Grindr review: just how good is this super popular app for gay guys?

You don’t even have to be gay or a man to be familiar with the popular smartphone app that is Grindr. Grindr is probably the most widely used resource for gay men in the world : when it comes to meeting guys for some fast fun, having access to a world of pleasure in your pocket makes it a lot easier. For gay men, especially if they’re still in the closet, finding a hookup isn’t always easy. Men have a tendency to hide their emotions and it may be harder to read if a guy is into you or just being friendly – and that’s why this type of resource can quickly become invaluable. In this Grindr review, we’ll go over all the aspects of the app, how it works, it’s features, pricing and more, so you have all the necessary information to decide whether this is the app for you.

Grindr review: an overview of the app

After spending close to a whole month going over and over every different feature of the app and the website, I have to say that Grindr is a great platform. I had so much fun making this Grindr review, not least because it gave me the opportunity to meet tons of hot and loose gay dudes – but we’ll get into my personal experiences a little later. For now, suffice it to say that Grindr is a high quality app for meeting guys, and considering it’s free, I’d run to download it right now!

Grindr presentation

Grindr is primarily a smartphone app, which was created in 2009 in Los Angeles by Joel Simkhai. Recording no less than 12 million monthly users, it boasts the largest community of men of any gay hookup site. As you can probably imagine, there’s a good many reasons why this app is as popular as it is, so let’s dive right in.

Whether you’re looking for a cute twink to satisfy your needs fast, or on the hunt for Mr. Right, Grindr can help you find whatever you need. Although the app is mostly used by guys looking for something fun and commitment free, if you’re upfront about your desire to find a partner, there are plenty of guys open to committing to a monogamous relationship if the right guy comes along. Paid users can even chat to guys across the world by using the “explore” feature, which is great for some online-only sexting sessions.

How does Grindr work, exactly?

Using Grindr is as easy as pie: once you’ve made an account, using the app is pretty self-explanatory. When you open up the app, you’ll see a grid with the profile pictures of all the gay guys in your area – simply click on whatever guy takes your fancy and start chatting! You’ll need to turn on notifications to get the most out of the app and to make sure you don’t miss any messages.

When you click on a guy’s profile, if you’re feeling a little shy and don’t want to send the first message, you can “tap” him by clicking the fire icon next to the message icon. This will notify the guy that you like him, and if he likes you too, he might start the conversation for you.

 

More options open up if you upgrade to Grindr XTRA or Grindr Unlimited, so read on to discover everything these premium accounts have to offer.

How do I register and create a profile?

The first thing you’ll need to do to start using Grindr is to download the app on the App Store or on Google Play. Once you’ve done so, open the app and sign up for a new account. Input your email, password, and birthday to get started. After that, Grindr will send a verification code to your phone – this is something I personally really liked about Grindr, because verifying your phone number means there will be a very low number of bots on the app. Once you’ve done so, you can log in to the app and start chatting, it’s that simple!

To create a profile (and make it look enticing), just click on the head icon next to the search bar. From here, you can click on edit profile: now you’ll be able to set a display name, an about me section, add some tags (check out what other guys are using to find appropriate tags), and set your “stats”. Stats refers to a list of different pieces of information about you, mostly aspects of your physical appearance. Some examples of stats are your age, height, weight, favourite position, relationship status and more. You can also let potential partners know what you’re looking for, where you like to meet, and whether you’re open to receiving NSFW pictures in your inbox. There are a few other features and things you can set up if you want, such as your gender, pronouns, and HIV status. Set up your profile in full and watch the messages come rolling in!

Grindr review: what features does the platform have?

Up next for our full Grindr review, is a breakdown of the best features in each of the different plans you can subscribe to, and how they work. The features you have access to will vary quite a bit depending on what subscription plan you have.

Grindr free features

Most people will want to start using Grindr because it’s free, as opposed to many other gay hookup sites that don’t actually let you talk to other members without first subscribing. For those among you that want to keep an eye on your finances, here’s what you can expect from a Grindr free account.

• A modern and pleasing design: whether you decide to use the free version or you end up choosing to upgrade, Grindrs’ interface stays the same. The app has a sleek and modern design that makes navigating extra easy, and helps you to feel safe using the platform. The dark colours lend themselves to ideas of discretion and secrecy, which can often be important components of the relationships you’ll develop. You’ll learn your way around the app in no time thanks to its ergonomic and intuitive design.
• “Tap” feature: this refers to the little flame icon next to the message bar when you visit a profile. Kind of like a Facebook “poke” or an Instagram “like”, the tap aims to let others know you think they’re cute without actually having to talk yet. This feature is particularly useful for shy guys like myself who have difficulty starting a conversation sometimes. Let the tops take the reins, and the bottoms can just send out taps!
• HIV status: this is one of my favourite features of the whole app. Since we know that gay men are at a higher risk of getting infected with HIV, Grindr has gone to the effort to make a little HIV status section on your profile. Grindr encourages users to get tested regularly and update their status – but most importantly, it encourages users to practise safe sex.
• Favourites: add users to your favourites to find their profile again at any time. Add as many users as you like!
• Viewed me: although limited with a free account, you can see the most recent person to have visited your profile, and see blurred out pictures of older visitors.
  

