OkCupid review: matching, free plan, privacy and safety

What OkCupid is

OkCupid is a questions-based dating app from Match Group Americas, LLC, the seller named on its App Store listing. The App Store subtitle reads "The Best Dating App for Matching on What Matters to YOU," and the first paragraph adds: "OkCupid matching questions feed our algorithm to find matches you'll love talking to & will be excited to meet!" Google Play calls it "the dating app for adults looking for authentic connections!"

The size figures are store counts. Google Play lists 50M+ downloads and the App Store shows about 290K ratings, so neither says how many people use the app today. The help centre says the service is "available in over 180 countries," and no gender ratio or age split is published. On the legal side, the privacy policy names Match Group Americas, LLC as the responsible company outside the EEA, UK and Switzerland, and MTCH Technology Services Limited of Dublin, Ireland as the controller for residents of those three regions.

How OkCupid matching works

Members answer questions and set dating preferences. The algorithm then combines what each person wants with their answers to shared questions into a Match % score. The app holds 500+ questions (Google Play: "Choose from 500+ questions"), and 15 are required at sign-up. Cupid's Picks adds a daily selection of matches.

Preferences such as age, location, gender and orientation can be set as deal breakers. Of those four, the help centre names only gender and orientation as free. Some answers are public: Premium's feature list includes seeing "how matches publicly answered questions without answering them first."

The help centre article behind these details has no date, and its archived copy (September 28, 2026) mentions a plan called Basic that the US, UK, Canadian and Australian App Store lists do not show, so parts of it may predate the current line-up.

Dating or hookup

The App Store text reads "whether you want casual dating, marriage, or just to find your love story," and Google Play says "some casual dating or hoping to find a serious relationship" before adding that the app "gives you time to explore your dating intentions." The App Store also mentions new friendships.

Neither store listing nor the help centre describes OkCupid as a hookup app. The wording stays at casual dating, serious relationships and friendship, with marriage in the same sentence as casual dating, and sex-positive framing is not described in the sources read. Readers who want an app that uses the hookup label on its own pages can start with the hookup app picks; casual intent inside a regular dating app is the subject of casual dating apps.

Who OkCupid is for

The store pages are written for adults of every orientation. Google Play says "OkCupid is an LGBT dating app where lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer and straight singles can be themselves," and the App Store lists "over 60 different gender identities and sexual orientations." Straight singles are welcome too, so it is a mixed-audience app. The LGBTQ+ hookup and dating apps sorts apps for people who want an LGBTQ-focused one.

Relationship structure is a gap in the record. No official source read says how OkCupid handles non-monogamy or polyamory, and couples profiles are not mentioned either. One Google Play user review brings up matching on monogamy and polyamory; that is a reviewer's account, and OkCupid's own pages are silent on it. For apps that spell the topic out, see the apps for ethical non-monogamy and the page on couples looking for a third.

Messaging and Intros

Matched members message each other. The help centre says: "When you match with someone, you can send messages back and forth. You can also send an Intro to someone you like who hasn't liked you yet." The person who receives an Intro sees it in an Intros tab. Reading every Intro you have received in one place is part of the paid Basic features, per the same article.

The help centre also confirms that interacting with users and matches needs no payment. A cap on free Likes is implied, because unlimited Likes are a paid feature, but the size of the cap is not stated. Video chat, voice messages, group chat and disappearing messages are not mentioned in the sources read.

Free version and what is paid

The help centre puts it plainly: "Using OkCupid is completely free. You do not have to pay to create an account or interact with other users and matches." The App Store text agrees: "OkCupid is a free dating app for everyone, but we offer an optional premium subscription." Paid plans add:

• seeing who has liked you
• unlimited Likes
• Dealbreakers
• Incognito Mode
• a view of all received Intros at once (part of Basic)

The listing shows ads, and Incognito Mode and the Basic feature set both remove them. Matching and messaging cost nothing, so the paid tier is about knowing who liked you, choosing Dealbreakers, hiding your profile and sending more Likes. How other apps draw the same line is compared in best free dating apps.

Search, preferences and Dealbreakers

Dating Preferences are free. Dealbreakers, which show you only people who meet a preference, are listed under the paid subscription, while gender and orientation preferences act as deal breakers at no cost. Other apps with this feature are collected under filters across apps.

