You made it through college, medical school, and residency (or are working through these now). If you accomplished that, dating should be a breeze, right? Well, if we’re being transparent, sometimes finding the right romantic interest can seem like a taller task than medical school.
Dating as a doctor comes with a lot of unique challenges that people in other professions might not be accustomed to. But does that mean it’s impossible and we’re best to just give up? Absolutely not! In this article, we’re going to discuss the treatment for a challenging dating life—doctor dating apps. We’ll show you everything you need to know to leverage technology to find that special someone while accounting for the unique challenges of being a medical professional or doctor.
The 4 Best Doctor Dating Apps
| Ranking | Dating App | Claim Trial | |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | EliteSingles | Try Free |  |
| #2 | eHarmony | Try Free |  |
| #3 | The League | Try Free |  |
| #4 | Zoosk | Try Free |  |
1. Elite Singles
Our top pick for the best doctor dating app is hands-down Elite Singles. Why? First, the majority of the userbase is late 20s/early 30s and 40s. As most doctors are locked down to school and residency through the early to mid-20s, this means the bulk of the userbase is right in the sweet spot of your age bracket.
Second, over 85% of the singles on the site hold some form of above-average education. This is going to include people with bachelors’ degrees, advanced certifications, other doctors, lawyers, business professionals, etc. If you’re looking for someone who is educated and values success (like most doctors do), this is going to make it an ideal option.
And with just under 400,000 new users joining every month, the sheer number of options you can look through and sort with the advanced matching functionality is amazing.
If you’re a doctor looking for somewhere to date online to meet quality singles, go with Elite Singles.
2. eHarmony
While Elite Singles is our top pick, the reality is that it was nearly a tie with the second-place option—eHarmony. What we like about eHarmony for doctors is that the site is dedicated 100% towards serious and committed relationships. And with your time being so valuable, this is important.
And while the signup process at eHarmony takes longer than a lot of other sites, it’s for good reason. It strongly weeds out singles who are looking to play games or waste your time. What this means is that by investing a few extra minutes up front, you can dramatically protect your time and results moving forward.
If you’re a doctor looking for casual dating, eHarmony is not the right site for you (choose something like Zoosk or The League). However, if you’re tired of games and are looking for something serious through a process that protects your precious time—go with eHarmony.
3. The League
Sometimes doctors and medical professionals like to date other affluent singles or those who are making waves in the world. If that’s you, then The League dating app is absolutely where you want to be.
The site takes a heavy quality over quantity approach to dating, which is evident in just about everything they do. First, you have to get on a waiting list to get on the app (sounds like medical school again, right?). Second, you have to be voted into the pool of singles. Third, the price tag is slightly higher than other options to work as another barrier to entry.
Lastly, The League dating app only shows you a few matches per day. As a busy doctor, this is probably ideal. You don’t have to dedicate hours of your time to try and find someone that works for you. Let The League do the work for you, and you sit back and enjoy the benefits.
Bottom line—at the very least, take a minute and get on the waiting list in case you want to join now or later.
4. Zoosk
When selecting where to go to medical school or where to do your residency, how many realistic options did you have? Three? Maybe four? We bring that up because we know that you understand the challenges of only having a few options.
With Zoosk, that’s not the case. In fact, the dating app boasts an impressive 35 million members from all walks of life. If options (and the ability to easily sort through those options) are something that sounds appealing to you, then Zoosk is the choice for you.
One thing to be aware of with Zoosk is that you may run into some singles who are only looking for casual dating, but there are also plenty looking for something serious as well. And, as you might guess, it’s easy to sort through to find what you want (and you also may be looking for casual, which is totally fine).
Bottom line—take a few minutes and at least see what options are available on Zoosk in your area.
Reasons We Chose These Sites
As a doctor, you know the importance of transparency when it comes to solutions. Because of this, our team wanted to share a few of the main reasons that we selected these options as the best doctor dating apps of the year. These are not all of the reasons, but it’s a healthy look into the ‘why’ of our selections.
- Values-Based Approach – In the days of PDPM, PDPG, and value-based care, we find ourselves in a value-seeking mood when it comes to our methodology for choosing the best doctor dating apps. While we understand that budget is often not the top concern for medical professionals online dating, it still doesn’t mean we have to be wasteful. In order to make our list, sites must demonstrate they offer adequate value for the pricing structures they have. No one likes wasting money for no reason, right?
- Mainstream Over Niche – Yes, there are 100% doctor-dedicated dating apps out there. The problem with these? They usually have very few members and are only used by other doctors or people who just “want to date a doctor.” That means you’d have no options outside of the medical field except for people that only want to date you for your title. For that reason, we choose to recommend mainstream dating apps that understand privacy, quality, and the importance of time/efficiency.
- Respect for Privacy – While online dating apps aren’t governed by HIPPA, that doesn’t mean they can’t be proactive in protecting your privacy. The best doctor dating apps understand that when working with leading medical professionals with a professional reputation to care about (you), they need to do their part to keep sensitive information private for a truly fruitful experience.
- Professional Singles But Not Just MDs – Dating as a medical professional doesn’t mean that you just have to date other people in the healthcare space. But what it can mean is that dating other professional singles may make life a lot easier. These people may better understand your time commitments, desire to succeed, and the uncertainty and unpredictability of your profession. Because of this, you’ll see a heavy influence of professional-style dating apps on our top recommended list.
- “Regular” People – If you ask us, yes, medical professionals and doctors are superheroes. But if you look at all the famous superhero movies, most of them weren’t dating other superheroes! They liked the change of pace of dating someone without as much pressure to “save the world” as there was on them. For that reason, the dating apps for doctors we recommended have professional singles, but also people from other walks of life, in case that’s what you’re looking for.
