It’s been years since Backpage and Craigslist shut down their dating personals, yet many people are still looking for sites like Backpage and Craigslist Personals to satisfy their romantic desires.

Craigslist: The Online Dating Hookup Site - This makes it. The service also has expanded with an IRL event, Speed Roomating, in New York, San Francisco. Kasual is a great place for those who want to experiment with their sexuality simply because this hookup site guarantees your anonymity and safety, just like Craigslist Personals used to do. All it takes to start finding your potential matches is to log in, upload a picture of you and you are good to go.

The online world is full of opportunities to connect with hotties, and legit adult services can help make something happen. Plenty of dating sites and apps can act as a Craigslist or Backpage replacement by offering free profile browsing, discreet chatting, and live video streams with a sexy cohort.

Our dating experts have put together a list of the top Backpage and Craigslist Personals alternative sites to give casual sex seekers new life in the dating scene.

1. BeNaughty

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Hookups, Chats

Match System:Search by encounter, location, and more

Our Experts Say:“BeNaughty is a premier hookup app where you can feel comfortable expressing your desires. Plus, it's free to join, browse, and flirt...” Full Review»

Browse Free:View Photos Now

BeNaughty is a casual hookup site with more than 13 million active members, so it can be a useful Backpage alternative or Craigslist replacement. This adults-only dating platform gives casual daters the chance to engage in sexting conversations and attract hot dates without having to leave home.

It’s free to join the BeNaughty network and explore dating personals by using search filters by location, age, gender, and appearance. The FlirtCast tool allows free members to send an introductory message to all locals singles who are their type, or members can send virtual winks to get a person’s attention. Our BeNaughty review goes into more detail about the match system and pricing.

Female users enjoy free and unlimited messaging on BeNaughty, but male users are kept on a tighter leash. They can send five free messages via the dating site. After that, men must upgrade to a paid membership if they want to chat up someone new.

2. Adult Friend Finder

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Hookups Only

Match System:Search by location, interest, more

Our Experts Say:“Make no mistake: this site isn't about making friends, it's about short-term 'hookups' and affairs only. Note that a basic account costs $14.95/month, but it's well worth it if casual sex is your goal...”

Browse Free:View Photos Now

Since its launch in the 199os, Adult Friend Finder has become one of the most popular personals sites of all time. It has over 104 million members in its sexy database.

The AFF community features classified ads for straight, gay, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender individuals, and it also has swingers forums for couples and groups seeking a sexual partner. Free members can browse the erotic blog and photo gallery at their leisure, but they cannot access live videos or private chat rooms until they subscribe to a gold membership plan.

Adult Friend Finder’s pricing options start at $14.95 per month, and subscribers can upgrade at any time to get more advanced chatting and privacy options.

3. FriendFinder-X

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Hookups Only

Match System:Search by location, interest, more

Our Experts Say:“A hookup site specializing in casual encounters, secret affairs, live chats, and member videos, FriendFinder-X skips the awkward 'dating' stage of a relationship and fast-forwards straight to the sex...”

Browse Free:View Photos Now

FriendFinder-X is an anonymous sex site where adults can engage in X-rated chats and seek casual hookups with like-minded strangers. The membership base is open to straight, gay, lesbian, and trans individuals as well as couples and swingers.

Setting up a dating profile on FriendFinder-X is similar to setting up a Craigslist personal because both processes require an email address, age, and gender. The main difference is that FriendFinder-X requires its members to upload a profile picture and pay a subscription fee before they can send private messages.

4. Ashley Madison

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Hookups, Casual Dates, Affairs

Match System:Search by age, location, appearance, and more

Our Experts Say:“With its massive user base and advanced privacy features, Ashley Madison is the #1 site for discreet hookups, dates, or relationships...” Full Review»

Browse Free:View Photos Now

As a dating site for affairs, Ashley Madison offers a positively scandalous Craigslist alternative that is absolutely free to try.

Ashley Madison caters to sexually active individuals who are looking to date on the down low. The dating site allows its members to identify as attached or unattached, and it has photo-masking tools to help keep identities a secret.

Despite its controversial premise, Ashley Madison has proven to be popular among men and women who don’t subscribe to monogamy. The dating site currently has over 65 million registered users. Our full review covers other stats and successes of this married dating site.

5. Flirt.com

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Hookups, Casual Dating, Chats

Match System:Search by age, location, gender, orientation, and other factors

Our Experts Say:“Flirt.com frees singles to chat with attractive locals and pick up dates on the spot. This hookup site is always open to horny and sexy people seeking one-night stands, casual dating, threesomes, and other sexual encounters...”

Browse Free:View Photos Now

Flirt.com is a popular X-rated dating site for singles seeking a sexual release or casual encounter. Its adult services give locals a boost and allow them to move at a fast pace in the dating scene.

The Flirt.com setup is similar to the Craigslist personal section because free members can read bios, view photos, and send some flirty messages to local dates. Every single woman on Flirt.com can chat for free on the platform, while men have limited communication options available for free.

