RESEARCH
The Cover
The swipe is slowing down
Match Group's paying users fell 5% in 2025 while Hinge's revenue kept climbing. Daters aren't giving up on apps. They're getting choosier about which ones deserve their time.
Read the cover story- The Ranking Hinge, Bumble, Feeld and seven more: the best dating apps of 2026, compared on price, safety and who they really suit
- Synthetic Hearts Inside the AI girlfriend boom: what companion apps offer, what they cost and where the boundaries sit
- Field Notes Love, scammed: the romance fraud figures every app user should know before the first message
The List
Top dating apps, ranked and reviewed
Ten apps, ten theories of romance. Our editors score each on what it does best, what the paywall buys you and how well it keeps you safe.
Plenty of Fish Broad, casual-to-serious dating on a large mainstream app
7.9/10 our score
Which dating app is best for you? Take the quiz
Five questions about who you are, who you want to meet and what you’re after. We match your answers against the apps we’ve reviewed, then tell you which one fits and why.
5 questions · 10 apps reviewed · No sign-up
First things first: I am…
Synthetic Hearts 18+
AI companion apps: chatbots, partners and the people who use them
Some people end the day talking to someone who isn't there. We review AI companion apps on memory, personality, privacy and price, for adults only and without the hype.
Best AI girlfriend apps Best AI boyfriend apps
Field Notes
All research
Online dating research: the data behind how we meet
Star sign compatibility: check your zodiac match
Pick your sign, then theirs, or type in two birthdays and we’ll work the signs out. We pair them the way traditional astrology does, by element. Entertainment, not science.
Traditional harmony
Sign dates follow the standard Western zodiac. Astrology has no scientific basis: a University of Manchester study of 2001 census data of about 10 million married couples in England and Wales found no special compatibility between any signs. Prefer evidence? See how couples really meet →
Dispatches
All news
Dating app news from the industry and the inbox
RESEARCH ·
Almost half of UK singles say it has never been harder to connect, Match Group survey finds
INDUSTRY ·
Character.AI is for sale in bankruptcy, and 12 million users’ chats are not part of Disney’s deal
SAFETY ·