Making friends as an adult is genuinely hard. The US Surgeon General called loneliness an epidemic in 2023, and the EU's own survey found 13% of Europeans feel lonely most or all of the time. Apps have rushed in — and in 2025–26 the money moved decisively towards one model: putting you in a small group, in person, without you having to organise anything.
Every app below is tagged with how you actually meet:
- Matched group — an algorithm puts you at a table or activity with a few strangers.
- Friend finder — browse or swipe 1:1, then arrange to meet.
- Events — join something someone else organised.
- Community — a niche group (language, sport, parents, expats, neighbours).
Matched groups: dinners and activities with strangers
The fastest-growing category. Good for a guaranteed social evening; the catch is that tables usually reshuffle, so lasting friendships depend on you swapping numbers.
| App | Format | Price | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timeleft | Dinner with 4–6 strangers (also drinks, coffee, runs; women-only and singles formats) | ≈ $20–26 / month + your meal | 200+ cities, 52 countries |
| 222 | AI-curated dinners and outings, no profiles or DMs | $22.22 / month or per event | LA, NYC, SF, Chicago, Toronto, DC, London |
| Les Amis | Women only; curated events + a 1:1 match every two weeks | €45–60 / month; NYC $55–70 | Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Zurich, NYC, Austin |
| Pie | AI seats you in a "pod" of six at events; now adding community spaces | Free | US only |
| Clyx | Event discovery that suggests who to meet there | — | Miami, London, LA |
| Meet5 | Group activities for people over 40 | Free; Premium ≈ €12.49 / month | Germany, Europe, now US |
| Strangrs | Dinners with strangers | From €15.99 / month | Paris, Lyon, Marseille, London, Barcelona, NYC |
| DayOfUs | Dinner or brunch groups of 4–6 | ≈ $16–24 / month | A dozen+ cities |
| The Dinner Club | Dinners in home kitchens | — | Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht |
| EatWith | Chef-hosted dinners | Per experience | 130+ countries |
| Washed Up | Small-group plans around concerts and trivia | — | LA (2026) |
Friend finders (1:1 and groups)
| App | How it works | Price | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| M — MSocial | Friendship mode inside M: real groups and shared plans, not random DMs | Included in M (free to download) | Every city |
| Bumble BFF | 1:1 matching + Groups (chat, calendar, events) since the Sept 2025 relaunch | Free | Global |
| Patook | Strictly platonic; auto-detects flirting | Free | Global |
| Gofrendly | Women only | Premium ≈ £3.99 / $4.99 / month | Nordics, UK |
| Peanut | Women through fertility, motherhood, menopause | Free; Plus $14.99 / month | US, UK, CA |
| Wink | Gen Z discovery feed | Freemium | Global |
| Yubo | Group livestreams + swipe; 18+ only since Nov 2025 | — | 140+ countries |
| Boo | Personality types (MBTI) for friends and dating | — | Global |
| Wyzr Friends | 40+ | — | US, CA, AU, IE and others |
| Synchrony | Neurodivergent adults; ID checks, AI conversation helper | $44.99 / month | US |
| Mmotion | Map of nearby active users + interest groups, by application | — | NYC |
Events and RSVP platforms
These don't match you with anyone — you go to things. Pair them with the habit of going alone and talking to whoever's next to you.
| Platform | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Meetup | Recurring interest groups — the best tool for seeing the same faces weekly | Free to join; Meetup+ optional; organisers pay |
| M Events | Dating, party and social events in one feed — see who's going, then match with people at the same event | Free to download |
| Eventbrite | The biggest general events catalogue, including speed dating | Free events free; fees on paid tickets |
| Luma | Tech, startup and community events | Free; 5% on paid tickets |
| Partiful | Parties and invites — strongest among Gen Z in US cities | Free |
| Fever | Curated experiences (Candlelight concerts and more) | Per ticket |
| DICE | Gigs and club nights; owned by Fever since 2025 | Per ticket |
| POSH | Nightlife and creator events | Ticket fees |
Meetup and Eventbrite are now both owned by Bending Spoons.
Communities and niches
| App | Niche | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Strava clubs | Run, ride and hike clubs — run clubs grew 3.5× in 2025 | Free |
| Playtomic | Find padel, tennis and pickleball partners; 4.7M players | Free; pay for courts |
| Plei | Pickup soccer, 27 US cities | Pay per game |
| InterNations | Expat events, 420 local communities | Albatross €119 / year |
| Couchsurfing Hangouts | Meet travellers and locals nearby, right now | ≈ $5 / month or $20 / year |
| Tandem / HelloTalk | Language exchange partners | Freemium |
| Nextdoor | Neighbourhood network | Free |
| Spond | Run an existing sports club or team | Free |
Shut down or absorbed
- Hey! VINA — women's friendship app, closed late 2024.
- Geneva — group chat app, bought by Bumble in 2024 and folded into BFF in Sept 2025.
- IRL — once valued at over $1B; shut in June 2023 after admitting ~95% of users were bots.
- Clubhouse — still running, but pivoted to small voice chats among friends.
What actually works
- Repetition beats novelty. A weekly run club or class does more for friendship than ten one-off dinners.
- Go alone. People are far more approachable — and approach you more — when you're not in a group.
- Suggest the next thing. "A few of us are getting a drink after — come?" turns a group into friends.
More practical advice in our sister guide, how to meet people offline.
Questions people ask
What is the best app to make friends in a new city?
For a guaranteed social evening with no planning, Timeleft (200+ cities). For seeing the same people every week, a Meetup group or a run club found through Strava. For women in Europe, Les Amis. For friendship alongside dating, M's MSocial mode works in every city.
Is Bumble BFF free?
Bumble's support page states that BFF has no premium tier. It relaunched in September 2025 with a Groups feature built on Geneva, which Bumble had acquired.
What happened to Hey! VINA?
The women's friendship app closed permanently in late 2024 after about ten years.
Are there Timeleft alternatives?
Yes — 222 (US cities and London), Les Amis (women, 12 cities), Strangrs (Paris, London, Barcelona, NYC and more), DayOfUs, The Dinner Club (Netherlands) and EatWith (chef-hosted dinners).
Sources
- TechCrunch — Apps promising to help you make friends (Apr 2026)
- Timeleft — Timeleft vs other dinner-with-strangers apps
- SV Post — 222 raises $10M Series A
- TechCrunch — Pie becomes more of a social network (Aug 2026)
- Les Amis
- Meet5
- WERSM — Bumble BFF relaunch
- WERSM — Clyx raises $14M
- Gofrendly — Hey! VINA is shutting down
- Meetup — Meetup+ (Oct 2024)
- Engadget — Meetup's new app
- Luma — Luma Plus
- CNBC — Partiful
- Couchsurfing — Hangouts
- Strava — Year in Sport 2025
- Fortune — IRL shuts down after admitting 95% of users were fake
- US Surgeon General — Social connection advisory (2023)
- EU JRC — Loneliness prevalence in the EU
