10 Best Online Dating Apps & Sites for Introverts
by John Santana
Being an introvert is hard. You don’t seem to get the same chances in the dating world. No matter how hard you try, social events put immense stress on you. You stutter. You can’t construct a sentence. And the worst of all, it happens every time.
Girls are talking to the athletes in the pubs. Where does that leave you? Don’t worry. You can meet someone without feeling like the world is descending on you. If meeting someone new in a crowd is scary, you need to try online dating.
It is no different than chatting someone up in real life, except you do it virtually. You can take all the time you want to build up a sleek sentence. Take the time to find someone that shares the same interest as you do. You can delve into topics where you have a whole speech prepared but are always too shy to talk about in public.
Talking to someone online before you meet in real life gives you the chance to mentally ease yourself in. The expectations of talking to someone are now much more vivid and realistic.
Try out these best dating apps for introverts so you don’t have to shiver next time you talk to a girl in real life!
Dating Apps for Introverts: Our Shortlist
1. Adult FriendFinder
Pros:
- 90 million users
- Easy to connect with members with the community forum, live chats, and streams
- Members are friendly and patient
Cons:
- There is no compatibility test that automatically generates best-matching profiles
A big pool of people guarantees satisfactory results. In this case, Adult FriendFinder is about to win you over. Its 90 million registered members are just the beginning of the stunning selling points this online dating platform has.
Branded as the social media platform for online dating, Adult FriendFinder has an extensive list of features that cannot be found anywhere else. It has live chats, groups, live streams, and a community forum where everyone can engage in a happy conversation.
For introverts, Adult FriendFinder is the best paradise to practice your social skills. Jump in on a live chat with members to talk about the frustration of overdressing on a date, the best first-date ideas, the surprising weekend getaway destinations, and more.
You don’t have to speak if you don’t feel ready. Every member contributes to these live sessions as they wish. You can be an observer. There is no awkwardness that you would feel physically standing in a crowd having a discussion. Now, you are in the comfort of your own sofa. Take your time to jump in whenever you are ready.
If member quality is a big concern for you, then Adult FriendFinder can put all your worries to bed. Members are known to be friendly and chill. You don’t have to be ashamed about struggling with words or finding the right topics. Members are more than happy to take the lead and guide you. Adult FriendFinder offers a second home to everyone that once felt rejected and abandoned.
This magical place is certainly charming. The only small inconvenience for users is that it lacks an automatic match according to your compatibility. That means if you don’t manually input the requirements, you will just be flooded with all the profiles available, which may not be suitable for you at all.
Since Adult FriendFinder has such a large amount of users, without a compatibility test, it can be overwhelming. Not everyone knows immediately what they are searching for. Unfortunately, if you don’t know yourself well enough, Adult FriendFinder can’t filter out profiles for you.
2. Ashley Madison
Pros:
- The gender ratio is even
- The layout is beautifully designed to appease its female users
- No ads
Cons:
- Difficult to find a long-term relationship
It is safe to say that the majority of online dating sites comprise more male members than females. But this is not the case for Ashley Madison. Created specifically for girls, Ashley Madison has an even gender ratio. This creates an even playing field for both genders to engage in a healthy match-making experience.
Furthermore, the whole app is developed with an emphasis on visual elements to appease its female audience. The app is beautifully built with simple navigation. Users can simply like or pass a profile with a button. On each profile, there is basic information like the name and the photos of the user.
Then, there is only the age displayed. For more information, you will have to click on the profile. The basic information gives users a glimpse of the member and decides if they want to know more about this person or give it a like or a pass instantly.
Members also adore Ashley Madison because there are very few ads. As an introvert, getting flooded with ads can be irritating. Dealing with people is difficult enough. You don’t want to have to deal with the ads too. You won’t find this to be a problem on Ashley Madison.
However, Ashley Madison attracts mostly those looking for casual dating. It is hardly the place for serious relationships. If you come here thinking about a happily ever after, you might be disappointed. In fact, many members are looking for sex only. They probably just want it to be a one-time thing.
3. WaysToMeet.com
Pros:
- Explicit photos are allowed
- Fast signup process
- There are plenty of sexy girls that take the initiative to talk
Cons:
- Lots of spammy emails and ads
If you are attracted to explicit photos and girls that are proud to show their bodies, you will love WaysToMeet.com. It is an online dating site where sexy photos are allowed. Men and women are open about their sexuality, and showing their bodies is the way to express themselves. All kinds of suggestive photos are welcome.
