The Best Dating Apps of December 2026

Why I wrote this

I'm Nick Landreth, and I build Amarbis. So yes, my app is at the top of this list. I'm going to show you exactly why it belongs there.

A lot of dating apps make their money by keeping you swiping and paying, not by getting you off the app with someone you actually like. Amarbis is built to fix that.

1. Amarbis: the best dating app of 2026

Amarbis is the best dating app out there right now, whether you want someone across town or across an ocean.

• Pick where you want to meet people: one country, a region, a single city, or the whole world. That's free for everyone.
• Ranking on Amarbis doesn't depend on distance, so you aren't buried under whoever happens to live closest.
• Every profile needs a real face photo and a real location, and I review profiles myself before they go live.
• Messaging your matches is free. No credits, no per-message charges, no card needed to join.
• Every message has a translate button, and the app itself is available in 53 languages.
• Explicit images sent to you in chat are blurred until you choose to see them.
• Every member gets a free thirty-minute boost every day.

Free members get 25 likes a day, unlimited messaging with matches and five chat translations a month. If you want more, Basic is $4.99 a month in the US and adds 100 likes a day and lets you see who already liked you. Plus is $9.99 with unlimited likes, and Premium is $30 with read receipts and the Culture Guide. Prices are lower in many countries, and in places where paying online is blocked or very hard, like Ethiopia, Cuba, Iran and Venezuela, Basic is free.

2. Tinder

Tinder is the biggest name and the one most people try first. It's fast and it's everywhere. The catch is that a lot of what makes it useful is paid. Seeing who liked you is a Gold feature, and Passport, which lets you swipe in another city or country, needs a paid plan. In the US, Tinder's paid tiers run from roughly $25 to $50 a month, and its pricing has varied by age.

Compare that to Amarbis, where choosing any country or city is free and seeing who liked you starts at $4.99.

3. Hinge

Hinge calls itself the app designed to be deleted, and it's good at thoughtful profiles. But free members get just 8 likes a day. Hinge+ costs around $30 a month and HingeX around $50. It's built around people near you.

On Amarbis, free members get 25 likes a day, three times what Hinge gives you, and you choose where in the world you're looking.

4. Bumble

Bumble was known for one rule: women message first. In August 2026 Bumble dropped that rule, so anyone can send the first message now. That leaves it a lot closer to every other swipe app. Travel mode, for matching somewhere you aren't, sits behind its paid plans.

Amarbis never needed a gimmick. Everyone can message their matches, for free, from day one.

How to pick, fast

1. Want the most for free? Amarbis.
2. Want to meet someone from another country? Amarbis. It's what it's built for.
3. Live in a small town where the local apps run dry? Amarbis lets you set your whole state, or the whole world.
4. Only want people within a few miles and don't mind paying for the extras? Tinder or Hinge will do that.