Best Dating Apps for Open Relationships (2026)

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Published September 17, 2026

The best dating apps for open relationships in 2026 are Nymph and Feeld, which were built for non-monogamous dating, followed by OkCupid, Hinge, Tinder and Bumble, which now let you label yourself non-monogamous but still run on a monogamy-first design. Which one is right for you depends on three things: whether you date as a couple or on your own, how big your city is, and how much explaining you are willing to do in every chat.

I'm going to keep this guide narrow on purpose. An open relationship usually means a committed couple who have agreed that one or both of them can date or sleep with other people. That is one specific shape of ethical non-monogamy, and it comes with its own app problems: a partner at home who is part of the story, agreements that a new match needs to hear early, and a lot of people on mainstream apps who read "open" as "cheating." If you are polyamorous and looking for additional loving relationships, my best poly dating apps ranking is the better fit, and the ENM dating apps and communities guide covers the whole landscape, including the offline spaces.

What makes an open relationship dating app different?

A regular dating app assumes you arrive single and hope to leave as half of a couple. An open relationship dating app has to handle the opposite: you arrive partnered, you intend to stay partnered, and the person you match with deserves to know that before they invest an evening in you.

In practice, that comes down to four things:

• A place to say you're partnered. Not hidden in the last line of your bio - a visible field or label, so nobody feels ambushed on message three.
• Room for your agreements. "We date separately," "sex only, no sleepovers," "my partner knows and is happy about it." One or two lines of this saves hours of chat.
• Honest handling of couples. If you date together, the app should let you say so clearly. If you date separately, it should not force you into a joint profile.
• A userbase that already gets it. On an app where open relationships are normal, "does your partner know?" is a quick check, not a cross-examination.

One thing an open relationship app is not: an affair app. Sites built around discretion from a spouse solve a different problem, and they attract people who want a different thing. The word "open" only works if everyone involved knows. Proposing an open relationship is not cheating - but hiding one is.

Dating apps for open relationships, compared

The quick version before the detail:

App	Built for open relationships?	Couples dating together	Best for
Nymph	Yes - non-monogamy is the default	No joint couple profile; individual profiles	Partnered people who date separately
Feeld	Yes - ENM and kink friendly	Yes - you can link your profile to your partner's	Couples dating together, big cities
OkCupid	No, but it has a non-monogamous setting	No joint profiles - one person per profile	People who want to filter on values first
Hinge / Tinder / Bumble	No - a profile field added on top	No	Smaller towns where reach matters most
Plura	Yes	Profiles plus local events, made by and for non-monogamous people	A second app alongside your main one

Nymph

I'll say it plainly: Nymph is our app, so weigh my opinion accordingly. The reason it sits at the top for open relationships is structural. Your relationship style ("open" is one of the options), your intentions, your current agreements and your safer-sex approach are profile fields, not a paragraph you write apologetically. A match can see that you're partnered and what that means before they say hello. There is a free tier that covers browsing, matching and messaging, and the privacy tools - hide from contacts, city-level location, visibility controls - matter a lot if you're not out to colleagues or family.

The honest limits: Nymph does not have a joint couple profile, so if you and your partner only ever date as a pair, Feeld has more tooling for that. And the userbase is newer and smaller than Feeld's, densest in major metros. I go through all of this in the Nymph app review.

Best for: people in an open relationship who date as individuals and are tired of explaining it.

Feeld

Feeld is the best-known app for non-monogamous and kink-friendly dating, and it is the one I'd point a couple to first. You and your partner each keep your own profile, with your own photos and bio, and link the two together so everyone can see you're a couple. Your matches and chat histories stay private to each of you, and you can open a group chat when you want to talk to someone together. That is a far more honest way to date as a pair than one shared account pretending to be one person. Feeld has also been around much longer than the newer dedicated apps, Nymph included, so in a big city you can expect a bigger pool.

The trade-off is sorting. Feeld welcomes every kind of open-minded dating, from couples looking for a third to kink to people who are simply curious, so an open couple with specific agreements will spend time working out who wants what. If you're a single woman or a bisexual woman, expect plenty of couples looking for a third - here are five red flags to watch for when dating couples if that's you.

Best for: couples who date together, and anyone in a major city who wants maximum choice.

OkCupid

OkCupid lets you set your relationship type to non-monogamous and answer a long list of values questions, which means you can rule people out before you match. Its help centre is clear on two points that matter for open couples: joint couple profiles are not allowed (one person per profile), and if you list yourself as partnered or married, your relationship type has to be non-monogamous. In other words, the honest route is the only route. It is slower than swipe apps - more reading, more writing - but for an open couple with detailed agreements, that slowness is sometimes the point.

Best for: people who would rather filter hard up front than explain later.

Hinge, Tinder and Bumble

All three now have a profile field for this. Tinder's Relationship Types include "open relationship" by name, alongside ethical non-monogamy and polyamory. Hinge has a Relationship Type field with a non-monogamous option and space to add context. Bumble lists ethical non-monogamy among its dating-intention badges.

In a small town, these are the apps your neighbours are actually on, and that counts for a lot. But the design still assumes one-to-one, and most people you'll see are looking for monogamy. Plan to spell out your situation in your bio, explain it again in chat, and unmatch without guilt. One of our contributors, Leanne Yau, wrote in April 2025 about how much harder Hinge became for her after it removed the filter for relationship type - her piece is Hinge Just Ruined It For Polyamorous People. App settings change often, so check what your version offers.

