Finding love and companionship online can feel like a daunting task, but the best senior dating sites and app make it easier for people over 50 to get back into the dating game—and there's good reason to find love.

Research shows that the quality of our relationships at age fifty is the greatest predictor of our health and well-being at age eighty—and there's a direct correlation between loneliness and cognitive decline1.

Ready to make meaningful connections? I tapped dating and relationships experts for input on the best dating sites for people over 50. Along with testing these dating apps, i enlisted seniors who are actively dating to provide honest feedback on their experiences with every app.

Online dating can be overwhelming at any age, but people over 50 have the added variables of a smaller dating pool and a lot of changes to the dating landscape.

You won't find time-wasters or people looking for casual flings on eharmony. Every member must fill out extensive questionnaires about themselves and what they're looking for, and eharmony does the work of vetting who you're most compatible with—and the app even provides compatibility scores for each match.

I find this approach to be particulary beneficial in finding compatible partners with similar life experiences and perspectives for seniors seeking meaningful connections.

eharmony also comes recommended by certified sex therapist Heather Shannon, LCPC, CST, who notes that many of her clients have had success with it. Now add that to the two million people (and counting) to have found love—it's an impressive stat!

What a 64-year-old tester says:

"While, the profile set up does take about 20 minutes, it's worth the extra time. It weeds out people who are less serious about dating, and the personality tests seem to help eharmony provide more compatible matches.

I went out on dates with men from eharmony and felt more confident knowing they had similar interests, preferences, and dating intentions—plus, I didn't get caught in the "pen pal" stage trying to learn if they would be compatible."

Silver Singles is targeted at daters aged 50 and older. Its user-friendly interface and emphasis on creating a supportive community make it an appealing option for folks of this demographic.

I like that it's a cheaper option than OurTime. You pay a lump sum of $25 per month for 12 months, $35 per month for six months, or $45 per month for three months.

You'll have to pay extra for all the best features, but I recommend signing up for free and looking around before deciding if you want to continue with a subscription.

Silver Singles was mentioned by several experts mindbodygreen reached out to as one of the most well-known sites for older daters. My favorite feature is that you can "like" a specific parts of another user's profile, which is a helpful gateway to making conversation, especially for older daters who might not be used to online dating.

What our senior tester says:

"Setting up a profile on Silver Singles is surprisingly fun! As someone with plenty of dating app experience, I found the questions were refreshingly unique, prompting you to share information about both yourself and the type of person you are hoping to meet. I also appreciated that the questions were clearly geared toward senior daters, but still lighthearted.

I love that Silver Singles considers what you want in a relationship overall, not just the type of partner you want. It asked me questions about how I resolve conflict, the amount of time I prefer to spend with a partner, and how likely I am to initiate a kiss.

OurTime specifically caters to people over age 50 and comes highly recommended by Shannon from both personal and professional experience.

"I have had friends, family, and clients use it with success. My uncle met his long-term partner on OurTime, and a former client also met his partner on OurTime," she told me. When I swiped through the app, I was impressed by its interface and speedy profile setup.

What our senior tester says:

"While it was nice to be able to get up and running on the app in less than five minutes, I wished the app put a bit more into its intake process to make the matches more compatible.

My favorite part of using OurTime is that it’s exclusively designed for senior daters—meaning no one under 50 can join. I also love the focus on dating app safety and security.

Match.com is suited to those who are looking for long-term love because its focus is much more weighted to the answers you fill out on your profile rather than the instant swipe culture of apps like Tinder (although you can feature up to 26 photos in your profile).

I found setting up these robust profiles could be a lengthy (but worthwhile!) process, so I recommend setting aside ample time for it.

Match.com's growing demographic is the 50+ age group, per a 2018 brand report—and it's not hard to see why. Sexologist and love coach Suzannah Weiss says that it's "one of the more established dating sites out there" and "is generally regarded as a place for people to find love rather than hook-ups."

What a senior tester says:

"After using Match on and off for decades, it's one of my tried-and-true favorites—and the setup takes less than 10 minutes (about half as long as eharmony).

The match recommendations are a little hit or miss in terms of compatibility, but I appreciate that there seems to be a large pool of daters over 50 and that the profiles are detailed enough to learn quickly if the person could be a fit.

I've found a handful of serious relationships on Match.com, and it's a great option for seniors who want to date with intention."

OkCupid is one of the most fun dating sites in my opinion. Seniors or individuals over 50 may find OkCupid appealing for its inclusive and diverse user base, allowing them to connect with people of various ages and backgrounds.

The basic concept is that you answer a lot of questions about your interests and values, and then the all-knowing algorithm shows you how compatible you are with other users.

You can also rate how important each question is to you so that you don't accidentally miss the love of your life due to a trivial disagreement about pineapple on pizza (for example).

What a senior tester says:

"I've had more success on OkCupid than any other app. After trying the free versions of Bumble, Hinge, and OkCupid, I think OkCupid is the most comprehensive of the three.

With other apps, you feel the need to chat back and forth a lot before feeling comfortable enough to set up a date; With OkCupid, it was much easier to identify whether someone is a good match, given the focus on shared interests and values.

While the over-50 pool does feel slightly smaller than apps designed specifically for seniors, I think OkCupid would be great in a major city (and you wouldn't be likely to run out of matches)."

Tinder is actually a very viable option for daters over 50, according to Weiss. While the dating app is not specifically geared toward seniors, it's unbeatable when it comes to sheer numbers.

Everyone and their hot mom is on Tinder, as the app boasts over 50 million users.

What a senior tester says:

"I tried dating on Tinder specifically due to its larger user base. While there are more options than on other apps, the vast majority of them are not looking for anything serious.

Since I'm looking for a serious relationship, Tinder doesn't quite land on the top of my list—but I do recommend it for those who are just hoping to have fun and meet new people."

Check out our full Hinge review.

Hinge wins the distinction of being the best app for people of color over 50 because of its ability to filter by race for free. Some other sites offer this option, but it's usually behind a paywall.

However, Hinge offers this for all members and even includes a little prompt that explains why it might be important for people of color to not want to date white people. The race options listed include options such as Black/African descent, East Asian, Pacific Islander, and white.

You can select as many or as few of them as you like, and then you'll only be shown matches that fall under those categories.

Aditi Paul, Ph.D., a researcher who specializes in how our relationships are affected by online dating, notes that Hinge is led by a mainly female team who have spent a lot of time listening to their user base about features they'd like to see. 

What a senior tester says:

"I've been on "many" dates from this app. Since I live in Westchester County, most of my matches are in Long Island and New York City, which does bring down the convenience factor, as the senior dating pool is much less vast in smaller cities.

As is the case with most swipe-based apps, the profiles are less in-depth than your eharmony, Match.com, or Silver Singles—but I think it's a "pro" for the app. It's easy to tell who's serious or not based on how unique their profile is.

It's important to choose the right app for you, especially if you're navigating the realm of online dating for the first time.

Dating app safety is crucial for all ages, but it's especially important for older people who are often the target of scammers.

Dating as a person who's 50 and up comes with numerous benefits besides companionship. According to the National Council on Aging, benefits include lower stress levels, better healing after surgery, healthier behaviors, and even a longer lifespan.

Longevity is always top of mind at mindbodygreen—and dating plays a larger role in this than you might think.

Studies have shown social isolation increases all-cause mortality by about 33%2, and loneliness is linked to lower health literacy and other health concerns3. 

In fact, one recent study from 2023 indicated a direct correlation between loneliness and cognitive decline1. 

When used with intention, dating apps can be a great way to bring connection into your life, thereby enhancing your well-being and improving your longevity.