Beginners struggle to navigate through the abundance of gay dating sites, so we prepared an overview of the best services and evaluated them by several parameters.
Here is the rating based on our ”Hookup chance” metric.
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Grindr - 4/5.
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Pure.dating web app - 4/5.
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Gaydar - 4/5.
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Manhunt - 3/5.
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Adam4adam - 3/5.
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Outpersonals - 3/5.
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Scruff - 3/5.
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Eharmony - 3/5.
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Gays - 3/5.
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BiCupid - 2/5.
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Manjam - 2/5.
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Gayfriendfinder - 1/5.
Grindr
Number one location-based gay sex dating resource in the world.
Affordability: 4/5
Basic for free. Xtra - $9,99 a month or 3, 6, 9, 12 months ($47,88 per year).
Audience quality: 5/5
With its 3,6 million daily active users Grindr is more popular than any of gay meeting sites - at least if you mean hookups and nothing more.
Interface: 2/5
Browsing and chatting are simply organized, but only available in the app. The web version serves only as a support interface for the app. Both the Help center and Get the app sections are easy to use.
Security and privacy: 3/5
Social media accounts can be linked optionally, email verification not mandatory.
Hookup chance: 4/5
Other user profiles are displayed according to their geolocation while each user can choose whether others can see the exact distance to himself or not. No 'Explore' option for travelers.
Pure.dating web app
The most minimalistic, yet meaningful among online gay dating sites. Profiles are shown within a particular area but sorted according to relevance, not location. The essential purpose of the site is to help you arrange a date as fast as possible.
Affordability: 4/5
Seven days for free. Paid - from $14,99 per week up to $75,6 per year.
Audience quality: 4/5
The number of users is significantly lower than in leading gay online dating sites, but we haven't spotted fakes or scammers. Quality over quantity!
Interface: 5/5
The black and white interface is stylish, with as few distracting elements as possible. All you need to start is to pick the gender you are interested in and upload a profile photo. All the icons are intuitive, filling in your profile can take less than a minute.
Security and privacy: 5/5
No social media linking, as well as 60-minutes-living chats and the end-to-end encryption, ensure profound safety for your private data.
Hookup chance: 4/5
A sophisticated matching algorithm is sorting the profiles based on multiple characteristics like age, ethnicity. All the matches disappear in one hour, which prevents never-ending chats and boosts both partners to arrange an offline date. What is more, highlighting yourself is as easy as ever - with the 'King of the hill' feature.
Gaydar
Location-based site and app with a minimalistic design.
Affordability: 4/5
Basic for free. Paid - $7,99 a month or $45,96 a year.
Audience quality: 2/5
Pretends to be 5 mln users worldwide but doesn't give an impression of being as full as Grindr in the US - 0,6 mln only. This is partially offset by the fact this pool is a balanced one, with all types of guys - from discrete to kinky.
Interface: 4/5
Profiles are detailed for a gay sex dating website, though it is balanced by a minimalistic design. It will equally suit experienced guys and newcomers.
Security and privacy: 3/5
Signing up does not require verified emails, and viewing other guys’ profiles in invisible mode is not free.
Hookup chance: 4/5
By default location-based, though you can look for your partner in the specialized topic- and location-based chat rooms.
Manhunt
Fuck the censorship! A pioneer among gay date sites since 2001 offers dating search and porn video chats. Profiles displayed regardless of location. Every user can upload up to 16 full-size XXX pictures.
Affordability: 4/5
Basic for free. Paid - from $7,00 weekly, renewing to $124,00 - 1 year, non-renewing.
Audience quality: 3/5
Now it boasts of 6 mln users, of which only quarter resides in the US.
Interface: 4/5
Abundant in functions like chatting directly or via email, adding the contacts to 'buddy-list' or 'favorite list'... Navigating your way around manhunt.net is simple, no matter if you are using it as a gay dating website or as a branch of manhunt.porn.
Security and privacy: 4/5
Email verification is required, social media accounts linking is not obligatory. Unlimited blocks, un-blocks, and even chats - for paid members only.
Hookup chance: 3/5
One of the most efficient sites, but only for those into NSA and kinky fun only. Explicit gay content and 8 languages other than English supported.
Adam4adam
The glorious amateur porn platform. Live cams, sex shop, movies - dating is just a bonus here. The search engine is based on location, like in most competing gay online dating sites.
Affordability: 5/5
Free.
Audience quality: 3/5
Dozens of thousands of guys can be online at one moment, but there are too many fake profiles.
Interface: 4/5
Signing up is fast, though email verification is mandatory.
Security and privacy: 3/5
Email verification is not a must. Meanwhile, linking social media accounts is optional.
Hookup chance: 3/5
While it's one of the biggest platforms to earn money on home porn, the search of a real sex partner might be not easy. The same way direct picture and location exchange is organized in chats.
Outpersonals
Gay sex dating with chatrooms & webcams.
Affordability: 3/5
Basic for free. Paid - $29,96 a month or $6,95 a month if paid annually.
Audience quality: 3/5
Less than 400 000 thousand users but truly diverse.
Interface: 3/5
It's slightly old-fashioned but clear and efficient. "Search", "Mail" and "Favorite" sections are accompanied by "Friends", "Community" and "Chat". The number of features does seem to be excessive. This poses certain difficulties for new users.
