Venturing into the online dating world can be overwhelming, especially if you are just starting out or have tried some dating apps but haven’t had much success. But we are here to help.
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Take a look at our list of the nine best dating sites in Australia presented below, as we compare their success rate, privacy protection, availability, and much more.
So, without further ado, let’s get started!
List of the Best Dating Sites in Australia
The Best Dating Sites in Australia: Mini-Reviews
There is a plethora of dating apps to choose from, but after thorough research, we decided on the nine best dating apps in Australia. Let’s go over each platform and consider some of their most important features, as well as some benefits and disadvantages.
- Tinder – Best Dating App for Beginners
- Pink cupid – Best Dating App for Lesbians
- Rsvp – Best Dating App for Serious Singles
- Happn – Best Dating Site for Finding Love Nearby
- Hinge – Best Dating Site for Serious Dating
- Raya – Best Dating App for the Elites
- Bumble – Best Dating App for Women Making the First Move
- Eharmony – Best Trusted App
- Elitesingles – Best Dating App for Serious Singles Over 30
1. Tinder – Best Dating App for Beginners
Tinder is the leading dating app in Australia, with roughly three million Australian users and 75 million active users worldwide. Even though Tinder is recognised as the best hookup app in Australia and beyond, due to the wide userbase, it’s much more than that.
- Good for hook-ups
- A larger percentage of males using the app
- A wide active user base
As you might have suspected, this dating app is perfect for beginners due to its friendly interface and easy-to-use features. In addition, Tinder has multiple paid subscription plans, including Tinder Gold, Tinder Platinum, and Tinder Plus, one of the most popular tiers providing you with advanced features on the app, like no swiping limit.
If you are interested in letting an online dating app be your professional matchmaker, then giving this app a try is well worth it.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and disadvantages of using Tinder.
PROS:
- Perfect for beginners
- Easy to use
- Completely secure
CONS:
- It can take a long time for the algorithm to pick up on your preferences
Did you know that writing a good biography and uploading photos that perfectly capture your unique personality are the real game changers in the online dating world.
2. PinkCupid – Best Dating App for Lesbians
PinkCupid is one of the leading and most trusted women’s dating apps in Australia with over 1 million members. It was designed to help thousands of single gay females, and bi-curious women find not only love but friendships as well.
- Best for lesbians and bi-curious single women
- Most members are between 25 and 34 years of age
- Has over 1 million users
Furthermore, users can join PinkCupid for free and find like-minded women to connect with. However, with the free plan, users can enjoy only the app’s basic features, including registering, uploading a photo, and using the basic matching algorithm. On the flip side, if you decide to subscribe to the Gold Premium subscription plan, you can send and receive messages from all members. Additionally, Platinum users can enjoy all the site’s features.
Finally, PinkCupid takes users’ privacy very seriously, allowing users to remain anonymous until they decide to provide information to other users.
3. RSVP – Best Dating App for Serious Singles
RSVP, the Australian-based dating app, available on the market since 1997, with 30,000 new members connecting every month, proves to be one of the most successful AU dating sites.
SSL encryption
Easy to use
Basic features are free to use
Paid subscription is required for messaging
A balanced number of men and women on the app
Targets mostly middle-aged singles
Good for finding love or friendship
With that said, RSVP developed the leading match algorithm called Discover Engine, which proved to be more successful than standard matching algorithms in a study conducted by the Queensland University of Technology.
Additionally, it offers some interesting features designed to help you test the waters. To see if the other party is interested, you can send them a wink or use a stamp to start a conversation.
Lastly, while there is a free subscription offering only the basic features, the Premium+ subscription plan offers more privacy and a number of additional features for users when looking for their next date or friendship.
4. Happn – Best Dating Site for Finding Love Nearby
With 100 million members worldwide and over 400,000 Australian users, Happn can help you find the person that caught your attention thanks to real-time geolocation technology that activates when two users, with locations shared, find themselves near each other. However, it’s worth noting that you can only find users that have a Happn account and share the same preferences as you.
Large membership base
Easy to use
Trusted Australian dating site
Premium+ required for messaging
100 million users worldwide
Safe to use
Uses a geolocation technology
If you want the optimal experience on the app, you can go for the Happn Premium subscription plan, which allows you to subscribe for one, six, or twelve months and enjoy unlimited likes, ad-free experience, and gain access to people who have liked your profile.
5. Hinge – Best Dating Site for Serious Dating
Hinge is undoubtedly becoming the default dating app among Aussies since it is considered the perfect matchmaker app of 2022. The creators of Hinge state that their app is designed to be deleted, with their goal being to help their users find their last date.
Harassment and spamming free
Recommends nearby users
Considerable user base
The 12 months Premium plan is not as affordable
Nobel-Prize-winning algorithm
Transparent profile likes
More females (55%) use the platform
With a user base of over 20 million users worldwide, Hinge proves to have one of the most effective matchmaking algorithms on the dating sites market. On Hinge, users can start a conversation with other Hinge users only by liking a specific prompt on their profile, a feature also known as a conversation starter.
Just like other dating apps, Hinge has a Preferred Membership which allows you to include additional information on your profile.
6. Raya – Best Dating App for the Elites
Raya, also known as the Illuminati Tinder, is a dating app well-hidden from the general public, as it’s specifically designed to help elites find their like-minded halves. Getting a membership on the app is quite exclusive, as only a small number of influential people are accepted. Additionally, getting into Raya would require an invite directly from a member already on the app, followed by an approval period, as all assessments are based on an “algorithmic value”.
