Best Dating Site For Active Seniors
Do fitness and dating go hand in hand? Some research shows that may be the case. Approximately, 54% of Americans meet the government’s aerobic exercise recommendation, according to the CDC. Meanwhile, 65% of online daters say dating someone who exercises regularly is important, according to a Zoosk survey.
As you can see, a majority of fitness-minded people want to be with someone who leads a similar lifestyle — which is why we wanted to recognize the top nine free dating sites for single athletes as well as active men and women, in general.
1. Match.com
What’s the best way to meeting people online? With over 30 million online dating site users and over 26 million app users in the US alone, you might be surprised that 23 percent of online dating site users have never actually been on a date with anyone from their site or app. Laurie Davis, founder and CEO of dating coach service eFlirt Expert, says much of her work involves helping people - often older active adults - figure out which dating sites to join. Davis recommends that 50-plus singles join one large, general site, such as Match.com or eHarmony, for sheer volume, plus one smaller niche site targeted to.
Match isn’t a dating site that’s strictly for fitness-loving singles, but our experts believe it’s the best option. Not only will you find more compatible people on Match that on any other dating site and app, but you also won’t have to pay to sign up, browse (by lifestyle, hobbies, appearance, and so much more), receive flirts, communicate in a variety of ways, and receive invites to exclusive events across the country.
User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today's Deal |
All Singles* | 49%* 51%* | 39.7 Million* | Get 3 Days FREE |
Fitness Singles
Fitness Singles is “where relationships workout.” It was founded in 2003 and has been featured in major media outlets such as “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” USA Today, and The Times of London. Member interests include baseball, kickboxing, rowing, volleyball, and weightlifting, among others. You don’t have to pay to post a profile, add photos, look for matches, receive matches every day, and flirt and communicate with matches in a variety of ways.
URL:https://fitness-singles.com/
3Find Fit Dates
Find Fit Dates works like a dating site and a social network. After you sign up, which is free to do, you’re given your own wall to post updates, photos, and videos, and you can send friend requests, flirts, live chats, and private messages as well as block profiles that you don’t want to see. Safety is another aspect of Find Fit Dates that’s worth mentioning. According to the site, it’s “HTTPS encrypted secure with a 256-bit SSL Certificate.”
URL:https://findfitdates.com/
4Fitness Dates
Fitness Dates is the self-proclaimed “#1 Fitness Dating Community on the Net.” When browsing through the thousands of user profiles, you can see a member’s username, age, city and state, gender, gender preference, and the last time he or she logged in. Once you join the free site, your profile has a chance of being highlighted in the Fresh New Profiles section of the homepage.
URL:https://fitnessdates.com/
5Fitness Matchmaker
Desktop- and mobile-friendly, Fitness Matchmaker has millions of health-conscious members from all over the world. The site is owned and operated by Friends Worldwide Inc., which has more than 75 niche dating sites in its portfolio, so you can rest assured that it’s successful. A free basic membership allows you to fill out your information, view and like profiles, and receive daily emails about potential matches. That way, you can find local dates without breaking a sweat.
URL:https://fitnessmatchmaker.com/
6Single Athletes
Amateur and professional athletes (e.g., basketball and football players as well as golfers) flock to Single Athletes for many reasons. It’s free, of course, it’s popular, and it works. Use the Quick Search feature on the homepage to test the site out before joining. You can filter by gender, the gender you’re interested in, age, country, and state. Or you can just jump right into it.
URL:https://singleathletes.org/
7RunnersFriendsDate.com
As you can tell from its name, RunnersFriendsDate.com is specifically for singles who like to run and who want to meet and date people who like to run. It won’t cost you a penny to become a member — you just have to provide your gender, birthdate, and email address. The free dating site has thousands of daily active users — over 75% of members log in every day — and it can jump start anyone’s love life within a few clicks. What a way to stay active!
URL:RunnersFriendsDate.com
8The Yoga Match
Fitness isn’t always about running on the treadmill or pumping iron — fitness also includes physical, mental, and spiritual practices like yoga. The Yoga Match’s motto is “Mind. Body. Soul Mate,” and the site has thousands of users, with more joining every day. Completing a few steps is all it takes to become a free user: 1) Provide your name. 2) Select your country, region/state, zip/postal code, birthday, gender, and the gender you’re looking for. 3) Enter a username, email address, and password.
URL:http://theyogamatch.com/
9Athletic Passions
On Athletic Passions, it isn’t just about dating — if you’re interested in starting off making new friends, you’re more than welcome to do that. Athletic Passions is a dating site as well as a social media site. Some of the free tools you can use to get to know people include forums, groups, instant messages, private emails, and webcams. Don’t forget to check out who’s online at the same time as you and who has a birthday — that can make it easier to start a conversation.
URL: https://athleticpassions.com/
Athletic Singles Won’t Just Get Your Feet Racing — They’ll Get Your Heart Racing, Too!
Studies show exercise is good for us not just from a physical perspective but from a mental, emotional, and personal perspective as well. It’s an all-around win for happiness and health. Plus, our romantic lives can benefit from a daily exercise regimen, and that’s what fitness-minded singles understand. If you’re on the lookout for a running, yoga, swimming, or overall workout junkie, your best bet is to register for one of the fitness dating sites listed above. Now get out there and get moving!
Everyone needs to be connected. Seniors, who may be isolated from their families or have specific health needs, shouldn't be left out. The smartphone industry, by and large, isn't thinking about the particular needs of the senior market, but if you pay attention you can find carriers and phones that will give you a streamlined and accommodating phone experience.
