Our Top 10 Houston Dating Apps For Something Real In 2020

Love isn’t always easy to find. If you’re a Space City single thinking about taking that search online, we can help. There’s a lot of great Houston dating apps, but if you choose one that isn’t right for you, it can be a big waste of both your time and your money.

There are always new apps appearing on the horizon promising to help singles from Uptown to Sunnyside find “the one.” But not even the latest artificial intelligence program can guarantee you’ll find your perfect mate if the app doesn’t match your individual needs. Fancy technology isn’t enough to secure a great date in Houston, let alone a tiny town like Bay City where the dating pool is so small.

The assortment of dating apps available to Houston singles, from sites that concentrate on specific desires to those that offer a variety of choice, means choosing the best one for you can be a bit of a headache. The goal is to select the right one from the get-go, not suffer through the disappointment of poor results.

That’s where we can help. We’ve tested all of the best dating apps in Houston to make it easier for you to make an informed decision.

Thirty percent of Houston’s 2.3 million residents are single. Combining numbers like that with the right app will make finding great dates a breeze. So if you want to know which apps brought fellow Houstonians dating success, read on.

Download the app that best matches your needs and tell us how you made out in the comments below.

The Best Houston Dating Apps For Every Taste

Our list begins with a synopsis of the top local niche dating apps before outlining the best general dating apps for Houston singles.

eHarmony is the best option out there if you are looking longer-term (try it now)

When you are looking for a partner that you might have a future with eHarmony is miles ahead of the other apps in Houston in our experience. We have tried over 100 different options out there and eHarmony really delivered great results compared to the rest. We have thought about this a lot and it really comes down to a few things that they do differently to help out their 30,000,000+ members:

A huge focus on compatibility that leads to success

From the very beginning when you start off with their trial offer it's obvious that this is a different type of app. The signup process does take a bit longer than other sites but it pays off. They spend time to figure out exactly what you're looking for and that leads to a matching system that is incredible and transforms eHarmony into one of the best places to meet women we've found.

eHarmony is responsible for 75% of all marriages that start online and their matching system is a big reason why!

What really stood out when using the app is that the people who use it, men and women, are extremely responsive compared to other apps. The other members that make it through the signup process are extremely motivated to actually meet people and those who were just looking for attention or a distraction don't make it through the signup process!

A communication process that actually helps you (especially if you're not great at dating)

Instead of just throwing a bunch of people together and hoping something works out eHarmony actually helps you spark some attraction and form connections. Their guided communication process really helped us get to know the people we were talking to and helped them get to know us better too. This made the first dates so much more comfortable and fun!

If you're not very experienced at dating or get a little shy this process is incredibly helpful.

Ultimately, you need to check out their trial to see what we mean. This is the best app out there right now for most people if you want more than something short-term.

If you are mostly looking for fun in bed Adult FriendFinder is your best bet

If you are like most of us and are not one of the super handsome guys out there Adult FriendFinder should be the first app you try if you are looking for something quick. Like Tinder, they have a huge number of users (over 50 million) and they have been around for a while.

Adult FriendFinder is actually the app we like the best out of all the apps where meeting up for some bedroom fun is the primary objective. The biggest reason for that is they just seem to have way more women on the app than the competition, especially when it comes to women over 28 or so. If you are a guy who doesn’t want to waste their time and actually get some results it’s well worth your time to check them out with the free links above.

Even in a big city like Houston, it helps to use the apps that get the most attention. You also need to make sure you are using an app that is tried-and-true and isn't just a big waste of time. Fortunately, Adult FriendFinder covers both of those.

Aside from Tinder, all of the apps of this kind are pretty much a waste of time. Give their free trial a shot and see what we mean.

Houston college grads looking for fellow college grads should hop on Elite Singles

Houston is a great place to be if your ideal date has a post-secondary degree. With colleges like Rice and the University of Houston inside its borders, more than 28% of this city’s residents are college graduates.

Finding a well-educated single that you have a lot in common with is no small feat. In fact, it can seem downright impossible if you’re looking for love at the local bars and clubs.

If this is the story of your life, Elite Singles is the site for you. It’s one of the newer apps, but it already has an impressive membership base of more than 13 million users and boasts a growth rate of 165,000 new members per month. Another impressive stat: 82% of its users possess a bachelor’s degree or higher. Translation? There will be a whole lot of intelligent potential dates at your fingertips if you sign up.

