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Tinder is one of the most famous free dating apps. When it comes to online dating, no one can forget the legend or basically the app which made all this online dating concept popular and common among people. Yes, we are talking about none other than Tinder. Zoosk is a fast-paced dating site and app where new members only have to disclose their gender preference, age, and email address to get started. You can choose a nickname to use on the site or app, but most people go with their first names and some numbers. Getting dating apps free of charge is the dream for budget conscious singles seeking sex and romance, and that is actually more achievable than ever in today’s dating scene. Men and women can go online, download an app, and get instant access to local date prospects.

10 dating apps to swipe right or left depending on what you’re looking for in your next relationship here in Japan.

So you’ve moved to Japan hopeful that the dating scene here will be ah-mazing and full of new excitement. You think you’ll find the perfect Japanese man for you right away and things will lead to a happy ending. Or just have some fun for a while. While that’s a great mindset to have, it’s time to get real. Most foreign women living in Japan that want a serious relationship need to put in more legwork than they might otherwise overseas. Shyness combined with language and cultural barriers plus the not-so-little matter of a global pandemic make dating an even more stressful situation than it typically is.

But luckily, we live in an era where you can find anything online—even relationships. A quick search online will show you dozens of different deai-kei (出会い系 online dating) apps, but how do you know what will help you find who or what you’re looking for?

Having been there, done that, I decided to do a quick poll of my foreign friends to find out what apps or sites worked best for them and what didn’t. 15 international women living in Japan gave the original rankings out of five stars when this article was first published in 2017, and five of that same group helped to update this ranking for the dating scene in 2020. It’s up to you whether to swipe right or left!

1. Tinder

One that doesn’t need an introduction. While most people are “just looking” on Tinder, if you’re actively trying, you can not only meet people to date, but new friends, drinking buddies, networkers and activity mates. I found a whole group of men and women to check out summer festivals with, so I can speak from experience when I say that Tinder isn’t just for hanky panky.

In 2020, Tinder began offering its global passport, normally a paid service, for free to all users. It enabled them to better connect and communicate, which for several of the ladies was a huge bonus.

• Language: English, Japanese
• Fees: Free, special features require a monthly subscription
• Original Ranking: 4 stars
• 2020 Ranking: 5 stars

2. Bumble

Bumble markets itself as the app where the woman makes the first move, and if she doesn’t message, then the match disappears after 24 hours. This app also relies on the user having a Facebook profile first in order to log in, which has made it a bit slow to catch on in Japan, but it is gaining in popularity because of its “women get to choose” option.

One of the women I surveyed (and who found her current Japanese boyfriend through this app) summarized it as follows: “There are a lot of guys on there, and most of them aren’t on other apps as well. You don’t find as many fake profiles on Bumble as you do with other sites, and you get to control the whole ‘am I going to bother talking to him’ part, which is really nice.”

In 2020, the app is not just for dating, but also for business opportunities, and making friends too. Within the app, you can switch from one feature to another, which makes it very versatile for the global community, and also a great way to keep in touch and build your social circle from a safe distance.

• Language: English, Japanese
• Fees: Free, special features require a monthly subscription
• Original Ranking: 4½ stars
• 2020 Ranking: 5 stars

3. OkCupid Japan

Billed as “the best dating site on Earth,” OkCupid’s Japanese version is much more detail focused than Bumble or Tinder, with the average time to fill out your profile coming in at around 45 minutes. You can of course opt to leave most of your profile empty, but based on the experiences shared with me, it isn’t recommended, because you’re most likely to remain unnoticed. According to one woman who has used it, “OkCupid has a lot of serial daters on it, so if you use other dating apps/sites, you may be discouraged by the dating pool overall.”

In the 2020 dating scene, it’s still a staple, but the imbalance in users and the volume of fake profiles is staggering. It’s also said to be a hassle to sign up for too, so unless you’re really determined to use it, you’d probably have less trouble with a different app.

• Language: English, Japanese, and others
• Fees: Free, special features require a monthly subscription
• Original Ranking: 3 stars
• 2020 Ranking: 2 stars

4. JapanCupid

Not to be confused with OkCupid, JapanCupid is a part of the Cupid Media Group, a niche-based dating site group, that connects users with people from around the world rather than just in their immediate area. While this makes it somewhat less appealing to users in Japan, JapanCupid is popular with those who will not be staying in Japan for the long term, and with those who are looking for someone to marry—though apparently there are far more Japanese women on this site than there are Japanese men.

Unfortunately in 2020, not much seems to have changed, and when a different friend logged in, she was inundated with a number of obviously fake profiles and soon deleted her account. “Claiming a 20-year-old Korean pop star is really you, but you’re a 36-year-old Japanese man? No thanks.”

• Language: English, Japanese, and others
• Fees: Free, special features require a monthly subscription/fees
• Original Ranking: 3 stars
• 2020 Ranking: 1 star

5. MatchAlarm

MatchAlarm was a Japanese language only dating app that recommended a new person to you every morning at 8 a.m. based on your social information gleaned from your Facebook profile and behavior. You had 16 hours to respond to an alarm, after which it would disappear, and would require three coins (a part of the in-app payment system) in order to tap the “Might Like You” button. But unfortunately, MatchAlarm is no more, and therefore no longer part of the ranking.

