Top Craigslist Personals Alternatives Dating Sites in 2023
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A lot of people were sad to see the lost of their favorite platform for online dating when the personals section of Craigslist was closed down. While Craigslist is more popular for the traditional classified listings, there are actually plenty of people who also used the site to plan casual meetings, find dates in their local areas, and more. Craigslist is free and simple to use, making it a favorite among men and women.
Our team did a deep research to list the best craigslist personals alternatives dating sites & apps. This way, you can still look for dates and enjoy the same perks as you used to when Craigslist personals was still active.
| BEST SITES | WHY JOIN? |
|---|---|
| Ashley Madison | The best dating site for a discreet connection |
| Adult Friend Finder | The best adult dating site for casual encounters |
| Seeking Arrangement | The largest sugar daddy dating website |
| ALT | The best BDSM dating service |
| Be Naughty | Naughty dating site to meet your partner |
| Pernals | Personals dating app like craigslist |
| Kasual | Anonymous hookup & dating app |
| DoubleList | Best replacement to Craigslist Personals |
| BedPage | Free classified site to find personals |
| Reddit R4R | Reddit community to find hookups |
Technically speaking, Ashley Madison is not a listings website but it surprisingly works as a great alternative to Craigslist personals. This is because the platform is mainly used for married dating and this was the very reason of many people who used Craigslist personals in the past. This is what makes Ashley Madison a great alternative to the renowned listings site. As a non-traditional platform for online dating, Ashley Madison offers one of the best and most notable dating experiences you can find. The website and the app alike offer users easy and simple navigation. You can also enjoy features including virtual gifts, online chatting, and more.
If you are a new user, you can start using Ashley Madison all for free. You will need to upgrade to the paid account if you want to access the premium features of the site. The most notable feature of the dating platform is the fact that it lets you filter the search results. You don’t need to use a matching algorithm just so you can make connections. The search function can be used to look for matches who share the same interests.
If you used Craigslist personals, it is safe to say that you like to add some spice to your love life. If this is the case, AdultFriendFinder.com has so many things to offer. It is a website made especially for those who are looking for the kind of relationship that is a bit different from the conventional. AdultFriendFinder.com is among the best Craigslist personals dating sites thanks to its open-minded community. If your dating preference is different from the usual, you can be sure that no one will judge you or question your choices on this dating platform. Similar to Craigslist, AdultFriendFinder.com users are searching for an extensive array of things that make it ideal for people who have specific interests when it comes to relationships.
In addition to the classic features for dating, Adult Friend Finder also has lots of additional features to offer to its users. You could write and browse the blogs of other users and participate in the forums. You could also check out their live cam feature to make your dating experience more fun. If you want to get started in looking for casual dates, Adult Friend Finder has definitely got you covered.
If you wish to fill the void left behind by the casual encounters you used to enjoy in Craigslist personals, Seeking.com(Kown as SeekingArrangement) is the one-stop-shop worthy to check out. Ever since its launch, Seeking hopes to help people embark on the kind of relationships that benefits both parties. For the longest time, the website has been the favorite go-to spot of people who want to have a different and one of a kind dating experience.
Seeking.com is a good choice to consider as a replacement for Craigslist personals since all of its members are upfront and straightforward with what they are really searching for in a relationship. Similar to Craigslist personals, you are given the freedom to opt for a more nontraditional dating experience with no need to be worried about being judged or questioned regarding your choices. The only area that makes Seeking.com different from Craigslist has something to do with the price. Craigslist was available for free unlike Seeking.com that charges a monthly subscription just so you can use the premium features. However, the upside of this is that you can get access to an extensive selection of exceptional dating features including user verification, video chat, and so much more.
Alt.com is a hookup and dating platform that caters to people who are into BDSM and fetish lifestyles and is also considered as an ideal Craigslist personals alternatives dating site. If Craigslist used to attract everything from squares to predators, the crowd at Alt.com is more into stuff such as whips, heels, latex, and other kinds of kinky stuff. This website has a layout similar to that of Facebook complete with message feeds, user thumbnails, sidebar filters, and site tabs. There are also three membership rates for Silver and three more for Gold membership.
If you go for a Silver membership, you will be able to receive and send messages, get access to videos, join groups, and read blogs. By opting for a Gold membership, you will be able to add extra large pictures to your profile and get access to the MSN, YIM, AIM, and ICQ IDs of members within your network. A Gold member can also appear on top of the searchers. Alt.com also has location-based chat rooms and you can also view kinky member videos. It is an adventurous and libertine community that is kink or sex-positive. The wide selection of membership plans makes it possible for everyone to find one that best suits their budget.
BeNaughty.com is among the dating websites that are more female-friendly that has a favorable ratio for the single men. The female members of the site can send messages to the male members for free that makes the site’s entry price worth it. Unlike Craigslist personals, there is no need for you to click several profiles to see the pictures of members who fit the search criteria you set. BeNaughty.com shows dozens of members all at once and is complete with Like and Chat buttons. The website doesn’t provide a free trial although you can test the website first for three days for a cheap price. There are also discount packages available that you can choose from.