If you’re a man, you’ll definitely want to check this site out. Women make up 56% of the app’s membership, and that increases your chances of landing a date. But not just any date. Elite Singles’ signup process includes a personality test, guaranteeing you someone that’s not just your intellectual equal, but a person who shares your interests.

If you’ve had little luck finding a date who meets your standards on the general dating apps in Houston, let Elite Singles come to your rescue. This app will help you find what you’re looking for. Maybe you haven't seen it on KHOU, but it's the real deal.

Men interested in mature women or women wanting to date younger guys should try Cougar Life

If you’re a guy who favors ladies with a little more life experience under their belts, or you’re a woman with a penchant for younger men, Houston is the place to be.

Not only does Houston possess a large quantity of young, single guys, but good-looking, single women in the over-30 category are also plentiful. If you’re from Uptown, that information won’t come as a shock.

Cougar Life is ideal for men who want to date single older women as well as for the over 30 ladies with an interest in both younger and older men. One of the reasons Cougar Life has such a great success rate is its membership base of more than 7 million active profiles.

Cougar Life has taken the No. 1 slot on the annual list of our favorite cougar dating apps in Houston for the past three years. One reason it’s ranked so well is the outstanding mobile experience it offers, not to mention how easy the app is to use.

So, if you’re a guy looking to date an older woman or you’re a self-proclaimed cougar who’s interested in dating a younger man, this is the app for you. Give Cougar Life’s free trial a whirl. It’s a choice you won’t regret. We have tried out all the best bets to meet cougars in Houston and have had a great experience.

Single parents in Houston should check out eHarmony

Are you single with kids? If you answered yes, we’re willing to bet you’re all too familiar with the difficulties of dating. Even in a metropolis like Houston, where a generous allotment of America’s 12 million single-parent households are located, finding a person who’s willing to take on a mate with children can be tough.

Dating someone who won’t mind playing second fiddle to your kids — another single parent, for example — is often the right choice. If that’s who you’re looking for, then eHarmony is a good choice. It’s one of the best-known and most reputable dating apps and, with its 15 million-plus membership base, it’s a sure-fire way to find other single parents looking for a relationship. eHarmony offers a three-month guarantee courtesy of its patented Compatibility Matching System® which is used to filter out anyone who isn’t interested in any type of commitment.

The system works by matching you with compatible singles, helping you avoid a lot of cringe-worthy dates. So if you want to meet a compatible, long-term mate, eHarmony is the right choice for you.

It's also been maybe the best way to meet a single MILF in Houston that we've found, for both single parents and guys who don't mind children. If you're looking for new options you need to try it out.

If you’re sexy and are looking for fun, Tinder is your place

If you’re looking for a relationship, Tinder is not the app we’d recommend. But, if you’re a sexy Houston single looking for a fling, it’s a great choice. Tinder is filled with men and women looking for casual encounters.

Guys, you absolutely must bring your A-game to Tinder because competition is intense. Good-looking women are swamped with invitations, so your profile picture has to be eye-catching if you want to get any action. A standard headshot simply won’t stand out from the hundreds of messages cluttering every pretty woman’s inbox. If you want her to read what you wrote, you have to grab her attention with a great photo. When it comes to popular local dating apps it doesn't get more popular.

As for the ladies, if you take pleasure in male flattery, Tinder will be an enjoyable experience. Sexy women can expect all kinds of compliments and invitations to meet. But if you’re a woman who wants more than sex to come from these interactions, it’s unlikely you’ll find that on this app. Men on Tinder who aren’t using the app to find sex partners are pretty few and far between.

To be clear, Tinder is a lot of fun for the select few, but if your desire is for something more than a physical connection, look elsewhere (even notsuoH).

Houston’s larger ladies (and the guys who love them) are on eHarmony

If you’re a big, beautiful woman or a man who’d like to get to know one, eHarmony is the app for you.

While other dating apps in Houston do have some perks, they’re not an ideal place for BBW and the men who like them to connect. That’s because a major portion of BBW have little desire to compete against thinner ladies for men’s attention. They just don’t want to be compared to smaller women or go through the disappointment of their profile not getting much response.

It's also surprisingly hard, even in some of the best options to meet a Houston BBW, to make a connection in person. There are so many things in the real world that can go wrong.

