Badoo Review September 2026
Badoo is a free dating site and app that caters to the younger audience for friendship, relationships, and casual dating. Badoo offers a lot of special features that make it one of the best dating apps today.
Badoo does a good job connecting members who are attracted to one another. With its Encounters feature, the matching of members is sped up and done so with utmost efficiency. However, Badoo may not be the best for people who are searching for a lifetime partner, or a serious relationship.
- A social media network and dating site good for people looking for love, friendship, or casual relationships
- Majority of users are late teens and young adults
- Majority of users come from European countries
- There are occasional technical issues when accessing the mobile app
- App has a high percentage of member activity
- Many special features are available
- Contacting features are free to use, but a premium membership can enhance your experience
- Singles who are into casual flirting
- Those looking for love, friendships, and profound connections
- People looking for casual dating with no strings attached
- Those searching for erotic adventures
- Older singles who want to find love and find long-term commitment
- People who dislike quick matchmaking
Find out if Badoo is the right service for you or if there are better options.
- Contacting features are free to use by everyone
- Many active members on the app
- Most, if not all members are legitimate
- Many special features
- Occasional technical errors on the app
- Not much active members in some countries
- Mostly successful for casual dating only
How does Badoo work?
- Search for members nearby your location through searching People Nearby
- Swipe matchmaking available called Badoo Encounters
- Message for free with your successful matches
Badoo is one of the best and most popular dating sites worldwide. It offers many contacting features to use for free. You just need to have a successful match with another member. Badoo allows you to find matches who are nearby your location through its 'People Nearby' search function. However, you can also find members from faraway cities should you choose to change your location pin using this feature. You may also match with members who are quite far away through "Badoo Encounters," which is a roulette-type matchmaking feature.
A tip when making your profile: publish 15-second 'Clips' that show off your personality. Profiles with 'Clips' gain more visibility on the platform as it adds a huge score on Badoo's profile scoring system.
What it really costs
Compared with other dating services, Badoo is average-priced.
| Plan | Duration | Per month | Total | Notice period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badoo Premium | 1 day | — | 1.69 AUD | 1 day |
| Badoo Premium | 1 month | 12.99 AUD | 12.99 AUD | 1 day |
| Badoo Premium | 3 months | 10.33 AUD | 30.99 AUD | 1 day |
| Badoo Credits | 100 credits | — | 2.50 AUD | 1 day |
| Badoo Credits | 550 credits | — | 12.49 AUD | 1 day |
| Badoo Credits | 1,250 credits | — | 24.99 AUD | 1 day |
| Badoo Credits | 2,750 credits | — | 49.99 AUD | 1 day |
Can you try Badoo for free?
- You can test Badoo free of charge
- You can at least read a message for free to try the service
Free services
- Use of search filters
- Browsing member profiles
- Messaging premium members
- Basic messaging and quick flirts
- Participating in Encounters matching game
- Viewing who visited your profile
- Use the 'Lookalikes' special search function
- Verify your profile
Paid services
- View who liked you
- Highlight your messages
- See who put you on their favourites list
- Undo your vote on Encounters
- Browse the site anonymously
- Chat with new users first
- Become a featured member
- Send Crush alerts
- Increase your popularity
- Give gifts
- Activate stickers
Although you can make use of Badoo's core features for free, you can also enjoy more benefits by signing up for Badoo's premium membership.
Badoo uses credits as an in-service currency. You can purchase credits to enjoy some perks, such as more visibility, removing feature limitations, and others.
Credits can be used for the following user perks:
- Be the first entry to show up on match search results
- Get your photo included in the featured users' tab
- Your profile shows up more often in Badoo Encounters
- Purchase gifts to catch attention
- Use emojis and stickers in chat
- Raises your Badoo Encounters quota
- Raises chat quota to 5
- Notify users when you are online
You can set the system up to auto-refill your credits whenever they go below a certain amount.
