Gay dating in the UK can be tricky. With so many different gay dating websites out there, how do you know which one is right for you? We’ve reviewed all of the best gay dating sites for gay men based in the UK. The top seven are listed below:
Tinder
Best for: young gay men looking to date other men in their local area
- Uses distance and geography to sort your potential matches
- Easy to use
- Free for everyone
Whereas Tinder was once thought of as Grindr for straight people, the ability to set your preferences to find individuals of the same sex has made Tinder an increasingly popular amongst young gay men. It’s also possible to use Tinder’s website service called Tinder Online, rather than the app.
On Tinder, men can anonymously swipe either left or right on someone based on their picture, a small bio, and common interests. A swipe left is an immediate rejection of the profile. A swipe right means that you like what you see. If two people swipe right for each other, then there’s a ‘match’ and the opportunity to speak to one another becomes available.
Although Tinder is free for everyone, it is possible to upgrade with two paid options called Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold. Prices start from £4.99 per month for Tinder Plus, and £7.49 per month for Tinder Gold.
Academic Singles
Best for: Educated gay men looking for a long-term partner
- The only dating site which is based on educational background
- Free registration
- 190,000 members in the United Kingdom
Academic Singles connects highly educated singles who are looking for relationships. The modern website has no frills or fancy features. It is designed for singles looking for love and nothing else. In many ways, this makes this particular site extremely refreshing.
Using a scientifically designed questionnaire, Academic singles will match you with partners that you are compatible with. Questions include the type of characteristics you have and the characteristics you want in a match. This means that you won’t need to waste lots of time endlessly scrolling past men who don’t have the same interests or goals.
The other benefit of the questionnaire is that it is used to create a ‘personality profile’. compatible. Your personality profile is an evaluation of your characteristics. It shows where you stand on a scale that links various personality characteristics such as, rationality versus emotion, and tradition versus innovation.
Registration is free, but in order to use the full range of functions a monthly fee is required.
Prices start from £19.99 per month.
Elite Singles
Best for: Professional gay men that are looking for a serious relationship
- Modern mobile app for use on the go
- 3-7 personalised matches every day
- Over 90% of members are over 30
If you’re time poor, but looking for a serious relationship then EliteSingles will be the best gay dating site for you. EliteSingles is primarily aimed at career-minded professionals. To save you time long term, upon registering you will be required to complete a thorough personality test with over 100 questions. The test is based on the widely popular, and highly interesting ‘The Big Five’ personality test.
Using this data EliteSingles can help you find your perfect match. The site sends you 3 to 7 matches every day. If you like a profile, you can send them a smile. This is a great way to break the ice and start a conversation with someone you like the look of. From here you can move your messages with other singles into a more personal chat. As you are matched by the platform, you don’t; have to worry about being matched with someone who is looking for something more casual. However, it is also possible to filter potential partners by location, age, and education level.
The EliteSingles app reflects the functionality of the website which makes it perfect for using on the go whilst commuting to work, or at the gym.
Prices start from £24.95 per month.
Match
Best for: Gay men that are trying online dating for the first time
- The most established dating site in the world
- Singles events in the UK called ‘Match Nights’
- Online dating coaches on hand to help
Match has facilitated more first dates, relationships, and marriages than any other dating site. In an internal survey, a third of Match users reported having started a relationship lasting longer than four months thanks to the dating site. As it’s such a popular site, there are thousands of gay men on Match.com looking for love. Sign up for free on the dating site (or download the app) to start your search for Mr Right. It’s possible to sign up through Facebook, for example to make things super quick. Once you have registered, you will be required to take a questionnaire about you, the things that you are interested in (hobbies), and what you are looking for in a potential partner.
Whereas on EliteSingles, members receive 3-7 daily matches, on Match.com, members receive 7 daily matches. The matches are selected based on personal compatibility, that can either be ‘liked’ or skipped.
One of the best things about Match.com is that they do things differently. The singles events in the UK called ‘Match Nights’ can help you overcome any fears or hang ups about online dating. You could meet a potential match for the first time at an event knowing that you will be in a safe environment with Match.com hosts. Or, alternatively use the event as an opportunity to meet someone new. Unlike some singles nights, the match.com nights are relatively low-key, meaning no name badges, and no ‘forced fun’. You can even bring along some friends!
