Your essential guide to the top dating apps in Ireland

Dating apps have come a long way, it’s more than just images and a quirky one-line intro. Now they have video calling, voice notes, Spotify and date rooms, and more tools to help you find your perfect match. And many now have verified features to cut down on the number of fake accounts and restrict faceless profiles.

Tinder

Even if you have never used Tinder before, you are going to know a few things about this dating app. It’s the original ‘swipe right’ app where one’s dating destiny is determined by a simple thumb motion to the left (reject) or to the right (yes please!).

The basic version is free, giving users the opportunity to match and chat with potential partners but there are a couple of subscription options which give you some extra benefits. Subs start at €8.99 a month for Tinder Plus which allows you unlimited likes and the ability to search for users in different parts of the world. For a few more euro you can get benefits such as priority likes or even the ability to message people before matching with them (on the free version, only people who have been ‘swiped’ by each other can chat). Tinder also groups profiles into different interest groups so you can reach your ‘type’ quicker.

Tinder also has a few enhancements inspired by other apps such as sharing Spotify tunes and video calling. It also allows you to add Spotify and Instagram to your profile.

Because users sign up via their mobile number, a great safety feature of the app is if that you can upload your contacts to make sure your profile is never shown to any contacts you have blocked.

Plenty of Fish (PoF)

Plenty of Fish has been around a long time and, on this app, you don’t have to wait to be matched with someone to send them a message. This can be a blessing or a curse depending on whether you like to receive unsolicited messages or not. Also, it should be noted that it tends to have a middle-aged user base.

The app takes you through a couple of tests to determine your personality and to see what you want from a relationship and matches you with potential profiles. Other features it has include seeing who is on the app in your local area, a live broadcast function and a ‘meet me’ feature which is similar to Tinder’s swipe-to-match.

With an upgrade to POF Plus (startin at €39.99 per month) you will get unlimited likes, first look at new members, and the chance to add more photos to your profile and see extended profiles.

Hinge

Hinge carries the tagline ‘Designed to be deleted’. This app is famed for its use of ‘prompts’ such as ‘The way to win me over is’, ‘My simple pleasures are’ or ‘I go crazy for’. You must include three on your profile to sign up and Hinge says it constantly reviews the prompts that are most successful.

Those looking at your profile can then ‘like’ your prompt, photos or other part of your profile. That ‘like’ can even be turned into a rose which bumps up your profile. Users get one free rose to use per week but can buy more as an in-app purchase (a bundle of three roses costs €5.99).

Hinge also has features like voice calls and voice notes. Subscriptions start at €11.99 and give you higher priority, allow you to see all your likes (even if you haven’t matched) and allow you further filtering options so you can better target your search.

Bumble

Bumble is dubbed the most heterosexual-women-friendly dating app as women have control over the messaging. In the case of women-seeking-men, once a match is determined, it is up to the woman to make the initial contact, and she has 24 hours in which to do so. While only women can message first, guys can send a hint on a conversation topic. (This feature does not apply to same-sex matches.)

If you are a heterosexual guy who likes to take control or doesn’t like to wait around, maybe Bumble is not for you.

Bumble users can also add Spotify and Instagram accounts to their profiles. An upgrade to Bumble Boost offers additional features like backtracking if you want to reconsider a swipe, and the option to take an extra 24 hours to reach out to matches. Prices start from €5.99.

The Bumble Premium feature gives you even more features such as advanced filters, rematches with users who have expired, a travel mode, super swipes and profile boosts. Prices for this plan start at €14.99.

Badoo

Badoo is the app that brings you Encounters, where you will find the profiles that best match your profile preferences. This app is known for having a younger user base (20s to early 30s) and might be more suited to those who are looking for relationships and friendships rather than hook-ups.

Badoo is free and has a simple sign-up process. A premium upgrade gives users the chance to see who voted ‘yes’ on their profile (its version of swiping right), undo accidental votes, get first access to the newest users, boost their messages and browse the app in invisibility mode. Prices start at €5.99 for a week of Badoo Premium.

Match

Match is the app version of the website Match.com – one of the OGs when it comes to seeking dates in cyberspace. It comes from an era before anyone knew how to swipe right on Tinder and has always been known as a platform for people who seriously want to date.

The Match app is free to use while subscriptions with extra features start at €39.99 per month.

The dating site itself has come a long way and has some great features such as the ability to include a voice note on your profile, and live chatrooms where you can chat among a group of people with a shared location, age range or interests. The average users range from over 30s to over 50s.