Best for: places where the dedicated apps are empty.

The small dedicated apps

Plura (formerly Bloom Community) was made by and for polyamorous and non-monogamous people, and it pairs profiles with local events - munches, workshops, parties - so you can meet people in a room as well as in an inbox. Smaller apps mean smaller pools, especially outside the biggest cities, so install one as a supplement, not as your only app.

A note on #open, which many older lists still recommend: when we checked in September 2026 it was no longer listed in the US App Store or on Google Play, so we have left it out. If it comes back, it belongs in this group.

Which app for open relationships fits your setup?

"Open relationship" covers several different arrangements, and the right app changes with each.

You're a couple and you date separately. This is the most common setup, and it's the one mainstream apps handle worst, because a solo profile from a partnered person looks suspicious there. Pick an app where being partnered is a normal field on an individual profile - Nymph first, Feeld second - and be specific about your agreements.

You're a couple and you date together. You need joint or linked profiles so nobody is surprised by a second person. Feeld is the practical choice. Before you start, read dating separately vs. dating together - the two approaches ask very different things of you.

One of you is open and the other isn't dating. Perfectly valid, and worth stating outright on your profile: "My partner knows, is supportive, and isn't dating at the moment." It answers the question every match will otherwise ask.

You're single and happy to date people in open relationships. You want an app where partnered people disclose properly, so you know what you're walking into. The dedicated apps make that far easier than the mainstream ones.

What if you don't live in a big city?

Here is the uncomfortable truth about apps for open relationship dating, ours included: density follows cities. If you live somewhere small, a dedicated app may show you the same thirty people for a month.

What works in practice is a two-app setup. Keep one dedicated open relationship app for the people who already understand your situation, and one mainstream app for reach. On the mainstream one, put your relationship status in the first line of your bio, not the last. You will match less. The matches you do get will have read it.

It's also worth looking beyond apps. Local meetups, munches and online communities are often where open couples in smaller places actually meet people - the apps and communities guide has a full section on where to find them.

How to set up your profile on an open relationship app

The app matters less than what you write on it. A profile that works for an open relationship does three things:

1. Says you're partnered in the first two lines. "In an open relationship, dating separately" is enough. Disclosing up front costs you some matches and saves you every awkward conversation.
2. States what's on offer. Casual and occasional? Ongoing but not escalating? Open to feelings? People can only say yes to what they can see.
3. Doesn't make your partner a warning label. "My wife must approve you" reads very differently from "My wife and I talk openly about who we date." If you have a veto agreement, say so kindly.

If you're newly open, a few agreements are worth settling with your partner before either of you downloads anything: whether you share who you're chatting with, how you handle safer sex, what happens when one of you gets more matches than the other (it will happen, and it stings). The five biggest mistakes people make when opening a relationship is a good reality check, and so is crafting your own open relationship around communication rather than rules.

Frequently asked questions about open relationship apps

Is there an app for open relationships? Yes, several. Nymph, Feeld and Plura were built for non-monogamous dating, so being partnered is a normal thing to say on your profile. OkCupid, Tinder, Hinge and Bumble were built for monogamous dating but now have a profile field where you can say you're non-monogamous.

What is the best dating app for open relationships? It depends on how you date. For partnered people who date separately, I'd pick Nymph, because being in an open relationship is a standard profile field rather than something you have to explain - with the caveat that it's our app and the pool is smaller outside big cities. For couples who date together, Feeld, because you can link your profile to your partner's. Many people run one dedicated app plus one mainstream app for reach.

Is there a free dating app for open relationships? Yes. Nymph, Feeld, OkCupid, Hinge, Tinder and Bumble are all free to download and use, with optional paid upgrades. Try the free version first and only pay once you know the app has people near you.

Is Feeld good for open relationships? Yes, particularly for couples who date together: each partner keeps their own profile and the two are linked, so nobody is surprised by a second person. Feeld covers a wide range of open-minded dating, so say clearly on your profile what your agreements are and what you're looking for.

Can you use Tinder if you're in an open relationship? You can, and in smaller towns you may have to. Tinder's Relationship Types include "open relationship", and Hinge and Bumble have similar fields. Most people there are looking for monogamy, so put your situation at the top of your bio, and be ready to unmatch people who assume open means secret.

Should couples in an open relationship make a joint profile? Only if you actually date together. If you date separately, use individual profiles that clearly say you're partnered. A solo profile that reveals a second person later is the fastest way to lose someone's trust.

How do I tell a match I'm in an open relationship? Before they have to ask. Put it on your profile, and repeat it in your first few messages: that you're partnered, that your partner knows, and what you're looking for. Anyone it puts off was never going to be a good match.

What's the difference between an open relationship app and a poly dating app? Mostly the people and what they're looking for. Open relationships tend to keep one core partnership and open up dating or sex around it; polyamory means multiple loving relationships. Most apps serve both, but your profile should say which one you mean - see what is polyamory? for the distinction.

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Opening up is a bigger project than picking an app. If the conversations at home are harder than the ones in your inbox, an ENM-aware therapist or coach can help the two of you build agreements that hold. And if you're still working out whether an open relationship is for you, start with What Is Ethical Non-Monogamy?.

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