Dating · alternatives
Alternatives to LinkedIn
21 dating tools sit alongside LinkedIn in this directory. Below is what separates each from LinkedIn on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 16
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- LinkedIn starts at
- Free
Why people look past LinkedIn
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. LinkedIn has a free tier, and starts at Free against a category median of $27.49/month. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Make the first move
- Starts $29.99 a month dearer, at $29.99/month.
Designed to be deleted
- Starts $16.99 a month dearer, at $16.99/month.
Start something real
- No free tier, where LinkedIn has one.
- Starts $35.99 a month dearer, at $35.99/month.
- Sold on a subscription model rather than freemium.
- 2 tiers to LinkedIn's 3.
Dating deserves better
Priced and rated the same as LinkedIn on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Where communities thrive
- Sold on a free model rather than freemium.
- 1 tier to LinkedIn's 3.
Every LinkedIn alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn (this page) | Free | Freemium | 3 | |
| BumbleMake the first move | Free, then $29.99/month | - | - | vs LinkedIn |
| HingeDesigned to be deleted | Free, then $16.99/month | - | 3 | vs LinkedIn |
| Match.comStart something real | $35.99/month | Subscription | 2 | vs LinkedIn |
| OkCupidDating deserves better | Free | Freemium | 3 | vs LinkedIn |
| Lunchclub | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs LinkedIn |
| Geneva | Free | Free | 1 | vs LinkedIn |
| Clubhouse | Free | Free | 1 | vs LinkedIn |
| Happn | Free, then $29.99/month | - | - | vs LinkedIn |
| Facebook Dating | Free | Freemium | - | vs LinkedIn |
| Mastodon | Free | Free | 1 | vs LinkedIn |
| Bluesky | Free | Free | 1 | vs LinkedIn |
| Grindr | Free, then $19.99/month | - | 2 | vs LinkedIn |
| Coffee Meets Bagel | Free, then $14.99/month | - | - | vs LinkedIn |
| HER | Free, then $14.99/month | - | 2 | vs LinkedIn |
| Feeld | Free, then $11.99/month | - | - | vs LinkedIn |
| Badoo | Free | Freemium | 2 | vs LinkedIn |
| eHarmony | Free | Freemium | - | vs LinkedIn |
| JDate | $29.99/month | Subscription | 1 | vs LinkedIn |
| EliteSingles | $31.95/month | Subscription | 2 | vs LinkedIn |
| Lox Club | $36/month | Subscription | 2 | vs LinkedIn |
| Christian Mingle | $24.99/month | Subscription | 1 | vs LinkedIn |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the LinkedIn badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
LinkedIn is most often brought in for job seekers finding employment opportunities across various industries, recruiters posting positions to reach millions of candidates, professionals developing skills through thousands of courses, networking with industry peers to maintain professional relationships, staying informed on industry trends via curated content. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If LinkedIn is broadly right and the question is cost, the LinkedIn pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Dating category lists everything the directory holds, and best dating tools ranks them.
LinkedIn runs on ios, android, web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about LinkedIn alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to LinkedIn?
- 21 other dating tools are listed in this directory, led by Bumble, Hinge, Match.com, OkCupid. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to LinkedIn?
- 16 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Lunchclub, Geneva.
- Is there a reason to switch away from LinkedIn?
- Nothing in the data flags one. LinkedIn has a free tier, and starts at Free against a category median of $27.49/month. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from LinkedIn?
- LinkedIn is most often brought in for job seekers finding employment opportunities across various industries, recruiters posting positions to reach millions of candidates, professionals developing skills through thousands of courses, networking with industry peers to maintain professional relationships, staying informed on industry trends via curated content. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to LinkedIn?
- None of the dating tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these LinkedIn alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Dating, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare LinkedIn against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against LinkedIn covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every dating tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Dating category, 21 tools beside LinkedIn. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.