I've spent the better part of eighteen months going back and forth between three dating apps that all claim to cater to people who want something casual, and I feel like I've finally got enough experience to actually write something useful about how they compare. Because here's the thing — when you Google "best casual dating apps UK," you get these listicles that were clearly written by someone who's never used any of the apps they're recommending. They'll rattle off features from the App Store description, throw in some generic pros and cons, and call it a day. That's not what this is. I've actually used Kommons, Feeld, and Pure extensively as a thirty-three year old bloke living in Manchester, and I can tell you from genuine first-hand experience what each of them is actually like, who they're actually for, and which one is worth your time depending on what you're looking for. Fair warning: this is going to be long, because I've got a lot of thoughts and I don't believe in oversimplifying things that are actually quite nuanced.
A Bit of Context: Why These Three
I should explain why I'm comparing these specific three apps and not, say, Tinder or Bumble. It's because Tinder and Bumble are general-purpose dating apps that happen to be used for casual stuff. They're not designed for it. Half the people on Tinder want a relationship, half want a hookup, and nobody knows which half they're talking to until three dates in when someone finally admits what they actually want. These three are different because they're built from the ground up with some form of casual or non-traditional dating as their core purpose. They don't pretend to be everything to everyone. That's why they're worth comparing directly, and that's why I downloaded all three around the same time last year to see which one would actually deliver results here in the north of England, where let's be honest, the dating app landscape can feel pretty sparse once you step outside London.
Kommons: The Straightforward One
I'll start with Kommons because it's the one I've ended up using the most, and I think the reason for that says a lot. The app positions itself as a UK-focused dating platform for people who are upfront about wanting something casual. No dancing around it, no "let's see where things go" ambiguity. You set up your profile, you're honest about what you're after, and you match with people who want the same thing. That simplicity is its biggest strength. I cannot overstate how refreshing it is to be on a platform where everyone has basically agreed to be on the same page from the start. It cuts out so much of the awkward tip-toeing around intentions that plagues every other dating app I've ever used.
The user base in Manchester is solid. Not massive — you're not going to get the bottomless scroll of profiles that you'd find on Tinder — but the people who are on there are active and genuine. I'd estimate I was seeing maybe forty to sixty profiles within a reasonable radius when I first signed up, and that's grown noticeably over the past year. In London, my mate tells me it's significantly busier. The profiles tend to be better quality too, and I think that's because people who've sought out a niche platform like this have already put some thought into what they want. You're not wading through abandoned profiles and people who downloaded the app as a joke.
Cost-wise, the app has a free tier that's genuinely usable, which I appreciate. You can match, message, and meet people without paying a penny. There's a premium option that unlocks some extra features, but it doesn't feel like the app is broken without it. That's a big deal for me. Too many apps make the free version deliberately frustrating so you'll pay up, and it always leaves a bad taste. It feels like it wants you to have a good experience regardless of whether you're paying.
The main weakness, if I'm being fair, is that if you're in a smaller town or rural area, the user base might be too thin to be useful yet. It's growing, but it's still concentrated in the bigger cities. If you're in Manchester, Birmingham, London, Edinburgh, Leeds — you're golden. If you're in, I don't know, Carlisle, you might struggle a bit.
Feeld: The Adventurous One
Feeld has been around for a while now and it's carved out a very specific niche for itself: it's the app for people who are into kink, polyamory, ethical non-monogamy, and generally more exploratory sexual lifestyles. If that's your scene, Feeld is genuinely excellent. The level of detail you can put into your profile about your desires, boundaries, and relationship structure is impressive. You can list specific interests, link profiles with a partner if you're in an open relationship, and the whole design of the app makes it clear that this is a judgement-free space for people who are into things that the mainstream apps don't cater to.
The UK user base for Feeld is decent, particularly in London where it's quite popular among the creative and tech crowd. In Manchester, it's smaller but still functional. I'd say I was seeing maybe twenty to thirty profiles in my area, with some overlap from Liverpool and Leeds. The quality of interactions I had on Feeld was actually pretty good — people tend to be communicative and open about what they're looking for, which makes sense given the nature of the platform. The conversations were often more interesting and candid than what I was having on other apps.
Where Feeld falls short for me personally is that it's very specifically designed for a certain kind of user. If you're a relatively straightforward bloke who just wants to meet someone for a casual thing without necessarily being into kink or poly dynamics, Feeld can feel a bit like showing up to a fancy dress party in a normal outfit. You're not unwelcome exactly, but you're slightly out of place. The app's whole vibe is geared toward exploration and pushing boundaries, which is brilliant if that's what you want, but it can be a bit much if you're just looking for a relaxed, no-strings evening with someone you fancy. I also found the interface a bit cluttered compared to the other two — there's a lot going on, and it took me a while to figure out all the features.
