Key Points

• If you’re a woman looking to date women, turn to a niche dating app to find your newest hot date or genuine connection.
• For women-only pools of singles, try using HER — the top dating app for lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual women.
• Include other genders and sexual identities in your search for love or lust on the top LGBTQ+ dating app: Taimi.
• Try other dating apps Zoe, BiCupid, PinkCupid, Lex, Lesley, and Fem according to your goals, location, and preferences.

There are many struggles to being a women-loving woman (WLW) in the dating world. People don’t know your sexuality and you don’t know theirs. Plus, beautiful women are so intimidating to talk to! If you’re too shy to make the first move and face the chance that someone isn’t interested in women, or interested in you, turn to dating apps to narrow your search and feel confident that everyone there also loves women.

Using a dating app catered to WLW allows you to fully express yourself in your sexuality and openly explore your options of potential boos. Mainstream dating apps are full of fake profiles, people who don’t understand your identity, and, god forbid, cishet (cis-gender, heterosexual) men fetishizing your attraction to women.

Ditch mainstream dating apps designed for straight people to feel more comfortable in your community and celebrate love in all colors. There are niche dating apps for women to feel safe and free to express themselves and find potential crushes. These apps attract more women who are potentially interested in you as opposed to the few and far between LGBTQ+ identifying women on Tinder.

Zoe

Tap into a female-only dating app with Zoe. This app aims to create a space of open communication to focus on real, romantic connections between women. It’s super easy to sign up and create your profile, and it’s free to swipe and chat with other users. See who likes you to decide if you like them or send likes to other users to catch their attention. This is great for people who hate to spend time swiping or those who just want to see who likes them.

Every profile photo goes through an approval process to verify that users are real. This is a great feature that reduces fake profiles. However, some people report that this verification isn’t very forgiving to non-binary people or other ambiguously gendered people. This keeps men out of the lesbo-safe zone but also kicks out some of our fellow WLW. The Zoe team is working to improve it!

Zoe is newer than other WLW niche apps, so the user base is a bit smaller. However, there are high-quality profiles and fewer fake profiles and spam than other dating apps. There’s a verification option for users, but it’s not required. Add the little check next to your name to show users you’re real!

Zoe is a great app for women seeking women, whether it’s for a genuine connection or just a bit of casual fun. You can get good use out of the free version and there are additional features if you’re willing to pay a bit more.

BiCupid

BiCupid is a dating platform for anybody bisexual, couples looking to swing, or couples looking to add a third to their relationship. This platform is great for anyone interested in dating males and females, especially within the LGBTQ+ world. Dating as a bisexual person comes with a unique set of challenges and misconceptions. Date other bisexual people to feel fully accepted and free.

According to social psychologist Dr. Theresa DiDonato, Ph.D., “Biphobic misconceptions and stereotypes, such as “bisexual people are more likely to cheat,” “bisexual people are selfish,” and “bisexual people are confused” exist in queer and straight/cisgender communities alike… Additionally, many people assume that bisexual people in a different-sex relationship are straight, and that bisexual people in a same-sex relationship are gay or lesbian. These assumptions remove the identities of bisexual individuals, a process known as bisexual erasure.”

Be proud of your desire for both genders and enjoy a platform of people you can relate to on BiCupid. The site is a bit outdated, but the app seems to be more modern and aesthetically pleasing. BiCupid offers a wide variety of communication including video calls, voice notes, direct messages, and blogs for getting to know people. They also feature resources for date ideas, first bisexual experiences, dating advice, and safety tips.

To get good use out of BiCupid, you’ll need to pay for a subscription. Luckily, it’s more affordable than a lot of dating app subscriptions. BiCupid is best for couples looking to branch out of their relationship and bisexual people looking to be a unicorn or bull in other relationships.

PinkCupid

Are you searching for a long-term relationship built on a genuine connection with a female? This is the priority of PinkCupid, helping women find other like-minded women. Profiles on PinkCupid must be complete, which ensures you’re swiping on women who are also taking the app and searching for love seriously.

PinkCupid automatically terminates profiles coming from a suspicious IP address to protect the women on the app and maintain a safe space for WLW. The app seems to have a smaller pool than other dating apps, likely because it was available on iOS rather late. However, there are plenty of success stories and positive reviews about the app! It just might give you limited options in rural areas.

Enjoy a translation feature to message and see profiles in your native language, destroying dating barriers and helping you keep your options open across cultures. This app is accessible for free, although it’s a bit limited and has ads. It’s still worth a shot if you’re a woman looking for a serious relationship with a woman!

