The 3 Best Cougar Dating Apps and Sites In Australia That Deliver In 2024

Older women can bring a lot of fun and excitement to relationships, and there’s a lot of great single older women in Australia. As an experienced online dating expert, I can tell you that to have maximum success with cougars in Australia you need to be using the best apps and sites out there. There are a lot of bad apps out there that you can easily waste a ton of time and money on. Fortunately, there are also a few great ones that are well worth your time to try out. Here are some of our favorites:

Site	Our Experience	Our Rating	Free Trial Link
Best For Relationships	Experience Highlights Easily the best option for long-term relationships 75% of all online marriages start here 70% of users meet their spouse within a year In-depth signup and matching process	9	Try eHarmony
Best For Casual Fun	Experience Highlights The best way to meet women for casual relationships Best results for regular guys Over 60 million active members Not good for long-term relationships	9	Try AFF For Free

Every year we test out all the cougar dating sites and apps out there (over 100) to determine which are going to give you the best chances. These are the sites that are going to give you the best opportunity to meet single, attractive cougars from Perth to Melbourne to Brisbane and everywhere in between. We also make sure the these are recommendations that work for both guys who are older and younger than the cougars using the apps. These work for everyone!

A recent study published in the Australian Institute of Family Studies revealed there are significantly more single older women than single older men in Australia and the gap continues to grow. What’s more, the majority of them are open to dating younger men; as many as 55% according to Prevention Magazine.   

Many of these women are looking for toyboys online. In fact, Statista data suggests that online dating has become as popular with 45-54 year-olds in Australia as it is with young adults. 

As an experienced online dating expert, I can tell you that to have maximum success with cougars in Australia you need to be using the best apps and sites out there. There are a lot of bad apps out there that you can easily waste a ton of time and money on. Fortunately, there are also a few great ones that are well worth your time to try out.

Every year we test out all the cougar dating sites and apps out there (over 100) to determine which are going to give you the best chances. These are the sites that are going to give you the best opportunity to meet single, attractive cougars from Perth to Melbourne to Brisbane and everywhere in between. We also make sure these are recommendations that work for both guys who are older and younger than the cougars using the apps. These work for everyone!

We are extremely methodical in our approach and investigate everything from user numbers to the attractiveness of the women actually using the apps. The four main things we look at are:

With that in mind, we spent hundreds of hours combining through the available cougar dating apps in Australia to find the best. Here are the steps we take:

Below is what we found and we will continue to update it regularly. Don't forget to share your experiences in the comments!

Australia's Best Cougar Dating Apps And Sites

There are a couple of sites that really stood out again this year (and have been leaders for years now). They are very different in what they can provide so be sure to take the time to understand what they can do for you. Signing up for both to try is a great idea though to see what you have been missing.

eHarmony is the best cougar dating site for relationships

Before we delve into why eHarmony is the best cougar dating site, let’s give you a 15-second warmup on what it means to date a cougar in this day and age (courtesy of the experts at Brides.com):

eHarmony might not be considered a pure cougar finding app but it turns out that it really excels in one particular area. If you want to meet a cougar for a long-term, committed relationship there isn't a better option. A crazy stat to illustrate this is that 75% of all marriages that began online started on eHarmony. 75%!

What makes this one of the best apps to find cougars is numbers and experience. There are a ton of cougars on this app and they have a unique matching system that actually works to pair you up with compatible women.

If you haven't heard of eHarmony, seen the commercials, or met a couple that used it you're definitely in the minority. This is one of the largest sites in the world and they spend a ton of money to attract new women to the site, especially women over 35.

They also have a very unique matching system that figures out what you want through a series of questions and sends you matches every day the fit your desires. That means cougars looking for guys like you are sent your way ever, single, day.

We've seen a lot of guys try it and those that really want a long-term relationship have had really good results. If that sounds like you check out their trial below and make it happen.

Why eHarmony is worth downloading

What we don't like about it

User Testimonials for eHarmony on Quora:

Melinda Lofthaus - Quora

“It did for me and my now husband of 6 years (we met in our late 20s). Before eharmony I used all the dating apps for years and only met jerks who didn’t want a committed relationship, so I thought I’ll give eharmony a shot. My first date on eharmony is now my husband. They really did a great job matching our personalities and humour. Also the fact that people pay to be on there means most people are committed/ serious so much fewer jerks than on the swiping apps.”