- Options to Date On the Go – One thing we can all agree on is that being a doctor means you’re busy. This means you don’t have hours on end to sit at home tethered to a desktop computer to date and find matches. What this means is that the best doctor dating apps are ones that give you the flexibility and freedom to date on the go. This means either dedicated apps or mobile-friendly websites with well-calibrated (and manageable) notifications.
Niche Doctor Dating Sites – Doctors-Only Online Dating
In the previous section we mentioned that there are a few dedicated Doctor dating apps on the market. We still stand by saying that we don’t recommend these, but in case you do want to see what the very niche-focused doctor dating apps look like, here are five of the most well-known services on the market:
- Miss Doctor – This service claims to be the “largest network of single female physicians”. Simply put, the goal of this exclusive doctor dating app is to match educated male suitors with female doctors, dentists, and lawyers. It definitely has the most modern look of any of the niche sites we’ll be exploring in this section. To check it out visit missdoctor.com.
- Marry Doctor – This site “invented doctor dating in 2001” or so they say. On the more modern side of things, this site has a native mobile app and verification to reduce the number of fake profiles. So what’s wrong with it? In our opinion, one of the biggest issues is the price. Starting at $70/month MarryDoctor.com is the most expensive option on this page. Why should you pay more for a niche site than a mainstream one and get less features?
- Doctor Dating – Starting with the domain (https://doctor.dating/) this site just feels weird. It makes big claims of being successful, but we find it hard to recommend any dating site that leaves its member’s images and profiles open to the public. If you sign up for this site please understand that even non-members will be able to see everything you put on your profile.
- DoctorsDating UK – Not all single doctors live in the United States after all. This brand focuses on the dating needs of medical professionals in the UK. That being said, we strongly recommend all MDs from across the pond dodge this dating service. There have been multiple user reports that Doctors-Dating.co.uk uses fake profiles to message doctors and ask for money.
- Medical Passions – If you’re looking for a free doctor dating app then congratulations this is it! That’s about all the positives this site has to offer unfortunately. Like with Doctor Dating, all profiles on this doctor dating site are 100% public. On top of that, medicalpassions.com has one of the most outdated designs of any dating site we’ve ever reviewed
Again, these niche services may be laser focused on dating for medical professionals, but they don’t have the same backing as more established brands. What this means is that you can expect to see more issues with privacy, bugs, limited features, lack of support and much smaller userbases.
Pros and Cons of Dating Online as a Doctor
If you’re a doctor or medical professional on the fence about online dating, let’s see if we can paint you a clearer picture of what to expect. Specifically, we want to look into the pros and cons of dating online as a doctor.
Pros of Online Dating as a Doctor
- It’s a much more efficient use of your already limited time.
- It’s as successful (if not more) as traditional in-person dating.
- You get access to way more singles than you would in your day-to-day life.
- It helps you to meet singles outside of the healthcare community.
- You can move as quickly or slowly through the process as you’d like to.
Cons of Online Dating as a Doctor
- You may run into singles who only want to date you because you’re a doctor.
- It does require some additional upfront “setup” work.
Overall, dating as a doctor online is a big win. You can meet so many new singles, including some outside of your healthcare circles. Additionally, you can do it all quickly and efficiently to get the best results in the shortest period of time. Yes, it will take a few extra minutes up front, but that saves you so much time in the long run.
Will I See Patients or Coworkers When Dating Online?
You might! But the odds of that are probably pretty rare. And even if you do see someone who is a patient, you are in the driver’s seat about how to respond.
- If you’re interested in them and it’s not a conflict of interest, go for it!
- If they reach out and you don’t think it’s a good idea or you’re not interested, just thank them for their interest but let them know that you have a personal policy of not dating past or present patients.
- And if you see them and would like for them not to be able to see you, most top doctor dating apps give you the ability to block people from seeing your profile and contacting you. Don’t worry; it doesn’t notify them either.
The bottom line recommendation we’d share is not to worry about this. Do you worry about seeing a patient at the grocery store? Do you worry about seeing a patient at the gym? Online dating is not much different than that these days as it has become so much more commonplace.
How Do I Pick the Best Doctor Dating App for Me?
When it comes to picking out the right dating app as a doctor, there are a few things to consider that can help. Here are some questions to ask yourself and tips to get the most out of the process.
- Start by determining what type of singles you want to meet. Are you looking to date someone also in the medical field? Are you looking to date another professional? Are you open to dating anyone you’re a good match with? Answering these questions can help you to decide which of the recommended apps are the best for you.
- Next, determine what type of relationship you’re looking for. There is no right answer here (as there isn’t one in the previous question), but, again, it can help you to pick the right site. Are you looking to meet someone for a committed relationship? Are you looking to date and maybe get married one day? Are you looking for casual dating? Are you looking for something in-between or not sure yet?
- Try out a few options. When you have multiple treatment options for a patient, what do you normally do? You try out the most likely one first. If that doesn’t work you try out another option. Follow the same course of action here. Start by trying the doctor dating app you think will be best. If it works, awesome! If not, give another one a try until you find a good fit.
- Participate in the process. The best doctor dating apps can only do so much for you. In order to have success, you have to do your part. It’s like a physical therapist who sends their patient home with exercise to do in-between sessions. They could be the best PT on the planet but if the patient doesn’t do their part—it’s a waste.
What this means is to fill out your profile completely, upload some current pictures, send some messages to your matches, and respond with thought when you get a match.