6. MenNation

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Daters & Hookups

Match System:Search by age, zip code, more

Our Experts Say:“MenNation is a well-established gay dating and hookup brand, having been founded in 1996. It's totally free to join, view profiles, receive matches, and flirt...”

Browse Free:View Photos Now

MenNation is a hookup site for gay, bisexual, and queer men who don’t want to fill out a personal biography just to get a date. The website’s quick registration process and straightforward profiles get single men and gay couples into the online dating game with no muss or fuss.

MenNation has taken a page from the Backpage playbook with its open-ended and user-driven format. The dating site promotes personal ads, photos, blogs, and videos created by adult men seeking sex, and this X-rated content sets the tone for private conversations between paid members.

7. LesbianPersonals.com

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Hookups Only

Match System:Search by location, interest, more

Our Experts Say:“LesbianPersonals provides a fun, quick, and easy experience for gay and bisexual women looking for sex online. Join for free, and you'll be able to search and communicate immediately...”

Browse Free:View Photos Now

LesbianPersonals can show single women and lesbian couples a good time by encouraging them to embrace their sexuality and meet attractive dates. The personals site facilitates casual dating opportunities for anyone seeking a casual encounter with a woman.

This lesbian hookup site provides live videos, chat rooms, and photo galleries to put people in a flirty mood. Only paid subscribers can access some of LesbianPersonals’ most stimulating features, but free members are welcome to post an ad and take a look around.

LesbianPersonals can help unicorn hunting couples as well as newly out lesbian singles find their way to a romantic tryst.

8. Match.com

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Friends, Dates, and Relationships

Match System:Browse by zip, age, appearance, more

Our Experts Say:“Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review...” Full Review»

Browse Free:View Photos Now

Match has been helping singles express themselves and meet new people since the early days of the internet. This massively successful dating website predates social media giants like Facebook and Twitter by more than a decade.

Match.com and Craigslist actually launched in the same year — 1995 — and helped pave the way for the future of online networking. Craigslist personals is no longer in the online dating business, but Match Group is still going strong and has built one of the largest dating networks in the world.

It doesn’t take much digging to find evidence that Match.com can work in real life and inspire relationships that lead to marriage.

9. Zoosk

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

Relationships:Fun Dates, Serious Relationships

Match System:Search and get match recommendations

Our Experts Say:“Zoosk is integrated with social media sites, like Facebook and Google+, so it's very popular with singles on the go...” Full Review»

Browse Free:View Photos Now

Thanks to its active and diverse user base, Zoosk has all the makings of a new Backpage — but with more legit dating opportunities. Over 40 million people have joined the Zoosk network so far, and the dating website and app see over 3 million messages exchanged every day.

One of Zoosk’s biggest claims to fame is its behavioral matchmaking system. This intuitive process allows singles to skip a lengthy registration process and still receive personalized match recommendations that fit their type.

Zoosk has used technology to streamline the online dating process, and it’s completely free to set up a personal ad and see who’s online.

10. Doublelist

Doublelist is a reputable site that double verifies every personal ad on its list. Hence the name Doublelist. New users must provide a valid email address and go through a text verification process to get their dating profile up and running.

Doublelist maintains strict guidelines to ensure its users act appropriately and do not get into trouble. The classified site deletes and bans all fake profiles, which only amounts to about 1% of new signups. Doublelist is a dating site, not an escort site, so you won’t find sex workers lurking here.

Doublelist currently has over 3 million verified users around the world.

When Craigslist closed its personal ads section, it left millions of daters scrambling to find a new classified website to act as their wingman. Doublelist has stepped up to fill that void and be the Craigslist personals replacement for casual daters around the world.

Doublelist began in the U.S. and has rapidly expanded to cover nearly 250 cities in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The site now has over 3 million members and sees over 100,000 posts every day.

11. Oodle

Oodle is a public marketplace that is similar to Craigslist in a lot of ways. People can use Oodle to sell their cars or find job openings — and they can also use it for dating purposes. The Oodle personals section is available to any legal adult seeking companionship, and it ranks ads by proximity to make for easy browsing.

Oodle has oodles of tantalizing date options listed in cities around the world.

Since 2004, Oodle has grown from a California startup to a global company with millions of personal ads. Its classifieds cover everything from apartment rentals to casual dating encounters.

The Oodle website supports straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer singles seeking mutual connections, and it doesn’t stand in the way of the new romance.

12. Locanto

Locanto is one of the most popular free classifieds websites in the U.S., and its listings include local dating options. A person can browse the Personals, Dating, or Community sections to find opportunities to connect with local singles through private messages or public posts.

The personals section is full of X-rated ads where people are blunt about what they want to happen in the bedroom. The section has two main categories (casual encounters and long-term relationships), but it has special filters by sexual orientation, gender identity, and couples dating.

Anyone can post a free ad on Locanto to attract local singles for an instant hookup.

Locanto recently released a companion dating app for singles who want to stay in touch while on the go and receive notification on their phones when they get a message. The app creates over 50,000 matches and sees more than 1.2 million messages exchanged per day.

