Top 10 Recommended Apps to Make Friends | Detailed Comparison of the Best Matching Apps Based on Your Goals

In recent years, methods of building human relationships have changed significantly. There is a growing demand for people to make new friends after entering the workforce, find peers with similar hobbies, or expand their social circles in their 40s and 50s. As a result, friend-making apps are gaining attention. The number of matching apps dedicated solely to genuine friendship, not dating or marriage, is also rapidly increasing.

However, many people have questions such as “Is it really safe to use for free?” and “Can I actually meet serious users looking for friends?” In this article, we will thoroughly examine 10 popular friend-making apps based on five key points and provide a guide to help you find the most suitable app.

5 Important Points to Consider When Choosing a Friend-Making App

When selecting an app to make friends, focusing on the following five points is key to success.

Verification Point ①: Are users with the purpose of making friends gathering?
Some apps also have many users seeking dating or marriage. Apps dedicated to friendship tend to attract users with the same goal, making it easier to meet like-minded people.

Verification Point ②: Can you efficiently find compatible friends?
Features like hobby searches, location searches, and day-off searches are important. Rich search functions help you find better matches.

Verification Point ③: How comprehensive are safety measures?
Check for 24-hour monitoring, identity verification, reporting and blocking features, and other safety protocols.

Verification Point ④: Is it easy for women to use?
Safety and convenience for women are especially important. Confirm whether messaging is completely free, and whether there are many ads.

Verification Point ⑤: What are the costs for men?
Even for the same friendship purpose, if costs for male users are too high, usage declines. Transparent and affordable pricing is also crucial.

Top 3 Friend-Making Apps for Women

Apps designed specifically for women or with a female advantage offer excellent safety and convenience.

Favomatch | Ideal for Finding Favorite Activity Partners
An app that creates communities centered on favorite activities and otaku hobbies. Only women over 18 can use it, with detailed searches by activity style and day off. The timeline feature allows SNS-like interaction, and offline meetups are regularly held. However, it lacks 24-hour monitoring and requires payment to remove ads.

Touch | Strong Identity Verification and Monitoring
A women-only friend-making app provided by Cluz, requiring official ID verification. It features 24/7 monitoring, reporting, and blocking functions, with unlimited messaging. Users can find friends via hobby cards and social features. Limited search options for partner details may be a drawback.

Dote Match | Convenient Scheduling Features
A matching app focused on women making friends, with timeline and day-off searches. It verifies age and gender via ID and provides information on local restaurants for meetups. However, it lacks 24-hour monitoring, so immediate response to issues may be limited.

Friend-Making Apps Open to Men

Men can also use these apps to make friends easily.

Bumble | Find Opposite-Sex Friends Too
An American-origin app that switches to “BFF mode” for friendship. Unlike many women-only apps, it allows men to find opposite-sex friends. It has strong safety features like 24-hour monitoring and reporting, and its low cost for men is attractive. Currently, it only searches by current location, not by residence.

Tantan | Connect with Users Worldwide
A Chinese app with over 300 million users globally, suitable for international friendships. It allows searching for both opposite-sex and same-sex friends, with no message limits. Safety features include 24/7 monitoring and reporting, and men can send messages for free. Search and filtering by location are somewhat limited.

JOIN US | Find Drinking Buddies Instantly
A drinking party matching app by Vikona, designed for users who want to meet up immediately. It uses location info to find nearby users and supports event registration. Sometimes men can use it for free, but it lacks 24-hour monitoring and age verification, raising safety concerns.

Recommended Apps by Age Group

Apps for 30s, 40s, and 50s
Somuri is tailored for middle-aged users, mainly in their 30s to 50s. It makes it easy to find friends of the same gender and similar life stages, with search options based on whether they have children. It’s not aimed at younger users, and men need to pay a monthly fee.

Hobby-Based Friendships
For golf enthusiasts, GolWho is ideal. It offers searches by golf scores and transportation options, and matches with pro golfers. It’s safe with 24-hour monitoring and blocking features, but it’s not solely for friendship—dating and marriage users are also present.

Top 10 Popular Apps in Detail

Here is a summary of the overall rankings for friend-making apps.

1st: Favomatch (Favosia) - Score 4.75
Specialized in favorite activity communities, with extensive search options for hobbies and days off.

2nd: Touch (Cluz) - Score 4.69
Women-only, with top-tier safety features including 24-hour monitoring.

3rd: Dote Match (Tokugawa) - Score 4.67
Rich timeline and search functions make it easy to find ideal matches.

4th: Bumble (Bumble Inc.) - Score 4.6
One of the few apps to allow opposite-sex friendship searches, with low costs for men.

5th: Tantan (Tantan Japan) - Score 4.46
Global user base, suitable for international friendships.

6th: Somuri (MAMATALK) - Score 4.45
Focused on users in their 30s to 50s, ideal for older adults.

7th: tipsys (Relation Design Laboratory) - Score 4.44
Women-only, with over 300,000 users nationwide and group chat features.

8th: JOIN US (Vikona) - Score 4.24
Event-focused app for instant matching, but safety is a concern.

9th: GolWho (Golf Activity) - Score 4.09
Golf-specific app for finding players with similar skill levels.

10th: Tinder (MG Japan Services) - Score 3.84
Known for dating, but also supports same-sex searches and friendship.

Final Tips for Choosing a Friend-Making App

The most important factor is selecting an app that aligns with your specific goals and usage scenarios. If you want female-only friends, choose women-only apps. For opposite-sex friends, Bumble or Tantan are good options. Consider your age and hobbies to find the best fit.

While free options are attractive, prioritizing apps with strong safety measures like identity verification and monitoring will lead to more satisfying long-term use. Friend-making apps can be valuable tools for expanding your social network. Use the above comparison points to find the app that best suits your needs.