Free dating apps: what you can do before you pay

The App Store listing puts the free tier in two sentences: "TRY TINDER FOR FREE. Send Likes, match, and chat at your own pace." A chat opens only after both people have liked each other, in the listing's words: "You can only match and chat when both people are interested."

The paywall sits on volume and extras. Subscriptions add unlimited Likes, weekly Super Likes, compliments before a match, unlimited Rewinds and monthly Boosts. Unlimited Likes being a paid item implies a cap on free Likes, and the listings do not state what the free daily Like limit is. Google Play names Incognito Mode and Photo Verification without saying which plan holds them. Plus, Gold and Platinum are the paid tiers, and their rows are on the Tinder pricing page.

Google Play calls Bumble "a free app for meeting singles" and puts chat in the free feature list, beside video chat and picture sharing with matches, ID Verification, a profile with interests and prompts, Spotify linking, sharing meetup details with a trusted person and Snooze Mode. Message limits are not stated.

The paid items on the same Google Play listing are mostly about browsing: seeing everyone who likes you, Advanced Filters, rematch, Incognito Mode, a 24-hour match extension, unlimited swiping and Travel Mode. The App Store names the paid plans Bumble Boost, Bumble Premium and Premium+. Matches can expire, and who has to write first is not stated in the current listings. The pages checked give no figure for the free swipe limit. Listed prices are on the Bumble pricing page.

The App Store says it directly: "The app is free to use." People who want to see everyone who likes them or send unlimited likes can upgrade to Hinge+, and HingeX adds upgraded recommendations and priority likes. The like limit for free accounts is not stated. Every match begins with someone liking or commenting on a specific part of a profile.

Free messaging is the open item. The listings do not say whether messaging between free accounts has limits, and they name only likes and seeing who liked you as upgrades, so free messaging is not confirmed. Hinge describes itself as "the dating app for people who want to get off of dating apps". Selfie Verification is listed, and a web version is not confirmed. Besides Hinge+, the App Store in-app purchase list shows items named Hinge Subscription and Membership; the rows are on the Hinge pricing page.

The help center gives the plainest free statement of the eight: "Using OkCupid is completely free. You do not have to pay to create an account or interact with other users and matches." Matched members can message. The App Store adds that OkCupid is "a free dating app for everyone, but we offer an optional premium subscription".

The Google Play subscription list names seeing everyone who liked you and sent an Intro, unlimited Likes and Dealbreakers, and Incognito Mode is a paid upgrade. A cap on free Likes is implied and its size is not stated. The listing shows ads. A free account still does the work that drives matching: 15 questions are required at sign-up (500+ exist in the app), and the Match % score combines both people's answers. The App Store names A-List and OkCupid Premium, while the help center also describes OkCupid Basic and Boost, so the line-up can differ by store. Rows are on the OkCupid pricing page.

According to the help center, a free member can still filter searches (gender, location, age, distance, religion and more), Like members in Meet Me, and see and message Mutual Matches. Filtering is free here, while Bumble sells Advanced Filters.

The paid tiers are POF Plus, POF Premium and POF Prestige, and they add unlimited Likes, no ads and more; the terms say the services carry ads. Incognito is listed as available in Plus, Premium and Prestige. The help center says Prestige is "currently only available to some of our US based, iOS members". Messages before a match are the limited part: Google Play states that pre-match First Contacts are limited to one a day, and the plan that grants that is not stated. The App Store also sells tokens for features. See the Plenty of Fish pricing page for the listed rows.

Chat and chat-before-match sit in the base feature list on Google Play, and Premium adds message priority: "Your sent messages get priority", which moves your messages to the top of the recipient's inbox. Google Play puts the free line this way: "Badoo is free, but these upgraded features give you even more flexibility." In Encounters you see one profile at a time, a heart likes and a cross passes, and a match opens chat.

The help center article updated 2025-11-28 lists Badoo Premium, Badoo Extra and one-off Credits for boosting visibility, and the App Store also lists Super Powers and credit packs. The Premium items quoted there are privacy ones: browse profiles without notifying them, snooze your profile, and hide it from everyone except matches. Daily like and swipe limits for free accounts are not stated, and neither are chat limits. Rows are on the Badoo pricing page.

The terms list what a free member gets under article 5.2: a limited number of Likes, messages and voice messages once there is a Crush (a mutual Like), viewing and passing profiles, CrushTime, crossing points on a map, search criteria, and block or report. A free pack of SuperCrushs arrives at registration. The number of free Likes is not stated. Chat opens only on a Crush, and SuperCrush messages sent before a match are a charged item.

Under article 9.1, Premium members get the list of Likes received, while other members see Likes only after a reciprocal Like, apart from the first one. Members without Premium also see ads. A free Shortlist offers three recommended profiles a day from the third day of activity. The terms define two subscriptions, HAPPN Premium and HAPPN Supreme, and Boost and SuperCrush packs are sold on top. Listed rows are on the happn pricing page.

Free members get the daily Suggested batch, which arrives around noon, free likes and passes, free matches and chats, and free preferences for gender, age, distance, ethnicity, religion and relationship goals. Google Play puts it this way: "Coffee Meets Bagel is a free dating app, but you can always subscribe for special features." The help center says non-subscribers see a limited number of likes in the queue each day; the number is not stated.

Chats are open for an initial 7 days and stay open while the conversation is active, and a closed chat can be reopened with beans for 30 days. Read Receipts need a subscription, and Incognito mode belongs to CMB Platinum. CMB Premium and CMB Platinum add all your likes, Bonus Bagels, flowers and Boosts. The homepage headline reads "For serious daters", and the store listings answer anyone looking for something casual with "You're welcome to join, but you won't find that here."

Availability limits who can use the free tier at all. The iPhone listing is marked "(*North America & Caribbean)", and the App Store lists the app in 2 of the 45 storefronts checked, without the UK, Ireland or Australia. Rows are on the Coffee Meets Bagel pricing page.