Looking to Get Serious This Year? Here are the Best Online Dating Apps and Websites for Finding Long-Term Relationships 

If you’re tired of meeting singles only interested in casual dating and hooking up, you may be looking for love in the wrong places. After all, a lot of dating apps attract singles that aren’t ready for anything serious. 

The good news is that there are dating platforms out there that target relationship-ready singles that share your dating goals. To help you find other singles searching for long-term connections, we’ve rounded up the best dating apps and websites for serious online daters. We’ve also included some niche dating platforms for faith-based singles looking for love. 

What are the best dating apps to find a serious relationship?

While some apps help facilitate hookups and flings, the following dating platforms strive to connect compatible singles and foster long-term relationships. From the original dating websites like Match to more recent arrivals on the scene like Hily, these dating apps are for singles ready to find their forever partners. 

Hinge

Hinge is an app that targets singles seeking long-term relationships. The goal is for users to eventually delete the app. Instead of using a swipe-based system, Hinge provides a selection of matches to browse, encouraging you to like or comment on the aspects of the profiles that catch your eye. 

What makes it unique

Hinge is known for its creative prompts that encourage users to be more thoughtful and intentional about their answers and how they craft their profiles. This sets Hinge apart from other apps in that the profiles have more depth and provide more information to go off of, aside from just photos. 

Bumble

Bumble is a popular swipe-based app that is often celebrated for attracting users seeking serious relationships. The dating app was originally designed to create a more positive dating experience for women. 

What makes it unique

Bumble is unique in that when two heterosexual users match, only the woman can initiate the conversation. However, if she doesn’t reach out within the 24-hour time limit, the match expires, and they can no longer communicate. While this app was initially intended for women to make the first move, now anyone in the LGBTQIA+ community can start a conversation first. 

Coffee Meets Bagel

Coffee Meets Bagel is another dating app for serious relationships. It focuses on quality over quantity, offering users a curated list of matches to help prevent mindless swiping. 

What makes it unique

Coffee Meets Bagel uses the preferences you set to generate a list of matches (bagels) that it delivers to you each day at noon. This is a unique approach because it can help make the dating experience seem less overwhelming and more manageable when you receive just a few curated matches each day. 

Hily

Hily, short for “Hey, I Like You,” is a lesser-known app that’s gaining traction in the dating world. The interface is a bit like Tinder in that you can swipe and match with users, and a little like Bumble in that matches will expire after 48 hours if neither person initiates a conversation. 

What makes it unique

Hily prides itself on its machine-learning technology that analyzes your profile and searches for matches that align with your preferences. It can also “learn” from your interactions, conversations, and likes, so the more you use the app, the more it can customize your dating experience. 

eharmony

Many singles seeking long-term connections turn to eHarmony. Founded in 2000, it was one of the first dating platforms to use algorithms to generate compatible matches. 

What makes it unique

The unique aspect of eHarmony is that it features an in-depth compatibility questionnaire covering topics about dating preferences, personality, emotional needs, and more. The dating app then compares your answers to other users and suggests matches based on personality dimensions and other factors. 

Match

Dating back to 1995, Match is another tried-and-true dating platform designed for singles interested in long-term relationships. This dating app lets users search for potential matches based on specific factors, such as interests, looks, and education. Like eHarmony, it also has an algorithm that suggests compatible matches using the information you’ve provided in your profile.

What makes it unique

One of Match’s unique features is that you can build a very detailed profile and include up to 26 photos, which can help you express yourself. Another unique feature is that you can send a message to a potential match without having to mutually match or like each other. 

OkCupid

OkCupid rounds out our list of the top dating apps for singles serious about finding love. This is another one of the OG dating apps that creates matches for you based on your answers to the questions they ask. 

What makes it unique

OkCupid is unique because it has thousands of questions that cover a wide range of topics to help you meet potential matches who share your interests and preferences. You can select which questions you want to answer and weigh their importance so that the dating app can learn more about you and find others who are compatible with you based on their answers. 

What about faith-based relationships? 

Some singles want to find love, but they also have special dating criteria, like meeting someone who shares their religious beliefs. Because faith can play such an important role in the dating world, several faith-based apps focus on connecting singles with the same religious preferences. 

For the Christian Community

Several dating apps exist for Christian singles seeking love, such as Christian Mingle, CatholicMatch, and CDFF, 

Christian Mingle

Christian Mingle lets you set up a profile and include information about yourself, your dating preferences, and your denomination. The app then uses this information to track down other Christians who share similar values. 

