McKinney, Texas is a great place—kind locals, plenty of parks and outdoor activities, and warm weather. It’s no wonder that it was rated the “best place to live” by Money magazine in 2014. Unfortunately, as with most other places around the world, the local dating scene got shut down by the recent pandemic. As a result, most locals turned to McKinney dating apps to meet people for love and fun. And even now as the world is opening back up again, most people still turn to their favorite dating apps to meet, socialize, and perhaps get into a relationship or two.
If you’re moving to or spending some time in McKinney, take our advice. Even as McKinney’s dense suburban drive draws in droves of people who want to settle down, you’ll still want a dating app or two on your side. You’ll be spending less time and money, and having more fun in the long term.
This article will introduce you to some of the best dating apps in McKinney, Texas. Before we jump into it, though, you might want to check out the other dating app guides we’ve already written for cities in the Lone Star State:
The 5 Best Dating Sites in McKinney, Texas Right Now
As with all our other city dating app guides, we tested over 100 apps against each other. The main metric was simple: Getting the results we wanted. That meant good people, good dates, and an overall positive experience. For McKinney, Texas, these are our top 5:
#1 - eHarmony (Android, iOS) is the best dating app in McKinney for a long-term commitment
As we expected, eHarmony beat all the competition when it came to one thing: Matching users with people who want serious relationships and long-term commitment. Many people go to McKinney to settle down, and the results we got on eHarmony reflected this.
To date, eHarmony is responsible for over 600,000 happy couples meeting each other and eventually getting married. The numbers also show that if you use the app diligently for a year, there’s a 7 in 10 chance you’ll find your “happily ever after,” as well.
Why eHarmony is great
- A huge userbase of people looking for long-term relationships
- An easy-to-use app
- You’ll find users in all age ranges
What we don't like about it
- The overall design could use an update
- Sometimes you get so many good matches you’ll need hours sorting through all of them
#2 – Bumble (Android, iOS) has a sizeable userbase in McKinney
Bumble is different from most other apps in the sense that it only lets the ladies initiate conversations on the platform. That ensures they’ll only have conversations with people they’re interested in, rather than entertaining dozens of random hellos every single day.
That’s also good news if you’re a guy, as you can focus on putting up good photos and writing a good profile. You’ll know you’ve made the cut when you receive messages from the ladies—and in McKinney, where single women outnumber single men, there’s a fair chance you’ll have some fun.
Why Bumble is great
- Its unique dynamic algorithm leads to generally higher-quality interactions
- Most women who avoid other platforms use only Bumble
- No need to search and sort for hours
What we don't like about it
- If you’re an average Joe, you might get very little attention on Bumble
- If you’re a guy whose main skill is messaging, you might feel helpless here
#3 – AFF is the best dating site in McKinney for casual flings (try it free here)
We went into McKinney thinking we’d find most online daters to be firmly in the “long-term relationships” side of the market. To our surprise, we found a healthy number of locals just looking for short-term consensual fun. Check out their free trial here to see for yourself.
You can narrow down your search by location, age, or preferences, but you can also easily find a hot date just by messaging users you find attractive. Our experiences in AFF made that abundantly clear. If you, too, just want sexy, no-strings-attached meetings with people who want the same thing, then AFF should be the first service on your list.
Why AFF is great
- 100% focused on matching people for short-term, sexy fun
- Best option for most local guys
- More than enough high-quality results in McKinney no matter your preferred age range
- Service is super easy and straightforward to use
What we don't like about it
- The search feature can be clunky at times
- Easy to get sucked into hours of searching and swiping
#4 – Tinder (Android, iOS) is still a solid choice in and around McKinney
Tinder’s celebrity status has faded somewhat of late, as it seems to have distanced itself from its reputation as a “hookup app.” Still, it’s a hotbed of young, attractive users who use it to score some sexy fun for the night, and it’s no different in McKinney.
That said, we also found older individuals who used the platform for serious, long-term dating. And judging by the success stories we’ve been hearing in Texas and elsewhere, it would seem Tinder has morphed into a successful online dating service that serves both markets. If you’re not sure what you want, this might be the app to try first.
Why Tinder is great
- Lots of young, attractive users to meet
- One of the easiest-to-use and most responsive apps out there
- A growing reputation for helping people find true love
What we don't like about it
- The classic Tinder experience—lots of users are just there for attention
- Might be a challenge to find older users
#5 – Christian Mingle (Android, iOS) is a niche service that’s popular in McKinney
This one came as no surprise to us. Much of the kindness and good manners we observed in McKinney locals probably stems from its strong Christian roots. And so, we expected an online dating service like Christian Mingle to be quite popular here—and it was.
If you’re a Christian who wants to meet, date, and settle down with someone in the same faith, then Christian Mingle is definitely worth a try. You’ll find no shortage of matches in McKinney, and your future spouse might just be a few swipes away.
Why Christian Mingle is great
- If you’re Christian, you’ll feel like this is the app for you
- Most users are looking for long-term relationships
- Next-to-zero bad or dud matches
What we don't like about it
- If you’re looking for casual relationships (or just looking around), skip this app entirely
- Premium service is slightly pricier than that of other apps
The Best Hookup Sites in McKinney
What if you’re 100% sure you don’t want a serious relationship at the moment, and that you’d much rather just have some good, no-strings-attached fun with fellow consenting adults? If that sounds like you, then you need to look no further than these two options.
Hookups come easy on AFF
Whether it’s a simple, one-time date or a longer friends-with-benefits relationship, you can make it happen with AFF. It holds the crown that Tinder held for many years and edges the latter when it comes to the responsiveness and age range of its userbase.
With over 50 million active members globally, AFF gives you a pretty good chance of finding playmates anywhere you are in the country, and it’s no different in good ol’ McKinney, Texas.
Match.com delivers if you want a casual date
If you’re looking for a backup for AFF, we suggest giving Match a try. It’s one of the older online dating services out there, and it helps its established userbase find true love or quick sexy fun, whichever they might want. That, to us, is good enough for it to be ranked among the best casual dating sites in McKinney.
The Best Dating Sites in McKinney for Long-Term Relationships
What are the best dating sites/apps in McKinney? Out of the dozens we’ve tried, these two are the ones that really work.
Meet the right one for you on eHarmony
eHarmony is hands down the best in terms of usability, value, quality of matches, and the overall positive experience. The only drawback we felt about eHarmony is—what else?—the long sign-up process. It’s there for a reason—to keep away all the time-wasters and scammers. And it does the job well.
Every time you sort through your matches, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by so many good opportunities. Most of the people you’ll meet on eHarmony are seriously looking for love, so you won’t find many duds here.
PoF has plenty of singles looking for love
As a wildcard recommendation, also try Plenty of Fish. It’s another older online dating service that has stood the test of time, and it’s a must-have if you’re looking to meet older (30 and up) locals. While it has its fair share of inactive users, it’s still a decent app if you want to find a date.
The Best Free Dating Sites in McKinney
Can you meet good McKinney locals and have good dates without shelling out any cash? Yes, although you might want to reconsider doing so. You tend to get what you pay for when it comes to paid apps, and dating apps are no different.
Some of the perks you get include more search filters, unlimited matches and “Likes,” and tweaks to your profile that make you stand out in the crowd. If you feel you’ll do fine without those, then here are the best free dating sites in McKinney:
- OkCupid
- Facebook Dating
- Hinge
Remember: Keep looking through the different apps until you find one or two that get you the results you want. All that time and effort you’ll spend will be worth it once you do. Good luck!