13. Bedpage

Bedpage probably looks and sounds familiar to former Backpage users. It follows the old blueprint of the Backpage website, and its logo is also strikingly similar. However, the team behind Bedpage has no affiliation with Backpage whatsoever.

“We are one of the leading classified advertising websites,” the Bedpage team says. “The journey, which was started as a mere Backpage replacement, has now evolved into a pioneering force behind the dynamic arena of classified listing.”

Bedpage users can choose their location, post an ad, and pick up a date in no time.

Bedpage offers personals listings in the dating sector and beyond. It can help a single woman seeking a one-night stand or a retired couple trying to rent their beach house. The listings are organized by region, and the website reaches just about every major city in the world — though by far its largest following is in the U.S. and Canada.

What's New Hookup Site Since Craigslist Is Fake

14. Pernals

Pernals (formerly known as Cragly) is an up-and-coming dating platform that facilitates casual hookups. The app has given old-fashioned classified ads an upgrade by taking them to mobile-friendly format and using swiping technology to speed up the matching process.

Pernals was designed as a reputable alternative to traditional personals sites.

The Pernals website launched in the wake of the Backpage scandal, and its team has promised to put user safety first and not make the same mistakes that personals sites have made in the past.

“We strive to fight against online sex trafficking,” the Pernals team said. “We manually review each post from our users to ensure the quality and safety. If you find any online sex trafficking activity, please report it to us immediately.”

15. OkCupid

In 2004, OkCupid made a splash in the online dating industry thanks to its data-driven approach to matchmaking. The dating site’s team created a formula for love based on a questionnaire that tapped into a user’s habits, opinions, fetishes, goals, and values.

Today, OkCupid’s 100% optional questionnaire includes over 4,000 questions ranging from “Do you like the taste of beer?” to “Drumpf?”

OkCupid encourages singles to show off their personality in their dating profiles.

OkCupid was founded by self-proclaimed math nerds who have come up with creative solutions to help singles identify true compatibility and pursue promising relationships.

Singles who choose to dive into this fun personality quiz can dramatically increase the accuracy of their OkCupid match ratings by being honest about who they are and what they want. OkCupid now supports one of the most effective matchmaking tools on the market. It’s responsible for making over 91 million connections per year.

16. Tinder

Tinder launched in 2012 as the first swipe-based dating app. And it was an instant hit. Singles enjoyed the freedom to follow their desires, match with local daters, and keep unsolicited messages out of their inbox.

Today, Tinder has been downloaded more than 400 million times and created over 55 billion matches between daters in 190 countries. Just in terms of sheer numbers, you can’t beat Tinder as a Backpage replacement.

Tinder is a free dating app that inspires about 1.5 million dates per week.

Tinder gets a lot of flack for being a casual hookup app, but it has also sparked many friendships and relationships between young adults who are open to anything.

“I met my boyfriend on Tinder,” said Elli in a Reddit post. “Four years later, we live together, and he is the best guy I’ve ever met. I’m so happy and can’t wait for what the future holds for us.”

17. Plenty of Fish

Since 2003, Plenty of Fish has distinguished itself as a free dating website for real people seeking genuine connections. The POF community creates over 57 million matches each week and provides a variety of tools for self-expression and flirtation.

Our experts consider Plenty of Fish to be a great Backpage alternative website because it has free communication features and a large membership base of over 150 million users.

It’s totally free to browse, match, and chat on Plenty of Fish.

Plenty of Fish has implemented high-tech verification tools to build trust between singles. Plus, in accordance with its photo guidelines, the POF website deletes all photos containing minors, nudity, or gruesome imagery.

POF focuses on wholesome dating, which is a breath of fresh air for daters who are tired of meeting fake profiles and bots on an escort site.

18. Grindr

Grindr created its all-male personals section in 2009, and it has been tantalizing local guys ever since. The dating app organizes a person’s potential date prospects by distance, so it’s easy to swipe through the hottest guys in town.

To date, Grindr has over 27 million male users, and it sees well over 3 million daily visitors stretching across 200 countries.

Grindr offers single men a fast-paced and fun-filled swiping scene.

Grindr is the top dating app for men seeking men for all sorts of reasons. Most people know Grindr as a gay hookup app, but that’s not the only box it can check. Grindr can be a gay relationship app, a swingers app, a friendship app, or a bi-curious app depending on the user’s preferences.

A single guy interested in meeting local men can join Grindr (for free!) to find more than enough options at his fingertips.

19. Happn

The Happn dating app was designed to support local daters, and its smart matchmaking system can offer much more value than a white-label classifieds website. Happn uses real-time location data from an Android device or iPhone to find common ground between its members.

Happn pinpoints where its users cross paths — maybe they frequent the same coffee shop, dog park, or pub — and shares that information on the dating profile. The app does not reveal a person’s current location.

A Happn profile has more dynamic information than a personals ad.

In 2018, Backpage and Craigslist Personals shut down for good, and Happn reached its all-time high. The dating app surpassed 50 million members in 2018, officially ranking among the top 10 most popular dating networks in the world.

