In 2022, 57 million Americans were regularly using dating apps. More than 30% of adults in the US have at one point used online dating -and that percentage continues to rise.

This is one way to frame the dating app craze, but there’s another way to look at it.

Sure more Americans than ever are using the technology, but not everyone is finding lasting love.

A study of Norweigan Tinder users found that just 50% of users have ever gone on a date with someone they matched with. Another study conducted a few years ago found that one-third of all dating app users have refrained from dating someone they met online.

So sure, it looks nice that there are 57 million monthly dating app users in the states, but quite possibly half of these users are just window shopping.

There are a number of reasons for this, ranging from the paradox of choice, to users not being serious about using dating apps for dating, to users simply not knowing how or which apps to use.

What you need to know is that each app appeals to a certain type of single person. Users of, say, Tinder are more likely to be inactive or up for short-term relationships than users of, say, Hinge, “the dating app designed to be deleted.”

The issue is that there are dozens of dating apps out there. So if you’re looking for a serious relationship, which app are you to use?

The good news is that there are certain dating apps that attract single people who desire long-term relationships. To safeguard you from being silenced by the ghosts of online dating, we’ll detail the seven best dating apps for serious relationships.

1. Hinge

Hinge is “the dating app designed to be deleted.”

I can emphatically say that Hinge is the least superficial app on the market. My students almost unanimously agree that Hinge is the best dating app around. Whether the interface has any sway on the romantic behaviors of its users is up for debate. What can’t be refuted is Hinge’s strategy to position itself as the best dating app for relationships.

A relatively new dating app, (launched in 2013) you may not have heard of Hinge until former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg let slip that he met his husband through the application. But don’t get it twisted, Hinge isn’t an exclusively homosexual app like Grindr, rather Hinge is geared towards pleasing a chiefly heterosexual audience.

So why is the app considered one of the best dating apps for serious relationships?

Hinge has a number of features that attract and help singles looking for long-term relationships.

Here are our favorites:

• 10 free likes a day – limited likes force users to be more conscious of who they’re dolling out their likes to
• Super detailed prompts – this allows you to be more than a card in a massive deck, by showcasing your personality
• You’re notified whenever someone likes you – to cut down time on meaningless swiping
• Users are on the older side – most users are in their mid to late 20s or early 30s
• Anti-ghosting feature – you’ll be reminded to reply to messages
• Date feedback – your dates will provide the app feedback on your date, thus further training its algorithm
• Dating intention feature – now you can filter through users based on your dating intention
• Detailed filters – these detailed filters help weed out singles that aren’t compatible

Hinge might just be the only dating app to collect feedback from its users. A feature called “We Met” asks users who exchanged phone numbers with each other if they ever went on a date. From the feedback received, 90% of users who went on first dates said their dates were great and a whopping 72% said they wanted to go on a second date.

2. Bumble

Bumble is a female user’s solution to dealing with toxic men on dating apps (kinda).

Its founder, Whitney Wolfe founded Bumble after leaving Tinder, a company she co-founded. Wolfe left Tinder after she was sexually harassed by fellow employees. It is thought that this experience played a crucial role in developing a dating app where female needs are prioritized.

Bumble puts women in the driver’s seat by requiring women to initiate conversation with new matches. The love gurus at Bumble designed the app this way in order to empower single women. The team wanted to attack the antiquated notion that women are timid and need a man to take the lead. This feature also prevents men from bombarding the inboxes of female users with shallow and salacious messages.

It’s this feature and perception as a feminist app that attracts a certain type of female user.

Female Bumble users are given the ability to be extremely selective with whom they chat with. Being that men can’t message first, women hold the key to starting a romantic relationship. This being the case she’s not just going to message every dude she matches with. She’ll only reach out to the best of the best. If she guesses right, and she did, in fact, find the needle in the haystack, it’s unlikely that she’ll use her match for a quick shag and then ghost him.