Prices start from £9.99 per month.
Ourtime
Best for: Gay men over 50 looking for love
- Sister website of Match.com
- For men and women over the age of 50 only
- Thousands of members across the UK
You might be over 50, but your romantic life is far from over. Whether you’re looking for love after a divorce, breakup, or death of a long term partner, it can be difficult to know where to begin. If it’s your first time trying online dating, and you missed the explosion of dating apps in the early 2010s, then Our Time is the best place to start your journey.
Register for free, it’s easy! All you need is to enter your name, answer a few questions about your interests and tell us what kind of guy you’re looking for. Choose a recent photograph of you smiling and being your beautiful self. Craft a short and genuine description of yourself — and that’s it! You’re now free to browse through the single profiles we selected for you and get ready to share the love! Spotted someone cute? Polish your conversations starters and dive in the online dating chat. Take time to discover your potential matches more in depth. You may find a special date right there for you! And do not worry about fakers. Ourtime’s top priority is to verify each profile and make sure they’re authentic.Based on your criteria, Ourtime simply connects you with senior gay singles with similar interests and personality. Then, let the magic happen!
Love, companionship, and friendship can all be found on Ourtime. Like the Match.com ‘Match Nights’, the Ourtime activities gather like-minded people who share similar interests, so there’s always someone to talk to. Prices start from £19.99 per month.
gayParship
Best for: Gay singles who have been unlucky in the past
- Scientific matchmaking process
- Thousands of gay users in the UK
- Primarily attracts professional and educated gay men
gayParship is an online dating site finds great matches for gay men. If you have been unlucky in the past, or notoriously always choose the wrong man, then let gayParship do the choosing for you.
When you first join gayParship you’ll be asked to take a scientific compatibility test. The test analyses 32 personality traits and is based on a matching algorithm of 136 rules. This approach was developed based on the research of Professor Hugo Schmale of Hamburg University, who helped develop what is now referred to as the Parship Principle.
The purpose of the test isn’t to match two people to match identically. Instead, the test is used to bring together two singles based on how they perfectly complement each other. These kinds of serious relationships are believed to last longer because the relationship has balance.
Basic membership is free. It includes your compatibility-profiling test and free access to the profiles of your potential partners. However for full access, you need paid membership. Prices start from £14.90 per month.
Muddy Matches
Best for: Gay men who live a rural lifestyle
- 200,000 members from the UK and Ireland
- Find gay farmers, country-minded invididuals and gay equestrians
- Novel Muddy-Townie ratio system
Are you looking to meet gay farmers or gay singles in your area who love the countryside? If so, then Muddy Matches could be the best gay dating site for you. You can also find gay equestrians who are horse mad on Muddy Matches and gay singles who love countryside pursuits such as shooting, fishing or hiking.
This site launched in 2007 to bring farmers, and country-minded individuals closer together as most dating sites tend to be centred on city dwellers. Due to the remote nature of some farms, geo-location based applications like Grindr for example, can often be a challenge. And also the life of a farmer can often be quite far removed from the ‘modern’ world, so it can be helpful to be with someone who understands what it is really like.
Although the website is aimed at country-minded people, many of whom will live in the countryside, many gay users will commute to a town or city for work. However, one thing that every user shares is a love of the countryside.
To distinguish between, countryside lovers, and those who actually live in the countryside Muddy Matches has created a novel Muddy-Townie ratio grading system. Very few people are 100% muddy or 100% townie. But if you are a farmer who avoids cities, and the busyness of them, then you could have a 90:10 ratio. However, if you live in a city centre, but regularly drive to the countryside for country walks, shooting, or you have a country home, then your ratio could be more like 60:40 (muddy:townie). This can be a helpful way for users to find men who match their lifestyle.
The free membership allows you to do everything except, message others and reply to messages that you receive. To do this, a paid membership is required. Prices start from £7.89 per month.
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