What Happened to Backpage and Craigslist Personals?

Backpage and Craigslist are both permanently out of the online dating game, but for very different reasons. Backpage shut down due to a criminal investigation, while Craigslist closed voluntarily in accordance with changes in the law.

It all started in April 2017 when Representative Ann Wagner of Missouri introduced HR 1865 or the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. The bill gave law enforcement the ability to hold website owners accountable for facilitating prostitution and sex trafficking.

The bill passed with bipartisan support in Congress and was signed into law in the spring of 2018.

In response, Craiglist closed down its dating personals section. The website made a statement to explain the reasoning behind this decision. “Any tool or service can be misused,” the Craigslist team said. “We can’t take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we have regretfully taken craigslist personals offline.”

Craigslist no longer offers a dating personals section, but its other community sections remain active.

Unfortunately, Backpage’s shutdown was much more egregious and scandalous. The U.S. Department of Justice seized control of the website in April 2018. Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer later pleaded guilty to facilitating prostitution and money laundering.

Prosecutors have accused Backpage of making over $500 million from prostitution ads since 2004.

Backpage crossed the line from naughty dating service to criminal online sex trafficking, and its ignominious example is a warning to popular dating personals sites operating in this space.

How Do Sites Like Backpage and Craigslist Work?

Over the last few years, Backpage replacement sites have cropped up to meet a demand in the dating market. These sites offer anonymous chat rooms and adult personals to tempt people of all sexual proclivities.

A classified site usually requires very little personal information from the user. It may ask for an email address or birthdate, but it will generally not have a Facebook login or profile picture requirement. Sometimes users don’t even have to create a personal ad to browse the database, so they can keep their private lives out of the public eye.

Are Sites Like Backpage and Craigslist Safe?

Today’s classified website is held to a higher standard than the old Backpage website or CL personals, particularly when it comes to online dating safety. For decades, classified ads masked sex workers and prostitution rings, but the U.S. Justice Department has cracked down on the shady corners of the web to make it a safer place for the average single person.

A Backpage replacement site has to set stricter membership rules and actively police personal ads if it doesn’t want to follow in Backpage’s criminal footprints.

Online dating is safe — as long as singles are careful about the information they share and who they decide to trust. Look out for fake profiles and be skeptical when a romantic encounter seems to be going a little too well or moving too quickly.

How Do I Choose the Best Site Like Backpage or Craigslist?

Former Backpage members or Craigslist daters may naturally feel wary about entering the online dating world again. They’ve seen firsthand how adult services can become overrun by sex workers or fake profiles, and they may worry about opening their heart only to find a new Backpage-like scandal awaiting them.

Fortunately, legitimate services like BeNaughty can earn back the trust of online daters and provide an adult-friendly environment for a casual encounter.

BeNaughty

• Relationships: Casual Encounters
• Match System: Sort profiles by zip code, appearance, more
• About the App: On BeNaughty, everyone is interested in finding sexual encounters with no strings attached. Within a couple of minutes, you can get a profile up for $0. Free membership includes unlimited photos, browsing, matches, winks, and chats. BeNaughty also has an advanced anti-fraud system to ensure your personal information stays private while you flirt online.
• Browse Free:View Profiles Now

Our dating site reviews can help people put these fears aside and learn more about the good players in the online dating market. We’ve outlined some tried-and-true Backpage alternatives and made recommendations to help users make an informed decision.

Singles should choose the dating site or app that appeals to people like them and provides enough free features for them to get their bearings in the online scene. All the dating platforms on this list are free to join, so we recommend creating multiple dating personals ads to maximize your odds of finding a romantic partner.

What are the Search Features on Sites Like Backpage and Craigslist?

The original Backpage website did not have many search filters. It stuck to the basics of age, gender, and location to spark online romances, and that formula has worked well for many a Backpage replacement site. Personals sites typically don’t get too detailed when it comes to search filters and match algorithms.

Some casual dating services may have some advanced search filters based on appearance or background, but the majority offer more of an open dating field where everyone is in the mix.

A Dating Classified Site Can Offer New Avenues to Romance

Backpage and Craigslist Personals are gone, but casual dating goes on. Since 2018, many alternative websites have cropped up to fill the gap left by these two adult services.

The best sites like Backpage and Craigslist Personals can offer online daters a new beginning in a more regulated and trustworthy environment.

The casual sex sites on this list promote classified ads that introduce singles and swingers to local date prospects. It’s a fast, efficient, and safe way to send out flirtatious vibes and arrange casual hookups with strangers. So what are you waiting for?

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Craigslist Personals has been gone for years now, but the search for great personals alternatives continues. Plenty of websites have stepped up and now offer their own form of personals for casual encounters and sex classified ads. This article will list all of them along with descriptions, reviews, pros and cons, and the main features.