Location

Google Play says "Find & meet singles nearby." The privacy policy says OkCupid collects device latitude and longitude with the member's permission, and that profile data includes approximate location. How distance appears on a profile is not stated. The help centre has an article on changing your profile location; what it covers and whether it is free is not confirmed. The pages on how location matching works and travel mode compare how other apps handle both.

Verification and face checks

Photo Verification is a video selfie with a Liveness Check and 3D Face Authentication, and it earns a "verified" status. A newer Face Check FAQ says OkCupid is "requiring that users complete a biometric Face Check scan with a video selfie," to estimate age, check profile photos and reduce fraud. Phone number verification is part of sign-up. Members may also be asked for a solo face photo as age assurance, which a separate help article on age detection and face photo checks covers.

Retention is described twice, and the two descriptions differ. The Face Check FAQ says face maps are kept for the lifetime of the account and deleted within 30 days of closure, while the older Photo Verification article says biometric data is deleted once verification completes. The pages checked do not say which rule applies to a given member. The terms add one limit: OkCupid does not run criminal background or identity checks on users. Other apps with checks are listed under apps that check photos.

Privacy and incognito mode

Incognito Mode is a paid upgrade. In the help centre's words, "the only people who can see your profile are people you've liked," and it also removes ads. On visibility in general, the help centre says "only other OkCupid users can see your profile." The list of dating apps with incognito mode shows how other apps handle the same need.

The privacy policy applies from March 15, 2026 (read from an archived copy dated October 14, 2026). It says sensitive details such as sexual orientation and sexual life are collected if members choose to provide them, and precise geolocation only with device permission. It also describes advertising partners and Facebook tools (Login, Pixel and the SDK), and sharing data with other Match Group companies, including banned-user information. After account closure, data is held for a three-month safety window and transaction data for 10 years, and members can retrieve a copy of their data. The wider picture is in the our privacy guide.

Safety tools and reporting

Profiles and chats carry a Report User link, and members can block. The help centre also publishes Safety Tips and a Resources for Support article. General advice for meeting people from any app is in the our safety guide, and our scams guide covers the fraud side.

Pricing

All prices below come from iPhone App Store listings, checked on November 5, 2026. On the US App Store, OkCupid Premium appears at six prices: USD 7.99, 15.99, 19.99, 29.99, 44.99 and 59.99. A-List is listed at USD 9.99 on the US App Store. No listing gives a billing period and six items share one name, so the sources do not say whether the prices stand for different lengths or different tiers.

On the UK App Store the lowest listed price is GBP 5.99 for OkCupid Premium and GBP 7.99 for A-List. Boosts are sold separately, and Google Play and web prices are not covered. The country-by-country breakdown is on the OkCupid pricing page.

Cancelling and deleting

Subscriptions are cancelled in the store that billed you: Apple ID subscriptions in the iPhone Subscriptions settings, Google Play subscriptions in the Play app. Deleting the account or the app does not stop store billing. PayPal or card subscriptions are paused when an account is disabled and cancelled when it is deleted, and cancelling a subscription does not remove the profile. Steps that apply to any app are in cancelling a dating app subscription.

To delete an account in the app, go to the profile icon, then Settings, then "Disable your account," and follow the prompts to Delete or Disable. On the website the entry is on the settings page under "Need a Break?". Uninstalling the app does not delete the account, per the help article (archived copy dated October 4, 2025), and the terms say "You can delete your account at any time." The same topic for other apps sits in account deletion steps.

Platforms and age

OkCupid has an iPhone app and an Android app (package com.okcupid.okcupid, Editors' Choice on Google Play). The help centre also says an account can be reached "via app, mobile web, or desktop." The App Store listing is present in 44 of 45 storefronts checked and missing in South Korea. No official country list was found beyond the help centre's "over 180 countries." For options with no download at all, see dating sites in a browser.

The terms (effective September 22, 2025, read from an archived copy dated October 19, 2026) require members to be "at least 18 years old," and the privacy policy says the service is "restricted to individuals who are 18 years of age or older." The App Store shows 18+ and Google Play shows Mature 17+.

Pros and cons

Alternatives

Head-to-head pages cover Tinder vs OkCupid, Hinge vs OkCupid and Plenty of Fish vs OkCupid. Other apps for the same need are sorted by what OkCupid leaves out, such as a clear hookup label, and the best dating apps ranking shows where it sits among the field.

OkCupid review verdict