The dating app is a type of mobile application where anyone can make connections and find people of similar interests. Users are often required to set up their profiles within dating apps and choose or provide information such as sex, hobbies, interests, motives, etc. Based on the information provided by different users, dating apps usually try to match and connect users of similar interests.

The primary purpose of dating apps is to introduce or connect two people. Once two users are connected, they can chat, call or video conference using the in-app features. Some dating apps provide these features at no charge, while others may require a paid subscription by both the connected users. Since things are getting digital with time, the dating app concept is gaining popularity.

Dating apps have gained a lot of momentum since the world went under lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, and nowadays, all youngsters are very attracted to these apps. Hence, here we present a list of the top 10 widely used dating apps in India to help people find perfect matches on the internet:

1. Tinder

Founder(s): Sean Rad, Justin Mateen, Whitney Wolfe, Jonathan Badeen
Owner: Match Group
Initial release date: 12 September 2012
Founded: 2012
CEO: Renate Nyborg
Employees: Around 750
Headquarters: West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States

Tinder is one well-known dating app that is very popular among the current generation. Behind the success of this dating app, there are the best and unique features that are not present in other dating apps. It has a simple user interface, so anyone can easily understand the process of operating this app. Although the app has many features, developers continually focus on adding more unique features before their competitors. Also, the app allows connecting different social apps or platforms like Instagram and Spotify. Based on the app's number of downloads or the all-time count of total users, Tinder is considered the no. 1 dating app these days.

Tinder is available in both free and paid versions. With the free version, users only get limited access to its features. However, the paid version of Tinder has no limit, and users get premium features. Apart from premium features, this dating app is more reliable than others regarding data safety and security.

2. Bumble

Founder: Witney Wolfe
Owner: Witney Wolfe
Initial release date: December 2014
Founded: 2014
CEO: Witney Wolfe
Employees: Around 700
Headquarters: Austin, USA

Bumble is another popular dating app in the Indian market, and it has maintained good ratings for a long time. The primary reason for its popularity is that it gives more priority to women, i.e. women are given more choices when it comes to being associated with any man. A woman has more authority to decide whether she wants to add a man, accept requests, block, chat and much more. This way, women are not abused and feel comfortable using the dating app.

Bumble is perfect for anyone who wants to explore, establish a network, and make new connections. It is not only used for dating but in addition, the app is also used by travellers and marketers where they can find out more promotion options. It is observed that more than 60% of conversations end after a little talking. Bumble has all the options from reporting to blocking in the app so that the customer doesn't have to face many issues while talking to a fake or unwanted user/Id.

More and more people create fake accounts in online apps to cheat, abuse or commit fraud. However, some advanced systems within Bumble automatically detect most such accounts and either block them or send verification items to prove their identity. Upon verification, Bumble assigns or adds a blue tick to such profiles, indicating the actual profile.

3. OkCupid

Founder: Chris Coyne, Christian Rudder, Sam Yagan, and Max Krohn
Owner: Match group
Initial release date:19 January 2004
Founded: 2004
CEO: Ariel Charytan
Employees: Around 128
Headquarters: Manhattan's Chelsea Neighbourhood

OkCupid is owned by the Match Group, which also owns major dating companies in the United States, such as Tinder, Bumble, and Happn. OkCupid is famous in India for its unique features, which makes it different from other dating apps.

While users face many problems in using some dating apps, OkCupid has been focused on addressing such problems in its dating app by grabbing it from customer feedback. The app actively tries to find fake IDs, which are blocked and turned off accordingly.

It's the first dating app that doesn't find matches by pictures but finds the right match with a few questions. Users are requested to answer such questions to find their matches. Though it is a very different and unique approach, this uniqueness gives the user a whole new experience.

4. Happn

Founder: Didier Rappaport, Fabien Cohen and Antony Cohen
Owner: Match group
Initial release date: February 2014
Founded: 2014
CEO: Didier Rappaport
Employees: Around 630
Headquarters: 8 rue du Sentier, Paris

Has it ever happened that you are passing somewhere on the road and you find yourself with a match? If not, then you should use Happen app, which allows you to find matches whenever and wherever you are on the road or any place.

Many other dating apps are currently active in India for 10-15 years, and it is almost impossible to beat them with similar features. But, Happn came up with a completely different idea. This dating app uses the device's location access to find the closest match, and users can choose to connect or block accordingly. Happn App has improved the customer experience by taking customer feedback from time to time.

By 2022, Happn has grown to over 50 million users worldwide in 50 major cities and 40 countries. This is a huge number for any dating app. When Happn started its dating app, the company had only 25 million in funding, but today, it generates millions of monthly revenue.

The basic features in Happn can be used at no charge. However, users need to get a premium subscription for all its features.

5. Trulymadly

Founder: Snehil Khanor
Owner: Snehil khanor and Amit Gupta
Initial release date: 2013
Founded: 2013
CEO: Snehil Khanor
Employees: N/A
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India.

TrulyMadly is a very cool dating app, and it is an Indian app designed by a team of Indian developers. The main founder, CEO and owner, Snehil Khanor, is also from India. TrulyMadly is an easy-to-use and well-rated dating app that offers similar features to other major dating apps on the Play Store.

