London dating apps are an odd mix, catering to a wide spread of the many niches that make London such a unique city in the UK. Whilst some dating apps are specific to London, like Spark, others simply call London home, like CLiKD. While others have simply found London as their spiritual or cultural home, like Toffee, with the financial centre that London is attracting large numbers of public-school alum. So, with that little background set piece, let’s dive into the pro’s and cons of some of these dating apps.

• First up, London based, CLiKD:

Though not specifically limited to Londoners, this dating app has its headquarters in the trendy Theatre Deli Creative Desk Space. They’ve found that its unique personality quiz format has really resonated with surrounding East London residents.

Currently, the app boasts over 55% of its users being located in London, with many more commuting from the surrounding areas to work in the capital. However, the appeal of the app is spreading nationally and the dating app concept is actually popular UK wide.

• Next up, Sparks:

Sadly no longer available, this was truly a London Dating app. It catered specifically to users of London’s busy (overcrowded) tube service. The concept was to connect users based on Bluetooth connections, while crammed into tube carriages. Whilst the concept was novel and addressed some practical issues like no signal on tubes, it failed for a number of reasons.

First up, I guess the London Tube network is not the most romantic of spots. During rush hour, not a lot of love is shared as gruff commuters battle for personal space and where, even a friendly smile, can invite a stern rebuke. Second, wifi is now available on most platforms and is actually quite reliable. Meaning it’s normally only a couple of minutes of dropped signal before you can reconnect with the full spectrum of dating apps. This means the need for one specific to the tube wasn’t necessary.

• Toffee:

One of the more controversial dating apps on the scene. Like CLiKD, this dating app is not just for London. This app is exclusively for former public-school attendees and their dense gathering at London’s financial and legal employers, which gives Toffee Dating App a London heavy user base.  As a dating app, Toffee asks users to weight the importance of 6 categories to them:

– Arts and Culture
– The Country
– Sport
– Adventure
– The City (London Obvs)
– Partying

Potential matches are shown a radar graph overlay, with your own values for the 6 categories to try and give some insight in to compatibility. However, you are a bit limited by only being able to express yourself in 6 dimensions.

• DaChat London:

Seems to be half dating/half social media app for chatting, flirting and making friends in London. Although, user reviews suggest a large number of its only ~1000 users are actually tourists passing through and looking to meet a local tour guide.

• LoveinLondon:

A London specific variant of the Phoenix Global Media Dating app house, which includes AsiansInUK, IndiansInUK and IndiansInEU, amongst others. User feedback has reported that the app is a bit buggy, and that download numbers are quite low.

• Raya Dating App:

One for London’s elite, Raya caters to the (rich and) famous. It pitches itself as an exclusive community of like-minded creatives, rather than an exclusive clique of celebs. Raya is the app for influencers and media personalities to meet other influencers and media personalities.

I guess it’s like the benefits of dating someone from work. Familiarity, understanding etc. without so much risk the relationship crashes and burns… Though, in the close community, I guess there is some risk that you might inadvertently end up in an interview or audition with your recent ex!

• Double:

Shoreditch based Double Dating App was one of London’s homegrown and starred on Dragons Den, before it recently ceased trading. The idea was you would buddy up with a single friend and you would both wingman or woman each other, as you matched with other couples doing the same.

Unfortunately, Double has stopped trading ☹I think it was a nice idea, but tough for users to co-ordinate 4 peoples hectic schedules into the equation, especially in London. Then there was the awkward dynamic of who fancied who, were all 4 of you there to date or were 1 or 2 there just for moral support?

• Finally, an honourable mention, Instagram:

Though not a dating app per se, sliding into someone’s DM’s is still a popular way for Londoners to date. Whilst this is a delicate balancing act and is has a much lower chance of success than using one of the dating apps mentioned above, we felt we couldn’t do a London Dating App write up without giving it a mention!

So, there you have it! Your A-Z of London Dating Apps. Depending on what you’re looking for, there’s something for everyone and much more beyond this list 😉