Security and privacy: 3/5
Webcam chats, live broadcasts as well as blogs make up a kind of gay social network. Too much personal data is meant to be disclosed on the website with its blogs and live broadcasts..
Hookup chance: 3/5
Keywords search and automatic matching notifications available. A separate search for bi, couple, groups is an advantage. The user pool does not seem to be sufficient.
Scruff
Grindr-style app and website for bear lovers with location-based search.
Affordability: 5/5
Basic for free. Pro - $4,99.
Audience quality: 3/5
The number of profiles is way smaller than in Grindr. But if you are into daddies and leather - this is the site for you.
Interface: 4/5
It's very close to Grindr, with some extensions. 'Trips' and 'events' sections can help you explore the gay dating scene of a particular city before you settle there.
Both building the profile and chatting are easy, especially for those already familiar to Grindr. At the same time, functionality for free users is limited in comparison to other gay dating sites - even viewing the pics is not 100% free.
Security and privacy: 4/5
E-mail may be used for registration without social media accounts.
Hookup chance: 3/5
Based on location plus a few extra filters such as sex position or HIV status for Pros users. Matchmaking occurs primarily based on the pics. If you both press 'interested' buttons on each other profiles, Scruff will let you know - that's more useful than just tapping someone.
Eharmony
A dating site based on insight and thorough matching algorithm instead of a location.
Affordability: 1/5
Basic for free. Paid - $48,6 per month or $145 per year.
Audience quality: 2/5
When it comes to the number of daily active users, eharmony only ranks 23rd globally. Although this user pool is quite inclusive.
Interface: 4/5
The interface is intuitive and typical for LTR-oriented gay date sites. The most complicated step due to the time it takes is perhaps the welcome questionnaire, with no pitfalls expected after. Dashboard insights ensure more customized user experience than on other mainstream online gay dating sites.
Security and privacy: 4/5
As long as you register, you have to fill in a lengthy questionnaire - this is hard to combine with a high level of privacy.
Hookup chance: 3/5
Profiles are shown based on the data from the questionnaire. A ‘29 Dimensions of Compatibility’ algorithm shows you the optimal matches.
Gays
Multi-layer gay dating website displaying users based on location and manual filters.
Affordability: 3/5
Basic for free. Paid - $19,95 a month or $7,5 a month if paid annually.
Audience quality: 3/5
10 years after its launch in 2008, the number of users stays average - below 1 million.
Interface: 3/5
The website is trying to cater literally for everyone but not always successfully. It offers Sex stories and pride events, chat rooms, Activity Stream and Speed Dating. The design is appealing and modern, combining the functions of a gay dating website with a social network.
Security and privacy: 2/5
The elements of social networks do pose some risks for you if you seek discreet gay dating.
Hookup chance: 3/5
It's quite high thanks to the community being truly inclusive. Moreover, it has the right balance between casual hookup and LTR-searching purposes.
BiCupid
The only dating website for those into boys and girls alike - based on location as well.
Affordability: 1/5
Basic for free. Paid - $29,99/month, $95,95 for 180 days.
Audience quality: 3/5
The user pool is not very big but genuinely diverse. What is more, it's the only gay dating website suitable for couples' profiles!
Interface: 3/5
The interface is rather old-fashioned, but clear enough. Users access most features through excessive and slightly obtrusive drop-down menus. No verification is needed, so signing up and starting the search won't take a lot of time.
Security and privacy: 3/5
No verification is potentially bad news for those who are fed up with fake profiles.
Hookup chance: 2/5
Unfortunately, the service doesn't use any modern and smart matching algorithm. You have to surf through hundreds of meaningless profiles to find the guy you need. One more problem: free members can 'wink' only instead of starting the conversation.
Manjam
One of the most popular sites for gay sex dating in the Middle East.
Affordability: 4/5
Basic for free. Paid - $14,99/month, $7,83 per month if paid annually.
Audience quality: 3/5
It is worth installing it if you are going to the Middle East, but the pool size in America stays negligible.
Interface: 4/5
The signup process is pretty quick, though, while browsing for guys lacks some search functionality. It does allow for exploring other locations before traveling - and even the exchange of video and audio content. But the only way to start messaging is either email or comments. On the other hand, less unnecessary functions are less distraction.
Security and privacy: 3/5
Email verification is essential since it’s the only way to communicate there.
Hookup chance: 2/5
Based on locations. No keywords and specific search filters.
Gayfriendfinder
Old-school, small-pool gay dating resource with a non-location based search engine.
Affordability: 2/5
Basic for free. Paid - $22,99 a month or $8,99 a month if paid annually.
Audience quality: 2/5
50000 registered users in total - which makes up dozens of new profiles per week available outside the biggest US cities. A small number of users is a crucial disadvantage for all gay meeting sites.
Interface: 2/5
The website seems to be stuck in the early 2000s with all its five main areas: browse, chat, video, blogs, and magazine. Even with fewer functions available in a free version, it's still quite hard to get used to this obsolete interface.
Security and privacy: 2/5
It seems to be a bad idea for privacy-sensitive guys to use a dating site with webcam chatting.
Hookup chance: 1/5
The search engine is quite bizarre. You can filter the guys by gender but not by age.
