Gay men and LGBTQ adults use dating apps twice as often as straight singles. The reasons are obvious: for them, the dating pool in real life is just smaller.
The good news is that businesses recognize people’s needs really fast. That’s exactly the reason why we can see the number of gay online dating sites growing yearly. But which ones are decent?
We researched the market to find out.
3 Recommended Websites for Gay Dating
Now, there are over 50 gay dating websites available, according to our analysis. That’s a huge shift demonstrating how much the market has changed.
For example, good old Tinder released its “orientation” feature for gay users in 2019 – 6 years ago. Since that time, niche platforms have proven they still work better, though. We researched the modern market, and here are our top 3 picks for our readers:
- GaysTryst – best gay dating site to find local matches in the US, Canada & Europe
- Manfinder – best for meeting the largest number of potential partners
- AdultFriendFinder – best for finding adult gay content & hottest real dates
All these are popular gay websites, but they have different features, pros, and cons. Which is right for you? Check out the detailed information about each, and to make a fully informed choice.
GaysTryst – Best for Finding Matches in the US, Canada & Europe
Key takeaways:
- The website is designed exclusively for gay members
- Registration is free, new members get a bonus that works like a free trial
- Premium plans are offered to everyone seeking unlimited communication
- Flirtcasts (mass messaging) and profile boosts are offered
GaysTryst is one of the few international gay dating sites that still work well for finding local matches. Hence, it’s suitable for those looking for the guy next door as well as for travelers seeking hot dates. What we appreciated most is the member encouragement system – you can get 5 free messages daily, but only if you upload your photo and verify your email.
🏻 Features we liked:
- Photo and video messaging available to Premium users
- A pricing model that doesn’t force you to buy credits often
- Free likes & Favorites, unlimited access to profiles’ information (except photos)
- Creative flirty messages (Flirtcasts) you can send to many users at once
- Convenient & intuitive online messenger
- Free and seamless registration
- Very high activity & reply rate (for us, it was over 95%)
- 3-day premium plan to test the service without investing much
- Great mobile optimization
- Standard members can’t see full-size photos
- Limited search filters until you upgrade
- No mobile app
🔥 If you want to give it a try, just fill in the registration form! It takes a few minutes and is 100% free. If you upload at least one photo, you’ll unlock basic free messaging on GaysTryst.
Manfinder – Best for Meeting the Largest Number of Men
Key takeaways:
- A relatively new yet already popular website for gay men only
- Available in all Western countries
- Features over 96,000 profiles, according to our estimates
- Uses a freemium pricing model
Manfinder is a website with a moderate, yet active member base, which makes it a top choice for those who appreciate variety. Most of the members we communicated with had real photos and didn’t mind sharing additional ones in private messages. The overall reply rate was above 85% in our case.
Best for:
Active daters looking for a wide dating pool
Welcome bonus:
100 free coins for email confirmation
Active members:
🏻 Features we liked:
- An intuitive online messenger letting you contact any member with a single click
- Pre-made icebreakers that help start conversations with new people
- Lucky Wheel to win Manfinder coins for free
- Likes and Favorites that can also work as icebreakers
- Access to all your profile visitors
- Simple, fast, and free registration process
- Free access to all incoming messages, including photos — no extra payments
- Great profile customization opportunities
- Active community, lots of matches within 50 km
- No profile videos
- Communication requires coins, and there are no fixed premium plans
- No mobile app
🔥 If you want to check it out yourself, just sign up – you’ll get 300 free coins and 50% extra coins on your next purchase as a great boost for starters!
AdultFriendFinder – Best for Hottest Gay Dates
Key takeaways:
- One of the oldest adult dating sites that works great for gay members
- Over 9 million monthly visits, members from across the world
- The platform works much like a social media site
- Members’ broadcasts are the most distinctive feature
AdultFriendFinder is a top site for those looking for hot content or real dates right now. With such a large member base, there are a lot of gay users, so finding a match won’t be challenging. Although the site has a .com domain, it also offers regional mirrors, so you can easily narrow the search to local matches.
Best for:
Hookups, one-night stands, and other casual relationships
Welcome bonus:
Occasional discounts for monthly plans
Active members:
🏻 Features we liked:
- Welcome shows and broadcasts from actual members
- Forums and threads on different topics
- Newsfeed where you can comment on others’ posts
- Ability to friend/unfriend and follow/unfollow people
- Private and group messaging available
- Huge and active community
- Interesting feed as an alternative way to discover matches
- Fixed prices for monthly premium plans
- Profile boosts and special statuses are available
- A lot of verified users with very detailed profiles
- Some members join mainly for the user-generated content
- Limited communication opportunities for Standard users
🔥 See what AdultFriendFinder offers to gay users! Join the local community, discuss the most interesting topics, enjoy others’ content, and share your own.
What Makes a Good Gay Dating Site in 2025?
The main principle is simple: gay dating online can be an enjoyable experience, but you’ll need the right site. That increases your chance of finding the right partner faster, and here are the criteria that matter most:
If you pay attention to these criteria, you’ll easily distinguish top dating sites for gay men from the platforms that aren’t worth your time or money.
Free vs Paid Gay Dating Sites – Which Should You Choose?
The truth is, it’s a matter of priorities. Best free gay websites may offer great experiences, while premium and even freemium platforms also have their benefits. What are they? Let’s take a look at both platform categories.
| Feature | Free sites | Premium Sites |
| Moderation & profile quality | Limited, large percentage of low-effort or fake accounts | High-quality, members are encouraged to create more detailed & verified accounts |
| Bonus program | None, bonuses are usually not offered unless there are still some premium features | Often include bonuses; many sites let you send up to 5 messages for free |
| Support | Nearly non-existent because of high traffic and limited support staff | Much better, premium support is often available |
| Features | Basic: usually simple profiles, a few search filters, and a basic messenger | Advanced, may offer streams, comments, profile boosts, mass messaging, and more. |
| Pricing | Entirely free or offering some free communication tools | Paid, sites offer monthly plans or coins/credits to spend on messages |
As you can see, both have their pros and cons. So, should you choose a platform from the list of free gay dating apps? Or maybe go for a premium website? We’d recommend setting your priorities and trying different options – that’s how you make a fully informed choice.