To make things easier, WaysToMeet.com has one of the fastest signup processes among dating platforms. It takes less than 3 minutes before you can start matching. All you need is an email and a name and photos for your profile. Then, you are good to go.
Its quick signup process makes the place popular. You will find lots of good-looking girls online every night looking for something fun. On WaysToMeet.com, girls love taking the initiative. It is no longer the job for boys only.
Introverts will love how proactive the girls are. Once they see a profile they like, they advance and don’t stop until they win you over. You don’t have to fuss about coming up with a killer conversation opener because it has been done. Girls love taking the lead. You just need to follow.
Although WaysToMeet.com gives introverts a chance to shine, it is a platform full of spammy ads. Sometimes, the ads are so many that you can barely see a grid on the screen.
It also sends out promotional emails frequently. By unsubscribing, you also lose the chance to receive a notification when you get a match or a message. So, you are pretty much stuck getting spammed.
4. Bang Locals
Pros:
- Excellent proximity search
- Wonderful for those living in rural areas or small towns
- Site navigation is simple
Cons:
- Members are not very active
Who doesn’t want to casually meet someone after a frustrating day at work? Bang Locals gathers all the hot girls in your area so you don’t have to drive five towns over for a date. Its excellent proximity search lets you filter out members by distance.
Most members of Bang Locals live in small towns or the countryside. Therefore, when you are making a trip with your family and want a little bit of time away, this online dating site is made for that. Members are usually between 25 to 40. Some are exclusively looking for hookups only, while others are more open to opportunities.
The user interface of Bang Locals is intuitive. You will get the hang of it in no time. This makes it easier for those who don’t like technology much. The functions are all-rounded and presented in a user-friendly style.
Despite its major benefits, Bang Locals has a problem that users have reported over the years. There are a lot of inactive profiles. These profiles were probably created years ago. The members never deleted their accounts, but they never used them again either. Normally, the search engine would automatically take out inactive profiles from appearing in search results.
But that doesn’t seem to be the case for Bang Locals. Oftentimes, members are still presented with the same list of inactive profiles. No matter how many messages or likes you send them, there is no reply. There is no receiver on the other end. Dealing with inactive profiles is tricky.
Members can’t know for sure who is active on the platform and who is not. The site should take a more prudent measure to eradicate the existence of inactive profiles.
5. Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB)
Pros:
- An intelligent algorithm that sources match from your existing friends
- The quality of the app and visuals are sublime
- For serious dating
Cons:
- Very limited free features
- Have to sign up via Facebook
CMB is an online dating app that has been steadily gaining more attention. Advertised as the dating app that helps you find love, it has a unique system that guarantees success. All the matches are sourced from your friends’ existing friends on Facebook. This ensures you have something in common with your match. If you are already friends with your friends, you are quite likely to be compatible with their friends as well, right?
Since its algorithm caters to members looking for a serious relationship, members on CMB are mostly very decent. You will rarely find people sending flirtatious texts right off the bat. They want to get to know you and build up that connection. They care more about the soul connection than anything else.
For introverts, CMB is a relaxing place where you can casually meet people. Members are not pushy or aggressive. They are polite and patient. They just want to see where it would go and they don’t mind taking their time to get to know someone online before meeting in real life. Introverts will feel comfortable striking up small conversations with members.
Moreover, the app is extremely well-built, both in terms of functionality and aesthetics. All the features are working smoothly. Its calming peachy and cotton blue color theme makes you want to stay longer on the app for fun. The attention to detail is sublime. This is an online dating app built with a heart.
That being said, you can’t enjoy CMB unless you pay. The free features are limited. You get only a handful of matches every day. You can’t initiate a conversation if you don’t have enough points. Basically, if you want to use CMB, you have to upgrade your account. And it is not cheap. The monthly plan will cost you $35, which is pricer than what most people would be willing to pay.
On top of that, in order to be a member, you have to sign up via Facebook. The app builds your network around your social media presence. If you are not active on social media, you will find your luck on CMB rather dull. Not everyone wants their online dating app to be associated with their social media presence. CMB is not exactly user-friendly if you want to steer away and keep things separate.
6. Eharmony
Pros:
- Compatibility test
- Members are well-educated and well-mannered
- A lot of prompts are suggested to you when you make a match
Cons:
- Paid membership plans are very expensive
As a dominant online dating platform in North America, eharmony has a thing or two that are just out of this world. Its exclusive compatibility test requires users to answer a list of 70 questions upon registration. Your answers are then analyzed. The search engine will automatically present lists of matches based on your personality traits and compatibility score.