Best Craigslist Personals Alternatives and Online Personals:

1. Alternative where you can see users’ pics – Adult Friend Finder
2. Similar section to Craigslist Personals – Craigslist Activities
3. Sex dating site like personals – Be Naughty
4. Casual sex site full of detailed profiles – Ashley Madison
5. Gay-version of Craigslist Personals – Outpersonals
6. Interested parties can comment on posted ads – Reddit R4R
7. Most attractive and sexy users – SeekingArrangement
8. Alternative BDSM lifestyle ads – Alt.com
9. Free classified ads for escorts just like Craigslist Personals – Locanto
10. Classified ads only for personals – Doublelist
11. Social network for daters only into fetish – Fetlife
12. Escort directory to find dates – Tyst.link
13. Gay social networking app – Grindr
14. Classified ads for everything adult related – Adult Search
15. Closest classified ads to Craigslist Personals – Classified Ads
16. Accessible online marketplace for various ads – Oodle

1. Adult Friend Finder – Best Casual Encounters Alternative Overall

With more than 80 million members, Adult Friend Finder is one of the world’s biggest dating and hookup sites. Anyone over 18 can join and use the site to find dating partners and sex encounters. AFF has fewer bots and scammers than Craigslist because only paying members can interact. To join AFF and unlock all its features, consider one of the following membership plans:

• 1 month = $39.95
• 3 months = $26.95 ($80.85 total)
• 12 months = $19.95 ($239.95 total)

With your AFF membership, you’ll be able to contact and interact with any member you fancy. You’ll also get loads of other features not found on Craigslist, such as member’s chat, blogs, erotic stories and model shows.

Features

• Hookup search (threesomes, casual sex, swingers)
• Dating forums
• Live chat, model shows

Pros

• Monthly, quarterly, annual payment options
• Pro-sex environment
• Large community (80 million members)

Cons

• 80% male
• Thots/bots

2. Craigslist Activities – Community Created Craigslist Personals Replacement

Some of the people who used to frequent the Craigslist Personals have since moved over to the sites’ Activities section, though it’s not geared toward relationships. Here, you’ll see lots of call-outs for sporting events, book clubs and other lifestyle interests.

As of October 2020, the Activities section is barely active. (A search in the greater Portland area yields only six recent ads while the San Francisco Bay area has 19 posts). Occasional, a lonely guy will post an ad for a female activity partner. Mentions of sex are prohibited on Craigslist Activities and will get deleted. Your odds of finding a love connection here are nil.

Features

• Localized search
• Miles from Zip filter
• Has Image check

Pros

• Free
• No clutter
• Easy, anonymous

Cons

• Little activity
• Few love-seekers
• Sex talk prohibited

3. BeNaughty – Casual Encounters Site Better than Craigslist Personals

BeNaughty is one of the more female-friendly dating sites with a favorable ratio for single men. The women here get to message men for free, which makes the entry price worthwhile. Unlike Craigslist, you don’t have to click profile after profile to see photos of members who fit your search criteria. BeNaughty displays dozens of members at once, complete with Chat and Like buttons.

BeNaughty doesn’t offer a free trial but you can test the site for three days for only $2.97. Or, you can take advantage of their discount packages:

• 1 month = $0.91/day
• 3 months = $0.51/day
• 6 months = $0.41/day

BeNaughty is not the most overtly sexual dating site but it’s also not tame or vanilla. There is a flirty vibe to the profiles. If you give it time, you could find a dating or casual sex partner here.

Features

• Profile thumb tables
• Online Now, New Members tabs
• Chat, Like buttons

Pros

• Five free chats
• Women message men for free
• Discounts, bonuses

Cons

• No free trial
• Must sign up to browse

4. Ashley Madison – An Alternative that Blows Craigslist Personals Out the Water

Ashley Madison is the most notorious of all hookup sites. Long billed as a meetup site for wandering-eyed spouses, its members are mostly interested in casual encounters. Unlike Craigslist, most of the women here are genuinely down for hookups and sex, albeit discreetly (most of them are married, after all). Membership rates are as follows:

• 100 credits = $59.00 (59 cents per credit)
• 500 credits = $169.00 (34 cents per credit)
• 1,000 credits = $289.00 (29 cents per credit)

As an Ashley Madison member, you’ll get to send and receive messages to your favorite matches. You can also send them virtual gifts. When you visit another town, use the sites’ Traveling Man app to see which members are down for a hookup at the destination in question.

Features

• Chat room
• Traveling Man app
• Virtual gifting

Pros

• Pay with credits
• Libertine, pro-sex community
• Swinger-friendly

Cons

• 90% male
• Purported fake female profiles
• Iffy site security (past breaches)

5. Outpersonals – The Best Gay Personals Site for M4M

Outpersonals is a gay social site and online community with more than 250,000 members. Unlike other gay personals sites that emphasize the hookup factor, Outpersonals gives members a place to find others with common interests. The tone here is far classier and personable than Craigslist Personals.

To message other users and participate in Outpersonals’ blogs and video chats, sign up for a Gold membership:

• 1 month = $29.96
• 3 months = $49.9612 ($16.65/mo)
• 12 months = $119.96 ($10.00/mo)

For an additional amount, Outpersonals will let free members contact you.