Pricing for Feeld is where it gets tricky. The free version is fairly limited. You can browse and match, but a lot of the useful features — seeing who's liked you, filtering by specific desires, incognito mode — are locked behind their paid tier, which is called Majestic Membership. It's not cheap either, running at roughly fifteen to twenty quid a month depending on how long you subscribe for. If you're deeply embedded in the kink and poly world and Feeld is your primary platform, that's probably worth it. If you're a casual user just poking around, it feels steep.
Pure: The Anonymous One
And then there's Pure, which takes a completely different approach from the first two. Pure's whole concept is radical anonymity and immediacy. You create a temporary ad — basically a photo and a short description of what you want — and it goes live for one hour. People in your area can see it, and if someone's interested, you match and have a limited time to arrange a meetup. After the hour, your ad and all associated data disappear. It's designed for people who want a one-night encounter with no strings, no history, and no digital trail. On paper, it's an interesting concept. In practice, at least in the UK, it's got some serious problems.
The biggest issue is the user base. Or rather, the lack of one. Pure might work brilliantly in New York or Berlin — cities where it has critical mass — but in the UK, the numbers just aren't there. When I used it in Manchester over the course of about three months, I placed maybe twenty ads. The number of women who saw and responded to those ads was, to be generous, dismal. I matched with two people total. One never replied after the initial match, and the other was pleasant enough but we couldn't coordinate timing. In a city of nearly three million people in the greater metro area, two matches in three months is pretty dire. I asked a mate in London about his experience and he said it was marginally better but still nothing compared to what you'd get on the other two apps.
The anonymity angle is a double-edged sword, too. On one hand, there's something liberating about knowing your profile isn't sitting on a server somewhere indefinitely. On the other hand, the temporary nature of everything means you can't build any kind of rapport before meeting. You've got an hour to go from "this person exists" to "let's meet up tonight," which for most people, especially women concerned about safety, is way too fast. The lack of verification or any real profile depth also means you've got no way of vetting someone before agreeing to meet them. I know the whole point is anonymous and immediate, but in practice, that just felt reckless to me rather than exciting.
Pure also charges for basically everything. Placing an ad is free, but replying to someone who's interested, seeing who liked you, and pretty much anything beyond the bare minimum requires a subscription. It's around twelve to fifteen quid a month, and given the tiny user base in the UK, that feels like genuinely terrible value for money. You're paying a subscription for an app where you might not match with anyone for weeks on end.
So Which One Actually Works?
Here's my honest assessment after using all three extensively. If you're a relatively normal person in a UK city who wants to meet people for casual dating — whether that's a one-off thing or an ongoing casual arrangement — Kommons is the clear winner. It's got the right balance of being upfront about casual intentions without being sleazy, the user base is healthy and growing in all the major UK cities, the app works well and doesn't paywall the basic experience, and the people on it are genuinely looking for the same thing you are. It's not trying to be revolutionary or edgy. It's just a well-built platform that does what it promises. That's more rare than it should be in the dating app world.
If you're specifically into kink, polyamory, threesomes, or non-traditional relationship structures, Feeld is excellent and nothing else really competes with it on that front. Don't try to use the other two for that — Feeld is purpose-built for it and the community there is genuinely welcoming and knowledgeable. Just be prepared to pay for the full experience, and be aware that outside London, the user base thins out quite a bit.
As for Pure, I honestly can't recommend it for UK users in its current state. The concept is interesting, but without the user base to support it, it's basically a paid app where nothing happens. Maybe in a few years if it grows here, but right now, you're better off putting that subscription money toward literally anything else. If you want anonymous or very discreet casual encounters, you'd honestly have better luck on the casual encounters section of some UK-specific forums than on Pure. That's not a ringing endorsement of those forums — it's just how thin Pure's UK presence is.
The Bigger Picture: What I Learned From All This
Using three different apps simultaneously taught me something I wasn't expecting: the platform you choose shapes the experience you have far more than your own profile or photos or chat skills. I'm the same person on all three apps. Same photos, broadly the same bio, same conversation style. But the quality and nature of my interactions varied hugely depending on which app I was on. On the first app, conversations felt relaxed, honest, and efficient. On Feeld, they were adventurous and explorative. On Pure, they were basically non-existent. The common advice of "it's a numbers game, just get on all the apps" is actually terrible advice. You're better off picking the one platform that aligns with what you actually want and putting your energy into that. For most people in the UK who want casual dating without drama, that platform is the one I started this review with.
I also learned that the UK dating app market is in a genuinely weird place right now. The big apps are losing their identity trying to be everything to everyone, and the space is opening up for smaller, more focused platforms that actually serve a specific need well. One serving the UK casual dating market, another serving the kink and poly community — these are apps that know exactly who they're for and what they're doing. That clarity is worth more than a hundred million users if half of them aren't looking for what you're looking for. I think we're going to see more of this kind of specialisation over the next few years, and honestly, I think that's a good thing for everyone.
So there you go. Three apps, eighteen months of experience, one clear recommendation. If you're in the UK and you want casual dating that actually works, start with Kommons. It's the one I keep coming back to, and it's the one that's consistently delivered what it promises. The others have their place, but for most people reading this, it's the clear answer.