More than a year, Craiglist Personals, one of the most popular casual dating website, was closed due to sex trafficking. In other words, it turned out that a lot of ads were promoting prostitution services, which is a serious legal offense.
Consequently, the website was closed by FBI — and one of the biggest dating communities miserably fell off, leaving people looking for a craigslist hookup alternative.
Ashley Maddison | |
Adult Friend Finder | |
eHarmony | |
BDSM.com | |
Pure | |
OutPersonals | |
Seeking | |
Yumi | |
Happn | |
Grindr | |
Her | |
SnapChat | |
DoubleList | |
BedPage | |
Adult Search | |
Classified Ads | |
Oodle |
However, online dating services were quick to pick up on the niche and created services, similar to the beloved platform. Let’s take a look at the closest alternatives and see what kind of Craigslist’s functionality they offer. Even though there are no identical craigslist personals alternative, there is quite a selection of services with somewhat similar features.
5 best alternative dating casual sites
Online dating has been thriving for more than 10 years now, and casual dating is getting at its peak, with mobile apps and web platforms. Many users already saw Craiglist Personals as an outdated ad board that ould compete with elaborate matching features of dedicated services.
So, finding an alternative to craigslist personals with even better matching functionality is not quite a challenge these days. Some of these apps offer detail matching algorithms, while others follow a more similar to Craigslist’s approach of direct contacts. We chose the best ones based on user quality, the number of regular users, and functionality.
80 million members | 400,000 users daily |
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
high fraud risk | Verification email |
$39.95 - $239.95 subscription price |
A big casual dating network with 20 million users. The website offers sexual adventures, both offline and online. You can look for dates nearby using a geo-search, or get an online hookup via a webcam chat. At the moment, it’s the biggest casual dating website, which makes it an attractive alternative to Craigslist.
The website is actively working since 1996, and it earned quite a stellar reputation since then. Online reviews mention professional tech support and precise matching algorithms as main advantages, but also point out the high percentage of fake accounts.
11 millions members | 300k per months |
4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance |
low fraud risk | Verification email, phone, photo |
$0.95 – $45.95 subscription price |
A new innovative dating craigslist alternative for adults that shows available matches in your area. Pure stands out with its bullet-proof security measures — the platform deletes personal information and chats contents in an hour. Users are, therefore, motivated to go on a live date in 60 minutes after registration.
Here, you have great odds of finding a real date. Because of such a reliable security system, the app doesn’t have fakes, and all messages are legit – not ads for user attraction.
29 million members | 16 million active weekly |
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
low fraud risk | Verification email, Facebook |
$34.97- $431.38 subscription price |
Although eHarmony isn’t known to be a particularly casual dating website, it’s still a leading choice of many Americans when it comes to putting personal lives on track. The website that’s responsible for more than 4% of American marriage uses precise algorithms to find dates.
Most importantly, eHarmony gathers a friendly and responsible community of people who are in it for real. If you are ready to commit to the long-term relationship, it’s the best platform.
60,000,000 members | 9,420,000 users per month |
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
medium fraud risk | Verification email |
$29–249 per month subscription price |
This is a Craigslist alternative personals for affairs or free local hookup. The platform emphasizes user privacy — the registration doesn’t require a name, email, or social media. However, the service wasn’t always safe — at some point, the contents of users’ profiles were leaked online.
Still, the website managed to recuperate from the damage successfully, and now it’s again one o the biggest affair communities. The website is open to users of all age categories and sexual orientations.
750,000 members members | 150,000 active users daily |
5/5 hookup chance | Extremely High Sex Chance |
low fraud risk | Verification email |
11.99–54.99 subscription price |
Casual dating doesn’t have to be limited to boring bedroom hookups. Online BDSM communities bring fetish sex to a new level, letting like-minded people find each other in an international community.
BDSM.com is the biggest BDSM dating community with online playrooms, instant messaging features, and precise matching algorithms. The platform also offers precise filters, online discussions, and blogs, where users describe their best experiences.
4 million members | 450,000/weekly |
2/5 hookup chance | Low Sex Chance |
medium fraud risk | Verification email |
$29.96 subscription price |
This is a service for casual dating and escort services with more than 500,000 users. Members look for matches in the Feed with more than 1,000 new offers each weak. The website allows users to make their own communities and gather fanbases — both girls and guys are encouraged to share their photos and videos to get the following.
Additionally, the website offers dating advice and blogs — they are sorted by popularity and relevance. Getting a glimpse of other people’s dating experience is refreshing, and it provides a fresh outlook on the struggles of a dating life.
around 10 million users members |
4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance |
medium fraud risk | Verification |
$14-19,95 subscription price |
A sugar-dating website for rich people who look for sugar and cougar dating. The main audience of the service is well-off guys and young girls who want to find a reliable partner. It’s a legitimate platform for such kind of dating — it has quite credible requires online.
Of course, it’s not exactly what Craigslist was offering — this platform is slightly more niche, but still, it’s one of the best casual dating sites out there. The dating features are pretty standard — you have a feed, messenger for free sexting online, forums, webcam chats, and detailed personal profiles.
5 best apps alternatives to Craigslist Personals
The hottest trend of mobile casual dating is, of course, using mobile apps. They are faster and more manageable than web versions, and communication feels more intimate. Users can take pictures directly from their cameras and share media from storage — and it’s much easier to do from a smartphone.
Concerning that, I decided to make a separate list of mobile apps that have the potential to replace Craigslist Personals.
250,000 members | 140,000 visits per month |
4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance |
medium fraud risk | Verification email |
free subscription price |
This is one of the first mobile apps that was created precisely for casual dating — no long-term relationships or potential marriages.
