Living in a country where the infrastructure is designed to isolate, it’s no wonder people struggle to find love. With “meet-cutes” quickly becoming a thing of the past, how are city dwellers meant to find romance?
If choice is a city’s greatest virtue, there’s an abundance of dating apps designed for every need under the sun — rushing to the scene of our stagnating love lives. Serious ones. Silly ones. Sacred ones. You name it.
But forget about Hinge or Bumble (Tinder is officially creep headquarters). What about the more obscure apps people are swiping through to find their schatje?
I went down the rabbit hole so you wouldn’t have to. Here’s a list of the more “alternative” apps used by city dwellers in the Netherlands.
If you are indeed here for the sex: Feeld
It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round… Including those who check off “intimacy without commitment” on their dating profiles.
So, if your head explodes with dark forebodings too, Feeld is the place for you.
Feeld is advertised as “the dating app for open-minded individuals.” Bondage? Exhibitionism? Orgies? Ass-action? They’ve got it all.
It’s basically a platform to discover your sexuality and non-traditional relationship structures and have “sexperiences” that are far from vanilla.
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And as a welcoming space for queer people, Feeld has helped many discover their own sexuality.
You usually sign up on Feeld as a single, but the “paired accounts” setting links the two accounts of a couple, letting the community see you as a unit. Three’s never a crowd!
There are also people on Feeld who simply want an honest connection or a monogamous relationship, but in all honesty, these are the kind of people who have the worst experiences on Feeld.
A Reddit user in the Netherlands wanted to be cuddled late one night. She fought the rain to reach her match’s apartment. But helaas, he was in no mood to cuddle… He just wanted his butt tickled.
@nadinefroughi one order of ethical non monogamy – ethics on the side. #impression #netherlands #amsterdam #dating ♬ original sound – A.K.A lefrough
A friend of mine went on a Feeld date in Amsterdam after talking to the guy for about four months. He showed her a smut essay he wrote about one of his encounters at a sex party. (He worked in tech).
So, user beware! You join Feeld for the love of passion and the love of sex (safe, consensual, and respectful — unless you’re a masochist).
If you are interested in intelligence: E-Matching
E-matching is a dating app designed to help university graduates find a stable relationship with an equally big-brained partner. Who said sapiosexuality wasn’t a kink!
They advertise themselves as “dating and speed dating for highly educated individuals.”
While all profiles are manually vetted, it is optional for daters to take an IQ test (ok, I’m joking).
But if you’ve lived in the Randstad long enough as a single, you’ve likely endured enough dating disasters to appreciate a necessary background check.
Although everyone who joins the app must have a university education or higher, the rules around age are a little different.
Users under 35 can sign up for free as basic members, while anyone over 35 has to pay — there’s no free option for them. Membership prices range from €14.99 to €27.95 per month, depending on how badly you want to find someone to do the daily crossword with.
Despite the paywall, the dating pool is filled with chic divorcées looking for a second chance at love.
The interface is available on both a website and a dedicated app, but only in Dutch, and it only operates within the Netherlands.
Almost all users complain about the app, expressing how its interface is outdated. Some even take issue with the fact that you are not allowed to like profiles and can only send messages.
What’s worse, active daters on e-Matching are often frustrated or ghosted because the platform fails to remove inactive and unsubscribed profiles.
READ MORE | Dutch Quirk #90: Go through a ridiculous number of dating stages before committing
The dad of a friend of mine, who works in public relations, gave this dating service a shot after his divorce. Contrary to online reviews, he found the paid service to be a very pleasant experience.
Stefan met four different women, one of whom was a judge, in a span of one year. The daters on the app were serious about starting a relationship and incredibly smart.
Tired of swiping? E-matching hosts Singles Events for paid members. Stefan thought these were a “good way to meet available and interesting people.”
Although he met his current girlfriend on a blind date, it’s safe to say that e-matching was a positive experience for Stefan.
If you are interested in vegans: Veggly
Picture this: you’re at a nice restaurant, with an even prettier date. Everything is going well until you order the steak tartare. She looks at you with disgust. You’re the only cooked thing at the table, bro.
It’s common for couples to break up over political differences, so there is no shame in discarding your date if they don’t share your lifestyle – or love for vegan food.
But does “Veggly” even work?
I went undercover and made myself a profile. The biggest surprise? There are a lot of Germans on this app, which my friends find unsurprising.
Aside from a bio, some photographs, and standard details about your lifestyle, Veggly asks about your diet. You are allowed to pick among a couple of options: vegetarian, vegan, or “in-transition.”
You also have to say how long you’ve followed this diet — and whether you’re willing to help someone “convert.” Is veganism the new food jihad?
