Best UK Dating Sites

In today's world, dating can often be discouraging and a tedious process. While there is a range of single individuals out there, many people tend to hide behind made-up personalities. What we mean by that is, you might see someone on social media or a dating app and find out they look different from what they did online, and their interests aren't the same.

Even worse, the amount of dating sites UK and apps you can get for your mobile nowadays means you're often overwhelmed by choice. It's like you feel under pressure to pick the 'right one,' and your standards of perfection are constantly changing. Not to mention that swiping left or right can become so addictive, dating sites and apps turn more into a dopamine hit than actually making progress in your love life.

Another frustrating element of modern-day dating is that you don't know what the other person's intentions are. Whether you're looking to date to have a serious relationship, quick fling, and even marriage, it can be quite hard to find common ground both parties are looking for.

Likewise, it can be just as difficult to find the dating website that suits you. Some may have limited people on, some may charge, and others may be hard to use. Again, the money and the types of British dating sites out there can certainly be a turn off especially if you don't know the good ones. Don't worry, though; we're here to help you and provide you with unique insight into finding your match, the different sites you can use, and questions surrounding them.

Types of dating sites

Compared to our ancestors, we're fortunate to have so many opportunities out there today to date. It's not the case of going out to a pub, meeting someone through friends, or just waiting till you see someone you like. The truth is, we're lucky to have a wide range of options available at our fingertips.

There are many different dating sites for various purposes. After all, it would be a strange world if we were interested in the same things. The reason there are many varieties as people have different needs, interests, and availabilities. Therefore, you can often save valuable time by finding dating sites that align with what you want out of life.

By gender

There are dating sites that display both men's and women's profiles and just have men and other sites with women. If you're interested in specific sex, this can save you a lot of time browsing profiles of the opposite gender.

Dating sites for women

Most importantly, these dating sites in the UK strictly focus on the subtleties of certain genders. For example, if you're a woman, you may be tired of men trying to approach you with dirty comments or booty call suggestions. To counter this, there are dating sites that allow you to approach the male via message first, and then, if they like, they can engage with you.

However, they only have the opportunity to engage for a specific period; once that period is over, you're unmatched. There are also themed websites, ladies; if you like a man in uniform, you can find certain websites that only uniformed male workers can sign up. Therefore, you could be potentially messaging a firefighter, policeman, doctor, and many more. Similarly, when it comes to dating, ladies may be looking to avoid unsolicited texts and images of men. There are dating sites that remove this and verify the man's profile before officially sending stuff to you. Plus, some sites monitor the messages and protect your safety from the very start.

Dating sites for men

The same goes for males; if you're scared of meeting someone who's a catfish (i.e., someone who is not what they look like), many websites reduce this risk. Some dating sites ask women to provide their passport details and a photo to make sure they're legitimate.

By age

When you're looking to date someone, most likely, you have a specific age range in mind of what your ideal partner might be. Plus, certain countries have specific laws about consensual age, and there are dating sites that abide by those rules.

Teenagers and young people

There are some dating sites specifically designed for teenagers to get them used to the dating world. Some examples are MyLOL and MeetMe, where teenagers can create profiles and instant message others in their area.

These websites allow them to have a safe space and be away from lots of older people to find people in their area. This is especially the case with teenagers ages 16-19 who live in urban spaces, as a lot of them like to explore at this age, and thanks to dating sites, they can find like-minded teenagers in their area.

When it comes to teenagers, a lot of dating sites will allow them to display their interests, such as music, movies, hobbies, and other things to enable them to connect with people similar to them. Good dating sites in the UK for teenagers and young people allow them to get creative and create profiles.

As most young people are on social media, it allows them to display their personality and add catchy quotes to meet like-minded people. Plus, they tend to have an interactive messaging feature showing when their match is online, similar to what social media sites do. Moreover, many dating sites for young people are free with paid premium services, catering for their budget whether they're a student or working.

Adults

When it comes to adults, there are so many single ones out there! There are dating websites that specifically try to cater and match based on their interest to narrow down a search. For example, match.com, PlentyofFish, and e-harmony offer a free and paid service for adults to meet one another.

Once an adult sign up on these websites, they have to fill in a personality questionnaire. This questionnaire often covers several topics such as their interests, dislikes, fantasies, goals, etc. Then based on their outcome, the company or an algorithm will match them to a person who displays similar interests from their questionnaire.

Not all adults have to stick with who they've been matched with; a lot of top UK dating sites provide them with options to view the profiles of singles in their area. There are also options on these websites for adults to display their job roles and income. However, it's difficult for dating sites to verify their income.