Features

• Video chat
• Blogs
• Wink/invitation functions

Pros

• Community environment
• Professional user-base
• Interest groups

Cons

• Long-term matchups rare
• Server issues

6. Reddit R4R – The Subreddit Like Craigslist Personals

Reddit’s R4R group is similar to the Craigslist Personals in that this too is a free dating forum within a larger site. Unlike Craigslist, subreddits are moderated. R4R has rules against spam and hate speech. All NSFW posts must be tagged as such. You cannot post personal info (phone number, email address) or exchange services for money or goods.

Though Reddit is all ages, this subreddit is strictly 18+. Launched in April 2010, R4R has 346k members as of October 2020. It’s creators intended this place for people in search of dates, activity partners, soulmates and FWBs. Like Craigslist, unfortunately, R4R is plagued with spammers, bots, prostitutes and pimps. Locked threads are marked with a gold lock.

Features

• Message feed
• Sidebar links
• Post flairs

Pros

• NSFW posts allowed
• FWB/hookup-positive
• Free to join

Cons

• Tons of locked posts
• Flooded with spam
• Connections rare

7. SeekingArrangement – The CL Personals Substitute With the Hottest Members

SeekingArrangement is a dating site designed for sugar babies and sugar daddies. This is nothing like Craigslist Personals, even if there were the occasional simps and gold diggers over there. If you’re a sugar daddy (or mommy), the Premium membership fees are steep:

• 30 days = $89.95
• 90 days = $239.85 ($79.95/mo)
• 30 days (Diamond) = $249.95

As a Premium member, you’ll get to unlock conversations, filter your inbox, hide your online status and boost your profile. A Diamond membership will raise your profile and boost your response rate. If you join as a sugar baby, you can get SA’s cheaper Attractive membership:

• 30 days = $19.95
• 90 days = $44.85 ($14.95/mo)

You can also sign up for a free membership but you’ll have to fill out two lengthy bios (400-character minimum). If you’re a man, you’re a sugar daddy by default. The lowest net-worth they’ll let you choose from their mandatory pull-down is $100k.

For obvious reasons, SeekingArrangement has garnered lots of female interest. Despite its reputation as a simp-fest, members of the PUA community (John Anthony, Bradicus) have gamed the site and scored without spending a dime on these women.

Features

• Thumbnail rows (new, online, college members)
• Interests tab
• Messages inbox/archive

Pros

• Rich guys (sugar daddys)
• Attractive young women (sugar babies)
• Easy to game (according to PUAs)

Cons

• Expensive Premium memberships
• Lengthy signup process
• Primarily for gold diggers and simps

8. Alt.com – BDSM Dating Site Raunchier than Craigslist Personals

Alt-com is a dating and hookup site geared for people into the fetish and BDSM lifestyles. Unlike Craigslist, which attracted everything from predators to squares, the Alt.com crowd is specifically into things like latex, whips, heels and other kinky stuff. The site has a Facebook-like layout, complete with user thumbnails, message feeds, site tabs and sidebar filters. Membership rates are a follows:

• 1 month (Silvers) = $19.95
• 3 months (Silver) = $35.97 ($11.99/mo)
• 12 months (Silver) = $99.97 ($8.33/mo)
• 1 month (Gold) = $29.95
• 3 months (Gold) = $59.97 ($19.99/mo)
• 12 months (Gold) = $149.97 ($12.50/mo)

With a Silver membership, you can send/receive messages, access the videos and use the blogs and groups. As a Gold member, you can add extra-large photos to your profile and access the ICQ, AIM, YIM and MSN ID’s of members in your network. Gold members also show up at the top in searches.

Features

• Location-based chat rooms
• Kinky member videos
• Silver and Gold membership tiers

Pros

• Libertine/adventurous community
• Sex/kink-positive
• Savings on three and 12-month plans

Cons

• 80% male
• Cam thots

9. Locanto – New Craigslist with Better Design and Features

Like Craigslist, Locanto is a classifieds site with numerous categories, including personals. Locanto started in Germany in 2006 but has since spread worldwide. Each major U.S. city has its own Locanto, which allows you to narrow your search for potential dating partners. Since it’s a classifieds site, Locanto is free to use.

Locanto sports a more professional design than Craigslist. When you click to respond to a message, you’ll get a popup with safety tips, similar-interest links, a location map and a picture of the poster. You can sign up through your Google account and share Locanto posts on Twitter and Facebook.

As with the Craigslist Personals, Locanto’s personals section is flooded with spam and scammers. A quick browse of the personals reveals lots of prostitutes and links to porn sites. While Locanto does maintain a blog for safe trading, nothing seems to be done to keep the personals clean. Despite (or maybe because of) this, the U.S. Locanto personals are popular among users in India.

Features

• Follow User option
• Social media share buttons
• Safety tips

Pros

• Free
• Heavily trafficked
• Uncensored

Cons

• Spam-infested
• Bots
• Prostitutes

10. Doublelist – An Attempt to Replace CL Personals that Failed

Doublelist may look like craigslist personals, but don’t let that fool you, the site is a ghost town. Like the now-defunct Craigslist Personals, Doublelist does get lots of escort spam and troll posts. People have even posted warning ads about being stood up by Doublelist users. Beware of blue-highlighted sponsored links, as these lead to third-party cam sites.

