In 2003, four friends from Harvard University created OkCupid, an online dating platform dedicated to helping people find love and happiness through meaningful connections. According to the brand’s website, more than 91 million connections are made on OkCupid every year, with 50,000 dates made every week—and apparently, it has more mentions in The New York Times wedding section than any other app.
OkCupid was the first dating app to introduce 22 gender and 13 orientation choices (in 2013, before competitor apps made similar updates). It’s known for its in-depth questionnaire that includes dealbreakers, ultimately generating a compatibility score, and is ideal for people who want their unique interests and personalities to align, with lots of opportunities to share what matters to you. “The site is best for people who are looking for diversity and inclusivity, as it caters to different sexual orientations, gender identities, and relationship styles,” Dr. Smith says. The basic version (which you have to pay for) offers unlimited likes and rewinds and the ability to filter out dealbreakers. Upgrade to the premium if you want to see who’s liked you, to send three SuperLikes per week, and to view their answers to public questions.
“I’ve found myself coming back to OkCupid in different phases of my life,” says Glamour reviewer Tasneem Anjarwalla. “The app worked best in helping me narrow down the seemingly endless pool of potential partners. It’s great that most dating sites now are more inclusive of gender identities, sexual preferences, and relationship styles (which OkCupid has been for a long while), but that feels like the bare minimum of info. Through OkCupid’s questionnaire, I could filter by my dealbreakers—from big-picture things like religion, kids, marriage, monogamy—to more granular compatibility stuff, like feelings on jealousy, sleeping routines, and political issues. What’s more, I could then rank how important those things were to me, and how important I wanted them to be for the other person. The questions felt like fun BuzzFeed quizzes, and the more I answered, the more I saw the algorithm suggesting potential matches that really felt like people I’d be into. Until eventually, four years ago, it introduced me to my current partner.”
- Special features: Dealbreaker filter, boosts that promote your profile, compatibility score, incognito mode
- Free version available: Yes
- Cost: Prices vary depending on plan, with monthly subscriptions starting at $35 for Basic and $45 for Premium
- Availability: OkCupid.com, App Store, and Google Play