Payment options
Gender proportion — 40% ♀ / 60% ♂
Badoo age range and age distribution
- More than 3.4 million users in Australia
- Most of the member base are late teens to young adults
- Most members are based in Europe
- The app is recommended more for the younger generation
- Able to match and chat with users worldwide
Badoo caters more to the younger generation, which complements their “fresh and hip” setup and thrust towards mobile dating.
The dating site, with its users mostly on the lookout for hookups and flings, is often compared to Tinder. However, it does have its fair share of those over 35, who are looking for more committed connections.
Older members looking for a serious relationship might feel out of place with fewer match potentials.
Strongest regions
- Western Australia100
- Queensland82
- Victoria72
How often Badoo is searched for in each region, from Google Trends over the past 12 months. The darkest region scores 100; 50 means half as many searches. This is relative interest, not a member count. (Google Trends, 2026-09)
Badoo in detail
Signing up at Badoo ★★★★★ 3.0/5
- You must be at least 18 years old to sign up
- You must sign up to browse Badoo
To sign up, visit the Badoo website or download the Badoo app — available on iOS and Android. To complete the registration, provide all required information.
Required information
- Name
- Date of birth
- Location
- Your gender
- Reason for signing up
- Partner's gender
- Profile picture upload
Optional information
- Personality test
Badoo verifies new profiles via:
- Photo upload (required)
Making contact on Badoo ★★★★★ 4.0/5
- There is a nearby search function
- Lots of contacting features to use for free
- Roulette-type matchmaking available
- Send songs
- Everybody can send messages for free
- Badoo has a chat function
- Unlimited messaging is free for successful matches
As a social media slash dating platform, Badoo has quite a lot of features you can enjoy:
- Badoo Encounters
Badoo Encounters is a game that lets you search for matches quickly. This feature shows you matches one by one, with each entry showing the user's picture plus necessary information such as their name, age, and how many interests you have in common.
Press the heart icon (or one on your keyboard) if you're interested, or the X icon (two on your keyboard) if you're not. Most of the members play this fast and easy way by breezing through the different options, similar to Tinder's swipe left or right function.
However, if you are meticulous, there are links in the upper right-hand corner of each entry where you can view and share the user's profile. You can also filter the game to show only guys or girls, or matches of a specific age range.
Free members have a limited number of swipes, but credits can be used to increase this number.
- People Nearby
Badoo's primary search function, People Nearby, allows you to find other members. You can filter the search to show only the new accounts or those that are currently online. Aside from that, there are several search filters that you can use to limit the results:
- Gender
- What they're looking for (friends, chat, date)
- Age
- Location
- Distance away from you
Despite the name, People Nearby is not only about searching for people close to your location, you can even get results from members who intentionally put their positions in private. Plus, you can also filter your search to show members from another city or state.
- Featured Users
One the bottom right corner of your profile page, you will see several profile pictures. These are pictures from featured users. You can have your photo featured by paying credits. Click on a photo to view that user's profile. If you're interested, you can message him or her.
- Messaging Feature
Since Badoo dating is a free service, messaging others is possible, even without paying for premium services. The only thing you need to start a conversation is to upload a photo of yourself. Once you have a picture, you can network with other members or ask them out on dates.
However, members can only send up to two messages to members they haven't matched. Once you've used up your two messages, they need to reply to you first before you can send more.
You can set it so that you can get email and browser notifications whenever you get a new message. If there's a user you're particularly interested, and you hit it off immediately, you can save them on your favourites list. On the other hand, if the user says something offensive or inappropriate, you can choose to block them so they can't contact you any further.
As for Badoo's messaging feature, we give it a 4 out of 5. With most limited messaging services, you can only message another user once, or worse, you can't message a person who hasn't liked your photo back. With Badoo dating, at least you get two tries to get the attention of the person you're trying to message, and if they reply, the limits on messaging are lifted. However, credits can raise the number of messages sent even before you receive a reply.