Women sick of trends associated with modern dating use Bumble. That means she isn’t into ghosting, one night stands, or being objectified. Bumble users know this and act accordingly. Ya see, even if the app isn’t a feminist gauntlet, the app’s perception appeals to a certain type of user. It’s this perception that makes the app one of the best for relationships.

3. The League

The League’s concept is as douchey as its name, but that might work out for you.

Not just anyone can join this exclusive dating app.

Before being accepted, The League’s digital bouncers review your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. Gone are the days of only matching with confused, jobless, and immature 20-somethings. How are you expected to even begin a serious relationship with a woman if she’s still living at her parent’s house? A key to any long-term relationship is stability. Stability is one thing guaranteed when you meet a woman on The League.

A common qualm dating app users have with apps is that many profiles appear to be inactive. The League addresses this grievance by kicking out users who haven’t been active in the last 30 days, as well as users who send randy comments and flaky/nonresponsive users.

What The League does that few, if any, other apps do is set you up with people that more or less share your same socioeconomic background. This is important because we tend to date people that have similar economic and sociological statuses. Filtering out people of other statuses sounds classist… because it is. If you think the app sounds sleazy, fine, just don’t use it.

4. Coffee Meets Bagel

Coffee Meets Bagel is as big of a misnomer as you’ll find for a dating app. Upon hearing it for the first time you’d probably think it’s a food delivery service specializing in breakfast food. Despite the wretched name, CMB is one of the best dating apps for relationships around.

The app was designed by three sisters down on their romantic luck. Their love lives were so bad that they decided to do something about it. Most people would just sign up for a speed dating class or join a yoga class, but these sisters went all out and created their very own dating app.

CMB founders realized that most dating apps have lopsided male-female user ratios. Upon conducting a bit of market research, they found that women want quality of quantity, are tired of being hit on by creeps, and are more interested in finding a long-term partner than a quick fling. With these findings in mind, they went about creating an app that pairs high-quality men with high-quality women.

Most dating apps allow you to build a relationship at your own pace. In fact, they want you to chat away for weeks before the conversation fade away. CMB isn’t like most apps in this regard.

Instead of keeping you single as other apps are designed to do, Coffee Meets Bagel prods you into going out with your matches. Matches are only allowed to chat for seven days before the match goes away. This means you have to move fast after starting a conversation.

Along with restricting the amount of time you and your match can chat online, CMB also gifts you a certain number of bagels (high-quality potential matches) for your selection every day at noon.

5. Match

Match is an online dating pioneer. The company launched in 1993, and has managed to become the most successful online dating company in the world. What began as a dating site is now Match Group, a company that owns dating apps such as Tinder and Hinge, among others.

Match has risen to fame because of its user demographic. Nowadays dating apps are mostly associated with younger people, generally those ages 25 and younger. But Match has always targeted an older user base. According to the company, 48.6% of its users are between the ages of 30-49. Another 26.5% are 50 or older meaning that a paltry 25% of users are under the age of 30.

Naturally, the older we get the more serious we are about our romantic relationships. A 20-something’s life is in flux. She’s changing jobs every other year, is moving cities, changing roommates, saving money, traveling the world, and dating around. The older we get the more ensconced we become. We settle in, begin having families, and invest more in long-term relationships.

Match’s demographic is the chief reason it’s one of the best dating apps for serious relationships. That being said, the app clearly isn’t for everyone. Even 20-somethings looking to settle down are discouraged from using the app simply because there aren’t many users their age to choose from. Luckily, I’ve got an app for you.

6. JSwipe

JSwipe is widely known as Jewish Tinder.

It’s a niche dating website targeted at, you guessed it, Jewish millennials.

Its interface is pretty similar to that of Tinder. The difference lies in its users. Nearly all are Jewish. That’s right, the app won’t discriminate if you’re not Jewish, though it clearly discourages non-Jews from using the app.

So why exactly is Jewish Tinder great for meeting men and women interested in a serious relationship?