Doublelist has a shorter signup protocol than most dating sites. However, they do require a phone number to verify that you’re not a bot.

Features

• Localized message boards
• Manage Posts function
• Favorites folder

Pros

• Free to use
• Easy to sign up
• Uncensored

Cons

• Escort spam
• Trolls
• Flakes
• Few Real Users

11. Fetlife – Sex Classifieds for Kinky Adults

Fetlife is a social media site for people involved in the fetish lifestyle. It’s not a dating site but it does offer a community atmosphere. Fetlife sports a micro-blogging-style layout with a Tumblr-like posting feed and a Pinterest-style wall of captioned photographs and replies. Aside from the “anything goes” vibe, this is nothing like Craigslist Personals.

On the Explore page, you’ll see tables of posts that you can filter by theme (friends, kinky, popular, pervy, etc.) If you’re looking for a hookup, join Fetlife’s Partner Finder group. You can also hit people up in your main feed but your odds would be the same as Instagram. To use the site without restrictions, become a supporter with one of the following plans:

• 6 months = $30 ($5/mo)
• 12 months = $60 ($5/mo)
• 24 months = $120 ($5/mo)

As a Fetlife supporter, you’ll be able to perv all the videos and photos you like. You’ll also get to perv backward through prior posts of the members in your friend feed.

Features

• Friend feeds
• Picture, video, message walls
• Kink-themed groups

Pros

• Libertine community
• Low-most membership
• Local group events

Cons

• Thots and escorts
• Predators

12. Switter – Adult Personals for Sex Workers

Switter is a social media site that mimics the tweet-deck format of Twitter, hence the rhyming name. On Switter, the tweets are called “toots.” It’s not a dating site but it does have an adult-oriented “anything goes” vibe. Switter is connected to Mastodon, a decentralized rival of Facebook.

The people on Switter mostly fall into two categories: sex workers and their fans. A lot of toots are advertisements for erotic services. Some of the accounts are run by cam sites and escort agencies. Despite the Twitter-like format, Switter is everything that Craigslist Personals became in its final years, a prostitute directory.

Unlike Craigslist, Switter has taken steps to rid its platform of fake ads and spam. As of October 2020, Switter has 339.6k users. Though it’s not a dating site, there is nothing to stop you from tooting for hookups. As with Twitter and Craigslist, Switter is free.

Features

• Tweet-deck (for toots)
• Profile directory
• Follow, re-toot, star buttons

Pros

• Free to use
• Uncensored
• Sex-positive

Cons

• Primarily for erotic entertainers
• Not a dating site
• Growing but still small

13. Grindr – Free Gay Hookups Like Craigslist

Grindr is a dating and hookup app up for gay men. It’s often thought of as the gay Tinder with a higher batting average. Grindr is light years removed from the Craigslist Personals because it features easy mobile features that suit today’s busy, roaming gay man. Roughly 90% of Grindr users browse the app for hookups.

You can sign up for free but you’ll need a premium membership to unlock all the features. Grindr Unlimited is priced as follows.

• 1 month = $49.99
• 1 year = $300.00 ($25.00/mo)

The Grindr monthly rate is steep but a one-year membership will get you six months free. With the Unlimited plan, you can contact anyone and see which members have looked at your profile. You can also browse incognito and see the typing status of your matches. With Unsend, you can retract a just-sent message before the would-be recipient sees it.

Grindr can be a dangerous app to use in countries with laws against homosexuality. The app has a geotracking feature that has been used by police to track Grindr users to their exact location. There have also been instances of HIV-positive users having that info exposed by work colleagues.

Features

• Viewed Me indicator
• Incognito browse
• Unsend messages option

Pros

• High hookup rates
• Easy to use
• Popular in big cities

Cons

Best Hookup Site

• Geotracking risks
• Police (in anti-gay countries)
• Predators

14. Adult Search – Another Website Like Craigslist

Adult Search is a classifieds website with regional, state and city filters. It’s free to sign up and browse but most of the posts are by erotic entertainers seeking clients. If that’s what you’re looking for, you can contact them for free (most of them post their phone numbers).

Like Craigslist, there aren’t many actual people here looking for dates or casual encounters. The primary categories are body rubs and escorts (female, shemale, M4M). For $9.99, you can post a month-long ad for sexual services in your local area. Adult Search also has listings for local massage parlors, strip bars, sex stores and swingers clubs.

Features

• Sex worker search filters
• Sex club/parlor listings
• Location map

Pros

• Free to reply
• Cheap to post ads
• Uncensored

Cons

• Mostly escorts/strippers
• No dating/hookup potential

15. Classified Ads – 100% Free Casual Encounters and Generic Personals

The generic ClassifiedAds.com has a personals section. With its bland, archaic design and small text, it’s one of the least-inviting Craigslist Personals alternatives on the internet. Like Craigslist, Classified Ads has lots of anonymous ads that cannot be verified as legit.