Its compatibility test is unmatched in this field. It has successfully created thousands of romantic stories. Signing up to eharmony takes effort, so you can rest assured that members on the site are serious about meeting someone. This is the place to find your soulmate. Everyone is looking for a serious relationship.
Another quality that makes eharmony stand out is that the majority of the members are considered to be elites of the society. They are well-educated and well-mannered. They have charming personalities, mesmerizing skills, and interesting hobbies.
Finding someone who likes to take their horses out for a walk after work is no longer a fantasy. There are all sorts of people on eharmony from all walks of life. Everyone has a mind-blowing story to tell.
A thing every introvert struggles with is coming up with a conversation opener. You have read everything on the girl’s profile. But how do you initiate? What is the right way to capture her heart without coming off as awkward and nerdy?
Eharmony understands not everyone is the King of pickups. Hence, it offers a wide variety of prompts to users once a connection has been established. You can send the prompt directly. Or you can tweak it a bit to better fit the situation. The prompts are carefully picked for each profile. They are not generic and useless. The prompts suggested are based on the qualities in both of your profiles and the similarities in them.
Eharmony is indeed the place to scout for love and trust, given that you have the money. Although eharmony gives a fair range of free features to unpaid members, to unlock the full experience, you have to pay about $40 per month.
This staggering price tag is quite off-putting. Having to invest this amount every month is not the most affordable. This is probably why members are mostly well-paying professionals. Learn how to get free E-Harmony trial here.
7. OkCupid
Pros:
- A lot of self-proclaimed introverts in the group
- Generous free features
- LGBTQ+-friendly
Cons:
- Lots of fake profiles and cyberbullying happens sometimes
OkCupid attracts younger people with its modern and chill vibes. Its members are mostly between the age of 18 to 35. OkCupid captures the attention of introverts because there are a lot of members highlighting their struggles on meeting people out there as an introvert on their profiles. This strengthens and unites the bonding of all introverts around. You will feel connected and understood in such a supportive environment.
Sometimes, online dating can cost an arm and a leg. Fortunately, that’s not the case with OkCupid. Most of the essential features are free. You can enjoy all the matching and messaging you want without upgrading your account. This makes it easier for college students and those who don’t have much spare money lying around to still find the joy of chatting people up online.
Most important, OkCupid is dedicated to creating an inclusive and friendly environment for all. It is LGBTQ+-friendly. There are over a dozen of sexual preferences and identities you can choose from. No one should feel stuck because they can’t find an option that they feel associated with. On OkCupid, you are whoever you want to be.
However, OkCupid’s lenient signup policy makes it a hotspot for trolls. There is no ID verification in place. There are a lot of internet trolls roasting others. They create fake profiles just to tease someone they don’t like in real life or make fun of a certain group of people. Cyberbullying sometimes happens due to the sheer volume of profiles created every day.
It is difficult for OkCupid to monitor everything. Although the site does take action against inappropriate behaviors, it is far from enough to stop cyberbullying from happening within its space.
8. Once
Pros:
- One match per day so you can really focus on talking to each other
- Each match is hand-picked for you
- The member quality is high
Cons:
- There are not enough members to truly get a quality match
Similar to CMB, Once wants members to only make a connection with someone special. Therefore, you get one match per day. This forces you to truly focus on that one match. Dividing your energy among a batch of girls each day will not get you far with each of them. With Once, you will go through an exclusive day with each match and see where it takes you.
Once does not rely on coding to find your match. Instead, according to them, your match is hand-picked by a team of experts that know this field. They know what qualities would make a long-lasting relationship. If they see the same characteristics in two profiles, it is a match.
Member quality is high because they are carefully selected. You are only paired with people with that you can sustain a conversation. There is no awkward silence. You will be able to find something to talk about instantly.
The entire premise of Once is set in a fairy tale. But the reality may be slightly different. Once doesn’t have the user base it needs to always pair everyone with their soulmate every day. So what you end up with is someone you are compatible with but not that you necessarily want to date. If Once doesn’t expand its reach, it will be hard for it to deliver what it promises.
9. Siren
Pros:
- Girls have control over who they match with and talk to so it saves you the stress to do so
- Highlight your most creative ideas and thoughts with the question of the day
- It emphasizes finding a soulmate and a long-term partner
Cons:
- The primary features are quite laggy and old. The app is in need of an update
Love is all around. But in a world where women are more often victims of online sexual harassment, Siren decided to step up and create a space where women can thrive. Coincidentally, it serves introverted men well.