AFF is your best option if you are only interested in something casual

If you are looking for short-term fun using a cougar site in Australia there are only a couple of sites worth considering. The first is Tinder, which is an app that almost every guy under 35 has heard of or tried, usually with less than great results. The second, and far more promising for actually meeting women is AFF.

While not quite as widely known as Tinder (you probably won't read about it in the Herald Sun), AFF actually has a user base that is comparable in size (over 90 million active members). The reason they are not as trendy is that the majority of the users are not millennials blaring about it on social media. They have been around a decade longer than Tinder and tend to have users that or single women 30+ as well as a wide range in ages for men.

If you are looking for a fling with a cougar or a friends-with-benefits type situation there isn't a cougar site that compares. They have a ton of users to give you the best chances of finding someone you click with and do a great job of actually connecting you. You can't be in business for fifteen years and have that many members without delivering on your promises. We would know, we've rated and reviewed all the best hookup sites and apps in Australia and they've been the top for a while now.

To give you a more detailed look at how AFF works and how it performs for regular guys, you can also have a look at our Adult FriendFinder review.

At this point, there really isn't any reason for an Aussie not to check them out. They have a free trial and also solid refund policy if you do decide to make thing way easier with a paid account. There isn't any downside and you could end up with a lot of new fun for just a few minutes of time. Try them out!

What Other People Are Saying About Adult Friend Finder

U/naughtynjvixen - Reddit  

“My wife has been seeing her current lover for 3 years and she connected with him on AFF. Also connected with a few others from AFF.”

For guys who are pretty attractive OKCupid can work well

Third on our list, and the last cougar site worth recommending is OkCupid. There are a lot of things that we like about OKC but also a fair number of drawbacks that you need to know about. You can find good success in a lot of places where finding a single cougar is easy, but you will have the most success if you fall into the categories below.

OkCupid, like most more general dating apps of its kind can be a great place to meet cougars but tends to HIGHLY favor guys who are pretty good looking. If you are a good looking man who also has a few pictures that really emphasize it OkCupid should be on your list. There are a lot of people using the app and your pictures need to be able to stand out from the crowd. If you can't do that, it might be a rough go for you.

You also need to be warned that there are a LOT of women on OKC who are just looking for attention and don't actually want to meet up. They are there for the ego boost they get from all the message they receive and only very rarely message back. This is something a cougar site or app with paid memberships really helps to avoid, those members are there to actually connect with people.

To summarize this, if you are a good looking dude who has a fair amount of free time to spend OkCupid is worth checking out. You would probably have better success on Cougar Life or AFF but OKC will work for you, especially if you want to date younger women as well.

What Other People Are Saying About OkCupid

Oliver Ford - Google Play.

“The best of the dating apps, in my opinion. Tons of users, tons of swipes, able to send a comment with every like, able to like specific parts of the person's profile, able to change location, able to look around in the global pool, all for free. You can also really customise your profile.”

Some Of The Popular Cougar Apps In Australia To Avoid

Now that we have covered the three cougar dating apps we recommend for Aussies, lets take a look at a few popular apps that just are not that great for guys interested in dating a cougar.

Tinder - Great for really good looking guys and millennials dating millennials

Tinder is the most well-known dating app in Australia, according to a YouGov study. It does one thing very well, helping people in their teens and 20's find other single people their own age. If you are interested in meeting someone over 30 or so you are pretty much out of luck. Around 60% of Tinder users are aged under 35, according to Business of Apps.  They have a ton of people using their app in Australia but if you are actually looking to meet a cougar you are out of luck on Tinder. Women 30-35+ were dating long before the invention of Tinder and it just hasn't caught on that well with them. In fact, YouGov data suggests it’s the least respected dating app among Australians. 

“It just feels like that seedy late-night bar people go to when they’re just looking for some action,” explains Aussie dating expert Jana Hocking. “Tinder is based purely on aesthetics.”

Tinder also suffers from the phenomenon where the best looking guys get almost all of the attention. If you fall in the bottom 80% in terms of looks you are probably not going to have the best experience. You are much better off with an app that lets more than a photo or two decide your fate.

