Here Are the Best Dating Apps for Marriage, Based on Data

We all know someone who met their spouse online. But if you've set up multiple dating apps, sent hundreds of messages, and gone on countless dates, you're probably wondering whether it'll happen for you. Based on our data, we can confidently say that your effort is likely to lead to lifelong love, especially if you use the best dating apps for marriage.

The Knot 2024 Jewelry & Engagement Study* surveyed nearly 8,000 recently engaged couples and found that a 27% majority got their start on a dating app. This has been consistent for the three years that we've interviewed soon-to-be newlyweds. Of the couples who found love online, a vast majority met on the top three dating apps. Without further ado, here are the best dating apps for marriage and stories from people who met their match.

The Knot's Most Popular Dating Apps for Marriage

Ranked in order of popularity, dating apps Hinge, Tinder and Bumble have led to the most marriages for the three years that we've surveyed couples. Our most recent data found that these three apps accounted for a whopping 81% of the couples who met online.

Design: Tiana Crispino for The Knot

1. Hinge

Our stats show that 36% of the engaged couples met on Hinge, up from 35% in 2023 and 30% in 2022. Why have most couples consistently met on Hinge? It could be because the app's mission statement, "designed to be deleted," falls right in line with, well, finding your partner for life. "Our mission at Hinge is to get people off the app and onto great dates. We pair our algorithm with our in-depth profiles to help daters safely connect and quickly meet face-to-face," says Logan Ury, the app's director of relationship science. "We know that meeting in person is where the real magic happens, and currently, we're setting up a date every two seconds."

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Ilana Dunn, a dating coach and host of the podcast Seeing Other People, met her now-husband Jake Solomon on Hinge in 2021. "When I was on Hinge, I had a prompt in my profile about loving the Jonas Brothers, and Jake messaged me saying he loved them too. That small moment of connection led to a conversation that felt silly and effortless, and from the start, there was this undeniable ease between us." After two years of dating, they got engaged at the same restaurant where they had their first date. (Theirs was outdoors in 20-degree weather because of COVID.)

Throughout their relationship, they've shared in their appreciation for the artists mentioned in her prompt. "We've now been to 10 Jonas Brothers concerts together," says Dunn. In fact, when they got married, they had their first dance to the band's song When You Look Me in the Eyes.

2. Tinder

Our recent data found that 25% of engaged couples met on Tinder, consistent with 2023 and down slightly from 26% in 2022. Since its start in 2012, more than 100 billion people have swiped right on each other, and some of the matches have led to marriage.

Like Dunn, Alexis Mikulsi Ruiz connected with her now-husband Matthew Ruiz over boy bands. "It was a hook, line, and sinker: NSYNC versus Backstreet Boys. I realized right away that I had to respond to his opening message, especially since J.C. Chasez was the star of my second-grade notebook cover," she says. They sent messages back and forth on Tinder for a week before going on their first date. "The date turned into a five-hour adventure as we moved from one restaurant to another. At our final stop, a couple sitting next to us even asked which anniversary we were celebrating, none the wiser," Ruiz says. After dating for four years, they got engaged on a trip to Iceland in 2023 and got married the following year.

3. Bumble

Our data found that 20% of couples met on Bumble, consistent with 2023 and down slightly from 22% in 2022. When Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014, she set out to shift old-school gender dynamics by letting women "make the first move." (In non-binary and same-gender matches, either dater can start the convo.) It worked.

Allie and her husband Andrew matched on Bumble in November of 2015. She says she was drawn to his smile… and the Border Collie in one of his pictures. (She was later disappointed to learn the dog wasn't his.) "The first conversation flowed naturally as we talked about our lives in the city and our favorite TV shows, and ended with him promising he'd text in December when we'd both return to New York after seeing our families for Thanksgiving. I thought he would forget, and was giddy when he texted a few weeks later. By the time we'd closed our tab at a Midtown sports bar on that first date, we already had the second date planned," Allie says. Although they quickly knew they wanted to get married, they dated for five years before getting engaged in the winter of 2020. Seven years, three apartments, two states and one adopted dog later, they got married in Philadelphia in the fall of 2022.

"We've heard from thousands of success stories over the years," says a Bumble spokesperson. "We've [even] received wedding invitations from people all over the world and get to celebrate alongside them."

More Great Dating Apps to Explore Marriage

While Hinge, Tinder and Bumble were the most popular dating apps for marriage, they weren't the only ones to lead to lifelong love. Our data shows that 5% met on Facebook Dating, 2% on OkCupid, 2% on Match and 1% on Plenty of Fish, Coffee Meets Bagel and eHarmony respectively. The remaining 7% met on other apps including The League, Raya, Upward, BLK, HER, Mutual and JSwipe.

No matter which dating app you choose, the key is to be yourself. "Looking back, it's crazy to think that one message on a dating app led me to my best friend and life partner, but that's the magic of finding the right person at the right time," says Dunn. "It's also proof that putting real details about who you are and what you love in your dating profile isn't just filler; it's what helps attract the right person who truly gets you." (Leave it to a dating expert to give good dating advice!)

*The Knot Jewelry & Engagement Study captured responses from 7,856 US couples who were engaged from January 1 to November 8, 2024; respondents were recruited via email invitation from The Knot and/or WeddingWire membership.