As we’ve discussed, we all want to date people similar to us. The stronger the identity the more likely it is that we’ll date someone that shares said identity. That’s why Jews tend to date Jews, gym buffs date gym buffs, and Yankees fans date other Yankee fanatics.

That being said, female Yankee fans are plenty willing to shag a Red Sox fan, but date him? – never.

That’s why users of JSwipe can often be found on non-Jewish dating apps. But when it comes time to find a serious partner, many will choose one with a shared Jewish background.

I don’t recommend gentiles use JSwipe. Doing so would be the same as appearing fit in your Tinder photos only to show up to a date 100 lbs overweight. It’s false advertising. You don’t see cat lovers using dating apps designed for dog-lovers do you?

An internal JSwipe study found that 71% of its users are looking for a marriage partner via the application.

7. OkCupid

We once had Tinder on this list due to its sheer volume of users, but the reality is that the vast majority are young and not looking for anything serious.

It’s for that reason it’s been booted and replaced with OkCupid.

One of the oldest dating app on the market (founded in 2003) OkCupid has seen how the dating landscape has changed, and they’ve changed with it.

OkCupid is widely known as the most gender-inclusive app. Not only does it allow users to choose from 22 different genders but also 12 sexual orientations. 

It also allows users to fill out a detailed profile. The app then uses these details to find you compatible matches. When swiping, you can search users based on their match percentage (i.e., how compatible OkCupid thinks you two are).

The End?

Is it though?

Reading one article on the best dating apps for serious relationships isn’t exactly setting you up for a long-term relationship.

Sure you know which apps to download, but how do you create an awesome profile, get a phone number, or transition the dynamic from the app and into real life? Where do you go on a first date, and how are you supposed to act on a first date?

All these questions need answers if you want to land a serious relationship. Sure you can scour the web looking for quality advice, or you can just talk to a professional.

Book a time to talk today to get those questions answered. I’ve helped hundreds of singles find high-value romantic partners. Together we’ll mold you into a dating pro and help you find the partner you’ve been dreaming of.

Dating Decoded

We teach our students the shortcut to finding their ideal match by MegaDating. MegaDating is our dating philosophy and it shapes everything we teach here at emlovz. Simply put MegaDating is dating prolifically with the specific goal of going on 20 dates in 90 days. This will give you ample potential partners to compare and contrast so you can refine not only your dating skills but also who your ideal partner is.

To teach you how to quickly find a highly compatible partner in just weeks and become the most eligible single in town you’ll team up with romantic experts, each skilled in their own unique area to support you.

Our Team

• Emyli (me), co-founder, curriculum developer, head coach, and I host two coaching sessions every week
• Thomas, co-founder, and coach. He’ll lead the biweekly Man Cave event where men come together to talk dating, bond with one another, and support other single men
• Cat, Brooke, and Audrey are mock date specialists for men. Go on a practice date with them (and receive feedback) before your next date
• Darshil is our mock date coach for women. Go on a practice date with them (and receive feedback) before your next date
• Hailey is your new stylist. She’s worked with celebs from every industry and is now about to raid your closet
• Tilly is our holistic sex & intimacy coach. She’ll help you get the most out of your sex life so you and your partner are happier between the sheets
• Aundrea is an award-winning fitness coach. Are you ready to eat right and get fit?
• Mia is our social media expert. Revamp your Facebook and Instagram profiles with her help and start meeting women online

Our Community

And look, we realize that the single life can be difficult. If accepted into our coaching program, Dating Decoded, you’d be joining a community of supportive singles and coaches who are there to listen, support, and encourage you as you navigate the single life.

Our program offers every student a lifetime membership (as if you’ll need it) so the support won’t stop until you’ve found your ideal partner.

If you’re ready to find your forever partner, book a Zoom session with our team today. Together we’ll talk about your dating history, your goals and show you how our program, Dating Decoded, can help you find your ideal partner.

Learn how our students have already improved their dating lives.