What people think of Tinder

A Google User - Google Play

I've been on quite a few dates over just the past month (as a free user), thanks to Tinder - mostly. I used to view it as an app that people used for a quick one night stand, but it seems have evolved into something more unique. It's not for everyone, but it's better than nothing. Put forth the effort to get to know somebody and safely hangout and you'll have some success and fun, at the very least. Unfortunately, these apps are the best ways to meet new people nowadays. Might as well start with Tinder.

Milfaholic - Only use them if you have way too much money on your hands

This is a cougar site that gets way more attention than it deserves. They must have a really good marketing department because we see their name all over the place but had an absolutely terrible experience using their site. There were a lot of huge issues we had during our testing that you need to know about.

To start, we found a large number of obviously fake profiles on Milfaholic. If you are ever on an Australian cougar dating site that has obvious fake profiles you should pick up and leave immediately. No legitimate site would do this!

They also try to trick you into signing up for a paid membership by sending you fake messages from obviously fake profiles. We had a completely blank profile yet were receiving multiple messages within minutes of signing up. There is no way this is legit.

What people think of MILFaholic

John O. - SiteJabber

Fake women repetitive identical responses by multiple fake women. No matter what you say or ask response does not address your query. After purchasing a three say trial I was immediately cheated out of profile views. I immediately unsubscribed because the site was trying to sick more money out of me to upgrade further. We will see if these criminals try to charge my card again. If they do and I'm sure they will I promise this company or any other company operating out of Canada will so no more biz in amaerica

BeCougar AKA BeNaughty - Fake Fake Fake

Another cougar app that looks decent on the surface but you absolutely need to avoid is BeCougar. When you log in you are automatically sent over to BeNaughty (not a great start) and it gets worse from there.

Much like Milfaholic, there are a lot of fake profiles and they are even more blatant about it. If you scroll through some of the "members" you will likely see a number of celebrities, or at least their photos. It's an obvious attempt to convince people they have more member than they do and a huge reason to skip this site entirely.

What people think of BeNaughty

Abu A. - SiteJabber

I just signed up with benaughty. I'm in my mid 50s. I didn't post a photo. Within minutes, multiple young women showed interest in me. The site did not accept prepaid visa for payment. I don't think this site is ligit.

Cougar Dating Apps That Produce Mediocre Results

With the best and the worst out of the way there are a lot of sites that fall in the middle. These are sites that are not terrible but just are not worth the time and money to use for finding single Australian cougars.

General dating sites like Match, eHarmony, Plenty of Fish, Elite Singles, etc.

These are all big, general dating sites that don't focus on anything in particular. Everyone has heard of them and many people have tried them with mixed results. With these sites, even if they have a large number of single cougars it is usually pretty tough for younger guys to connect with them. These women are not as open to dating younger guys and instead tend to ignore them.

For real success with these women, you are much better off with a more focused site like Cougar Life.

The hot new apps with cutting edge technology like Badoo, Zoosk, Hinge, etc.

Women over 35 don't tend to be the first adopters of the newest technology out there. That goes for cougar dating apps as well. With all the new apps coming out these women tend to stick to the tried and true ones that have been out for a while and they know work. If you are really looking to meet a woman 35+ don't expect to find them on the hot new app.

How To Stay Safe On Cougar Dating Apps

Approximately 17% of Australians have fallen to romantic scams, with the majority occuring on dating apps, according to data from reviews.org. Victims lost an estimated total of $46.8 million in 2021. 

“Scammers are cold-hearted criminals who use unscrupulous tactics to trick their victims into sharing their personal details and emptying their wallets,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said. “As more Australians meet people through social media and mobile dating apps, it has never been more important to be absolutely sure of who you are communicating with.” 

Follow these tips to keep yourself safe.

• • Keep your personal details safe. There’s no reason why a stranger on a dating should need to know your full name, address or financial details. 
  • Verify your online matches. Does your dating app of choice allow users to verify their profiles? If not, it’s a good idea to look for your matches on other social media websites and/or to organise a video call. 

• Watch out for love-bombing. Most romance scammers create attractive fake profiles and overwhelm their victims with compliments initially. 

• Don’t give money to online strangers. After building a strong online bond, romance scammers find plausible reasons to ask to borrow money. Guarantee that you won’t fall for this trick by making a hard rule to never send money to online strangers. “Scammers have become highly sophisticated and are going to extreme lengths to trick their victims and gain their trust to obtain money,’’ AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations Chris Goldsmid says. “The social media and dating profiles they create can look very legitimate and they invest significant amounts of time, sometimes years, grooming their victims.”