Classified Ads has a pull-down search for the basic dating categories (MSW, MSM, WSM, WSW). If you made eye contact with someone in the wild that you wish you’d approached, you can place a “Missed Connections” ad here. You can even share personal ads on Pinterest and Facebook (?)

Features

• Social media share buttons
• Facebook login
• Missed connections

Pros

• Free
• Posts last six months
• Uncensored

Cons

• Few photos
• Troll posts

16. Oodles – Free Dating Profile Aggregate Similar to Craigslist Personals

Whats The New Craigslist For Hookups

Oodle Marketplace, which aggregates classifieds from sites like eBay and ForRent,has its own personals section. The personal ads are culled from the external Meetup4Fun.com. Each ad features a chat, video and meetup icon.

A lot of the profile pics in the women-seeking-men section are stolen from Instagram influencers, revealing mass Oodle bot activity. In any given locale, there are at least 200 men-seeking-women ads for every WSM. The Oodle personals are free to use but, as on Craigslist, unlikely to yield any real-life matches.

Features

• Chat Now
• Meet Her/Him
• Video Chat

Pros

• Free
• Photo rater
• Uncensored

Cons

• External links/profiles
• Bots

Craigslist Personals Replacements 101

What Was Craigslist Personals?

Craigslist is the world’s largest classifieds site. It features listings of job opportunities, apartment openings and services. One section now missing from the website is the Craigslist Personals.

Craigslist Personals was the site’s version of an online matchmaking service. In their personals section, you could post info about yourself and what you want in a partner. Thousands of couples met through Craigslist Personals.

Unfortunately, Craigslist Personals got abused by sex traffickers. Since Craigslist has no way of screening people who post on the website, traffickers were posting fake personal ads to lure young women into prostitution rings. The personals were also being used by predators and killers.

What Happened to Craigslist Personals?

In March 2018, the U.S. Senate passed HR 1865, “FOSTA” (Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act). The new law holds personals sites criminally liable when their services are abused by third parties. Therefore, Craigslist could face lawsuits if users get stalked, killed or sold into prostitution through the personals section.

Craigslist stated that the new law could lead to a shutdown of the entire site. To protect all their other services, Craigslist folded the personals section upon the law’s passage. This same law also caused backpage to be shutdown and created a huge rise in the number of backpage alternatives.

Will Craigslist Personals come back?

The Craigslist Personals is unlikely to be reinstated. As a general classifieds site with millions of users worldwide, Craigslist lacks the centralized resources to eliminate the types of abuse that occurred in the personals section. Sites like AFF and Ashley Madison are better equipped to deal with FOSTA.

How to use Craigslist Activities?

Craigslist Activities is worth checking out to see if anyone is posting some sex ads in your area. Sometimes you will see some posts like “If you’re looking to join a book club or fitness group, check the Activities section on Craigslist for events in your area. As for dating and relationships, look elsewhere. Some people try to use Craigslist Activities for dating. These people are identified by whether they put M for F in their post. Or they will post “Female Activity Partner Wanted.” There are a lot of code words to decipher here. It can become confusing because you are unsure if someone is genuinely looking to golf or date. A few people looking for relationships in the Activities section are generally seeking something platonic.

What is the best site for gay personals and M4M?

The all-around best gay classifieds site is Outpersonals because of its emphasis on lifestyles and activities. You can find people you have things in common with here and actually meet a potential partner. If you are into the BDSM underground, Fetlife has an active M4M section where you can connect with people for discreet fun.

Tinder Hookup Site

Grindr is primarily a hookup app that, while popular in big cities, is risky to use in places where it’s dangerous to be out or outed.

What is the best alternative for MF4M?

What Replaced Craigslist For Hookups

Couples looking for threesomes should check out Fetlife, Alt.com and Adult Friend Finder. Fetlife and Alt are the sites that singles and couples frequent for kinky adventures such as candaulism, where a husband/boyfriend or wife/girlfriend watches his/her partner have sex with another person. AFF automatically shows the profiles of couples in the site feed.

It’s easy to find single men who are eager to have sex with hotwives. Bi-women who’ll have sex with partnered women in front of boyfriends are considered “unicorns” because of their rarity. The likeliest sites to find unicorns are Fetlife and Alt.

What is the best substitute for M4F?

If you’re a straight, single man seeking women, your odds are best on Adult Friend Finder. AFF is the most widespread and well-trafficked dating site on a global scale with single women from all walks of life. The site’s 80m+ membership includes tens of millions of men, women and couples.

Hook Up Site

Enjoy Exploring These New Craigslist Personals Replacements

What's New Hookup Site Since Craigslist Is Dead

If you’ve used Craigslist Personals in the past, the alternatives covered in this article should give you plenty of other places to meet people. If you meet any of the users on these sites for casual encounters, make sure to spend some time with them in public before you go anywhere private. If you buy a premium membership, give it at least 30 minutes a day while you’re single. Happy hunting.