A lot of people are looking for personal ads like Craigslist because Craigslist set the standard for convenience and results when it comes to meeting people online for dating, casual encounters, hookups, companionship, and more. The site remains one of the biggest and most widely used online classifieds up until now; unfortunately, it has permanently dropped its personals section — despite its immense popularity. Fortunately, tons of other personals platforms have popped up to fill the giant void Craigslist personals left behind. As the saying goes, there’s plenty of fish in the sea; but even better than more fish is having more seas to explore and to cast your net in!
From Personal Ads Like Craigslist to Smaller Dating Pools
Raise your hand if you have ever been curious about what you can find on dating sites and online personals. If you’re among the countless people looking for personal ads like Craigslist, you’d know that all it takes to find what you’re looking for is the right keyword. You’ll get tons of results and you’ll soon realize that the world wide web offers oceans of opportunities to meet people anywhere in the world; sooner rather than later, hopefully, you’ll also find out that you can easily drown in the teeming waters without finding what you’re looking for.
It’s easy enough to find personal ads like Craigslist, but it’s a lot more challenging to make real connections — whatever kind of connection you’re hoping to find — because the vastness of the dating pool actually makes it harder to connect with the right people. You need to narrow down your options to sites that are dedicated to specific kinds of connections, which offer better opportunities for friendships, love, romance, casual encounters, hookups, etc. Every matchmaking site boasts of their success stories, but the first and most important step to finding your own success is to match up with the right site. You need to know exactly what you’re looking for before you can choose the right site for your purposes, and you should be crystal clear about it when you create your profile.
Personal Ads Like Craigslist With Free Membership
Most personal ads like Craigslist offer free membership, including the more dedicated matchmaking sites. Free membership typically includes limited functionality, access to basic features, and/or a limited trial. These are the best ones out there that are worth giving a go.
Personal Ads Like Craigslist: Reddit Personals
Everybody knows Reddit as a widely popular online forum where people can discuss practically anything and everything under the sun. The platform’s sub-categories, called subreddits, now include Reddit Personals (also known as Redditor for Redditor or R4R) which, as you may have already guessed, is dedicated to online dating.
Especially if you’re looking for people who also used to be Craigslist personals regulars like you, Reddit Personals is worth checking out. This subreddit has everything that the now extinct Craigslist personals used to offer: from platonic relationships/friendships to serious connections and everything in between.
R4R currently has more than 400,000 members, all of whom can respond to another member’s post. It’s important to point out that Reddit has strict community guidelines, and the most notable ones that apply to their personals subreddit are as follows:
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You have to be at least 18 years old to be able to post.
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Any risky content must be tagged “NSFW.”
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Your post’s title must include your age and what you’re looking for, e.g., “21 [F4M] San Francisco, looking for long-term dating.”
Personal Ads Like Craigslist: Locanto Personals
This is another personal ad like Craigslist which gives you access to member profiles from all over the world. You can select a subsection, such as Soul Mates, Long-Term Relationship/Dating, or Casual Encounters, and immediately start browsing. You can also narrow down your search to a specific location. As with Craigslist and all other online classifieds, you’ll need to create an account to use Locanto Personals; fortunately, they offer a free membership that allows you to find and connect with like-minded people.
Scientific Matchmaking: Hinge
Unlike personal ads like Craigslist, Hinge uses a “scientific approach” to help members find exactly what they’re looking for, get them out on real and promising dates, and get them off the app as soon as possible. This is what they promise, at least. The site has what they refer to as “love scientists” to ensure effective dating, not addictive dating. In addition to using personal details and personality types to find the best possible matches for a member, Hinge also does behavioral analysis and follow-ups so they can make better recommendations. The platform is available on both desktops and phones. It is free to use, but advanced preferences are only available to Hinge Preferred Membership accounts.
Dating on Social Media: Facebook Dating
It’s not a personal ad like Craigslist, but Facebook Dating earns a spot on this list because the platform continues to have the largest user base among other socials — with more than 2 billion active users per month. It was inevitable that the immensely popular platform would also create their own dating feature, which is exclusive to Facebook users. If you spend lots of time on Facebook and are also interested in online dating or hoping to make connections online, then you should explore the opportunities on Facebook Dating. It’s completely free, but it’s only available via the app. And don’t worry if you don’t want your Facebook friends to find out that you’re on Facebook Dating; Facebook makes sure that your dating profile is kept “secret” from them.
