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What are the most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr?

Started by BellaT2 Started 28 Jun 2026 Board Free Dating & Apps Replies 7 Last reply 15 Jul 2026
  • #lgbtq+
  • #dating
#1

Asking here because the review sites are useless on most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr.

Testing most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr over a long stretch last year showed that a decent proportion of the people in my age range were a waste of an evening. Speaking only for myself, results were streets ahead of what the reviews suggested, especially where LGBTQ+ dating is concerned. What I care about most with LGBTQ+ dating is what most people get wrong about it.

  • Judge popular gay dating on week three, not day one.
  • Fill in every optional field; the sparse profiles get skipped — true of popular gay dating.
  • Any early mention of money is worth blocking over, not arguing about — especially with popular gay dating (particularly for LGBTQ+ dating).

Is anyone getting different results from LGBTQ+ dating with the same approach? Anything you have on LGBTQ+ dating is useful, positive or not.

Take that for what it is worth on most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr.

#2

BellaT2 — my experience of popular gay dating was the opposite.

Anyone asking about most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr should know that most of the threads that went anywhere turned out to be worth the time. What I watch for now is someone who does not push to move platforms, and what ends it is any early mention of money for LGBTQ+ dating. That was true a year ago. On most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr specifically, it has not been true recently.

Worth separating NSA arrangements from long-term intentions when you weigh up LGBTQ+ dating — the same platform behaves differently for each.

Would be interested if others disagree about most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr.

#3

On BellaT2's point, worth asking outright about LGBTQ+ dating.

With popular gay dating, for what it's worth the first fortnight tells you most of what you need. Over two months or so, close to all of the accounts with real photos were more genuine than I expected, especially where LGBTQ+ dating is concerned. Has anyone tested most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr outside a major metro?

Worth separating NSA arrangements from long-term intentions when you weigh up popular gay dating — the same platform behaves differently for each.

Open to being wrong about popular gay dating.

#4

@BellaT2 I see most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr differently.

Testing most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr over a few weekends showed that the bulk of the profiles worth a second look were a waste of an evening. Over three or four weeks, the bulk of the conversations that got past hello felt automated for LGBTQ+ dating. That framing of most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr skips how different the free tier behaves after week two.

Worth separating adult dating from long-term intentions when you weigh up most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr — the same platform behaves differently for each.

Glad to compare notes on most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr if anyone wants.

#5

My experience of LGBTQ+ dating was the opposite.

In terms of most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr, from where I sit the useful signal was profiles filled out properly. One thing I did not expect was that accounts with a visible history predicted a real conversation better than anything else, especially where LGBTQ+ dating is concerned. Worth saying that the majority of the accounts I came across changed my mind about the platform, especially where LGBTQ+ dating is concerned. Give it half a year before judging; under a third of the people who replied changed my mind about the platform in that window for LGBTQ+ dating. Someone who does not push to move platforms is worth more than any badge on the profile for LGBTQ+ dating. The reason I disagree is that most advice on most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr assumes a dense city and mine is not.

There is a parallel conversation happening over at a comparison on Datingfly.

Hope that is some use on most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr.

#6

Replying to Amelia: worth asking outright about LGBTQ+ dating.

My take on most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr: The pattern I kept seeing was that nearly all of the conversations that got past hello responded like actual people. What I would add is that the gap between the sites with the loudest marketing and this was smaller than expected, especially where LGBTQ+ dating is concerned. What I watch for now is replies that reference what you wrote, and what ends it is replies that ignore what you asked for LGBTQ+ dating. What I watch for now is a bio that reads like a person wrote it, and what ends it is recycled model photos for LGBTQ+ dating. Did anyone find the paid tier changed most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr materially?

  • First photo does most of the work — lead with your best — more so for LGBTQ+ dating.
  • Watch for someone whose story stays consistent rather than the verification badge — more so for LGBTQ+ dating.
  • With most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr, the free tier tells you most of what you need.
  • For LGBTQ+ dating, density beats every feature on the list (particularly for LGBTQ+ dating).

Happy to expand on any of that about most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr if it helps.

#7

Partly, though most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr comes with a caveat.

In terms of most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr, from where I sit the useful signal was photos that look recent. Matches who ask questions back is worth more than any badge on the profile, especially where LGBTQ+ dating is concerned. Worth saying that hardly any of the accounts with real photos never got past small talk — that is the whole story really for LGBTQ+ dating. The caveat is that most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr changes completely once you leave the free tier.

That is the honest version of popular gay dating, anyway.

#8

Curious about one detail of popular gay dating.

The reason most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr keeps coming up is that nobody agrees on the answer. Barely any of the threads that went anywhere made the whole thing feel worthwhile, which was comfortably ahead of the well-known names, especially where LGBTQ+ dating is concerned. Did verification make a measurable difference to LGBTQ+ dating for you?

Worth separating local hookups from long-term intentions when you weigh up LGBTQ+ dating — the same platform behaves differently for each.

The other place this gets discussed properly is Souldate threads if you are weighing up most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr.

Others have written this up on Datelink discussions if you want more detail if you are weighing up LGBTQ+ dating.

You will see the same debate playing out on the write-up on Datenest if you are weighing up most popular gay dating apps besides Grindr.

Would be interested if others disagree about popular gay dating.

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