Two ways to date
Forget Dinner vs Hinge: Two Ways to Date, Compared
Neither is better. They answer different questions, and here is how to tell which one you are asking.
Choose Hinge if you want something serious and like the idea of an app designed to be deleted once you find someone. Choose Forget Dinner if you are a UK adult who wants casual dating, with no promises attached. Both are 18 and over.
Forget Dinner
An adults-only UK site, online since 2008, where casual dating is the point. It runs in your browser, with a home-screen shortcut.
Hinge
An iPhone and Android app that calls itself “designed to be deleted”, built around photos, prompts and conversations that lead to dates.
At a glance
How do Hinge and Forget Dinner actually differ?
Every row comes from each service’s own pages and store listings.
| What you compare | Forget Dinner | Hinge |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Casual dating for UK adults | Finding a serious partner, then leaving the app |
| Your profile | A username, an optional photo, and what you are after | Photos or video, three prompt answers, dating intentions |
| First hello | A private message, helped by daily match suggestions | A like on one photo or prompt, plus an optional comment. Chat opens if they like you back |
| Cost | Classic is the starting tier. VIP and VIP Plus are paid upgrades | A basic app on iPhone and Android. Hinge+ and HingeX are paid subscriptions |
| Where you use it | A browser, or a home-screen shortcut on your phone | An iPhone and Android app |
| Verification | Optional ID verification by live video check, no documents, shown as a badge | Selfie verification, shown as a badge |
| Minimum age | 18 | 18 |
Your profile
What do you put on your profile?
Hinge asks for more of you. Forget Dinner asks for less, and asks the blunter question.
On Hinge
- Photos or video
- Three prompt answers
- Dating intentions
- Height, religion, politics
Hinge’s own site says you answer three prompts to activate your profile, which suits anyone who enjoys a good line. It isn’t closed to anything shorter: short-term is among the dating intentions it names. The pitch still points one way, towards a partner you then stop searching for.
On Forget Dinner
- A username
- An optional photo
- What you are after
- Age range
- Distance
You say what you are after: casual, friendship and more. The name is a joke about skipping the three-course formalities, not about skipping honesty. For wording that gets replies, see profile and first message tips.
The first hello
How does a conversation actually start?
On Hinge
-
Like one thing
Tap to like a photo or a prompt, adding a comment if you like. Hinge says comments make a reply more likely.
-
Wait for a yes
That profile leaves your feed until they respond. If they like you back, you match and can chat.
-
Keep it moving
Your Turn reminders nudge you to reply, which Hinge says helps cut ghosting. After you swap numbers, it asks how the date went.
On Forget Dinner
-
See who is nearby
Daily match suggestions weigh age range, distance, how active people are and the kind of dating each wants.
-
Say hello in private
Classic members get a limited number of messages a day, and VIP lifts the limit. The pricing page has the plans.
-
Stay put until it feels right
If someone tries to move the chat to another messaging app, you get a warning first. Take your time.
Fair warning
What is each one not for?
- Forget Dinner isn’t a matchmaker
- It won’t steer you towards a partner, and nobody is promised an outcome. You say what you want and see who is nearby.
- Hinge isn’t a casual site
- Hinge describes itself as the dating app for people who want to leave dating apps. It has room for shorter-term intentions, but casual dating is not what it sells.
- Neither checks your background
- Neither service screens members for a criminal record, and each says so in its terms. A verification badge is a useful signal, not proof of character. Our own tools are on the safety page.
- Forget Dinner isn’t a closed room
- What others see is a username and your nearest town or city. Your real name and email stay hidden, though the terms add that people on partner sites run by the same company can find your profile.
Being fair
When Hinge suits you better
For some people Hinge is simply the right tool, and we would rather you landed somewhere that works.
- You want a partner, not a fling. Everything about Hinge points at finding someone serious, and it says so.
- You want a big audience. Ofcom’s Online Nation 2025 report ranks Hinge second among UK dating services, with 1.5 million adult visitors in May 2025.
- You like to write. Prompts hand every conversation something to grab.
- You like gentle structure. Reply reminders nudge you along, and Hinge follows up after a date to improve its suggestions.
- You prefer a dedicated app. Hinge is built for iPhone and Android.
Not sure which side you are on? Our house rules say plainly what Forget Dinner is for.
Which question are you asking?
If the honest answer to “what am I after?” is a partner, start with Hinge. If it is company, a spark or a night out with no label on it, Forget Dinner was built for that.
Hinge asks who you would like to keep. Forget Dinner asks who you fancy a drink with.
For the wider picture, see the best casual dating apps in the UK.
Questions people ask about Hinge
Is Hinge good for casual dating?
Hinge is built for people who want something serious, and calls itself the dating app designed to be deleted. Its profiles do include a dating intentions field with short-term among the choices. If casual is the whole point, Forget Dinner is a casual dating site for UK adults, so it starts from there.
What do Hinge+ and HingeX add?
Hinge’s help centre says the regular version runs on iPhone and Android. Hinge+ and HingeX are paid subscriptions that add extras such as unlimited likes, and they renew until you cancel. On Forget Dinner everyone starts on Classic, and VIP and VIP Plus are the paid tiers.
How do Hinge and Forget Dinner handle safety and verification?
Hinge and Forget Dinner each have a verification badge: Hinge uses a selfie check, and Forget Dinner offers optional ID verification through a live video check with a moderator. Neither runs criminal background checks, and both terms say so, so a badge is a signal, not proof. Keep chats on the platform, never send money and meet in public first. See the guide to dating scams.
Who owns Hinge?
Wikipedia says Hinge is part of Match Group, which held all of it by early 2019, and Plenty of Fish’s own app listings name both in the same portfolio. Hinge’s terms say it is operated for UK users by MTCH Technology Services Limited.