Best Craigslist Personals Alternatives
The Best Craigslist Personals Alternatives Around
RIP Craigslist Personals, 1996-2018
So yeah, it isn’t news that Craigslist “Personals” has gone the way of the dodo. All thanks to a bill with good intentions but too wide a net. Although the bill (SESTA-FOSTA) received bipartisan support in Congress, it has its fair share of detractors who think it is a bad implementation of a good idea.
Look no further than the Craigslist Personals shut down, and several wholesale changes across multiple online platforms to confirm that opponents to the bill sure as hell had a point. That said, Craigslist Personals may be history, but your insatiable desire to hookup is part of your present and future.
Classifieds vs. Dating Apps/Sites
Before its demise, Craigslist Personals was not universally loved in terms of effectiveness. But if you’re here, you had enough positive results from it to want a similar platform now that it isn’t available. Unfortunately, there aren’t many like for like Craigslist Personals alternatives with the same characteristics—free, allows for anonymous get-right-to-business ads, and with decent enough reach in most cities.
There are a few classifieds sites with personals (or similar) sections that have a similar feel to Craigslist; but the number of ads available in your locality can be a letdown. On the other hand, there are the dating apps and sites that are inherently different from classifieds, but lead to the same end game—ranging from casual sex to full-fledged dating. These apps and sites have their respective baggage of course—you’d need profiles instead of ads and they almost always have paid premium features needed to maximize their potential.
You might have to check through (and try out) multiple platforms before deciding on your go-to favorite(s).
1. Local Classifieds
If you live in a large enough city, chances are you have at least one local classifieds (city- or state-wide) site that’d allow you to connect with like-minded individuals near you. Of course, reach will differ depending on location, so don’t keep your hopes up. However, it’s an option worth exploring.
2. Fetlife (Site)
The ‘fet’ in fetlife stands for fetish, so you have an idea of the audience this site is targeting. You know BDSM, kinky, fetish, and the whole shebang. If that’s the sort of thing you are interested in, it could be your holy grail.
Its strength is really its diversity, but that doesn’t mean it is one big furry ball of happy endings. I mean, when a hookup site bills itself as “Like Facebook, but run by kinksters…,” you know better than to expect it to have a classifieds-esque feel (for better or worse).
3. Doublelist (Classifieds)
Doublelist has a single goal—to be the ultimate Craigslist Personals replacement. It is a classifieds site solely devoted to casual encounters and dating. It’s still early days, evidenced by the fact that it doesn’t support many cities yet. But it’s a work in progress, and the major cities have enough interest already to pique your curiosity.
4. Bumble (App)
The backstory for Bumble is interesting. Its founder is a co-founder of Tinder who has since parted ways after settling a “sexual discrimination and harassment” suit. The three major eccentricities of Bumble are:
- You’d need a Facebook account to use it
- Only females can start a conversation in opposite sex connections (there is no such restriction with same sex matches)
- App usage requires Tinder-ish swiping
The second is easily its biggest draw as it is a bit of fresh air that sets the app apart from the competition. You’d have to use the app to tell if you’re a fan of it. But if its popularity—it is one of the most popular Lifestyle apps on the iOS Apple Store—is any indication, chances are you’d have more positive than negative experiences.
5. Grindr (App)
It is one of the premier dating apps for same-sex connections. It’s actually been around longer than Tinder (2009 vs Tinder’s 2012), but its niche-offering has understandably limited its usage reach in terms of pure numbers. In fact, it was the first gay geosocial app to launch on the iOS iTunes App Store.
However, in the gay dating space, it has the largest “gay mobile app community” on the planet, which pretty much means if you haven’t been using it as a gay or bisexual man before CL Personals bit the dust, you’d been missing out a great deal.
Other gay-centric apps include Hornet, SCRUFF, and Jack’d. It is important to note that many such apps are expanding to offer connectivity for more queer identities.
6. Her (App)
Her is Grindr for the womenfolk. Lesbians, bisexuals, and other queer women find a home here. It is strictly a female affair (there are no male members/users). It is a hybrid of a dating and social network (which appears to be a common theme amongst modern dating apps). However, it does strike a delicate balance.
7. Oodle (Classifieds)
The big deal about Oodle is that it isn’t just a classified ad site, it is a classifieds aggregator, pulling ads from other sources. With former CL Personals users turning to different platforms, Oodle helps provide a more expansive list of classifieds in your locality.
8. Tinder (Site and App)
Tinder is to the dating app world what YouTube is to video streaming. It is the industry leader and is so common, that its popularity has become a con to some. Tinder popularized the concept of swiping and it has been welcoming of change.
It offers an above average variety of gender and sexual identities to choose from (unlike most apps that aren’t as queer inclusive); reason why its dating pool is colossal and is still rising. It used to be an app-only service, but that changed in 2017 when a site version was launched globally.
Versions: Website, Apps (iOS and Android).
9. AshleyMadison (Site and App)
The target audience of AM is individuals in relationships, as it facilitates “discreet” hookups (aka affairs). It has been around for a long time (started in 2001) and has more or less kept up with the times, as it still has a website but now also has mobile apps.
Although it is free to communicate, you’d need bought credits to initiate a conversation. It runs on a credit model instead of the more popular subscription model for obvious reasons. A similar site is MySecretAffairs. MSA is great for those in large metropolitan areas, but not so much for those in smaller locales.
Versions: Website, Apps (iOS and Android).
10. Feeld (App)
Formerly known as “3nder,” it is often dubbed the Tinder for threesomes. It allows users to choose between multiple sexualities, but its niche is connecting people (open-minded singles and couples) interested in having multiple partners at a time (threesomes et al), polyamory, kink, and other alternative sexual preferences.
Honorable Mentions
- Locanto (classifieds)
- Other platforms in the Match Group universe—OkCupid, Match, and PlentyOfFish
- Wild (app); hookup centric
- Chappy (app); gay relationship centric
- 3Fun (app); similar to Feeld