6. Omiai

The largest online dating site and app service in Japan that relies on your Facebook profile (or Apple ID, or phone number now) to search for your ideal match. This is another konkatsu service, so unless you’re looking for a serious relationship, Omiai might not be the site for you. There are 24 points that you can filter your results by, including nationality and income level, which some users pointed out makes this site seem more for sugar daddy searching than anything else, but overall, no one had any serious complaints about this site.

For daters in 2020 with the Japanese language skills to keep up, Omiai has somewhat rebranded itself in more of a Tinder/Instagram friendly fashion, and strictly placed focus on it being a relationship/marriage-centric app. If you’re seriously looking to meet a marriage partner, this is probably your best option when it comes to dating apps.

• Language: Japanese
• Fees: Free for women, ¥1,950 per month (for the 12-month plan) for men
• Original Ranking: 4 stars
• 2020 Ranking: 4 stars

7. Tapple

Tapple is a dating app where, instead of filling out a profile and searching for people, you fill out the qualifiers of what sort of man you’re interested in, and then join different groups based on your hobbies. Then, you’re shown a selection of men who share that interest and meet your criteria, and you can either like, skip, or super like their profile.

While I had some positive experiences meeting and talking to people on this app, when the time came to actually meet in person, the people that I spoke to were very hesitant to meet offline. One guy actually said he preferred to talk and date online exclusively. Other foreign female users I spoke with had similar results, so this might not be a good choice if you are seriously looking to meet someone.

Thanks to numerous updates to a more streamlined, Tinder-like service, plus TV and online commercials in 2020, Tapple has become a very competitive app, preferred by those in their 20s who are looking for a relationship that could lead to something more. Plus, the numbers of people who want to take things slowly and start online here make it ideal for those wanting companionship but not willing to head out on the town just yet.

• Language: Japanese
• Fees: Free for women, monthly subscription fee for men (varies by number of months desired)
• Original Ranking: 2½ stars
• 2020 Ranking: 4 stars

8. YYC

YYC has been around for twenty years now according to its website and still lists itself as Japan’s largest dating service. When you join, you are given an automatic 300 points to use in order to meet and match with others based on your own search parameters. The vast majority of this service’s users are young professionals. YYC is a dating site designed for people who want to combine the blogging space of LiveJournal with the influencer lifestyle of Instagram, so if you aren’t the type to frequently update and message, you might find this site to be more of a hassle than anything else. “Casual users tend to just disappear after their free points run out, so it’s not a place for you if you aren’t ready to commit to the effort,” said one user.

None of the ladies I spoke with still used YYC, so I gave it an honest try, and I have to say, it wasn’t all that bad, but I did find it somewhat repetitive. If your Japanese isn’t up to par, it can be a struggle to navigate as well.

• Language: Japanese
• Fees: Free for women, monthly subscription fee/points system for men
• Original Ranking: 3½ stars
• 2020 Ranking: 3 stars

9. Pairs

Pairs is another online dating site and one that has had numerous TV and train commercials since going online. This site and its related app also uses your Facebook profile but allows you to hide your full name, enabling its users to go by initials instead. Their target audience tends to be younger Japanese men, “so there are plenty of guys to choose from, but those that are interested in pursuing a serious relationship with a non-native Japanese speaker are few and far between, at least in my experience,” according to a user.

“It’s updated a bit, but nothing really major has changed about the quality of the users,” says the same person as above in 2020. “I still use it, and sometimes you find someone nice, but it’s more work than some of the other apps out there now.”

• Language: Japanese
• Fees: Free for women, monthly subscription fee for men
• Original Ranking: 3 stars
• 2020 Ranking: 3 stars

10. Zexy Koimusubi

Zexy Koimusubi is a dating app that is part of a popular Japanese wedding services company. The app overall works on the same principles of matching based on shared interests and uses your Facebook profile to compile this data, but otherwise, it seems to have a fairly high success rate. Whether this is due to their association with weddings and marriage already is anyone’s guess, but of the people that I know that have used this site, two married someone they met on there, and one is planning her wedding now, so make of that what you will.

“I met my husband on this site, so of course I would recommend it to anyone that is serious about marriage, having kids, and staying in Japan. It does work, if you’re brutally honest with yourself about what you’re looking for. If you’re still trying to figure that out, don’t bother with this app.” (Jane, American, 31)

• Language: Japanese
• Fees: initial one time ¥108 fee for women (for ID check purposes), monthly fee for men
• Original Ranking: 4 stars
• 2020 Ranking: 4½ stars

11. Bonus App—Happy Mail

Happy Mail first began in 2001 but wasn’t a major player in the dating app scene for a long time. According to their website, thanks to consistent efforts over the last twenty years they have the largest number of members of any dating/matching app in Japan. There are just over 25 million people on Happy Mail, looking for everything from pen pals to serious marriage partners.