BeNaughty.com functions as a casual hookup platform with over 13 million active members that make it a useful Craigslist alternative. It is an adults-only dating site that gives all casual daters an opportunity of engaging in sexting conversations and attracting hot dates with no need to step outside their homes. You can join the website for free and look around with the use of search filters according to appearance, age, gender, and location. There is a FlirtCast tool gives free members the chance of sending an introductory message to all the local singles who suit their type. Members can also send virtual winks in order to get the attention and interest of other members.
Pernals.com is one exciting new choice for people who missed using Craigslist personals. It is a classifieds app that boasts of modernity. The app can be downloaded on all mobile devices. It has an intuitive and sleek user interface that even beginners won’t have a hard time using it. This is the reason why it also attracts more users who are still in their 20s and 30s compared to the traditional classifieds site.
Pernals.com was especially made to serve as the newest alternative to Craigslist personals. This is also regarded as one of the best alternatives to the much-missed personals platform. New users can download the app and start posting ads all for free. It is also possible for you to browse through the local listings to see if there are other users nearby. Since it is in an app form, you can also get other cool features like built-in messaging.
Kasual (formerly Yumi) is an app where you can start looking for someone to hook up with and engage in all kinds of adventurous sexual activities you could ever imagine. The app offers an instant hookup thing. What you can do here is pick one out of the four default Cards on the screen then click on it to flip it over. There is a 50% chance that you will find your next casual adventurous encounter with every round. And then from there, everything will depend on the things you want. Most of the experiences at the app are positive with guaranteed success. The choices are almost endless and you can expect that even your wildest sexual fantasies will turn into reality once you try using Kasual. While going online to find dates is now common among younger users, more and more mature people are also going the same route these days.
Kasual is an excellent place to check out for those who wish to do some experiments with their sexuality since this hookup app guarantees your safety and anonymity similar to how Craigslist personals used to do. To get started looking for your potential match, you just need to log in, upload your photo, and you will be good to go.
DoubleList.com is almost the same as Craigslist, and you need to sign up so you can start browsing the site. The motto of the platform is “Connect with straight, gay, bi, and curious.” This means you wouldn’t have a hard time determining what the members of the site are searching for. In the US alone, the website has over 3 million users, which means that you have a high chance of finding and meeting your perfect match in no time. As always, it is recommended to always keep an eye out for scammers and fake profiles. Just like Craigslist, DoubleList is also a type of classified site but with a few exciting twists. For instance, the website requires you to have your email address and phone number verified first so you can start posting your own ads or viewing other members’ ads.
This additional layer of security makes it possible for DoubleList.com to bypass the SESTA law, which is the very reason for the shutdown of Craigslist Personals in the first place. DoubleList.com keeps track of the posts of every member and any sex traffickers are permanently banned from posting on the site again. So far, DoubleList.com is the only Craigslist Personals alternative that goes out of its way to adhere to the new law. About half of the staff of 140 members is tasked to verify and monitor ads for them to remain FOSTA SESTA compliant. Another advantage of classified ads that are phone verified is that it prevents fake posts and spam.
From the name itself, it is easy to guess that BedPage.com is more of a direct alternative for Backpage. However, it also has similar categories as those of Craigslist Personals, such as men seeking women, women seeking women, and others. If you are looking for sexual encounters, the Adult and Dating categories are worthy to check out. You just need to be extra careful since there might still be scammers lurking on the site. It wouldn’t hurt to approach people with care to prevent being scammed or falling prey to the hands of fraudulent people. As far as appearances are concerned, BedPage.com looks very similar to both BackPage and Craigslist Personals. Although the name of the site may sound like it is meant for sex, its listings actually contain all types of sections, which are the same as those you would often find on Craigslist.
However, some people might not find the site good for hooking up. You can find numerous fake ads from people who simply want you to go to other dating sites or make you follow their Snapchat. Some even claimed that even after messaging other members, they didn’t really receive any responses at all. But all in all, if you are searching for a free alternative for Craigslist Personals, BedPage.com is a website worthy to consider.
Most of you may already be familiar with Reddit. But for those who are not, Reddit is one of the biggest online communities where people are allowed to post everything and anything on what the so-called subreddits. Reddit.com dirty r4r is one of the popular subreddits that can serve as a great alternative to Craigslist Personals. Also called Reddit Personals, Reddit.com/r/r4r/ uses the subheading “Activity Partners, Groups, Dating, Hanging Out, Soulmates, FWBs.” This means that you can create your own ad on this subreddit, let others know a few things about yourself and what you are searching for, and wait if you will receive any response. Since it is free to use Reddit, this option wouldn’t make you lose anything at all. Ever since casual encounters were eliminated, more and more subreddits have been popping up as their replacement. Basically, this subreddit works in such a way that each state or city has its r4r. For instance, you can try to Google something like New York r4r or San Francisco r4r so you can find your potential date.