On Siren, women take the initiative to start a conversation, to match with you, and to search for quality men. Being an introvert yourself, talking to girls is one of the hardest things. And Siren saves you the energy-draining step. You are not expected to chat someone up. Let the girl do the job.
Siren has a fun “question of the day” feature where you are asked one interesting question a day. The answer will be displayed on your profile. That way, members can know something interesting about you and they know you are online. There is a wide range of questions. For example, you might be asked, “what would you do if you find a magic wand?” Use your creativity and let your imagination fly to capture the eyes of girls on Siren.
Although Siren has all the good intentions in the world, it fails to execute the plan well. The whole app is rather laggy. And the features are not well-built. They look quite old. It diminishes the comfort for users.
10. Align
Pros:
- Connected with your horoscope
- Members are known to be kind and like to take things slow
- A chill vibe for people to talk
Cons:
- The success rate is low as members prefer to talk and make new friends rather than date
If you are into horoscopes, you are home with Align. It matches people according to their signs. You will have lots in common to talk about with your match since you are both huge into horoscopes.
Members on Align are known to be kind. They like to take things slow and rarely rush into things. The atmosphere on Align is chill and encouraging. You will have a good time talking to people on Align. You can delve into conversations about the most compatible signs, what a Gemini would do in this situation, and how you cannot like a Pisces.
Talking with members on Align is fun because you already know you connect. You share the biggest passion in your life, talking about horoscopes. Starting a conversation has never felt easier. The chat flows so naturally and easily without even trying. That’s what it feels when you are comfortable with a topic.
For introverts that are into horoscopes, Align is undoubtedly the best online dating app that unites you with like-minded people.
However, that’s pretty all there’s to it, just talking. The success rate of Align is notoriously low because members prefer talking and chatting instead of physically meeting. Align may be a wonderful place to practice your conversational skills, but it can be tough to actually meet your love on Align.
You can make some great friends on Align as members are lovely and always ready to talk about horoscopes. But be prepared to work a lot harder than you expect to score a date. Members on Align can sometimes be quite reluctant to go on real dates.
Dating Tips For Introverts on Online Dating Apps
The dating life can be tough for introverts. No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to keep up with the fast-changing dating world. If you are feeling overwhelmed, follow these tips.
Practice starting conversations
Use the online dating apps to practice and make yourself comfortable initiating a conversation. The first thing you need is to be able to hold a meaningful conversation. Online dating apps are the best resources where you can interact with real people but can actually sign up anytime it gets too overwhelming.
Use the prompts
Utilize the prompts offered by the dating apps. There are plenty of them and they are often useful in starting a chat. Notice what the content and direction of the prompt you use are. See if it works and learn from it. Change up the prompts a little according to the situation.
Pay attention
Once you are feeling confident about a conversation starter, it is time to keep the flow going. Try to respond to the other person whenever possible. People love it when their date pays attention. Focus on the similarities you have so you have some common ground.
Ask questions
If you don’t feel like sharing or talking, ask her some questions so she can keep going. Remember to comment on her answers so she feels heard. As soon as you feel tired, politely suggest to your date that you will be going to rest. Don’t just stop replying when you have something going on.
Go on fun dates
Being an introvert, crowded places probably scare you. That’s why on your first date, never attend a concert, a beach party, or anything that can make you want to go home immediately. Suggest a quiet activity. You can either have a coffee date in a neat local coffee shop or go for a small hike in nature to relax.
Feel at ease
You should feel confident about yourself and the date before you leave your house. If you don’t feel ready, never accept a date. When you are physically on a date, make sure you are doing something that makes you feel at ease. If your date suggests that you hang out with her friends in town or something that makes you feel nervous, you have the full right to turn it down, but in a kind way.
Stay calm
You don’t have to keep reminding your date that you are an introvert. Kindly explain what you feel like doing and what you don’t. Let her decide what options would work well for her.
At the end of the day, online dating would be the best practice you have ever had. In the vast online world, you are able to connect and talk with someone that shares the same interests and hobbies without standing up from your couch.
Don’t get upset if a match doesn’t work out well. People have been going on online dating apps for years and years. It takes time to find the one that puts a smile on your face.
Summary
Introvert dating doesn’t have to be sad or pathetic. In fact, with all these best dating apps. You can have as much fun and meet as many people as anyone else. Sign up today to drop that social fear!
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