The best dating site for over 50s in the UK is the one with plenty of people your age living near you. Nationally, OurTime is built for the over-50s, Match and eharmony suit people who want a big, serious site, and Facebook Dating suits those who already live on Facebook. If you are in the South West, Mature Westcountry Singles keeps every match within reach.
What should you look for in a dating site for older people?
After a long marriage, a divorce or a bereavement, most people coming back to dating want three things: people of their own age, people who live close enough to meet, and some confidence that the person writing to them is real. Everything else is detail. A site with a huge headline membership is no help if only a handful of those people are over 55 and within an hour's drive of you.
It also pays to think about how you like to meet. Some people enjoy browsing profiles and choosing for themselves. Others would rather answer a long questionnaire and be sent a few suggestions. Neither is better, and the sites below lean one way or the other.
Which dating sites are best for over 50s and over 60s?
| Site | What it does well | The better pick if |
|---|---|---|
| Mature Westcountry Singles | A regional site for over-40s in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset and Bristol, with free ID checks, moderators and alerts when someone tries to move you off the site. | You live in the South West and want someone you can meet next week. |
| OurTime | A national site made for singles over 50, with apps for iPhone and Android and organised activities for members as well as online chat. | You want an over-50s site that covers the whole of the UK. |
| Match | One of the longest-running dating sites, going since the mid nineties, open to all ages, with detailed profiles and a large national membership. | You want the widest choice and are happy to filter by age yourself. |
| eharmony | Matching built on a compatibility questionnaire and personality profile, aimed squarely at long-term relationships. | You would rather be introduced to a few well-matched people than browse. |
| SilverSingles | A site for people over 50 that matches members using a personality test taken at sign-up. | You like the over-50s focus and questionnaire matching. Its parent company entered insolvency proceedings in 2026, so check it is running before buying a long plan. |
| Facebook Dating | A dating section inside the Facebook phone app, with a separate dating profile and no paid tier, for people 18 and over. | You already use Facebook on your phone every day and want to try dating there. |
Described in general terms as of October 2026. Sites change their features, so check each one before you join.
Is a site just for over 50s better than a big site?
On a big, all-ages site you spend a lot of time filtering out people who were never going to be right for you. On a site made for older singles, everyone you see is already in roughly the right stage of life, which makes conversations easier from the first message. The trade-off is size. A specialist national site has fewer people than a giant, and a regional one fewer still, but on a regional site nearly all of them live within a sensible drive. Many people use one national site and one local one side by side for a few months, then keep whichever brings better conversations.
What about dating sites for over 60s and over 70s?
The same sites serve all three decades. What changes is how many people of your age live near you. On Mature Westcountry Singles about two in three members are 55 or over, and the over-65s are nearly as numerous as people in their late fifties and early sixties, so dating in your sixties or seventies is normal here rather than the exception. Our pages on dating over 60 and dating over 70 go into what that looks like.
What do dating sites for over 50s charge for?
Facebook Dating has no paid tier, though you need a Facebook account and the phone app. Almost every other site lets you join, build a profile and look around, then asks you to pay for unlimited messaging or extra features. Before you buy, read how renewals work on the site you choose. On Mature Westcountry Singles, Classic membership includes a daily allowance of messages and you can always reply to members who write to you on a paid plan, as our features page explains, and pricing sets out the memberships.
Which is the safest dating site for older people?
No site can promise to keep every scammer out, so look for the tools that make them easy to spot: identity or video verification with a visible badge, a report button on every profile, human moderators and a warning when someone tries to move you to WhatsApp or text. Whatever site you use, never send money or gift cards to anyone you have not met. Our safety page covers the warning signs.
How Mature Westcountry Singles compares, one by one
If you are weighing us against one of the national names, each comparison sets out where they are stronger and where we are:
- Mature Westcountry Singles vs OurTime, regional over-40s against national over-50s
- Mature Westcountry Singles vs Match, a local pool against a very large one
- Mature Westcountry Singles vs SilverSingles, browsing against questionnaire matching
- Mature Westcountry Singles vs Facebook Dating, a separate site against dating inside Facebook
All four sit on our comparisons page. If you would like to know more about us before deciding, our honest answer to what people say covers the worries people raise.
Questions about dating sites after 50
What is the best dating site for over 50s in the UK?
It depends where you live and how you like to meet. OurTime is a national site made specifically for over-50s, and in the South West a regional site like Mature Westcountry Singles gives you more people within driving distance.
What is the best dating site for over 60s?
Look for a site where people in their sixties are a large group, not a small corner. On Mature Westcountry Singles, people aged 55 and over make up about two thirds of members.
Are dating sites for older people safe?
The good ones are, provided you use their tools. Choose a site with verification badges, moderators and reporting, keep chatting on the site until you meet, and never send money.
Can I use more than one dating site at once?
Yes, and plenty of people do. A national site and a local one together give you breadth and people nearby.
Meet over-50s who live down the road
Join the South West's own site for mature singles and see who lives near you.
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