Dating as a foreigner can be hard. It doesn’t matter whether you are living in, or traveling to, a foreign country, it can be difficult to know where to look for relationships or casual hookups. Things are made even harder when you’re gay. We’ve been in the same position as you. We felt completely lost. Took us months for even the slightest amount of social contact, let alone actually considering dating somebody. Thankfully, you can learn from our experience.
Nowadays, dating as a foreigner is easier than in the past. It is still more difficult than dating in your home country, but various apps can make things a little bit smoother. On this page, we’re going to help you to find the right gay dating app for foreigners.
Our list covers several gay dating apps for foreigners. Some of these apps you may have heard of already. Each of them brings something completely different to the table, and almost all of them have a huge fan base around the world. Let’s jump in and get you dating, shall we?
What Makes a Good Gay Dating App For Foreigners?
Before we start talking about our favorite apps (and the ones that we have had the most success with when dating as a foreigner), we want to discuss some of the things that you should be thinking about when tracking down an app.
Part of the reason why we have included multiple gay dating apps on this page rather than just one is the fact that every platform is different. Some work better than others in certain countries. Others may be designed for casual dating, while others are for long-term relationships. It is so important that you choose the right app for your needs.
Large Gay Dating App For Foreigners
Large Membership
This one should be pretty obvious. The larger the membership, the more people you’ll be able to choose from.
Remember – the areas where the app is popular will play a role here. For example, Bumble is incredibly popular in the US. It has millions and millions of members. Head to somewhere like Sweden, and people won’t touch it with a bargepole.
When we put together our list of the best gay dating apps for foreigners, we have tried to choose apps that have a large fan base throughout the world. Although, as you go through, you’ll notice some are more popular in certain locations.
We do recommend that you don’t limit yourself to one app. Try to be on at least 2-3 different apps.
Location-Based Searching
This should pretty much be a given, although there are a lot of apps that don’t have proper location-based searching, which can make it difficult to find somebody to match with.
If you have selected an app that does not allow location-based searching (down to a very small area), then give it a skip. It isn’t worth your time.
Location Gay Dating App For Foreigners
Offers the Type of Relationship You’re After
For most people, this is going to be the big one. When you are using an app, you should have a rough idea of what you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for a casual hookup, then chances are that you’ll want something like Grindr or Tinder. If you’re looking for a long-term relationship, then Match.com may be better suited for you.
Sure, there is some overlap between the apps e.g. people have started long-term relationships from Grindr. You’re just making things a little bit harder for yourself if you choose the ‘wrong’ app for your needs.
Price
The problem with dating as a foreigner is that most people probably wouldn’t want to date you. Not that there is anything wrong with you at all. There isn’t. It is more that most people tend to gravitate towards those that come from their country. They get scared of the language barrier or even the cultural barrier. This means that it can take a while to hunt down the right person. In fact, it can take a while to hunt down even one person who is willing to chat with you.
This means that the free features on many of the gay dating apps are not going to be suitable. Most limit messaging, looking at profiles, etc. So, when you’re overseas, always opt for the premium version of any app. It’ll make your life a lot easier.
Grindr
If you’re looking to get just one gay dating app for foreigners installed on your phone, then it should be Grindr. In fact, this is probably one of the gay dating apps that you’ve probably already installed on your device. It is the largest gay dating app in the world, after all.
It doesn’t matter where you head in the world, if being gay is legal, then you’ll find scores of people on Grindr. People love to chat on there too, and you’ll often find many people who make a special effort to talk to foreigners.
Obviously, Grindr is one of the better apps for gay foreigner dating. A lot of people there will speak English, most people are looking for casual hookups, and it is free to browse through the thousands of gay people that you’ll find wherever you are heading.
Grindr the best free dating app for gay men in usa
Tinder
You’ve probably heard of Tinder, right? Swipe right to like somebody, swipe left to avoid them. If somebody swipes right on you, and you have done the same to them, you get matched. You can then start chatting. Simple stuff.
Tinder is an app that heavily focuses on initial attraction. If you want matches, you need to have some quality photos up. Don’t expect to get a long-term relationship from Tinder, though. This is the ultimate hookup app.
If you pick up the Tinder premium service, then you can start matching with people long before you have left your home country. Play your cards right, and you could have some dates lined up before you have hopped off the plane.
Bumble
Bumble is very similar to Tinder. In fact, it was designed by some of the original Tinder workers.