While this may feel unsafe and unregulated for some, messaging is one of the essential features of any dating platform. After all, if the goal is to match people, there's no reason why messaging should be made inconvenient.
- Badoo Live
"Badoo Live" enabled members to host a live video stream, which all Badoo members could watch and join. Badoo announced that the feature was removed from the site as they wanted their users to focus on connections rather than viewing streams.
- Send Songs
Send a Song feature in the Badoo app allows Badoo members to send favourite tracks to each other via Apple Music to create meaningful connections through song-sharing. If you’re not a current Apple Music subscriber, you can still send and receive 30-second song previews with your matches or access a special offer for Badoo members of up to 2 months free of Apple Music within the app.
Profile quality ★★★★★ 2.0/5
- Badoo has an extensive photo verification process to ensure a user's identity
- Profile verification process requires users to connect their account to their social media account or phone.
- Users are unable to take screenshots while on the app
- State your "Dating Intentions"
- Profiles are moderately detailed
- Profile pictures are visible to everybody for free
- You can edit your profile information later
Profile information, as a whole, is severely lacking. Unlike others where you answer questions and take personality tests, Badoo only lets you choose your interests from a vast list. You can't see what other users' thoughts are about topics concerning religion, politics, etc.
To encourage its members to post their best pictures and fill out their profiles completely, they've devised a profile scoring system. The higher your score is, the higher your visibility to others. To start receiving ratings, you need to upload at least three photos of yourself. Other members who view your profile through Badoo Encounters can rate your profile. Members are also required to state their dating intentions as 'Here to date', 'Ready for a relationship', and 'Open to chat' to avoid mismatched partners.
Although the profile scores are meant to determine the likeability of the members, it may be lacking as it is purely based on appearance.
Even with a verification process, fake profiles on Badoo come aplenty. There are several articles written about it on the web, and we experienced it firsthand while writing this review.
Only 2-3 minutes after creating a profile, we got four message notifications from different females who wanted to chat with us. This is highly suspicious as the account has just been created, with no picture and no information on it whatsoever. Granted, Badoo has a feature where premium members can send messages to new users as soon as they sign up. However, we doubt that people who sincerely want to meet other people would be okay with just messaging everyone who signs up for the service.
According to demographics, the male to female ratio in Badoo dating back in 2009 was 70/30, with males taking the lead. Recently, there are more and more female profiles being created – and some users suspect that these are fake profiles to bring more people in. Remember that profiles can be set so that non-members can view it. Hence, there are several female decoy profiles on Badoo with the sole purpose of enticing males to join the website and meet these "female" members.
Badoo puts a considerable emphasis on photos and appearance while disregarding views and opinions. Yes, you can choose an interest, and there are several fields where you can freely type information about yourself, but users neglect most of these because they are not mandatory.
Badoo has an extensive verification system for photos, but nothing on what's written on your profile. A person looking for a long-term relationship or marriage is not given enough tools by which to tell who is compatible with them or not.
'Clips'
Members can show off their personalities and give honest opinions on a variety of topic prompts through the use of video. These 15-second clips is a fun icebreaker when other Badoo users visit your profile. Plus, it also enhances your credibility as a genuine member of the app. Badoo also rewards profiles containing 'Clips' in terms of visibility on the platform. When you publish 'Clips' on your profile, you will show up more frequently on other members' matchmaking list.
The Badoo app ★★★★★ 4.0/5
- The design is organised, simple, and pleasing to the eyes
- The functionality is intuitive and user-friendly
- App has more features than the website version
- Badoo app allows location proximity matching
- Mobile app has chat features and a special featured called ‘Bumped into’
- Occasional technical errors such as the inability to log in, send messages and view certain screens
- Available to download in the App Store and Google Play Store
One of the biggest reasons why Badoo's website looks outdated and lacklustre is because the company itself is focusing more on its mobile app. Since the site is geared towards easy and quick hookups, going mobile would be the most logical move. This way, users can look for possible friends, chatmates, flings and one night stands anytime, anywhere.
