Best Free Utility Apps on Mobile, Ranked
Google Translate is the best free utility app: it translates text, speech and camera images, works offline once you download a language, and has no ad
Editorial Team · 2026-10-11
Best Dating Apps, Ranked by Our Scores
By Editorial Team · published 2026-10-05 · updated 2026-10-05
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Hinge wins this list at 7.1, and it is a narrow win in a category where nothing scores above that. Its free tier still does the job — likes tied to a specific photo or prompt, a daily compatible pick, reply rules that cut dead chats — while its own subscribers pay more per month than any rival's. Nothing here clears 7.2, and the reason is the same across all ten apps we reviewed: the list of people who already liked you is behind a paywall.
How we picked
Every app here has a full review with five sub-scores — core function, ease of use, monetisation, performance, privacy and permissions — and the number at the head of each entry is the weighted result. We judged dating apps on what a free account can actually do, what the subscription withholds, and what the app keeps after you leave.
That last point deserves more attention than it gets. Every app on this page runs face verification, and on three of them the face data is kept for the lifetime of the account. Two keep core profile details for years after deletion.
Monetisation is why the scores are low. Not one app in our dating catalogue scores above 5.5 on it, because the pattern is universal: free matching, paid visibility, and prices that differ from one buyer to the next.
1. Hinge — the free tier that still works
Hinge scores 7.1 with an 8.5 for core function, the highest here. Likes attach to a specific photo or prompt rather than a whole profile, Your Turn limits stop conversations from piling up unanswered, and a daily Most Compatible pick arrives without paying. A free account can join, match and chat.
What it withholds: incoming likes arrive one at a time, you get one Rose and one Undo Skip a week, and preferences such as height, children or politics are for subscribers. Its payers averaged $33.11 a month in the second quarter of 2026, nearly double Tinder's, and its Google Play rating is 3.5 across 486,000 ratings.
Good for: people who want conversations rather than a swipe count. Not for: anyone who filters hard on specifics without paying.
2. Tinder — the largest pool, and the most stacked shop
Tinder takes 6.9. Free matching and chat work across more than 190 countries, which is the one advantage no rival can buy, and Double Date and Astrology modes have been added without a paywall.
The shop is the problem: three stacked subscription tiers plus Boosts and Super Likes, prices that vary between users, no downgrade route on Google Play or the web, an unpublished daily like cap, and the Likes page — who already liked you — locked behind Gold or Platinum. September 2026 reviews report verification loops locking paying users out, and face data is kept for the account's lifetime.
Good for: the biggest pool of people, anywhere. Not for: anyone who wants predictable pricing.
3. OkCupid — the questions still do something
OkCupid scores 6.5 and keeps the mechanic it launched with in 2004: a Match percentage built from both people's answers to around 500 multiple-choice questions. Free accounts can like, send Intros and message mutual matches without limit.
The limits are quieter than Tinder's but real — a daily like cap, soft distance limits, Intros shown one at a time — and the Interested in You list is paywalled. Premium, Premium Plus, a separate Incognito plan, Boosts, read-receipt packs and Stack passes span $7.99 to $59.99 in the US as of October 2026, and cancelling depends on whether you paid Apple, Google or the website.
Good for: people who want something to talk about before the first message. Not for: anyone who dislikes filling in forms.
4. Bumble — either person can start now
Bumble scores 6.4. Since August 2026 anyone in a match can send the first message, ending the women-first rule the app was built on in 2014, and both people now get 72 hours rather than 24. Swiping, matching, messaging and video calls remain free, and ID verification is available to anyone who wants the badge.
Against it: the Liked You list is blurred until Premium, three tiers sit alongside a BumbleCoins wallet, plan lengths are unlisted, purchases are mostly non-refundable, and core profile details are kept for six years. September 2026 reviews describe loading loops and sign-up codes that never arrive.
Good for: people who liked Bumble's rules and want the newer, looser version. Not for: anyone who expects the old first-message etiquette.
5. Badoo — a big free pool, paid for with video adverts
Badoo also scores 6.4, with the largest free feature set here: matching, chat and video calls at no cost, plus Photo Verification and a Private Detector that blurs unsolicited images.
Its monetisation sub-score of 4.5 is the lowest in this list. 2026 reviews describe video adverts every few swipes, Premium runs $13.99 weekly as of October 2026, Credits sit on top as a second currency and expire after six months, and the help centre lists open bugs in Likes, Favourites, Visitors and login captchas.
Good for: a large pool in Europe and Latin America without paying. Not for: anyone with low tolerance for adverts.
What we did not pick and why
Hily, happn, Match, Bumpy and Plenty of Fish all land between 6.1 and 6.4 in our reviews, and none of them offers something the five above do not. happn's proximity gimmick needs density to work, Match's pricing is the least transparent we reviewed, and Plenty of Fish has the thinnest verification of the group.
We also did not rank by install counts. Tinder has 500 million installs and sits second here, because the question this list answers is what a free account can do, not how many people downloaded the app.
Bottom line
Hinge is the best dating app we have reviewed, and the margin is small enough that the real advice is to read the subscription terms before installing anything. If the pool where you live is thin, Tinder's reach beats Hinge's design. If you want to pay nothing at all, Badoo gives away the most — and charges you in adverts and attention instead. Whichever you pick, assume the face scan outlives the account.
