Reviewed by our teamUpdated
Gaydar Review 2026: our verdict
Founded in 1999 for gay and bisexual men, and usable on any device. Premium is low in price and includes unlimited messaging, but the features are basic.
Reviewed by DatingHelp editorial teamUpdated: · 4 min read
3.4
Based on 5 criteria · see the breakdown
- Works on any device
- Unlimited messaging with Premium
- Only the most basic features
from £9.18 / monthSee all prices
Visit siteWho is it for?
Gaydar could suit you if you want…
- Audience
- Gay men
- Age
- 25 – 34
ActivityMedium
Detailed ratings
How we scoreUser-friendliness3.0/5
The interface is easy to understand, but there is a bit of delay when loading chats, and adverts can slow it down further on the free plan.
Features2.0/5
Our review says it offers only the most basic features, including search, recommendations, in-depth profiles and a location matching system.
Activity3.0/5
Beyond dating, there is a very active blog that also functions as a community for members.
Seriousness4.0/5
The community spans long-term relationships, hook-ups, friendships and networking, and our review highlights the site's focus on safety and discretion.
Price5.0/5
Our review calls the premium membership cheap. As a free member, you can message and browse each day within daily limits, with adverts.
The overall score (3.4/5) takes these 5 criteria into account. Click a criterion to read our assessment.
The full review
In-depth review of Gaydar
Gaydar is one of the oldest online dating sites for gay and bisexual men. Created in November 1999 as a matchmaking website by Gary Frisch and Henry Badenhorst, it now serves as a website and mobile app and has over 5 million users worldwide.
The immense popularity of Gaydar comes in part from its exclusivity, only catering to LGBTQ+ individuals who identify as males. From that clear-cut goal, it has become immensely popular in that particular or niche market over its long career. But with so many new and constantly evolving matchmaking services on the market today that offer even more options, can Gaydar maintain its relevancy?
Table of Contents
Pros
Works on any device
Cheap premium membership
Unlimited messaging
Cons
Only offers the most basic features
Gaydar Cost
| Length | Per month | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | £9.18 | £9.18 |
Signing Up for Gaydar
Signing up for Gaydar is easy and, most importantly, free. With a very hassle-free process, all you need to do to sign up for Gaydar is link to your Facebook or email, and then upload a photo. Before your profile is active, your photo will have to be reviewed and rated—but in the meantime, you can input a few key details about who you are: your name, date of birth, password, and profile name.
After that, you simply confirm your email and you can start browsing the site for matches. Another great thing about Gaydar, in less than 5 minutes you’re off to the races.
Member Structure
Again, there is a bit of exclusivity when it comes to Gaydar as it only caters to gay and bisexual men. However, it does also boast a very open and engaged community, one that welcomes the open and curious. Overall, there are roughly 5 million members of Gaydar worldwide, but those members are centralized in the U.S. and U.K. To add, there’s roughly 10,000 new members signing up each month.
However, something that sets Gaydar apart is in how the community can branch from people looking for long term relationships, to hook-ups, to friendships, to simple networking, and more. Beyond just the dating, there is also a very active blog on Gaydar, one that can teach individuals about safe sex, the risks of sexually transmitted diseases, and one that fundamentally functions as a great community for expressing individuality and sexual interests or orientations honestly, and without judgement.
Matching Process
Something that Gaydar takes seriously is the ability to be open or discreet on the site. It may be more of a holdover of discrimination in the late 90s rather than promoting itself as a sort of adultery app, but the discretion features are common throughout the site. In either case, Gaydar has an open community of expression for any variety of relationships, whether monogamous, polyamorous, or platonic.
Because of that, certain features come from the paid membership that aren’t available in the free. As a free member, you can message and browse profiles each day, but there are daily limits in place. However, there are also ads to watch on the free membership that can slow down an already (relatively) slow interface. Though it’s an easy interface to understand, there is a bit of delay when loading chats.
On the other hand, the paid membership allows more autonomy for discretion. A paid member can blur out their image, know what sort of charge will show on their bank statement, send out winks and browse as many pages and contact as many members as they desire. Although many of those features, are still available for free—they are a little less optimized than they are for premium.
However, beyond just searching for other members, and scrolling through recommends based on the algorithm and in-depth profiles, there is also a location matching system on Gaydar. Through that, you can input your location and swipe through matches similar to something like Tinder. This is more popular for those individuals using Gaydar as a hook-up site, but it’s still extremely convenient.
Contact Options
As mentioned above, messaging and chat rooms are a primary method of contact for Gaydar. But before going through and chatting, there’s a few things to consider which also help set Gaydar apart.
First, you can wink at other individuals. Of course, that’s par for the course on dating sites, but it still helps to initiate contact. To add to that, the profiles on Gaydar are extremely in depth and oriented toward interests—but also toward safety. Across any profile you view on Gaydar, whether the profile image or other images are blurred or freely expressed, you can also see a number of interest tags. Among these tags might be what their hobbies are, what they like in the bedroom, and what they’re looking for. Additionally, many users will mention on the tag board if they have any STIs of note to make sure all parties are aware before further communication.
This prevalence of safety, discretion, and autonomy is present throughout the Gaydar site making the entire platform extremely user friendly and conscious of member safety and enjoyment above all else.
Gaydar App
There is a Gaydar app available on both Android devices and IOS. Much like the website, it features a very smooth interface and has most all the functionality of the website. As a note, the mobile app is much more suited to location-based services than the website and can be great for users interested in that particular feature.
Conclusion
Gaydar was created to fill a gap in the dating market of 1999. While a number of things have changed in the world of dating since then, Gaydar has done everything it can to maintain relevancy and engage an ever-evolving user base. Although it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of many of its competitor counterparts, it has everything a gay or bisexual man needs to make a connection.
Whether you’re looking for a long-term relationship, a hook-up, or for a networking opportunity or just a friend, Gaydar is the perfect dating service to keep on your radar.
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