What makes it unique

A unique feature of Christian Mingle is that the dating platform will send you as many as seven targeted matches a day, creating a curated dating experience. However, the app also lets you browse through profiles and sort them by certain factors. 

CatholicMatch

CatholicMatch describes itself as the world’s largest dating site for Catholics. The app says it generates matches in accordance with the “Catholic Sacrament of Marriage to those who are free to marry in the Catholic Church.”

What makes it unique

This Catholic-based dating app uses a questionnaire called the Match Portrait and “Temperament profiling” to connect compatible matches. Based on your answers, the platform provides potential partners and lets you browse through its community of profiles. 

CDFF

CDFF, which stands for Christian Dating and Conservative Singles, is another faith-based app for Christian singles. In fact, the platform says it is the largest dating site for Christians in the world. 

What makes it unique

This Christian dating app has a matching algorithm that makes suggestions based on the information you provide in your profile. You can browse through the suggested matches or use the search feature to browse on your own. This site is unique in that it also features chat rooms and forums where you can discuss Christian-focused topics like sermons and Bible verses with other users. 

For the Jewish Community

Jewish community members seeking long-term connections have several dating app choices when searching for other singles who share their faith and values. 

JSwipe

JSwipe is a nod to Tinder as it features a very similar interface to the ever-popular swipe-based app. Of course, the main difference is that this dating platform is for those who practice the Jewish faith. 

What makes it unique

While the interface may not be unique or offer any grounding-breaking features, this modern approach to dating is considered a breath of fresh air compared to other Jewish dating sites. Because of its similarities to Tinder, it tends to attract a younger crowd looking for love. 

JDate

JDate is another dating platform for Jewish, relationship-ready singles. It was founded in 1997, making it one of the more well-known Jewish dating sites on the scene. Some call it the modern “shidduch,” which is the name for the traditional matchmaking system in the Jewish community.

What makes it unique

Aside from its mission to match Jewish singles, this niche dating platform doesn’t really have any bells and whistles that set it apart from other dating sites. That said, it does let you select your domination and browse and filter profiles based on specific preferences. Furthermore, the site is available in Hebrew. 

For the Muslim Community

As for the Muslim community, there are several Muslim-focused dating apps that are geared toward matching singles who practice Islam. 

Muzz

Muzz calls itself a marriage app, as it helps Muslim singles meet their forever partners without breaking traditional dating rules governed by Islamic principles. 

What makes it unique

Because Muslims are discouraged from having premarital relationships, Muzz is unique in that it has features that align with religious guidelines. For example, Islamic rules require singles to have a chaperone to monitor their interactions, so users can add a “wali,” or guardian, to oversee their conversations on the app. 

Shaadi

Shaadi is a matrimony service. It was originally designed for Indian and Desi (those of India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh descent who live in other countries) singles, but now it has a section that caters to Muslim singles in particular. The dating platform says it has made 400,000 Muslim matches and counting. 

What makes it unique

Similar to some of the other faith-based dating platforms on this list, Shaadi’s most unique feature is that it caters to a niche group of singles, which are Muslims looking for long-term relationships. The platform lets you browse the database using search filters, but it also offers recommendations based on your preferences, search history, and interactions with other users. 

Why is it so hard to find a serious relationship online in 2024? 

The phenomenon of choice overload, sometimes referred to as choice paralysis, may be contributing to the challenges many singles are facing when trying to find a serious relationship online in 2024. Choice overload occurs when too many options make it overwhelming to make a decision. Applying this to online dating means there are too many singles available on too many dating apps, and it feels impossible to narrow down your options. 

All these choices also make it easier for some singles to hop around from one person to the next without committing to anything serious. When a large portion of the dating pool is satisfied with casual dating and hookups, those searching for long-term relationships can feel like they’re in the minority. 

Because of these challenges, we recommend using dating apps geared toward relationship-ready singles and focusing on one or two sites at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. 

How Tawkify may be able to help you 

At Tawkify, we understand how difficult it can be to find someone who is compatible with you and who shares your relationship goals. That’s why we only work with singles who are serious about finding love and hand-select compatible matches based on your preferences. 

As part of our matchmaking services, we have one-on-one consultations with all our clients to better understand what they want in a partner. We use this information to browse our extensive database to find compatible matches and then screen those potential partners to determine if they’re a good fit. Only once we run background checks and vet the matches do we then arrange an introduction for you. Our expert approach to finding viable matches helps save you time and energy in your search to find love.