The interface of the app is a bit old-fashioned and slow: “The texting experience really sucks on this app,” reports a user I matched with. Sometimes, Veggly doesn’t update the chat in real time. So, there’s some delay when your match replies.
One of my matches, Hamish, a vegetarian since birth who has been using the app for a couple of months, thinks the interface is to blame for scarce replies.
People join this app for the obvious reasons: “real connection,” “meeting someone like-minded,” “being unlucky on other dating apps,” but ghosting remains a problem on Veggly.
READ MORE | 6 delicious places to get vegan food in The Hague in 2026
Another one of my matches, Mauritz, a ripped physiotherapist, said: “I’m here to make some cool contacts and maybe some more if there’s a vibe.” I suppose men being cryptic about what they want in a relationship is a reality across dating apps.
But it indeed made the dating pool more suitable for him because he couldn’t see himself being with a non-vegetarian in the future.
Love them or loathe them, dating apps have their flaws — but even if Veggly feels a little deserted at times, it’s still a pretty solid way to grow your green community.
If you want to date with friends: Doubble
A lot of my friends make bad dating choices. Sweetheart, why talk to him at all if his very first message was asking for your Snapchat?
Maybe dating would be easier (and definitely a lot more fun) if our friends were there with us in real time. Even if it’s the blind leading the blind.
Created in Copenhagen, Doubble’s tagline goes: “double dates are double the fun.”
How it works is simple. More or less. You and a friend both use the app. When you match someone and your friend matches that person’s friend, all four of you get a group chat.
In 2025, Tinder launched a similar feature called “Double Date.”
These kinds of options let you play the dating game in multiplayer mode. The premise is to make dating more fun.
Plus, if you’re a shy person, double dates take off a lot of the pressure. Compared to a one-on-one, you only have to talk about 25% of the time!
READ MORE | 9 steps to flirting in Dutch (yes, that’s possible)
Many summers ago, I tried Doubble with my best friend. For weeks, we swiped and had a blast laughing about who we would set each other up with. We even got two or three DoubbleChats going!
But the double dates… never actually happened. The dating pool on this app skews well below 22, and, like the interface, the users can be pretty unserious.
Why? Let’s be real, the start of any relationship usually involves a little simping. Put two guys in a group chat, and their toxic masculinity is going to kick in. It’s a miracle if anything actually happens.
But hey, if you’re backpacking across Europe with a friend and want to plan a fun night out, Doubble could be the perfect accomplice.
5. If you want to marry within your religion: Christian Cupid
I can’t say for other cities in the Netherlands, but some believe that God died in Amsterdam. And replaced himself with Techno.
That’s probably why I have never seen a Dutch priest in this city. Don’t believe me? Over 55% of the Dutch population identifies as “irreligious.”
READ MORE | Religion in the Netherlands on the wane: more non-believers than religious followers
Although big cities have seen a decline in religion, expats bring their own values with them in their big suitcases. It’s safe to say that whether you’re Catholic or Muslim, finding a spouse who shares your religion can be a challenge.
My friend at the gym goes to a Polish church in Amsterdam. While he’s a catch on any dating app, I think it’s hard for him to find a woman of God. So, I convinced him to give Christian Cupid a shot!
It works like any other dating app. Aside from specifying what kind of Christian you are and how often you attend services, you upload a few photos and introduce yourself in a short bio.
On the free version of Christian Cupid, you see profiles from all over the world. How exactly are you supposed to date someone in Houston, Texas? You can only filter by distance once you pay.
If you pay around €12 to €15 per month for the premium version, you get unlimited messaging, you can see who liked you, and you can browse without ads, plus a few other extras.
Christian Cupid knows how to cut the crap (I bet a Protestant made this app). You can message anyone without matching mutually first — if you have premium, of course.
However, my friend ran into a lot of fake profiles and scammers on the app. One girl who messaged him already looked suspicious.
READ MORE | Swipe right, lose €550,000: Two Utrecht women arrested in alleged dating scam
A quick reverse image search revealed the truth: the face of an OnlyFans model pasted onto a nurse’s body using AI.
“There is nothing Christian about this site,” he says.
So now I owe my friend a beer as an apology for making him download the app.
There will always be apps that make the promise of your great love hiding behind their paywall. But don’t start entering your card details too soon.
Navigating the world of dating apps in the Netherlands can be tough, but the moral of the story is to try what you can with an open mind — and never underestimate the power of buying someone a beverage!
Will you try any of these apps? Tell us in the comments!
Very educational and actually scary to be out there. It takes courage to be vulnerable. Kudos to all those seeking their true love!