Grindr XTRA features

Grindr XTRA is the next level up on the subscription ladder. This plan offers a few more advantages than a free account, check them out.

• Explore page: with Grindr XTRA, talk to gay men all over the world. Enjoy some light-hearted sexting with anyone, anywhere, any time.
• Larger grid on the homepage: the grid on your homepage will expand as you upgrade your account. With a Grindr XTRA account, you’ll be able to see up to 600 members on your grid.
• “Read” receipts: see who has read the messages you sent, and when! Keep tabs on all your potential parters, and know if you’re being ignored – this makes it easier to bow out if you see that someone just isn’t that into you!
• Grindr Web: when you upgrade to Grindr XTRA, you can access to the web-based platform too! This means you can surf profiles and send messages from the comfort of your desk chair, on the big screen.

Grindr Unlimited features

The most luxurious tier comes in the form of Grindr Unlimited. Here are the features reserved exclusively for unlimited users.

• Incognito mode: browse profiles while being totally undetected, and never appear in “viewed me” sections.
  
• “Unsend” feature: sent a message by mistake? Drunk messaged a hot guy? Fear no more, with Grindr unlimited, you can unsend as many messages and photos as you want!
• Unlimited viewed me: see every user that views your profile (provided they don’t have incognito mode on!)
• Chat translation: upgrade your explore experience by having the automatic translator do the hard work for you. You’ll no longer be limited to chatting only to guys that speak your own language!

 

The largest online community of gay men, right in your pocket

As we mentioned earlier in our Grindr review, Grindr has the largest community of gay men among any and all gay dating sites and apps. The app counts over 12 million active monthly users, which is pretty insane when you think about it. Let’s talk about the kind of guy you can expect to meet through Grindr.

Whatever kind of guy you’re into, with 12 million users you’re sure to find him. Grindr has a huge amount of sexy local gays to choose from, and let me just say, they’re not shy. As soon as a signed up, I got views, taps and messages before even completing my profile – and I don’t even live in a big city, I can only imagine if you live somewhere with a big gay community just how much choice there is.

Many men on Grindr are looking for some quick fun, and in more rural areas you’ll even come accross a good amount of married men that are looking for something discreet. If you’re looking for something long term, you’ll want to lead with that so as not to get hurt by guys looking to have a quick hookup.

The geolocalisation feature means that you can meet these guys at any time, in any place, you can even check out who’s around you if you’re already out somewhere and are feeling a little… spicy. These guys are hot, horny, and ready to go at any time, so make an account today and meet your next hookup partner!

Grindr review: accounts and prices

Grindr has two different subscription tiers as well as a free version. For this next section of our Grindr review, we’ll take a look at the prices and offers available for each of these tiers, as well as what makes them different and worth the money.

Grindr free and one-time boosts

We’ve previously explained what are the main features of Grindr free, such as messaging, “tapping”, favourites and more. But did you know that free accounts cant purchase one-time “boosts”? Yup, for just €9.99 you can appear at the top of the grid for an hour, and appear to guys in a larger radius. You’ll also get to see your entire “viewed me” section, so you’ll get loads of new messages! This feature is still in testing, so not everyone has access to it yet. Check out your app under the “viewed me” section to see if you can boost your profile.

Grindr XTRA

Grindr XTRA is the first level up from Grindr free. This tier gives you access to more fun features like we’ve previously mentioned, as is available at a discounted price when you subscribe for a longer time. The prices are as follows :

• One week: €9,99
• One month: €14,99 (around €3,75 per week)
• Three months: €39,99 (around €13,33 per month or €3,33 per week)
• Twelve months / one year: €98,99 (around €8,25 a month or €1,90 a week)

Grindr Unlimited

 

Grindr Unlimited is the Rolls Royce of gay dating. This tier gives you access to all of the apps features and functionalities, and really takes things up a notch. As you can imagine, this luxurious experience comes at a price – but it’s probably not what you’re thinking !

Grindr Unlimited can only be purchased as a monthly subscription with no discounts available, for the price of €39,99 per month.