It is clear that Badoo has put in more effort into the mobile app compared to the website. The profile layouts are great, unlike its browser counterpart. Also, there are more features and things to do, so you can meet more people on the go.
Our field test ★★★★★ 3.5/5
“I’ve been using Badoo since 2015. I was a free member for a year but upgraded my membership to lifetime premium as I see that the app is going nowhere but the app in the next decade. Until now, it proves to be an excellent investment. I have met a lot of women through the app—most were looking for a casual hook up, which I was very open to. I’ve also met a few girls who were into serious dating. I dated once for six months, but I had to leave the city, and we couldn’t keep up with LDR. Right now, I’m seeing a woman I also met through chance at the app’s Encounters game. It was the appearance that initially brought us together, but we connected once we started talking. We’ve been dating for a week, and I don’t know. I just have a really good feeling about this.”
- Alvin, 28, LA
Design & usability
Design and Usability
Since Badoo prides itself on being a social media platform with a focus on dating, its layout is similar to other social media platforms like Facebook. However, the design falls short in comparison. As previously mentioned, your profile dashboard looks like a cluttered mess, and the design is too simple. The way your profile looks when viewed by others is slightly better, though not by much.
In terms of accessibility, the site is user-friendly. Badoo login is quick and easy. In just one click of a button, you can sign in and out of Badoo in a jiffy.
The sidebar menu allows you to access most of its features with a mouse click. As for features you can access from the main page of your profile, it's possible to miss some of them because of the layout's simplicity.
Essential parts of your profile don't stand out as the site doesn't make use of eye-catching colour schemes or fonts.
Special features
For special features, we give Badoo a 3 out of 5.
A hybrid between a social networking platform and an online dating site, Badoo has several unique games and features that other websites don't have.
The only downside is that it caters only to people looking for casual dates and hookups, since most engage members based on their looks, without really putting any emphasis on interests, viewpoints, intelligence or personality.
Badoo Encounters +
This allows you to look for matches easily.
Profile Score +
This allows other members to rate your pictures. The higher your score is, the more visible your profile would be.
Visits +
Check which members visited your profile in Visits.
Likes +
You get email and browser notifications when someone likes your profile.
Favourites +
Put preferred users on your favourite lists. You can also see who put you on theirs.
Games and Profile Features +
Aside from Encounters, there are several other games available:
- Lookalikes - Using your photo, Badoo determines which members you look similar to. If you find a particular user attractive, you can search for their lookalikes so you can see others with the same features.
- Gifts - You can purchase gifts for other users. Using credits, you can also send emojis to get their attention.
Private Detector Technology +
This feature automatically detects and blurs unsolicited nude images. Recipients have the option to immediately report the sender without having to view the picture first.
Rude Message Detector +
Badoo has increased its security systems by adding a rude message detector feature. This software carefully recognizes rude, abusive, homophobic, and discriminatory content and allows users to directly report the conversation through a pop-up notification.
Moods +
Moods is a special feature which gives users the option to share what’s on their minds. This can either be based around their current emotions or what kind of date they want to pursue.
Would You Rather +
This is an interactive game feature where users who opt in are matched together asked a series of questions as a way to get to know each other and find out what they have in common.
Screenshot Block Feature +
Badoo implements a screenshot block feature that discourages users to share private information and photos without permission. Android users can no longer take screenshots and iOS users will get a warning message once they take one.
Crush +
Crush is an instant notification that you can send to a member to let them know you like them by clicking on heart with an arrow icon on the top of their profile. You use your credits to successfully send a Crush.
Badoo Secret Awards +
Badoo Secret Awards are private badges you earn by accomplishing certain Badoo achievements such as reaching a high profile score, having the most connections, and having the most conversations on the app.
Send a Song +
Members can now send their favourite tracks to each other via Apple Music to create meaningful connections.
