Although online dating has become the standard in our high-tech world, knowing where to meet the right person can still be a little tricky. These days, there are dating apps and websites for every type and kind of social community and even with help from these, narrowing a search down to a specific target group can leave you with lots of platforms to choose from.
For black singles, there’s a lot to consider when choosing an online matching service. Finding like-minded potential partners with similar values and experiences is difficult on its own without also worrying about cat-fishing, ghosting, hook-up culture, and all of the other minefields we navigate through to find love online. Not to mention running the risk of being fetishized or hyper-sexualized by people seeking to fulfill a particular fantasy rather than find a partner or life-mate.
There are a lot of reasons for black singles to choose black dating apps and websites, and there are plenty of choices among these. After reviewing the most popular black dating apps, we have found a few that stand out as the best available for meeting black singles, matchmaking, and dating in the black community. Here are our top find black dating apps, in no particular order.
This app has been in existence for over 5 years and it allows people of different races – black, Indian etc to meet. The app has a huge membership base. It is free to try, during which you can check out some of its features which include finding matches and viewing other single blacks profiles. There after, you can move to the Gold membership plan which has more privileges. This dating app allows you to check out different people’s profiles, and if you find it to be good, you can initiate a conversation, you can send out winks, and wait for response. It has the ability to start-up activities and invites members who are nearby. It is easy to use. You just create an account by registering, searching for the right match, and engage in a chat.
Although BLK has only been around for about a year, it does continue to see new members and more member activity each month. This is an excellent choice for younger black singles on the dating scene. The primary demographic using the app is between 18 and 24 years old, with a comparable number of users in the 25 to 34 age range.
BLK allows its user to sign up either by using your mobile phone number or directly linking to their Facebook account, which adds a layer of identity verification and another way to communicate with potential matches found on the site. BLK keeps profile descriptions simple and direct. Uploading a profile picture is required and each person may have up to 26 photographs. Users can also sync their pictures with their Facebook account to automatically update their images. Other than images, BLK only includes “Occupation”, “School or Company”, and “Distance” in the “About Me” section of each user’s profile.
BLK is the easiest, most direct way for black singles who are using an app to actually find someone to connect with in person. Chat features are only available to singles who have shown mutual interest in one another, so there is no chance of an awkward text encounter with someone you just aren’t that into.
What BLK does best is create a space for black singles to meet where everyone is required to share the same information to get started, the platform is free (except for two paid options to boost your profile), and the goals shared: to find other black singles near you who want to meet and get to know each other in the real world.
Because the platform is so new, the potential for growth is high. And since BLK already has lots of satisfied users, it looks like this app will only get more popular with black singles as time goes on.
Even after a long-running television reality series dedicated to calling out the shady side of meeting people online, catfishing is still very much a thing across all dating sites. Enter RBL on the black online dating scene. Real Black Love is focused on member verification and protecting its real users from anyone posing as someone else. In addition to making sure that there is a real, verified person behind every profile on RBL, the site also vets its members through an application process. Essentially, the service is by invitation only.
Another feather in RBL’s cap is that it is an actually black-owned company which, believe it or not, isn’t always the case with black dating websites. Lots of dating apps and websites marketed toward black singles are actually sub-services of larger mainstream dating services and not actually owned, operated by, and made specifically for the black community.
In addition to manually approving every account, RBL also takes care to ensure that the content shared (read: photographic profile) is appropriate and speaks to users who are relationship-focused and looking for a partner with the same goals. Real Black Love is a site for the discerning user looking for a real relationship. The higher $49.99 per month premium price point does a bit to add exclusivity to the community without totally preventing genuine romance-seekers from getting on board.
The great thing about RBL is that once you’re in, you’re in. There are no regional restrictions to communicating with members and, as long as you’re having a real connection with someone, there are no limits to getting and staying in touch with them. RBL works hard to make sure that real, serious black singles comprise their dating pool and that its members have a little something to offer in a relationship. From there, it’s up to you to find love.
Overall Rating:4.0/5.0
Boasting nearly one million unique monthly visitors, Black Dating For Free is one of the most popular black dating sites available today. Not only does it receive some of the highest user ratings in the industry, enjoy extremely high traffic, and offer an array of user-friendly features, Black Dating For Free is 100% always free for all of its users, all of the time.