Yumi offers two ways of finding a match: you can either go to the Feed and filter potential dates or choose random “Cards” with casual encounters. Each user has 4 available cards, which leaves four date opportunities — at least in the free version.
450,000 members | 150,000/daily |
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
low fraud risk | Verification Facebook, phone numbe |
$24.99 - $119.99 subscription price |
This new craigslist personals alternative promotes itself as a platform that is designed to be deleted. The app looks for matches from users’ friends of friends, analyzing their social media profiles. The goals to find people that you could’ve seen before by targeting common connections.
Also, the app analyzes its users’ geodata — as soon as you pass another Happn’s user in the crowd, you’ll get an alert. It’s a nice online version of a meet-cute — a chance encounter can result in a relationship.
10 million members | 3 million/daily |
4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance |
low fraud risk | Verification email, Facebook |
$9.99 – $47.88 subscription price |
This is one of the biggest gay dating apps that helps men find a casual partner.
The app divides all profiles into 10 categories based on their body type, sexual preferences, personality traits. Users can filter out potential matches and customize the Feed.
450,000 members | 15,000/daily |
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
low fraud risk | Verification Facebook, Instagram |
$14.99 - $89.99 subscription price |
Another gay causal dating app, this time for lesbians and bisexual women. The app is also friendly to transgender daters — basically, any member of LGBTQ-community is welcome. The app combines the features of social networks and dating websites. People can customize their profiles, share life updates, and keep a blog.
Also, the app offers customized digests with most compatible matches — a nice option for lazy daters. The app is mostly used for real-life encounters, but you can find online sex, too.
360 million members | 210 million/daily |
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
medium fraud risk | Verification Facebook, Instagram |
Free subscription price |
Although SnapCaht isn’t strictly a dating app, it has been used for these purposes from the moment it was released. The thing is, SnapCaht stories provide a perfect environment for casual dating — you get to have a glance at your partner’s life without committing to anything serious.
There are entire communities where people leave their Snapchat accounts and invite others to message them. The messenger is used to exchange texts, images, photos, and real-time streaming.
7 best new sites like Craigslist for casual encounters
The platforms I was revied so far bear little resemblance to Craigslist — but I included them in the list since these are the most popular casual dating opportunities.
However, if you miss the ad board’s functionality, I got your back. Here’s the list of similar websites where you can contact users directly, without matching up beforehand.
40 million members | 2 million/weekly |
2/5 hookup chance | Low Sex Chance |
high fraud risk | Verification phone number |
free of charge subscription price |
A Craigslist casual encounter section alternative where people can leave short ads with their contact,s personal information, and dating preferences.
The service isn’t reserved exclusively for sex dating – people can start serious relationships as well. If you want to gt sex in the package, be sure to discuss this with the partner.
600 members | 100,000/weekly |
1/5 hookup chance | Very Low Sex Chance |
high fraud risk | Verification email |
from $2 per placing one ad and from $7.5 for each promotion subscription price |
This service is the alternative of BadPage, another personals’ board that was blocked for the same reason as Craigslist. BadPage had the same functionality, and, just like Craigslist, allowed men and women to look for casual hookups.
This website is almost identical to the original version, both by its interface and functionality. Users can leave ads, reviews, and contact potential dates beforehand. No matching is required.
AdultSearch
This is a Craigslist casual encounter where people look for sex hookups. Here, users are allowed to post nudes and describe their sexual organs in detail.
If you are looking for a platform with no limitations, this might be the one for you.
5 million members | 400,000/weekly |
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
medium fraud risk | Verification email |
free subscription price |
This service is almost identical to Craigslist. Just like the original version, this platform isn’t limited to personals ads only.
The website has hundreds of categories, and Personals is just one of the websites’ section — although it’s a leading destination.
1 billion members | 300,000/weekly |
3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
low fraud risk | Verification Facebook |
free to use subscription price |
Finally, the last alternative on the list is Oodle — an international advertising aggregator. The platform collects offers from different fields and assembles them into categories.
For the Personals advertising, the platform looks for offers on various dating websites and assembles them all in a single catalog.
Find your hookup adventure in one hour
Pure users are looking for adventures. They value anonymity, straightforwardness, and intimacy with no obligations.
The application works quickly and simply — no long registrations or endless questionnaires, no social media links or photo albums. The algorithm uses end-to-end encryption and deletes profiles and chats in an hour after they start.
Upload your favourite selfie, find the person who turns you on and start texting. You have one hour to arrange an adventure together.
FAQ
What is the best replacement for Craigslist personals?
You can take a look at similar ad boards or check out causal dating apps. My favorite Craiglist replacement so far is Pure — it’s just as simple and doesn’ require as much personal information as other websites.
What is Doublelist?
It’s an ad board with a personals section, similar to Craigslist. Here, users can find casual dates nearby and look for one-time hookups.
What are some sites like Craigslist personals that are free?
You can Oodle and Double List — similar ad boards with free posting options.
Did Craigslist get rid of personals?
The Personals section was blocked by the FBI due to sex trafficking incidents.
Sites Like Craigslist Casual Encounters – Top 3 Alternatives
Conclusions
Craigslist Personals was a great community, full of dating opportunities and compelling offers. However, I don’t think there is a reason to get sad over its closure — after all, we have dozens of services that are further ahead in terms of interface and functionality, from sexting platforms to milf dating sites.
To me, Craigslist felt outdated a while ago, and I am happy that users finally got to look at less popular but much better-done options.
Just like with Craigslist, you have to remember about safety rules — don’t reveal personal information and contact technical support as soon as you see something suspicious. As soon as you put in efforts to secure yourself, there are no risks.