Hot girl summer came and went. Rudeboy winter never quite got off the ground. Was “pansexual pandemic” even a thing? We’re in the third year of the COVID-19 crisis, and singles are clamoring to get back out in the streets to find love or something like it. Dating has enough complications as it is, but how does one find love as a vegan? It seems like it would be easy, but with 5% of people identifying as vegetarians (in 2021) and only 2% identifying as vegans that same year, it’s safe to assume herbivores are an exclusive club. Enter: the dating app.

More and more dating sites are getting hip to the need to offer vegans a platform to find like-minded people for coupledom. Take OkCupid. This app provides singles or ethically non-monogamous daters every opportunity to root out those whose lifestyles might not mesh with a plant-based suitor. OkCupid’s algorithm pays close attention to who the user swipes for, down to how long they stay in an individual’s inbox. The app also allows users to answer more than a thousand questions about their opinions on everything from politics to gender identity and expression to dietary habits. 

Entrepreneur and Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd saw the need to inject a lot of her personal social justice beliefs into a dating app that has shaken the industry to its core, as she explained in a thoughtful letter to the Bumble community: “It was 2014, but so many of the smart, wonderful women in my life were still waiting around for men to ask them out, to take their numbers, or to start up a conversation on a dating app. For all the advances women had been making in workplaces and corridors of power, the gender dynamics of dating and romance still seemed so outdated. I thought, what if I could flip that on its head? What if women made the first move, and sent the first message?”

Bumble has three options for users to choose from on its platform: Bumble BFF is a best-friend finder for casual hangout buddies to meet and enjoy activities. Bumble Date is a good place for all sexual orientations, including the asexual or “ace” community, to find romance. Bumble Bizz is where networkers go to connect with other ambitious professionals. Since Bumble requires women to make the first move (in same-sex or hetero matches), the app attracts a lot of open-minded, progressive singles who don’t have time for patriarchal social niceties. These are the same people who advocate for fair treatment of animals and rise to support marginalized groups.

Grindr is an app for bi, gay, transgender, queer people, and men seeking intimacy with men. The jury’s still out if it’s a stellar place to find love or simply a nice place to play. Regardless, what makes Grindr a clever app to snag a vegan is that it was way before its time. Many of its users swiped for each other before the rest of the world even knew what that meant. Grindr users tend to be health-conscious, actionable, socially aware, and open-minded, which is a great combination when looking for a mate who won’t judge dietary preferences.

Rounding out the best places to find vegan-for-vegan romance is SoSyncd, an app based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Just sign up, create a profile that clearly states a preference for a fellow vegan, then take the personality quiz for compatible matches. Next is Iris, an AI-based app that hones in on attraction to physical attributes for accurate matches. When building an Iris profile, use the three keywords to lure a vegan mate. Finally, Tinder gets a pat on the back for being an app with a saucy reputation but attracts some of the most physically fit, diet-specific, wellness-minded users in the dating world. 

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that relationships survive or fail based on the like-mindedness of those within them. Psychology Today lists compatibility issues as the fourth reason love wanes between partners. Therefore, dating someone with shared ideals is a must. Vegans choose love daily: love of self and others who can’t advocate for themselves. While loving a carnivore or a flexitarian may feel honorable, for some, it grows tiresome fighting over pets, where to eat, or nagging about the raw chicken in the refrigerator that leaked all over the baby carrots and Impossible burger patties. Instead of getting mad, get down to business with a new lover now that you know which apps are top-notch.

Sources: Bumble, Psychology Today