If you happen to be a Redditor yourself already, it is one of the subreddits that you should follow and check on a regular basis to see who is looking for some exciting fling. Some of the biggest r4rs include South California, Houston, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. When posting an ad on the subreddit, it is important to ensure that your title includes what you are looking for. However, don’t expect it to be the complete replacement for Craigslist Personals. Although it looks promising, the primary drawback of this alternative is the fact that it will only work in the bigger cities. This means that it is worth checking out if you are a resident of South California or other major metropolitan areas. Also, another downside is that there are times when people also use this subreddit for finding some nonsexual stuff. Just when you are busy looking for a potential date, you might see ads about Golden Retriever owners who want to meet up for a stroll.
Locanto.com/Personals/P/ is very similar to Craigslist Personals and other Craigslist lookalikes and wannabes out there. For instance, you will find a category labeled Casual Encounters that also features several subcategories. This is the category where you can start posting persona ads to let others know what you are hoping to find or meet in the first place. However, it seems that in most areas, only men are posting, while some of the postings from ladies look a bit suspicious. This is why it is important to always use your best judgment for Locanto to be a decent go-to place every time you hope to meet new people.
After Craigslist Personals was shut down, Locanto.com/Personals/P/ has welcomed and embraced its members with wide-open arms. The personals on Locanto are less censored compared to other alternatives and this further spurred its popularity. While you may find some shirtless dudes and booty pics, anything that goes beyond this will make the ad get taken down in the end. The good news here is that the site doesn’t really censor titles, which means that you will have the freedom to express your feelings with no need to be afraid that a mod who doesn’t get or understand your sweet nothings will have it deleted. So far, there are not really a lot of downsides associated with Locanto.com/Personals/P/. As far as random unheard-of classified ads are concerned, Locanto is among the best replacement of Craigslist Personals right now with a very solid section for personals where you can engage in some exciting fun.
Oodle.com is in many ways very similar to the old personals page of Craigslist Personals that also has the usual categories such as Men Seeking Women, Men Seeking Men, and more. You can also take advantage of the handy filters available in the platform that can help you narrow down your choices even further. However, it might be worthy to note that there are some areas where not a lot of people are using Oodle.com. If this is the case, this might not be your best choice. Depending on what you are into, there are also more men who are posting on Oodle.com than women, which can make it worthy or not worthy of your precious time. If you are someone who prefers simplicity, you will surely love and appreciate Oodle.com. The only things you will see are a photo, a location, a name, and an age. these are the only things you will find in this alternative site’s Personals section.
You can also include one to two sentences that specify what the person who posted the ad is looking for. Making a post is also very easy and simple. It is also very easy to respond to a post and if you are patient enough, you can also find it easy to get a casual encounter in no time. Most of the posts on the site are in the categories Woman Looking for Man and Man Looking for Woman. The categories for bi and gay people have a smaller population but these have more serious ads and there are also lesser chances that the profile is a scam, making it a big benefit.
ClassifiedAds.com is exactly as the name sounds like. It is a solid alternative to Craigslist Personals since it is super similar. All you have to do is choose Personals on the front page. You will then see some of the classic categories such as Missed Connections, Men Seeking Women, and others. There are not really so many things to say about the site because it is quite straightforward, which means that you will either find options in your local area or you will not. All in all, there are not really a lot of limitations to the things that you can post on the site, with illegal stuff being the only exception, of course. Any curse word will be censored and aside from this, you can simply write exactly what it is you are searching for. There is also a good chance that there will be at least one person who will respond to your ad.
Do you know why Craigslist Personals was shut down in the first place? It was in 2018 when the ads platform was officially shut down in response to the US bill that would have put all the blame for prostitution and sex trafficking on the platform’s owner.
While the response was appropriate enough, most of the regular users of Craigslist Personals found themselves not knowing where to go next. The large number of people who have been lingering on the platform to search for hookups and casual encounters had their hands tied as they desperately search online for new places. Since Craigslist Personals, most users were left with no choice but to move to alternative sites and apps. But before you get all too excited and join the first Craigslist Personals alternative that you can find, there are several tips you need to remember to find the right one for you.
Before anything else, make sure that you set things straight with yourself first. What kind of relationship are you actually hoping to find using the Craigslist Personals alternative? Do you just need a quick hookup for a week? Are you after a one-night stand? Or you do just need someone to talk to? Whatever it is, knowing what you want, and need is the key to helping you find the best platform that caters exactly to your preferences and requirements.
We have researched and reviewed some of the best dating services. Checking out our list will make it easier for you to identify which alternative to Craigslist personal will match your specific dating references.
After you have a good idea of the different sites available to choose from, it is now time for you to compare their features. Be sure to confirm if your first choice actually got the features and tools you need so you can move on to the next one. Also, ensure that the price of the sites is also according to the features they offer.
Speaking of cost, while there are sites that can be used for free, there are platforms that offer paid plans for those subscribers who want and need more out of their dating experience. Before you join a Craigslist Personals alternative, determine whether or not you need premium dating services and if you are willing to pay for them, and if you even have the budget for them in the first place.
Once you have found a site that meets all of the above points, it is now time for you to join the site and give it a try. After all, experience is always the best teacher so go ahead, explore the site, and try to get a feel if this is the best choice for you.