Casual Encounters Like Craigslist
Those who are on the hunt for sites that offer casual encounters like Craigslist can visit the following sites to find one or a few that suit their needs.
Personal Ads Like Craigslist for Hookups and Casual Encounters: DoubleList
Your first stop for personal ads like Craigslist for hookups and casual encounters should be DoubleList. It’s a relatively new player in the online dating scene, but it sticks to the old-school and simple formula of matchmaking: grouping people based on similar interests and desires to help them narrow down their choices to the best potential matches. What sets DoubleList apart from other sites that offer hookups and casual encounters is that a user is given more control over their options. A DoubleList subscriber simply has to select a category, M4M, W4M, or C4C, for example; and then they can create a post stating what they’re looking for and wait for the responses to come in, or they can browse through the exciting posts and send messages to those they find interesting. DoubleList works like an online mixer for folks who want to have casual, uncomplicated fun.
World’s largest hookup and casual encounters site like Craigslist: Adult Friend Finder
For all things naughty or nice and for all shades of sexy fun, you should definitely check out Adult Friend Finder. It’s a personal ads like Craigslist dedicated to hookups, flings, NSA encounters, and more. All gender identities and sexual preferences are welcome. The interface and how members interact with each other give the site more of a social media vibe. With members coming from all parts of the world, the choices can be overwhelming. But the site has been around for a long time and is as good a place to start as any, especially if you’re just curious about how hooking up online works or you’re looking to whet your sexual appetite.
Anonymous hookups: Kasual (Formerly Yumi)
Many personal ads like Craigslist offer privacy via anonymity — particularly sites that cater to people seeking casual fun and nothing more. Kasual is exactly that — an anonymous hookup site where you can chat, flirt, meet a FWB, get lucky, and more while remaining incognito. This is a good choice for discreet dating and relationships; it doesn’t ask for personal information, just your location.
Newer Options to Personal Ads Like Craigslist That Offer a More Modern Dating Experience: Bumble, Okcupid, Tinder
If personal ads like Craigslist seem old-fashioned and you don’t mind having an algorithm doing most of the matchmaking work, then you might enjoy the swiping dating game. The three most popular apps for swiping right or left are Bumble, OKCupid, and Tinder. These three work pretty much the same way. You create a profile and the app shows you the profiles that best match yours based on your shared interests, dislikes, goals, etc. You swipe right if you like a profile, and left if you don’t. Free membership gives you access to basic features; you can send a message to anyone, but you won’t be able to see the people who swiped right on your profile unless you also swipe on theirs — in which case you’ll be notified of the match. You have to subscribe to a paid membership to get this privilege.
Bumble differs from the other two in two ways: first, men can’t send the first message in heterosexual matches — a woman must initiate first contact (for all other types of matches, either person can send the first message); second, Bumble matches expire after 24 hours, which means you have 24 hours to send or receive a message before the match disappears. Tinder provides opportunities for all types of connections, but it has become widely popular for finding hookups; it’s also “infamous” as a dating platform for attractive people, i.e., unattractive people won’t have a lot of luck. OKCupid, on the other hand, has a more “everyone is welcome” vibe and gives members more insight into a recommended match’s profile so that you can decide to swipe right of left based on their personal information and not just their photos.
The Top Choice for Personal Ads Like Craigslist
If you’re looking for personal ads like Craigslist which are easy to use and offer straightforward matches, then your best bet is DoubleList. Whatever you sexual preferences are, and whether you’re in the mood for just a chat and harmless online flirting or for something wilder and more exciting, you’ll feel right at home on DoubleList adult personals.
DoubleList is for men seeking women, women seeking men, w4w, m4m, couples for couples, couples for him or her and vice versa, gay for straight or straight for gay, or any other type of pairing that guarantees sexual satisfaction for everyone involved. The site ensures discreet dating, with members only required to provide a nickname and their location. DoubleList is available in most major cities in the U.S. so you have great odds of finding potential matches in your area.
Do you have a preference for a particular body type? Are you looking to satisfy a fetish or fulfill a fantasy? Are you interested in a friends-with-benefits, no-strings-attached arrangement or a simple one-night stand? You’ll find all of these and more on DoubleList. Sign up for a free account now!