 

How does payment and subscription renewal work?

All purchases of Grindr subscriptions are automatically renewed if the user doesn’t cancel them, so keep that in mind when taking out a longer subscription, particularly the twelve-month Grindr XTRA plan. All purchases are final, and if you make a mistake Grindr will not refund you, so make sure to set a reminder to cancel your subscription if you’re not enjoying the app any more!

Boosts however are a one-time purchase and are not automatically renewed, so if you want to boost again you’ll have to pay another one-time fee.

Grindr accepts payments through the App Store and Google Play primarily, which can be linked to a credit card, bank account or PayPal account of your choosing. You can also pay for a Grindr subscription manually with a credit card, Google Play credits, PayPal or through your phone carrier (depending on your location).

Grindr pros and cons

If you’re still having doubts and our Grindr review hasn’t convinced you yet, the best way to decide whether it’s the right app for you is to weigh up the pros and cons. Here are some of best things vs the worst things about Grindr.

Grindr review: my personal experience with the app

I couldn’t do a full, in depth Grindr review without talking about my first-hand experience. Well, I certainly didn’t feel like it was a waste of time or money! I personally took out a monthly subscription with Grindr Unlimited to get the most out of the app, but I also tried the free version, and both were awesome and delivered what I wanted.

Let’s start with the free version: I’d say I started around 5 or 6 conversations a day with new people at first, but that slowed down as time went by. Of the hundreds of guys I spoke to over the course of the month, a good amount of them ended in meet-ups. The guys on Grindr certainly don’t hold back, and don’t shy away from asking for what they want! Of these meet ups, most of them were just casual sex, but a couple of them were actual dates – in fact i’m still seeing a couple of them!

However, as soon as I upgraded to Unlimited, my experience improved tenfold. I could see everyone who was viewing me in a huge radius, and start ten times more conversations. Once I had unlocked this part of the app, I was unstoppable, I was having hookup after hookup, sometimes multiple hookups a day – it was really intense. I’m not going to lie, I haven’t cancelled my subscription yet, I don’t feel like I’m quite done meeting hot guys for now!

What do Grindr users say? User reviews and ratings

Well maybe it’s best to not just take my word for it, but to check out some user reviews. Here are some reviews that reflect what users are saying online about Grindr.

As you can see, many users say that Grindr is an awesome app – especially considering that it’s totally free to use. However, users do find there are a little too many ads – this is quickly fixed by taking out a paid subscription to Grindr however.

This next user actually found their partner thanks to Grindr, so here’s some first hand proof that it’s not only for hookups! However they do think there may be a few too many fake profiles. The number of fake profiles on any dating app is always something to consider, however thanks to Grindrs phone verification policy, the number of bots has drastically decreased since this review was posted in 2019.

Overall, Grindr users are satisfied with their experience on the app – paid users are definitely among the most pleased with the platform, considering free accounts have more ads and less perks.

Grindr review: my final verdict

To finish up this Grindr review, I’d like to start by saying that the app is overall really fun and easy to use. Of all the smartphone apps I’ve used to find hookups, Grindr is one of the absolute best. Not only is the app aesthetically pleasing and intuitive, but the community is huge, and finding a hookup is insanely easy.

Just in one month using Grindr, I had tons of successful meet-ups that ended either in hookups or second dates. I’m definitely going to keep my unlimited subscription going for a little bit longer!

If you want to try Grindr for yourself, click the button below and start finding hot guys in your area.

F.A.Q

To finish up my Grindr review, here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions around the web about the platform.

✔ Is Grindr free?

Yes! Grindr can be used for free, and many basic functionalities like messaging and exploring in your area don’t require any kind of subscription. However, if you want to use more exciting features and go ad-free, you can upgrade to Grindr XTRA or Grindr Premium.

✔ Who can use Grindr?

Grindr is specifically targeted to gay men, and gay men only. Trans men can also use the platform, but straight men and women will not find what they’re looking for on Grindr. If you’re looking for a more general hookup site, try looking at our BeNaughty review instead.

✔ Can I use Grindr on my computer?

Grindr Web is now available for all users that have a premium subscription – this means subscribers in Grindr XTRA tier or Grindr Unlimited can use the platform on their computer, and take advantage of a big screen and a comfy chair while surfing for potential matches.

✔ Is Grindr safe?

Grindr is safe and secure when it comes to your information – however any hookup site is only safe as long as you exercise caution. Do not give out personal details to just anybody, and try to have your first meet-up with someone be in a well-lit public place before finding somewhere private to hookup. Also, make sure to always check users HIV status, get checked regularly yourself, and use protection.