Ranking #38 amongst all dating sites on social media and #5 of the topmost black dating sites, members can connect with black singles worldwide and continue to report finding quality members and having positive experiences, even though the service is free.
This site includes more ways for members to communicate than any of the others on our list, including chat rooms, forums, and private messaging. An editor at bestdatingsites.com notes that even with the large user base, “it appeared they do a better job of screening members than the other free and paid black dating sites.” This speaks to a level of commitment to the black community that even the best services on our list can’t boast, as they are only offering any kind of vetting service for a fee.
Black Dating For Free is owned by a parent company with very limited specific dating niches that allow them to best serve their communities effectively and efficiently. The site allows its members to create a free profile, communicate with users based on profile matching, send and receive emails within the app, see who’s viewed your profile, and access all of the site’s features via Android and iOS mobile apps.
Finding love doesn’t have to come with a price tag and Black Dating For Free shows that there is a quality online place for black singles to meet that won’t break the bank.
Overall Rating:3.5/5.0
BlackCupid makes use of the “Cupid” network to connect black singles with one another as well as anyone interested in “black dating”. BlackCupid serves an international client base in the 35 to 44 year-old range. This means that the users on BlackCupid.com are established, mature, experienced, and generally searching for a serious and lasting relationship.
While BlackCupid does make it easy for its users to refine their profile and search criteria to find the match that’s perfect for them, they do also prevent unpaid users from messaging one another. Because there are almost no sites like Black Dating For Free that can actually vet users without collecting service fees, this is a really great way for BlackCupid to ensure that the users reaching out to one another are genuinely interested in making a romantic connection.
And, of course, paying members are free to communicate with everyone without restriction, so there is the chance that a new or non-subscribed member could connect with a paid member and would then be able to freely communicate with them without having to subscribe to the service themselves. The paid versus unpaid structure really demonstrates BlackCupid’s commitment to connecting black singles by not forcing someone new who has started communicating with a paid member to subscribe and pay themselves to continue communication.
One of the best features of BlackCupid, is the ability of paid users to scroll through another user’s profile and compare their primary characteristics and desires in a partner, side-by-side. For users on-the-go or just the busy black single who only wants to interact with those who will most likely make the best match for them. For users who don’t feel that a photo alone is the best way to choose someone to seek a relationship with, the primary characteristics list is a great way to choose who to interact with.
Overall Rating:3.0/5.0
Dating should always be fun, so why not make finding your partner even more fun by adding some games to the mix in your dating apps? Black People Meet has some inventive and fun ways for people interested in black dating to hone in on the person they are most interested in talking to through the “I’m Interested” and “Who Do You Like” games available on their app. These are fun options that can immediately connect paid users and make finding a partner more fun. Paid options on Black People Meet range from $10 per month to $100 per month based on predetermined duration of subscription time.
While the black dating scene online has a much more limited sphere and scope than the general online dating world, Black People Meet uses the most useful features and tools from the online dating world to maximize the effectiveness of their site in helping black singles to meet and start lasting relationships. The user profile reporting feature allows active users to report profiles that they have had negative experiences with or profiles that they believe to be fake in order to maintain the integrity of the dating field on the site.
Black People Meet also welcomes users from other ethnicities who have a genuine interest in meeting and dating black singles while the user-friendly app allows members to communicate with their matches whenever they get messages and alerts. The app’s user interface is intuitive and attractive for members of all ages and stations looking for a relationship with a single black person in their area. Black People Meet makes sure that their app and website are easy to use for anyone who might be interested in making a connection through their service.
Overall Rating:3.0/5.0
There are a number of dating services options available for black singles online and it is important to know which features are most important to you before you choose the one you want to use to look for love. These have been some of the most popular and successful black dating websites and apps available today. Whether you are looking for a free site, a particularly exclusive service, or one that makes finding a partner fun, be sure to research a variety of sites before you use them.
Many black dating sites use similar features, but features in combination with the culture of the service are what allow you to determine if the service and community are right for you. First and foremost, you should know what your primary values are in a relationship. Once you have established those for yourself, you will be able to find the black dating website that will best suit your needs.
Shared experiences, family values, and religious tenets are just a few of the factors that may come into play for black singles who are ready to look for love in the world of online dating. Rest assured that there are black communities for every personal priority and desire and all you need to do is decide what is most important for you, do a little research, and decide on the best site for you. Love is ready for whoever searches for it!