first component is a network directory of all users. The dating website, which has around 15,000 users, is an extension of the network directory and focuses more on establishing romantic connections. So if you ever find yourself turned on by discussing Ayn Rand with fellow die-hard fans, we found just the place for you.
You can discover and discuss all the fine details of objectivism over dinner here.
Loosid
The act of getting sober and staying sober can be overwhelming and difficult, especially when you throw dating into the mix. Perhaps you are longtime non-imbiber, or just trying the one year no-beer challenge. Dating or hooking up with a fellow sober person might make things on your journey a little easier. On Loosid you don’t need to worry about that awkward explanation of why you don’t partake. As Loosid’s website describes so well ,“You’re swiping. You land on someone good-looking. You decide to message them. The two of you riff back and forth for a little while. Eventually, this riffing turns into a first date. They ask you if you’d like to grab a drink…” Now what? Now you can download the Loosid app and bypass that moment altogether. Start off with one of the most important aspects of your life, sobriety, in common, and see what happens from there.
A fast track to meeting sexy sober dates is now at your fingertips.
Badoo
Badoo is a dating-focused social network. In terms of sheer numbers, Badoo leads the way in the dating app world. Badoo’s high number of users—521 million and counting—is thanks to a combination of factors, from being early to the game (it launched in 2006) to being available in several countries around the world. Some of Badoo’s standout features include the “selfie request” button, through which women can request a man they’re speaking to send a selfie to prove they are the same person as in the pictures. By 2011, Wired UK was already describing Badoo as a “mass phenomenon” in Brazil, Mexico, France, Spain, and Italy. In 2017, the app underwent a massive redesign and now brands itself as being for more than just dating, making it a strong option for people just looking to make platonic friends, too.
Maybe you’re just looking for friends, or maybe more, but you can be sure to find both here.
Raya
Raya is known as the “celebrity dating app,” but you don’t technically have to be a celebrity to join. The online membership-based community for dating, networking and making new friends quickly became known as the exclusive app for influencers, artists and A- through C-list celebrities looking to find love, a fling or maybe just an agent. It is ultra-exclusive and, unlike most dating apps, requires an application to join. And don’t expect the admission process to be easy. Only about 8 percent of applications are accepted, which is lower than the rate of admission to some Ivy League universities! If you are granted admission to the Raya community, you’re expected to pay $8/month in membership dues for access to the app, which is very generous if you consider the typical cost of Tinder or Bumble. You just may meet the likes of Channing Tatum, Demi Lovato or Chelsea Handler, who have all been known to use the site. Are stars just like you when it comes to dating? Now you can find out (if you get approved for Raya). Forget parasocial relationships; if you want to meet a real celebrity who just may be looking for love, check out Raya.
Want to apply to meet, or maybe even make out with stars?
MeetMindful
If you’re looking to connect with someone who shares your life philosophy and overall vibe, and that overall vibe is all about mindfulness and holistic wellbeing, then MeetMindful is just the app for you. MeetMindful takes that basic, tried-and-true dating app concept and blends it with a lifestyle category that’s much more likely to speak to urban millennials today. According to Meetmindful’s site, “singles here show up fully, connect with intention, and build strong relationship foundations. The best online dating site is more than an app, it’s where meaningful connections blossom.”
Want to skip casual hookups and search for deeper, intention-focused connections?
S’More
We all know the struggle of selecting the perfect profile pictures for dating apps, the dilemma of deciding which one to four photos really capture you as a first impression. Can a handful of photos actually capture someone’s essence? So what if we took all that snap judgement and “hot-or-not” BS out of it? Gone is the concept of swiping right or left based on first appearance; instead, S’More users first establish connections based on mutual interests. Each day you’ll receive recommended profiles based on your previous activity on the app (the algorithm takes into account the kinds of people you swipe “yes” to the most), but the matches’ photos are blurred and only become visible when you engage with that particular profile more. Whether that’s asking the other person a question, or sending them a “wink” to let them know you’re interested, the photo will slowly become more discernible as you get to know each other.
Forget awkward photo selections and try connecting mentally first.
These are just a handful in the wide world of niche dating sites. There is a dating app for everyone. Are you a dog parent interested in meeting fellow dog owners? Try Digdates. Have facial hair or do you have a hankering to date those who do? Download Bristlr.
There is truly a dating site for everyone now, so get out there and try one or a few out! Start your 2022 off with the intention of sticking to your values, while still meeting deep personal connections or flirty fun hookups or whatever type of relationship style you’re looking for.