Bumble is only ‘active’ in some countries. While it is available in most places, it isn’t used heavily by gay people in certain countries. However, if you’re a foreigner in an English-speaking country e.g. the US, UK, Canada, or Australia, then you’ll find tons of people to chat to.
We probably wouldn’t use Bumble on its own. Instead, use it to supplement your Tinder activity. It just means more matches.
Blued (For Asia)
Blued is a gay dating app. Around the world, it has around 40 million users. However, the vast majority of the users are in Asia, particularly China. So, if you’re looking for gay foreigner dating in Asia, then Blued may be worth checking out.
Blued actually has a few features that we wish would roll out to other gay dating apps. For starters, you can livestream a video and catch the attention of other guys in the local area. We find that it makes it a whole lot easier to score some matches as a foreigner, particularly if you look decent.
While this is a gay dating app focused on the Asian market, a surprising number of people speak English, so you shouldn’t have too many issues finding common ground with people.
This app can be used for both casual hookups and long-term dating.
Planet Romeo (For Germany)
While Planet Romeos is popular around the world, it has only really managed to gain traction in Germany and, to a small extent, Austria. So, if you are traveling to this part of Europe, then Planet Romeo may be perfect for you. Although, if you’re heading anywhere else, then Planet Romeo probably won’t be for you.
What surprised us about Planet Romeo is how willing people are to have a conversation with foreigners. Because the app is mostly younger Germans (over the age of 18, don’t worry), almost everybody can speak English, which makes it dreadfully simple to get the conversation flowing.
Planet Romeo is marketed as a casual hookup app, but it is so much more than that. At least in our experience. It is a complete social media app, and not only will you find hot dates here, but you may be able to grab a few recommendations for gay hotspots nearby.
Badoo
We are now moving, ever so briefly, onto the apps designed for longer-term love.
Badoo is an incredibly popular platform throughout most of Europe and a good amount of Asia. Although, it is not a dedicated gay dating app, so you may not find the whopping selection of people that you would through one of the dedicated gay apps. Although, in most places, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Even in the most sparse areas, we’ve often found dozens of people to chat to.
As we said, Badoo is more about longer-term dating. While you may find the odd casual hookup through there, the vast majority of profiles will say that they are looking for something serious.
One of the cool things about Badoo is that you can look for love anywhere in the world. You just need to play about with the search filters. The only downside is that you have limited messaging per day, even with a premium account. So, make sure that you choose people that you could see yourself getting on with. Luckily, every profile should list the languages that a person speaks.
Match
Match.com is another app for longer-term dating, although you may struggle to find regular users outside of Europe and the United States.
Match.com does not focus on casual dating at all. It requires a huge amount of effort to put together a profile, and you can’t interact with anybody on the platform, at least meaningfully, unless you spend some money.
While Match.com doesn’t necessarily have the largest gay population out of all the gay dating apps, it does have a reasonable number of people and if you stumble across some people on the site, you know that they are serious.
eHarmony
eHarmony works in a very similar way to Match.com. This means that it is very suitable for longer-term dating. Although, once again, it may not be a good choice in all countries. Thankfully, you can browse through potential suitors for free. This will help you to decide whether eHarmony is right for you.
eHarmoney Gay Dating App For Foreigners
BeNaughty
Finally, we have BeNaughty. It is a newer app that works in a very similar way to Tinder. Although, there is a greater focus on personality than just looks here. Unfortunately, because it is a newer app, there isn’t a massive fanbase around the world yet. This means that you may want to take it for a spin before you commit to it. It is always worth keeping your profile up, at least. However, do bear in mind that if you ever want to talk to somebody, you will need to pay.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to finding a gay dating app for foreigners, you should have no shortage of options. If you find yourself in a foreign country, we recommend that you download a few different gay dating apps. Test them out. See which ones work in the area and which ones don’t. If you snap a few quality photos and turn on that charm that we know you have, it probably won’t be long before you score a few dates in the area. Who knows, it may lead to long-term love.
Hello, my name is Gay Worlley - no, really - and I love learning about all things queer. I am also a qualified gardener and enjoy traveling in my spare time.
I love sharing my travel stories with anyone who will listen, and now I want to share them with the world through my new website! Not only that, but I want to inspire others and teach you about LGBTQ+ travel, queer media, pride, and much more.
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