Frequently Asked Questions About Cougar Dating Apps and Sites In Australia

What is a cougar? 

This is a term used to describe older women who want to date younger women. Their added confidence and experience often leads them to ‘hunt’ younger men like a cougar would do its prey. “When an older woman looks for a younger partner, she’s probably quite comfortable with her sexuality,” says Elite Singles psychologist SalamaMarine. “it’s likely that she’s already been married or had children. This means that she’s on the same wavelength as her younger companion, who’s probably not entertaining the thought of starting a family.”

Is there an Australian dating app to find cougars?

One of the top dating sites for finding cougars in Australia is Cougar Life, especially if you're looking for a relationship. This is followed closely by AFF if you want to hook up.

Do cougar sites work?

Yes. Data from Australia Talks National suggests that most single men and women find each other online in Australia these days, and there are plenty of older women seeking younger men on cougar sites.  Legit cougar dating sites like Cougar Life and AFF are full of older women looking for younger men.

How much is a cougar dating app?

Around one in five dating app users in Australia have paid for premium services, according to Statista. The amount you’ll pay will depend on your choice of app. Memberships vary for different cougar dating apps. You can look at our Cougar Life cost article to get an idea.

How can I attract a cougar in Australia?

There are plenty of older women looking to date younger men in Australia. Men with a combination of maturity and youthful enthusiasm tend to do well with the older generation. “The older woman may have more wisdom and maturity, while the younger man may bring a fresh perspective and energy, enriching the relationship”, says family therapist Sharon Gilchrest O’Neill. “However, the difference in their age can cause them to be at different life stages, which can impact their goals and priorities.”

“Be the single you want to meet,” adds Tammy Shaklee, founder of H4M Matchmakers. "You'll have exciting things to discuss on a date, whether it's travel plans, the latest restaurant, or even new places and activities going on in your city."

This article may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.

References:

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (2023) Have a heart-to-heart with loved ones to help stop scams this Valentine’s Day.

Australian Federal Polics (2023) When love hurts: A warning to lonely hearts.

Brooks, E. (2024) How to find and meet single cougars in 2024—What you’re doing wrong. Beyond Ages.

Chan, R. (2024) How much CougarLife costs in 2024: The complete pricing guide. Beyond Ages.

De Vaus, D. & Qu, L. (2015) Demographics of living alone. Australian Institute of Family Studies. Australian Family Trends 6.

Iqbal, M. (2023) Tinder revenue and usage statistics. Business of Apps.

King, K. (2024) 2024’s best hookup apps & hookup sites we’ve tried personally. Beyond Ages.

Mahoney, S. (2024) 2024 MILFaholic review. Beyond Ages.

News.com.au (2010) Younger men a turn on for Aussie women.

Reynolds, K. (2022) Valentine’s scammers: Aussies lose millions to catfish scammers every year. Reviews.org.

Senkus, T. (2024) Adult FriendFinder review 2024. Beyond Ages.

Statista (2023) Online dating - Australia.

YouGov AU (2017) A third of aussies have tried internet dating.

Contributing Authors:

Joe Elvin

Joe Elvin is an internationally known confidence and dating coach with nearly a decade of experience. He is the successful author of several dating and confidence books that have helped thousands of men find success. While traveling the world Joe consistently finds new and valuable ways to meet and attract women. Joe has a Bachelor’s Degree in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University and he has been featured in many large publications including AskMen, TSB Magazine and The Good Men Project.

As one of the most prolific writers on Beyond Ages, Joe has reviewed over a hundred dating apps. He is the site’s foremost authority when it comes to selecting what dating app works for whom. From an app’s mechanics to its algorithm to telltale signs that a dating app is a scam, Joe’s is able to expertly discern between dating apps that provide value and those that don’t.

Tom Senkus

For more than two decades, Tom has dated extensively and studied behavioral psychology as a way of understanding the complexities of human nature until he became an expert. After traveling as a touring musician and living in more than 15 countries, Tom has cross-referenced his experience in seduction, dating, and interpersonal dynamics with the ever-changing landscape of 21st-century dating. His work as a writer has appeared in 500+ publications (digital and print). Tom is also the author of several books (available on Amazon). In his free time, you can find Tom recording music and cooking the best Cincinnati-style chili you’ve ever had.