The scarcity of Rubenesque ladies on general Houston dating apps makes it all but impossible for the men who like curves to find a woman that they’re attracted to. The difficulty of finding such a woman can lead them to become frustrated. Many of these guys allow their profiles to become inactive. It’s like dominoes, really. The shortage of these men leads fewer and fewer BBW to sign up — and on it goes.

eHarmony does a fantastic job because they have a HUGE number of people using it. The site only matches you up with BBW who are looking for someone like you.

When you can use an extremely popular dating app that does all the work for you it's something special and is a big reason most guys have the best success with BBW using it.

So if you’ve had enough dating app disillusionment to last a lifetime, give eHarmony a shot. It’s the one app that virtually guarantees satisfaction to big beautiful women and the men who love them. So if you’re a Houston single that falls into either category, download eHarmony now.

Christian Mingle is the best Christian dating app in Houston

Finding a great date is hard, especially for people of faith. Trying to find a fellow Christian on one of Houston’s general dating apps is time absorbing and, all too often, that search leads to disappointment.

Far too many Texans identify themselves as Christian on their dating app profiles because their mama sent them to Sunday School or because they head to church at Christmas and Easter. This is upsetting for sincere Christians, especially when they go on multiple dates only to find their potential mate doesn’t share their convictions.

But there is a way to avoid dating burnout. Sign up with Christian Mingle. Rated the No. 1 Christian dating app in Houston, Christian Mingle eliminates those who aren’t earnest about their faith, significantly raising your chances of finding a mate who shares your beliefs.

So if you’re done with general dating apps and the dating pool at your church has run dry, sign up with Christian Mingle. It’s the best decision you can make for your love life.

If you’re 50+ in Houston, Our Time is the best

If you’re a Houston single that’s over the age of 50, you’re in good company. There’s a large group of older singles in the city looking for love, and their chosen method is dating online. The best app for connecting with other singles in your age range is Our Time. Sure, you can try one of the many generic Houston dating apps, but that would mean scrolling through the thousands of twenty- or thirtysomethings to find the right connection. Who wants to do that?

That’s why Our Time is so great. Not only is it the most popular app with the 50+ crowd in Houston, but it also eliminates the need for filtering through a large number of profiles to find an appropriate partner. Another advantage of this app is its easy signup process. Even someone who struggles a bit with technology can complete his or her profile quickly and easily.

If you’re ready to hit Houston’s online dating scene, Our Time is the app most likely to bring you success. Whether you're looking to find single women seeking men in Houston or a more mature gentleman this app can help.

General Houston Dating Apps You Should Consider

For those that don’t like to be limited and relish browsing through a large selection of potential dates, the following are the best dating app options in Houston.

If you’re looking for a relationship, eHarmony can’t be beat

If a relationship is what you seek, then eHarmony is the app you should download. Its patented Compatibility Matching System® and three-month guarantee put eHarmony in a class all its own.

All new signups must take 15 minutes to answer questions about their personalities, likes and dislikes before their profile can go live. That effectively eliminates the problem of incomplete profiles that are present on other dating apps.

Yes, the signup process does take some effort, but it’s worth it. The questions enable the app’s matching system to connect you with people who share your interests and values. And that goes a long way towards preventing first dates filled with forced conversation and awkward silences.

Sound appealing? If it does, and your goal is to find a partner in Houston you’re actually compatible with, then eHarmony is the app for you.

OkCupid and Plenty of Fish are adequate apps, but have a few pitfalls

OKC and POF are well-known dating apps and our list of Houston dating apps wouldn’t be complete without them. The chief reason for this is because virtually every single person living in Space City has used at least one, if not both, of these apps at one point.

OKC and POF boast a substantial membership base and that gives you a large selection to choose from. But here’s the tricky part: Most OkCupid and Plenty of Fish subscribers have spent very little time filling out their profiles. We’ve tried all of the major dating apps out there and these two have the lowest member engagement we’ve ever seen.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t use these apps, but sign up knowing that you’ll have to put in a lot of time and effort to actually find a date. If you’re OK with that and have the time to spare, by all means, give them a try. But we believe it is a lot of commitment for little reward. Other apps offer better results without being such an energy drain.

If you are looking for more great guides to finding the right dating apps check these out:

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