Based on testimonials from male friends and a few women, it’s quite similar to Pairs but has more of the immediacy of Tinder in terms of matching, so it all comes down to what or how you want to go about dating in 2020 whether this app is what will work for you.

• Language: Japanese
• Fees: Free for women (plus a 120 coin present as some services require points), points/pay as you go fees for men
• Ranking: 4 stars

Before subscribing to a Japanese “serious” dating app, keep in mind that most of them are likely to require you to submit a photo of an official ID before using their services. This is because they are quite literally trying to find you a suitable husband. If that’s your goal, don’t mind the screening! Good luck in finding the best for yourself, ladies!

Have you ever used a dating app or site in Japan? Share your experiences in the comments.

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Dating apps remain a controversial and ambivalent thing. Some like it and have met the love of their lives, others oppose it. Some of us dislike negative experiences brought on with a dating app, but still use it. That’s life, that’s human hopes for better. Everyone wants to be admired. Good news is that there is no shortage in mobile apps for dating. Another good news dwells in a fact that it becomes easier to make a dating app.

Admit it or not, but we’ve all used dating apps. The business of dating existed long before the rise of mobile apps and devices. So it is only natural that dating has occupied a large piece of mobile industry. And it exploded like crazy. From gay dating apps like Grindr to Shinder – the app matching all women to just one guy… You will find any kind you can think of. But what about the dating app development? How to create a dating app? Let’s start with Why.

Why build a dating app

Dating apps will never be abandoned by users and they bring huge profits. There’s your reason number one. No wonder how to make an app like Tinder is such a popular search request. And with variety of apps for dating, apps for hookups or escort, you can always put a new spin on things and earn a buck on it. Like Hater dating app, for instance, that connects people based on things they dislike.

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Free Best Dating Apps

Find out a new niche, attract audience, introduce paid plans with extra features. And there’s your business project. Make it easy as swiping right. Tinder has 50 million monthly users, Zoosk app has 30 million. Even regional and culture-specific dating mobile apps are trending. Chinese networking ap Momo reached 70 million MAU by start of 2017. Besides, social studies prove that all men and women of all ages use dating apps. From teens and adults to men of age above 50.

As it appears, love could be a blooming business. Few more interesting facts about investment value of dating apps:

• Dating is the $2.5 billion worldwide market
• 40% of all US citizens engage in online dating
• 10 billion matches reached in Tinder app
• 80% of dating app users are millennials
• $1.3 million is the monthly revenue of iOS dating app by Match.com

Dating apps features

So you want to create an app like Grindr. Some are also interested in how much Tinder costs. To make a dating app you start with defining the features. Do you want swipe-right functionality or do you want matching on location? Or are you planning on incorporating totally new unique dating app features? Well, the essential are these ones, as a rule:

• Profiles

User accounts with editable information – bio, images, interests, age, sex, etc.

• Matching

System algorithms to match people, to offer possible matches, adjustable settings

• Push notifications

Real-time alerts about events within an app – messages, matches, reminders, etc.

• Chat / messaging

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For users to communicate with each other, often available as a premium (paid) option

• Social integration

Login with social media accounts, app integration to collect data for user profiles and matching

Another issue is how do you monetize a dating app? There are five basic dating app business models:

Best dating apps

iOS dating apps or dating apps for Android – there’s no great divide there, actually. Almost all popular dating apps are available for both these 2 platforms, and some for even more. Mobile apps for dating count in hundreds, but to make a dating app and know how high the bar is, check these top ones.

• Tinder – probably the most famous one. Just swiping an offered match left to refuse, or swipe right to accept. Likes and superlikes, chat and group chats, social login, matches around you, recommendations. Basically, everything you need for dating and nothing else.

• Coffee Meets Bagel – high quality matches (bagels), pre-selected matches based on personal profiles, chat, search and filters, premium accounts. A separate functionality for LGBTQ community.

• Happn – a specific kind of matches that helps discover people you’ve already crossed paths with. On the street, cafe or concert. Users just turn on the location services on their phones. Fun additional features like “Just say Hi”.

• Zoosk – a dating app for serious relationship building. It uses artificial intelligence algorithm (AI) to check user preferences and offer more confident matches. It even validates users’ phone numbers first, and photos as well.

• Match – a mobile version of famous Match.com, one of the first dating services on the Internet. Similar features to all the other dating apps, while additional cool features are subscription only. Great both for single men and single women.

How to make a dating app

If you see a gap on the dating market and wish to create your own mobile app, you’re welcomed to go ahead. Maybe your idea will become the next Tinder. We’ll all adore it and you’ll make huge profits. A win-win situation. If you have little knowledge in making apps, we can help.

Outsourcing mobile development is possible as a whole, or partially. We can do a market research for you, we can prepare an estimate of your app concept. We can do design tasks for a dating app, as well as wireframes and visual prototypes. Also we can test your product.

Of course, this is just one of the options. Though, we also have the expertise to make a dating app skillfully and efficiently, and can tell you how much does a dating app cost to make. Date people, love people, enjoy yourself!

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