Seniors

Now for members of the elderly, there are a lot of niche dating sites out there. Most of these people don't have time to hook up and often want something more serious in their life. Plus, these sites are specifically for those over a certain age, and it's very unlikely these people will run into 20 somethings on there as they restrict people under a certain age. Most of the time, some dating sites restrict people younger than 40-45 from signing up.

On another note, dating websites designed for older people allow you to search by location and narrow the search even more. To get elderly people back into the swing of dating, some of these websites often host meetups, singles events, and more to help seniors connect romantically with members offline too.

By purpose

Hookup dating sites

We understand that not everyone is at the time in their life to commit to a serious relationship when it comes to dating. There are sites like Ashley Madison and Hinge which promote discreet hookups. These websites rule out any hidden intentions and allow both parties to date for the same purpose, for hooking up. These sites are effective for no strings attached relationships because they show people who want the same in your area, making it easy and accessible to reach. Another unique feature is that some of them allow users to integrate their social media profiles with the dating website, allowing people to keep it casual and avoid people they may have mutual friends with.

Another option to keep it relaxed is by allowing users to adopt a pseudonym (once registered) or be anonymous. Plus, to allure more users, there are hookup dating sites that like to keep an even man to women ratio and will try to limit signups. Some of these websites are free and paid too.

Those who are wishing to hook up tend to use the free ones more. However, be warned if you choose to use them, do so with caution; some don't always go the extra length to verify their users, and there could be fake profiles or criminals.

Serious relationship sites

There are dating sites that verify users and monitor their behavior on their dating sites to make sure users are safe and serious about their intentions of a long-term relationship. Another feature they have to help make sure users are serious is that they offer many different subscription plans.

While most do offer a free service, their paid services allow for multiple benefits such as more matches, a certain number of matches and a sign to display they're a paid member. The paid member can be an essential factor for many users as it can show others that they're serious about dating.

Plus, these websites will allow users to fill out a profile to lure matches in. Compared to hookup sites or casual dating sites, a lot of these will be rich in detail, allowing members to say as much about themselves as possible.

Upon signing up, they're asked to fill in a survey, allowing the website to determine your compatibility or give a percentage to match with another user. These surveys are often unique because they don't ask to the point questions. Instead, they tend to provide the user with certain scenarios on how they would behave and base their outcomes.

Dating sites for marriage

Marriage is a long-term commitment, and there are dating sites that allow others to connect to people specifically looking for this purpose. Often marriage dating sites allow users to connect to others locally, nationally and internationally.

These sites tend to be paid services and allow users to look for others based on their location, gender, age, height, ethnicity and religion. Regarding religion, users sometimes can fill in questionnaires indicating their interests.

There are features on these dating websites that allow users to video call and write messages. Some websites even go a step further and help organize their first meet up, travel services and can help with their marriage.

By sexual orientation

There are lots of inclusive dating sites which only allow users based on a specific orientation. What's unique about some of these is that they also have support networks and forums that will enable dating members of their website to help people come out.

A lot of these websites provide an in-depth survey to make sure users intentions are good. Plus, users have options to choose different pronouns and sexual orientations to identify themselves. Some of these websites allow anyone to sign up, and others have a strict verification process.

Depending on the orientation and the website's purpose, there could be a lot of x rated images and videos. Similarly, some give you the option to look at multiple people in one go via a grid view.

• Gay: Gay dating sites allow homosexual men to intimately connect by messaging and sending pictures to each other. There are various websites that allow men to interact for hookups, love, marriage, and much more. Two common ones are GRINDR and Wapo, which allow men to find other men in their area via their profile and connect.
• Lesbian: There are various websites that allow women of many nationalities from 18 and above to find love, lust and more. Scissr and Hashtag Open are common examples of lesbian dating websites and they also have apps created for Android and iOS.
• Bisexual: Unlike being gay, lesbian or straight, being bisexual can be tricky in the dating space. Many bisexuals want to be able to date openly and allow others to feel comfortable with their sexuality. To help those with this orientation, there are websites like BiCupid.com, which allow curious bisexual individuals and couples to connect with each other.
• Polyamorous dating sites: Open relationships are starting to become more common, and so is the rise of polyamorous dating sites. Websites like PolyFinda and PolyMatchMaker allow those who want this type of relationship to browse each other's profiles, message, and attend polyamorous events in their area.

Online dating is a thrilling and fun experience. Whether you're looking for hookups, serious relationships, or even marriage, there are good dating sites in the UK that can suit you. However, using them is something you should enjoy but also do so with caution. These websites can have fake accounts, criminals, and strange individuals who use them. To guarantee high quality, safety, and updates on the best dating sites, check out our page regularly. We constantly update the best dating sites for various purposes and frequently provide new information about the existing ones.