Joydate vs Tinder: which is better for casual dating?

What is the difference between Joydate and Tinder?

The difference between Joydate and Tinder is focus: Tinder is a general dating app for meeting new people in over 190 countries, where you can message for free once you match, while Joydate is a site made for casual dating, where everyone has signed up for something casual, free members can send a few messages a day and VIP makes messaging unlimited. Tinder launched on a college campus in 2012 and is part of Match Group. Joydate runs on a network of partner dating sites that share one membership base.

Joydate and Tinder at a glance

Joydate and Tinder differ most on what you can do for free and on how clearly people say what they want. Tinder's facts below come from its own help centre, terms and Canadian App Store listing.

Joydate vs Tinder

	Joydate	Tinder
Made for	Casual dating, flirting and hookups	Meeting new people in general
Free	Profile, browsing, daily match suggestions, comments on profiles, ID verification	Matching and chatting with your matches
Messaging	Limited free, unlimited with VIP	Free once you match
Paid levels	VIP and VIP Plus, from C$19.99 for a week, prices published on the site	Plus, Gold and Platinum; prices are not published on the website and vary by region
See who likes you	With VIP	With Gold or Platinum
Proving you are real	Free ID verification with a Verified badge; live video check	Photo Verification by video selfie; ID checks only in select test markets; Face Check rolling out by region
Privacy	Username and nearest town only	Incognito mode with Plus and above
Where it works	Website on any phone or computer	iOS, Android and Tinder for Web

What does Tinder do well?

Tinder does reach better than almost anyone: it works in more than 190 countries and 40 languages, so there is usually someone nearby wherever you are. Its free version lets you match and chat without paying, which is a real advantage, and its verification has several layers, from a video selfie to Face Check in a growing number of regions. If you want the widest possible pool and do not mind working out who wants what, Tinder is hard to beat.

Where is Joydate the better choice?

Joydate is the better choice when you want casual dating without the guesswork. On Tinder people come for everything from a drink to marriage, so the first messages are often about finding out what the other person wants; on Joydate everyone is there for something casual. Joydate only shows your nearest town, offers free ID verification with a badge, lets you comment on profiles for free and adds private group chats with VIP. The trade-off is that only a few messages a day are free; VIP makes messaging unlimited.

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Can you use Joydate and Tinder together?

You can use Joydate and Tinder together, and many people do: Tinder for its reach, Joydate for people who have already said they want something casual. The same safety rules apply on both: keep the chat on the app until you have met, meet somewhere busy first and never send money to someone you met online.

The bottom line

The bottom line on Joydate vs Tinder: Tinder suits people who want the biggest pool and free messaging after a match; Joydate suits people who want casual dating with everyone on the same page, town-level privacy and free ID verification, and who are happy to pay for VIP when a few messages a day are not enough.