Being in what phone manufacturers think of as the 'senior market' isn't about chronological age so much as faculties, preferences, and lifestyle. Many of these phones accommodate reduced eyesight and hearing and are priced affordably. Others have high-end features designed to make your life easier.
Our list includes some voice phones and some general-purpose smartphones. Most of the phones on this list are available unlocked, so they can be paired with any compatible carrier; the others are typically sold in carrier-specific versions.
Where Did All the Voice Phones Go?
We regularly get emails from readers who are frustrated because they want simple, high-quality voice phones, and they don't feel like there are enough options.
They're right. The hardware demands of 4G LTE voice calling mean inexpensive voice phones are slower and less reliable than they used to be. We tested several recently, and the one we most recommend, the Sunbeam F1, costs $195. Other high-quality voice phones from Sonim and Kyocera tend to be in the $200–300 range. The Nokia 225 4G, a cheaper option, is small and reliable and costs only $49.99, but it only works well on T-Mobile's network. Voice phones under $100 are generally a thoroughly mediocre experience.
There are a bunch of flip phones kicking around the cell phone aisle at Walgreens and Walmart from carrier brands like Tracfone and Net10. We don't review them, but some appear to be older, decent-quality LG models. If your budget is tight, try one of those. Avoid phones where the carrier appears to be the phone maker, which are generally rebadged phones from low-rent manufacturers.
The Best Phone Deals This Week for Seniors*
*Deals are selected by our partner, TechBargains
- Nokia 6300 4G Unlocked Phone (Light Charcoal) — $69.99
- Motorola Moto G7 Plus 64GB Unlocked Phone — $149.99(List Price $249.99)
- Motorola Moto G9 Play 64GB Unlocked Phone — $159.99(List Price $198.98)
- Motorola Moto G Power 64GB Unlocked Phone — $179.99(List Price $249.99)
- Samsung Galaxy A52 5G 128GB Unlocked Phone — $424.99(List Price $499.99)
Features to Look For
On large, affordable devices with lower-resolution screens, icons and touch targets are larger and easier to hit. On that front, we like the 2020 version of the Moto G Power, which is available in various forms on various carriers. It has a big screen, a good price, and solid battery life. A flagship phone can also be a good choice for a big screen, especially if you want to use it for looking at photos and videos.
If the default abundance of options on a smartphone feels too cluttered or confusing, try Samsung's Easy mode. It's available on handsets from the low-cost A21 up to the high-end Galaxy S21 series.
Fans of pen and paper will enjoy using Samsung's S Pen stylus on the S21 Ultra or the company's Galaxy Note phones. You can also use a third-party stylus on many iPhones.
Finally, if you're depending on a tech-savvy person in your life for smartphone tech support, you may want to get an iPhone if they have an iPhone, and an Android phone if they have an Android phone. The two phone operating systems are very different, and someone who's used to one may not be able to answer questions about the other. There are a lot of iPhones out there; here's how to choose the best iPhone for you.
Senior-Specific Carriers
Two wireless carriers specialize in the senior market: GreatCall and Consumer Cellular. GreatCall uses the Verizon network, and Consumer Cellular uses the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. Of the two, GreatCall has more specialized features for those who need health monitoring: an urgent response button, 24/7 access to nurses, and connected medical alert devices.
Now owned by Best Buy, GreatCall recently updated its flip phone. The new model, the Lively Flip, supports Alexa voice commands and has a special set of services for seniors. It lets you order Lyft rides by speaking to an operator rather than using an app, it has a panic button, and it lets younger relatives monitor the use of that panic button to make sure whomever pressed it is safe. We haven't reviewed it, so we don't have conclusions or recommendations about it.
On the other hand, we recommend Consumer Cellular highly. Consumer Cellular has a marketing arrangement with AARP and doesn't offer specialized services, but has received high marks in the past for customer service. The carrier has won our Readers' Choice award several years running, largely on the strength of its customer service rating. It sells several phones from our list.
Senior Phones on Standard Carriers
Many seniors are more comfortable with older phones, but some older phones will stop working soon. You need to make sure your phone supports 4G LTE networks, which will remain active until at least 2030. Verizon intends to shut down its 3G network at the end of 2022. AT&T will turn its 2G/3G off in February 2022, and T-Mobile will likely follow suit. So go with a voice phone that supports voice over 4G LTE, also known as VoLTE.
There are other benefits to 4G as well. 4G LTE basic phones have HD Voice, or high-quality voice calling, when calling other people on HD Voice-capable mobile phones. Those higher-quality calls can be easier on old ears. As for 5G, you won't need to worry about it for years as long as you have a capable 4G LTE phone.
The major carriers have senior discount plans for smartphone users. T-Mobile has special plans for people over age 55 with deep discounts. AT&T and Verizon have much more limited offers, only available to people who live in Florida.
Prepaid Carriers for Senior Phones
Best Dating Site For Active Seniors Free
Seniors on fixed incomes may want to check out our story on The Best Cheap Phone Plans, which features a lot of low-cost virtual carriers—prepaid carriers that use the major carriers' networks, but tend to charge a lot less per month for basic service than the major carriers do. If you're looking for limited, voice-only plans, you can get them on a range of carrier networks for around $10 per month.
Best Dating App For Active Seniors
Those plans usually require that you bring your own unlocked, compatible phone. The Nokia 225 4G (for T-Mobile–based networks) and the Sunbeam F1 (for Verizon-based networks) are our top choices for simple unlocked phones.
Dating Sites Older Adults
Finally, see the best phones we've reviewed overall if you're looking to get a broader idea of the market in general.