HER

HER is the most popular dating app for women, boasting the most users amongst WLW dating apps. This app is perfect for lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual women looking to date other women. It’s also inclusive to trans and non-binary users. HER sent a notification to users in April 2023 that all transphobes must delete the app. The notification signed off, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

You have nearly full access to the app without paying, which attracts a lot of users. The app is beautifully designed and intuitive to use. HER functions a bit like social media. You swipe through profiles, post content, and interact with the community. This is an appealing way to use a dating app as you see more of people’s personalities and it takes off some pressure of just looking for dates.

To sign up for HER, you must show a valid ID and active social media. This ensures that users are real to keep the community safe and active on the app. For added safety, there’s an incognito feature to swipe through profiles without having your profile seen for swiping. This is perfect for girls who want to be in control of their likes, feel a bit shy to put themselves out there, or those worried about revealing their sexuality.

HER is the top app to use for women interested in women. It has a pleasing interface, active community, impressive features, and free use. Just keep in mind that there are no men on this app, so if you’re looking to date multiple genders, you’ll need to double up with another app.

Taimi

Open your options to the whole LGBTQ+ community with Taimi. This app is fully inclusive of everyone on the gender and sexuality spectrum, bringing you the best of all of your options. Especially especially since trans people have limited dating app options, Taimi’s inclusivity is outstanding. There’s a huge variety of options for gender identity, sexual identity, relationship goals, relationship styles, and other ways to express your unique experience.

Taimi works more like a social media than a dating app to keep you entertained and engaged with the rainbow community. Send likes and messages, view people’s content, and keep your profile looking fresh and enticing. Profiles are thorough and totally customizable. Add plenty of photos and videos, written prompts, and links to your Instagram or Spotify. When dating apps offer such thorough profiles, you can really see the personality of someone you’re swiping on, creating the opportunity for real connection rather than just swiping based on appearance.

It’s possible to get good use out of the free version of Taimi, but you have to upgrade to a paid membership to see who liked you or messaged you. However, if you swipe on them in your stack and like them back, you have the opportunity to chat.

If you’re a WLW looking to dive more into the LGBTQ+ community or date people of various genders, check out Taimi.

Lex

Lex is a unique type of dating app that brings users back to the good ‘ol days of personal ads. That’s right, meet women to date the only way gays knew how before modern technology. This app is a series of written requests, poems, personal ads, and other flares of desires or personality. This allows women to express themself verbally and engage in a unique experiment of finding someone compatible with them regardless of their appearance.

This app isn’t just for dating though, plenty of women report finding community and friends on the app. If you’re looking for friends, say so in your ad! Users say it feels like using a (women’s only) social media on Lex. Challenge yourself to clearly express your desires through words and find someone who speaks to you in return. Describing yourself and conversing in new ways is so rewarding.

Lesley

If you want to find women near you, Lesley is the app for you. This dating app is exclusive for women and bases swipes on location, like most mainstream dating apps. It works like social media and you can post photos of yourself to various forums and columns. When you receive a lot of likes, your profile gets boosted higher in search results to give you better chances of having suitors.

Swipe filters on Lesley allow you to narrow your search to specific attributes you want. The Lesly team heavily monitors profiles to ensure that everyone is a real person to keep the community safe. Plus, photos must undergo verification on the app. These features keep you safe on the app and limit the amount of spam profiles you deal with.

You can get good use out of the free version of Lesley, but you’ll probably want to unlock the paid features too. Lesley offers free use of the app to women who write a five-star review and send a screenshot to the support team. While I appreciate the opportunity for women to use the app for free, I also see how this may skew the information available about using the app. Regardless, there are plenty of women on the app to make it worth your while, and you can at least test it out for free!

Fem

Don’t worry, this app isn’t just for femmes. Fem is a dating app for lesbian and bisexual women looking to date other women. It’s easy to use with just a few simple but very effective features. Unfortunately, this app isn’t available on the iOS store at this time.

The most notable feature of Fem is video-based profiles, rather than photo-based. Fem encourages users to introduce themselves on a video and feature other videos on their profile to give swipers a good taste of who they are. This also eliminates the risk of catfishes and other fake profiles.

Communicate with other women by swiping or going into chat rooms. There are a bunch of chat room topics available, such as meeting local people, talking about makeup, and NSFW “Naughty or Nice.” Have fun with a bit of flirtation and sexual satisfaction!

Never a Better Time to Be Queer

Finding love and connection as a queer woman or non-binary person is difficult, but with the help of niche LGBTQ+ dating apps, the journey becomes much more manageable and even enjoyable. By turning to platforms like HER, Zoe, BiCupid, PinkCupid, Taimi, Lex, Lesley, and Fem, WLW explore a community that understands and celebrates their unique identities.

These apps provide a safe space to connect with like-minded gays, whether you’re looking for a serious relationship, casual fun, or even just friendship. Embrace your authenticity, express yourself freely, find meaningful connections, and let your pride flags wave!

Published on Cupid’s Light September 10, 2023