OkCupid review 2026: the questionnaire app that still asks the right things

Most dating apps want your photos first and your opinions later, if at all. OkCupid has always run the other way. Its help centre says the system holds about 500 match questions, and it suggests new members answer somewhere between 50 and 100 of them before judging the results. That is a lot of homework for a free app. It is also the reason OkCupid has outlasted a decade of swipe-first rivals.

Match Group, which owns it, describes OkCupid in its latest annual report as a brand that launched in 2004 and “has attracted users through a Q&A approach to the dating category”. It now sits in Match’s Evergreen group alongside Match.com, Meetic and Plenty of Fish: established, freemium, and concentrated, the filing says, in large English-speaking cities.

Our OkCupid verdict

OkCupid earns its 8.4 because it does something few big apps attempt: it makes compatibility legible. You can see exactly why a stranger scores 91 per cent with you, question by question, and you can set dealbreakers that actually filter. Its identity options are among the broadest of any mainstream app, and its handling of non-monogamy is clear rather than coy.

What holds it back is familiar from the Match Group stable. The most useful window in the app, the list of people who already like you, is a paid feature. Read receipts have become a pay-per-pack extra. And the question bank, by the company’s own account, leans American, which British users will notice when asked about issues that do not map neatly onto UK life. In our assessment it is a strong pick for people who want substance over speed, provided they accept that the free version is a taster.

How OkCupid works: questions first, faces second

Sign-up follows the standard pattern: photos, basic details, what you are looking for. The UK App Store listing frames the app around “matching on what matters”, and lists dating, casual relationships and friendship as supported intentions, with both local and virtual dating options.

The engine room is the questionnaire. Each answer feeds a match percentage that appears on profiles, and tapping that number lets you compare your responses with the other person’s. There is a catch built into the design: you can only compare answers to questions you have both answered publicly. If someone’s profile shows very few questions, the help centre notes, they may have answered privately, or you simply have not reached those questions yet.

You can change your mind. Answers can be revised on the web or in the app, though not deleted outright; the closest you get is marking a question “Irrelevant” and setting your answer to private. That small detail matters more than it sounds. Opinions shift, and an app that remembers everything you said at 2am three years ago should at least let you take it back.

OkCupid is unusually candid about the limits of all this. The same help page states that it is “an American company with mostly US users”, so some questions are US-specific, while others are general or tailored to other countries. Skip what does not apply. British members will be doing a fair amount of skipping.

Profiles and matching on OkCupid

Profiles combine photos, written sections, prompts and the details you choose to share. Discovery runs on a familiar like-or-pass model, with mutual likes opening a conversation. On the free tier you can still like, match and message, which is more generous than some rivals.

Gender, orientation and identity options

Inclusivity has been an OkCupid selling point for years, and the numbers hold up. The Identity Tags help article lists 22 gender options and 20 orientation options, plus a separate set of more than 60 identity tags available to members who identify as LGBTQ+. Nineteen of those tags were added after consultation with staff, community experts and the Human Rights Campaign. Members can choose as many as they like, change them whenever they wish and use them as search preferences.

Pronouns can be set during registration and displayed on the profile; the App Store listing describes pronoun display as optional. For anyone who has tried to explain their identity through a single drop-down menu elsewhere, this is a meaningful difference.

Non-monogamy, handled sensibly

OkCupid is one of the few mainstream apps with a written policy on ethical non-monogamy. The non-monogamy guidance sets out the rules plainly. One person per profile: couple accounts are not allowed and can be removed. Partnered or married members can only select a non-monogamous relationship type. And non-monogamous profiles are shown only to people who are non-monogamous or open to it, which spares everyone an awkward third message.

The policy also draws a firm line on consent. Dating outside your relationship without your partner’s agreement, or hiding your status, can get a profile banned. So can sexual first messages, even between two non-monogamous members. Couples who want to browse together with linked profiles will find that better served by Feeld.

OkCupid pricing: Premium, Premium Plus and the extras

OkCupid’s paid structure has been reshuffled, and the help centre now describes four products. The paid features overview explains that Basic, the old entry tier, is no longer available to new buyers, though existing subscribers keep it.

Basic (legacy) covered unlimited likes, dealbreakers, an ad-free experience and the ability to see all your Intros at once.

Premium includes all of that, plus the “Interest” tab showing who has liked you before you like them, the ability to read anyone’s public question answers (including questions you have not answered yourself) and three SuperLikes a week. The Premium help page adds that the newer version no longer includes the automatic evening Boosts that legacy members kept.

Premium Plus is the top tier. According to the Premium Plus article, it adds Priority Likes that appear at the top of the recipient’s list, unlimited read receipts, 15 SuperLikes a week instead of three, and one “Rush Hour” Boost token a month. There is a subtle twist: Priority Likes only help if the recipient has Premium or above, since free members cannot see the list at all.

Incognito is a separate add-on that hides your active profile from anyone you have not liked or messaged, and removes outside ads.

