2026 Honest Comparison

BEST GAY
DATING APPS

No sponsored rankings. No affiliate BS. Just an honest look at which apps actually work and which ones are wasting your time.

THE WINNER

It's not even close. Here's why Splashd beats every other app.

Splashd

The one that actually works

Map AND grid view (both free)
Message anyone, no paywalls
Never sells your data
24/7 moderation team
Built in 2024, not 2009
Download Free

App Store Rating

4.8★

Premium Price

$9.99/mo

Free Messages

Unlimited

Map View

Free

Data Selling

Never

Built

2024

SIDE BY SIDE

The features that actually matter. No fluff.

FeatureSplashdWinnerGrindrScruffHornetHinge
Truly Free Tier
Free Map View
Unlimited Messages
No Data Selling
Modern Interface
Safety Score10/104/106/105/107/10
Value Score10/103/105/104/105/10
Premium Price$9.99/mo$34.99/mo$19.99/mo$27.99/mo$34.99/mo
Rating
4.8
2.9
3.5
3.2
3.8

THE BREAKDOWN

What each app actually delivers. No sugar-coating.

#1 Pick

Splashd

4.8

The one that actually works

Best for: Everything

Premium: $9.99/mo

What's Good

  • Map AND grid view (both free)
  • Message anyone, no paywalls
  • Never sells your data
  • 24/7 moderation team
  • Built in 2024, not 2009

What Sucks

  • Currently in beta
  • Smaller user base (for now)

"Built by gays who were tired of the other apps. Finally, one that doesn't suck."

Grindr

2.9

The one everyone has

Best for: Hookups

Premium: $34.99/mo

What's Good

  • Largest user base
  • Available worldwide
  • Name recognition

What Sucks

  • Aggressive paywalls
  • Sells your HIV status and location data
  • Grid view costs $35/mo
  • Ads everywhere
  • 15+ years of technical debt

"The McDonald's of dating apps. Everyone knows it. Nobody loves it."

Scruff

3.5

The one for bears

Best for: Bears, otters, and travel

Premium: $19.99/mo

What's Good

  • Strong bear/otter community
  • Travel features
  • Event listings

What Sucks

  • Dated interface
  • Limited free messaging
  • Smaller than Grindr
  • Premium required for basics

"Good community, but the app feels like it's from 2015."

Hornet

3.2

The social network one

Best for: Social networking

Premium: $27.99/mo

What's Good

  • LGBTQ+ news feed
  • Good international presence
  • Community guidelines

What Sucks

  • Cluttered interface
  • Tries to do too much
  • Performance issues
  • Identity crisis (social vs dating)

"Can't decide if it's a dating app or a social network. Does neither well."

Hinge

3.8

The straight app with a gay section

Best for: Relationships

Premium: $34.99/mo

What's Good

  • Profile prompts encourage personality
  • Good for serious dating
  • Modern interface

What Sucks

  • Not LGBTQ+ focused
  • Limited daily likes
  • Expensive premium
  • Smaller queer user base

"It's fine if you want to date the way straight people date."

STOP SETTLING.
TRY THE WINNER.

Splashd is free. No paywalls on the features that matter. Download it, try it, delete the other apps.

Download Splashd Free
iOS + Android
No credit card
No paywalls