The Best Dating Apps for Open Relationships
But the good news is that it is a good time to be in a non-monogamous or polyamorous relationship these days. People are more open to different lifestyle choices than they used to be, as alternative approaches to healthy relationships are more willing to be explored.
Not only that, but there are a ton of different apps out there to cater to anyone’s tastes.
And even if you are polyamorous and have had a hard time finding like-minded people on apps before, there’s no need to worry. We’ve got you covered.
What is an Open Relationship?
Before we move on to the best dating apps for open relationships, we’re going to define what an open relationship is.
In its most basic terms, it is a relationship in which you are free to have multiple romantic and/or sexual relationships at the same time, as long as everyone involved is consenting to the idea.
The nature of those relationships depends on each individual, and there are no limits to the types out there. But there are definitely several differences between a polyamorous relationship and a monogamous one.
We go into detail about the differences here.
As with any type of relationship though, it is important that you and your partner are both happy and consenting to what’s going on. The point of relationships of any kind is to be content after all.
If you and your partner are new to polyamory, why not check out these fascinating stories from real people who have experienced both sides of the coin. Hearing from real people will help you both discover if this really is the lifestyle for you.
Now, let’s move on to the best dating apps for open relationships.
The Best Dating Apps for Open Relationships
Fantasy
Started in 2017 as a dating app, it has since evolved into something much bigger, and has become, in our opinion, one of the best dating apps for open relationships out there.
The main conceit behind Fantasy is to inspire people to be themselves in their relationships and their sexuality without fear of judgement. That includes open relationships.
They pride themselves on providing a platform that offers people from all walks of life a safe, inclusive, open-minded space the opportunity to share their desires. This allows everyone to learn, explore, and discover different sexual fantasies, all while making exciting new connections.
You can even filter out people based on sex, sexuality, age, and sexual fantasies – meaning that you are always looking at like-minded people whenever you sign in.
It is a great place for you and your partner to connect with other polyamorous couples and individuals, and perhaps even learn from those who are more experienced at it.
It is for this very reason that I rate it as one of the best dating apps for open relationships for both newcomers and old pros alike.
OKCupid
OKCupid is another decent app for open relationships.
It has been around for years now and has a wide range of different people on it. This means that there is also a wide range of potential matches for you – if you can find someone that you can get along with.
It offers a few features for open relationships, including being able to filter out people who are non-monogamous, something that it has going for it over Tinder.
It also gives you the chance to get to know people through their profiles, which are usually incredibly lengthy and detailed.
OKCupid has a few downsides though, one of the biggest of which is the fact that anyone can message you at any time. This usually leads to a deluge of messages from people you would otherwise never talk to and can make it a huge chore to have to sort through to find the good ones.
Overall, it is a decent app for open relationships and is probably worth a try.
Tinder
Ah, Tinder, what can we say about you?
Most people may not think of Tinder as one of the better apps for open relationships, but there is some gold in this one.
It is definitely one of the most popular dating apps out there. Almost everyone has probably heard of it and it has even infiltrated pop-culture. However, it does tend to be more of a heteronormative type of app.
That aside, some polyamorous people do have luck on the app. The sheer number of people mean that there is at least a chance of meeting like-minded people. Besides, no one can deny that simply wiling away the hours swiping is actually pretty fun.
It does have its problems. For one, unlike Fantasy, you can’t filter out your matches. Tinder’s filtering simply extends to whether you’re looking for a male or a female, meaning other genders are kind of stuck with the gender binary choice.
Profiles also tend to be shorter, meaning you usually have to match to find out about a person, and there are a ton of bots on the site for some reason.
Still, worth a try if you’ve had no luck finding people on other dating apps for open relationships.
Feeld
And now we get to the naughty dating app for open relationships.
Feeld isn’t so much for finding relationships as it is for finding hook-ups, but sometimes you do just want that (although it isn’t really any good for single straight guys, sorry!).
It’s generally a good app for single women and couples, but straight guys are unlikely to have any luck at all for various reasons.
Other than that, though, it is an app designed for groups and couples, or single women looking for couples looking for a bit of no-strings naughty fun – so if you fit into that category give it a whirl.
It’s definitely not the best dating app for open relationships, but as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Bumble
There was a lot of buzz about Bumble when it first came out, most of it focused on the fact that for straight matches, the lady must message first within 24 hours, or the connection is lost. Similarly, it is lost if the guy doesn’t respond in 24 hours.
Now, we are putting it forward as another one of the decent dating apps for open relationships.
Let’s get this out of the way first – no you can’t specifically select non-monogamous relationships on here, and neither is it the most queer-friendly app out there. Which are two big points against it, but hear us out.
For one, it seems to attract the best-looking people in general, so maybe give it a download just to have a look. Like Tinder, it has a swiping system, but if it’s a match between straights, the woman has to initiate. In same-sex matches, either side can initiate.
In either case, you have 24hrs to respond before the match is lost. This is supposed to cut down on the ghosting that Tinder users have reported having issues with sometimes, according to Bumble’s CEO.
Worth a try if you’re looking for another dating app for open relationships to add to your library, but we would try Fantasy over this first.
And there we have it, some of the best dating apps for open relationships out there.
By far Fantasy is the most open-minded one, while the others are less-queer friendly. OKCupid is also the only one besides Fantasy that allows you to filter out monogamous people.
Either way, you’re sure to have a blast looking for a dating app for open relationships!