What OkCupid costs in the UK

OkCupid does not publish a UK price list on its help pages, so the clearest guide is the App Store. On the UK store, checked on 19 October 2026, the in-app purchases were listed as “OkCupid Premium” at £5.99, £11.99, £14.99, £22.99, £38.99 and £44.99, with “A-List” at £7.99 and Boosts from £0.99 to £6.99. Apple does not say which price matches which subscription length, and introductory offers distort the picture further, so treat these as the range rather than a menu.

Two smaller changes are worth knowing. Read receipts can now be bought separately in packs of five, ten or 25, applied one conversation at a time, and they only work where the other person has also liked you. Boosts push your profile into more search results for a period, cannot be used while Incognito is switched on, and, as the company admits, guarantee nothing.

Is the free version enough?

On paper, yes, for a while. Free members can answer questions, browse, like, match and message. What they lose is visibility: the people who have already liked you remain hidden, and you cannot read the answers of people whose questions you have not tackled yourself. For a patient user who answers widely, the free tier is genuinely usable. For anyone short of time, Premium is where the app starts to feel efficient.

Is OkCupid safe? Verification, moderation and privacy

OkCupid is rated 18+ on the App Store, which notes in-app controls for age assurance. Its help centre has a dedicated Advice and Safety section with guidance on reporting non-consensual intimate images and deepfakes, plus country-specific resources for users in Australia, Singapore, Brazil and Colorado.

Photo rules and verification

The photo rules are strict and specific. Your main photo must clearly show your face and be recognisable as you. Heavily filtered images, close-ups of body parts, artwork and childhood photos are out. So are photos showing phone numbers, social handles, workplaces, QR codes or banking details, a sensible line against both scams and doxxing. Nudity is banned, and repeat offenders can be removed. Blank or fake images used to dodge the face rule can see an account banned as fake.

What we could not find in OkCupid’s own help pages was a description of a selfie or ID verification badge of the kind Hinge, Bumble and Plenty of Fish now promote. That does not prove the feature is absent in every market, but it does mean OkCupid is not making verification a headline promise. If a verified badge matters to you, our Plenty of Fish review covers Match Group’s Face Check system in detail.

What OkCupid does with your data

The App Store privacy labels, which are supplied by the developer rather than checked by Apple, list purchases, identifiers and usage data as data that may be used to track you across other companies’ apps and websites. Data linked to your identity includes location, contact information, user content, “sensitive info” and diagnostics. On Google Play, the UK listing says data is encrypted in transit, that you can request deletion, and that some data may be shared with third parties.

For LGBTQ+ members, that “sensitive info” label is worth a moment’s thought. Identity tags and orientation choices are, by their nature, sensitive. They power OkCupid’s best features, but anyone who needs discretion should limit what they make public and review the privacy settings before filling in every field.

What users say

As of 19 October 2026, OkCupid held a 4.2 rating from around 17,000 ratings on the UK App Store, against 3.3 from roughly 688,000 reviews on Google Play in the UK, where the app has passed 50 million downloads. The gap between the two stores is wide, and Android reviews frequently mention paywalls. Store ratings are a blunt instrument, but a split that large usually reflects frustration with what the free tier withholds.

Who OkCupid suits, and who should skip it

It suits people who know what they believe and want a partner who broadly agrees. The question system rewards effort, and dealbreakers let you rule things out before a first message rather than three dates in. It also suits LGBTQ+ daters who want granular identity options inside a large, general-audience app, and openly non-monogamous people who want clear rules.

It also suits the curious introvert. If you would rather read how someone answered a question about money, religion or tidiness than decode a mirror selfie, OkCupid gives you more to go on than almost anyone.

Skip it if you want a quick, photo-led experience; Tinder does that more efficiently. Skip it if you will not pay and dislike blind spots, since the free tier hides your admirers. And if you are in the UK and find American cultural references grating, the question bank will test your patience.

OkCupid alternatives worth considering

If OkCupid’s depth appeals but you want a more polished, relationship-focused feed, our Hinge review explains why it tops our rankings. If you want a cleaner, more curated experience, see our Bumble review. Queer women and non-binary daters looking for a dedicated community should read our HER review, and anyone exploring non-monogamy as a couple will find more tools in our Feeld review. For the full picture, our guide to the best dating apps ranks all ten.

Frequently asked questions

Is OkCupid free to use?

Yes. You can create a profile, answer questions, like, match and message without paying. Premium adds the list of people who have liked you, the ability to read others’ public answers to questions you have not answered, and weekly SuperLikes.

How many questions does OkCupid have?

OkCupid’s help centre says the system contains about 500 match questions and recommends answering 50 to 100 to start. You can skip any that do not apply and revise answers later.

What is the difference between OkCupid Premium and Premium Plus?

Premium shows who likes you, opens up others’ public answers and includes three SuperLikes a week. Premium Plus adds Priority Likes, unlimited read receipts, 15 SuperLikes a week and a monthly Rush Hour Boost token.

Who owns OkCupid?

OkCupid is owned by Match Group, which also owns Tinder, Hinge, Match.com and Plenty of Fish. Match’s annual report places it in the company’s Evergreen brand group.

Is OkCupid good for LGBTQ+ users?

It is one of the more inclusive mainstream apps, with 22 gender options, 20 orientation options and more than 60 LGBTQ+ identity tags, plus optional pronoun display. Users who need discretion should be selective about what they make public.