Chicago is a lively city full of young professionals looking for love. With so many single people concentrated in the Windy City, it’s an ideal place to dip your toes into the dating pool. However, finding Mr. or Mrs. Right can still be a struggle even with all those dating options around you.
That’s why using a dating app specifically tailored for Chicago singles is the easiest way to meet compatible partners in your area. Dating apps allow you to filter by location and personal preferences, chat with matches online, and eventually arrange to get together in person if you hit it off via messaging.
Top 10 Dating Apps for Love Seekers
1. Bumble
Bumble stands out from other dating apps by requiring women to make the first move in opposite-sex matches. This feature cuts down on unwanted messages from men and prompts faster in-person meetings. The app has over 50 million users with various intentions including finding lasting relationships.
As one of the most used dating apps by young Chicagoans, Bumble is a hotspot for making local connections in Chi-town whether you’re looking for love, friendships, or professional networking. The “BFF” feature even allows you to swipe for new friends!
2. Dating in Chicago
Dating in Chicago brands itself the dating app “designed to be deleted” by matching you with compatible singles who share common interests and friend groups. Instead of just photos, each user profile includes ice breaker questions and personal tidbits to spark more meaningful conversations that can lead to offline dates.
Over 90% of Hinge members are seeking a long-term relationship, making this a prime app to find a serious partner. Hinge is especially popular among millennials and young professionals in urban hotspots like Chicago. If you want to settle down sooner rather than later, Hinge can help you find someone stellar.
3. Coffee Meets Bagel
Coffee Meets Bagel takes a unique approach to dating by limiting daily matches (called “bagels”) to spur users to actually reach out to each other. You’ll get just one match per day based on your preferences, cutting down on choice overload or the endless swiping common to other apps.
The small batch of matches and 48-hour time limit encourages Chicago singles to exchange messages instead of getting overwhelmed by an endless sea of faces. Coffee Meets Bagel also attracts relationship-minded locals looking for real connections, not just random hookups.
4. The League
The League markets itself as an exclusive dating app that vets all users to keep profiles authentic. Members tend to be ambitious, career-driven young professionals seeking partners with similar outlooks.
To create a community of “power couples,” The League accepts less than 20% of applicants in major cities like Chicago. The extensive screening process ensures most singles on the app are genuinely seeking relationships. Due to the effort needed to get approved, conversations also tend to be higher quality.
5. Tinder
As one of the first “swipe right to match” dating apps ever launched, Tinder is almost synonymous with online dating at this point. The app offers a fun, low stakes way to swipe through locals’ photos and see if any spark your interest based on quick first impressions.
Despite its reputation more for casual dating, Tinder still leads to meaningful connections as well as short-term flings. In a populous city like Chicago with millions of users to swipe on, Tinder makes it easy to play the numbers game and chat up various matches to see who you really click with.
6. Doulike
Doulike offers a personality-driven approach to online dating for Chicago singles seeking substance over just selfies. The app features quiz-style matching questions about ethics, interests, relationship preferences, and other topics to pair you with truly compatible dates.
While Doulike permits casual dating arrangements, most users fall between ages 25-34 and share long-term relationship goals. The app’s user-friendly design and compatibility matching system makes it easy to uncover quality dates who check all your boxes.
7. Match
As one of the OG dating sites that eventually launched an app to keep up with modern times, Match has decades of experience making successful pairings with its unique matching algorithm. Especially popular with singles 30+ who know exactly what they want in a partner, Match curates tailored recommendations for long-term romance.
The app lets you enhance your profile and communicate in many ways to develop meaningful courtships. Being so well-established, Match is undoubtedly one of the top apps for Chicagoans seeking serious dates that can lead to walking down the aisle.
8. Plenty of Fish
Don’t let the silly name fool you – Plenty of Fish offers a feature-packed dating app experience free of charge. Users especially appreciate the advanced filters that let you narrow down matches by ethnicity, income, vices, relationship goals, and other preferences important to you.
While PoF draws an eclectic mix seeking everything from friendship to marriage, its user-friendly design and matchmaking capabilities make it easy to find a quality partner in Chicago for any purpose. The app sees over 3 million messages exchanged each day!
9. eHarmony
Those tired of swiping through an endless series of selfies may find eHarmony’s personality-based formula for sparks more fulfilling. eHarmony profiles focus on internal traits and values to determine compatibility.
Users must invest substantial time in building in-depth profiles so the app can connect deeply aligned Chicago-based matches. eHarmony works best for relationship-oriented singles ready to abandon superficial traits and find meaningful compatibility.
10. EliteSingles
Last but not least, EliteSingles sets itself apart by catering to ambitious, career-focused singles seeking equals. Over 80% of the app’s members hold above-average education and 80% wish to ultimately get married.
Rather than hooking up casually with randos, EliteSingles fosters connections between sophisticated professionals looking for life partners. For Chicagoans sick of dating down and unmotivated matches, this app provides a refreshing change of pace.
Conclusion
Chicago definitely doesn’t suffer any shortages of dating options. But by using apps strategically intended for long-term romance or serious relationships, you’re more likely to uncover quality partners than just relying on chance.
The apps above all cater to relationship-minded Chicago-based singles who actually want to settle down. So download a few that appeal to your priorities, polish up your profile, set some date filters, and start swiping or answering match questions to give romance a nudge in the Windy City!
FAQs
What is the most popular dating app in Chicago?
Based on reviews and download rates, Tinder and Bumble tie for the most popular dating apps among Chicago singles right now.
What dating app is easiest to use in Chicago?
The clean swiping interface of Tinder makes it one of the most user-friendly dating apps for Chicago singles just dipping their toes into online dating. Bumble offers a similarly intuitive design.
What dating app is best for relationships in Chicago?
Hinge and Coffee Meets Bagel tend to attract relationship-minded Chicago singles more than casual daters. The League also fosters quality connections as it vets members.
What dating app has the most Chicago users?
As a pioneer in the online dating sphere, Match has one of the largest pools of eligible Chicago singles to match with. But Tinder and OkCupid also have millions of Windy City users to swipe through.
What is the best dating app in Chicago for professionals?
The League only accepts elite, ambitious Chicago singles who meet certain professional and education criteria. This creates a prime dating pool of impressive career-oriented matches in Chi-town.