Like other dating apps, TrulyMadly also suggests matches based on users' likes and dislikes. Also, it allows users to set kilometre ranges to find nearby matches in the specified range. TrulyMadly has a very strict and secure verification process that prevents the presence of bots or fake IDs. Also, the company ensures users keep their data safe from unwanted sources.

6. Hinge

Founder: Justin McLeod
Owner: Match Group
Initial release date: 2012
Founded: 2012
CEO: Justin McLeod
Employees: Around 350
Headquarters: New York, USA

Hinge is another online dating app that allows users to find the best match based on the common interest shared by two people. It is one of the best competitors of Tinder, the world's No. 1 dating app.

Hinge has been improved over time in several in-app areas, attracting more and more users with its new features and updates. Since users on this dating app continue to grow, making or finding matches has become.

Hinge has kept its monthly and annual subscriptions as low as possible to attract more users. The monthly subscription to this dating app costs around $12.99. The name 'Hinge' originates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of England.

7. Aisle

Founder: Able Joseph
Owner: Able Joseph
Initial release date: 2014
Founded: 2014
CEO: Able Joseph
Employees: Around 350
Headquarters: New York, USA

Aisle is another online dating app that aims to create a healthy relationship between people over the internet. Although popular in India, this dating app is also used in many other countries. This dating app has become a huge hit worldwide in a very short period. It is believed that Aisle can be a good option for those who want to find their future partners as the app filters out fake IDs very strictly. As a result, the app only connects to genuine/ real people.

Initially, the company focused on its tagline 'Design for Romance', which later changed to 'Nothing casual about this dating app'. The primary aim of this dating app is to redefine the dating experience and help singles discover their love.

Aisle is also free to use with some limitations. Users can get paid subscription to enjoy all the features and increase their chances of getting the closest matches.

8. Badoo

Founder: Andrey Andreev
Owner: Andrey Andreev
Initial release date March 2012
Founded: 2012
CEO: Andrey Andreev
Employees: Around 270
Headquarters: Limassol, Cyprus

Like other dating apps, Badoo also gained much momentum during the lockdown after COVID-19. The increasing use of this dating app led to more users over time. With an increasing fanbase, it has become easier for people to find more and more matches and request a date. Badoo also connects people based on their interests and similar profiles.

Badoo also competes amongst India's most widely-operated dating apps. In addition to Badoo, the Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev also developed four other applications since 2004, namely Mamba, Bumble, Chappy and Lumen. Because of multiple app developments, the developer could attract more and more users. Also, users are informed regarding other apps when they use any specific app among these five developed ones.

Badoo app has a few gestures supports to make the user experience easier. For example, users can swipe left or right on specific areas within the app to quickly perform the associated task (such as starting chat, calls, etc.). Also, the security and verification process goes through multiple levels to avoid fake ids.

9. Coffee Meets Bagel

Founder: Arum Kang, Dawoon Kang, Soo Kang
Owner: Arum Kang, Dawoon Kang
Initial release date: 17 April 2012
Founded: 2012
CEO: Arum Kang, Dawoon Kang, Soo Kang
Employees: N/A
Headquarters: San Francisco, California

Coffee Meets Bagel was started in 2011 by three sisters, Arum, Dawoon and Soo Kang. They all started their journey in San Francisco, and currently, they have over 10 million users on their app around the world.

Coffee Meets Bagel is a very good dating app, and this app also has many premium features like Tinder. The most different thing about this dating app is its name which attracts more users to try this app. Another cool thing about this app is that users can get approval from friends and colleagues to increase their trust relationships. This helps to avoid fake IDs on the server to some extent.

Coffee Meets Bagel allows users to send a match request to connect with each other. This feature is similar to Facebook. However, unlike Facebook, the time limit for a sent request is 24 hours. During this time frame, the receiver can choose to accept the match or not. If the receiver selects no option, the request is automatically dropped.

When Coffee Meet Bagel was created, this app was marketed so that more and more users could join it, and the name of this app worked to attract more users. Even today, this app has a very good rating on app stores. Moreover, they have maintained a good and loyal customer base to date.

10. Woo

Founder: Sumesh Menon
Owner: Ankit Nautiyal and Sumesh Menon
Initial release date: July 2014
Founded: 2014
CEO: Ankit Nautiyal and Sumesh Menon
Employees: Around 315
Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana

Woo is last in our list of top 10 dating apps, and the reason behind this is that usually, professional people create their accounts on this platform and its users are few compared to other dating apps. However, its quality is very high. It has pretty good privacy features compared to other dating apps while offering similar dating app features.

Like other popular communication apps, Woo dating app also has a call option that helps users to make voice calls and video calls. The best part is that users can connect directly over the internet without revealing their contact numbers. The company has added access for both the caller and the receiver to make communication more secure. This means the call cannot be made unless both the users agree and accept the request to make the call.

The Woo app gives users a great user experience and allows them to manage their profiles using attractive in-app features. The app allows users to put their own picture or attach a video to their profile to make it easier to find matches. Although this dating app offers you many premium features for free, users can refer people to earn some in-app coins and unlock premium benefits.

Top 10 List