Considerable worldwide user base
Good matchmaking algorithm
Great app layout
Only available on a mobile device
Targets the elites and famous people
Top security level
Requires users to apply for membership
Even though there is not much we can get out of the minimal website, we know that Raya takes users’ privacy very seriously. If any of the users attempt to take a screenshot of their match, they are immediately warned either with a suspension or complete removal of their account.
On the off chance that you are approved, you need to pay a minimum of $9.99/month to use it.
7. Bumble – Best Dating App for Women Making the First Move
Bumble is an online dating app based on a model similar to Tinder, but it comes with one unique twist – women need to make the first move.
Exclusive and selective of the members
Guaranteed privacy
Good for finding love, friends, and general networking
Invite-only app
Better and safer for females
Females make the first move
The male-to-female ratio is seven to three
The 12.3 million monthly active users and over 100 million users advocate for how Bumble is breaking heterosexual norms. But to keep those 100 million users even more engaged, this dating app is constantly changing and improving for the better with additions like the Question Game or the Distance Filter, which helps you match with people across the country.
To stand out even further from the other competing apps, Bumble introduced Bumble BFF and Bumble BIZZ for users to find new friends or spread their networks. If you’re looking for a way to enhance your experience on Bumble, you can do so by subscribing to Bumble Boost, Bumble Premium, SuperSwipe, and SpotLight.
8. eHarmony – Best Trusted App
eHarmony, one of the oldest dating sites in Australia, has been recognised as the Number.1 trusted app in a survey taken across the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia.
Easy to use
Inclusive interface
Great user base
There is a daily swipe limit
Did you know: Bumble introduced the SuperSwipe, the platform’s unique feature. to keep the users engaged. To get it, you need to either upgrade your account to a premium version or buy SuperSwipe.
- A similar percentage of men and women
- Encourages deeper connections
- Excellent matching algorithm
This dating app quickly became very popular because it requires users to input a myriad of information rather than just a picture of themselves, which allows matches to connect on a more intimate level. Furthermore, eHarmony has a history of over 20 years of using a sophisticated matching system to successfully connect two million individuals.
Besides the free basic features eHarmony offers, there are subscription plans available, allowing users to see unlimited photos, use the video date features, and a myriad of communication tools like smiles or icebreakers.
9. EliteSingles – Best Dating App for Serious Singles Over 30 Years
The EliteSingles matchmaking algorithm caters to people over 30 years of age looking for a serious relationship. With over 20,000 new members joining EliteSingles every month, 85% of the members on the app are highly educated, always on the go, and looking for like-minded individuals on this secure and trusted online dating platform.
Over 20 years of service
Video dating available
No.1 trusted app
Paid subscription is required for advanced features
A strong percentage of highly-educated individuals
The user demographic mostly consists of people in their mid-thirties
Good for finding serious relationships
Additionally, EliteSingles has two membership options: a basic and a paid premium membership. That said, the basic membership allows users to upload a picture and send likes, while the premium membership permits users to access photos of their match or to send an unlimited number of messages.
How To Choose the Best Dating Site
As dating apps have become a popular way of meeting new people, finding the perfect dating app is often like finding true love. You have to consider the options available and weigh in on the advantages and disadvantages each has to offer.
Mature user base
Secure dating platform
Sophisticated dating filters
Limits to only 3-7 quality matches per day
Which Dating Site Has the Highest Success Rate?
When it comes to selecting the best dating app, it’s important to choose the one with a high success rate since this can imply that the user base is not only vast but also diverse.
With over three million people using dating apps in Australia, most decide to put their faith in eHarmony, the number one dating app in Australia, with the highest success rate. Unsurprisingly, Tinder comes in as a close second.
Which Dating Sites or Apps Let You Contact Someone for Free?
There are a lot of dating sites that allow you to pursue your potential true love at no cost. Certain free dating apps are ranked even better than their paid competitor. To add to that, most of the dating apps listed above offer a free dating experience which shouldn’t be taken for granted as it could help users secure a date, just as the paid dating apps could.
Are Paid Online Dating Services Worth It?
While there are a lot of free dating sites that can help you find your true love, paid online dating services provide you with more advanced features that could potentially get you more dates. Paid dating services come with premium features like unlimited messages, unlimited likes, exclusive search features, or advanced matching algorithms.
Finally, those really invested in finding their true match shouldn’t mind giving an extra couple of dollars if you are in for some quality dating experience and ultimately find lasting connections.
Bottom line
When choosing the right dating site for you, several factors play a key role. Those factors include a paid subscription, the ratio between males and females, privacy, and much more.
Before making your decision, consider the features, target audience, and userbase and compare it to your exact preferences regarding dating apps to ensure you are really choosing the one that meets your needs.
1. Which dating site is best for serious relationships?
Hinge is the best dating app for finding serious relationships. As the app’s motto implies, it is an app designed to be deleted.
2. Are there any legitimate dating sites in Australia?
Yes, eHarmony is considered the most legitimate dating site in Australia as it’s the number one used app in the country.
3. Which dating sites are completely free in Australia?
All of the best dating sites in Australia mentioned in this review are free to some extent, but no dating site is completely free. If you are looking to further enhance your online dating experience, you might want to pay for a premium subscription plan.