Cancelling your Badoo subscription
How you can cancel
- Via your profile settings on Badoo
Contact details
| Company | Badoo Trading Limited |
|---|---|
| Address | The Broadgate Tower, Third Floor, 20 Primrose Street, London EC2A 2RS |
Do subscriptions auto-renew?
Subscriptions renew automatically — cancel at least 1 day before your current term ends.
Money-back guarantee
- Badoo offers a money-back guarantee with a full refund
- You have 14 days to cancel and get your money back
If you wish to cancel and request a refund you must contact Badoo via its Feedback Page. Please note that if you choose to download any of the Content which forms part of any paid for service within the 14 day period, you may lose the right to a refund.
Do your credits expire?
Credits expire after 6 months.
Badoo FAQ
Where is Badoo based?
Badoo has offices in London (UK), Moscow (Russia), and Malta.
What's Badoo all about?
To differentiate itself from other dating platforms, Badoo refers to itself as a dating-driven social media site. Unlike dating sites, Badoo doesn't use matching and compatibility algorithms and matches users based on distance and interests alone.
Where's the best place to download the Badoo app?
For security purposes, it's better to download the Badoo dating app through legitimate sources such as the Google Play Store, Apple Store, and Windows store. There are platforms where you can download the latest Badoo .apk files, but it's difficult to ascertain which downloads are legit, and which will give your phone a virus.
What are Badoo Secret Awards?
Secret Awards are private badges that members can get. They're hidden because they don't appear on your account. This is mostly to notify users of their achievements on Badoo. You can get awards for getting the highest-profile score and having the most connections (most conversations).
What are Badoo Encounters?
Encounters work similarly to Tinder's style of speed dating. Matches show up on your screen one-by-one, and with a mouse click or swipe, you can show your interest or reject the match before moving to the next one.
What is Badoo Live? Is Badoo live still available?
With Badoo Live, you could host live streams on the platform or the app or watch the live streams of others. You could comment on their streams and also follow them - or gain followers yourself by actively using the feature. In April 2020, Badoo announced that the feature was removed. They stated that they wanted their users to "focus on connections" rather than "spending time viewing streams". –
Are Badoo profiles real?
If you see a blue checkmark below a user's photo, it means that they are verified users, and more often than not, these types are real. Although Badoo has a strict photo verification system, some fake profiles still squeeze through the cracks and make it into the platform. For females, the surest way to guarantee that the person you're talking to is who they say they are, you can request for a selfie through chat.
What is Badoo Encounters?
Encounters is at the core of the Badoo experience. Photos of members who match your interests will be shown to you, and you decide if you want to meet them. Just set your search criteria, flick through your choices, and see who you like.
You can increase how often you appear in Encounters when other Badoo users are looking at it. Just get some Extra shows and watch your popularity rise.
How can I find out who likes me on Badoo?
The "Liked You" folder shows you all the people who voted 'Yes' when they saw you in Encounters. You can access your "Liked You" folder by activating Badoo Premium.
How can I find my matches on Badoo?
Your matches are the people who voted 'Yes' for you and who you liked, too, in Encounters. You can access their profiles directly from "Messages" to start chatting and make friends. So that you're able to differentiate between matches and messages from users you have not matched with yet, matches will have a heart icon on them.
What is the Crush feature on Badoo?
Sending a Crush means that you can let other users know how much you like them by clicking on the heart with an arrow icon on the top right of their profile.
Sending a Crush to someone means that they will be able to check out your profile straight away, and you can use Credits to send Crushes to as many users as you like! Note that there is no Undo when sending a Crush.
What do I do if I want to "unregister'' myself from Badoo?
You can terminate your registration at any time by going to the "Settings" Control of Badoo. After clicking the "Delete Profile" link, Badoo will retain your account for 30 days if you changed your mind and want to reactivate it. Once the 30 days are up, the deletion of your Badoo account is permanent.
What are Badoo gifts?
Gifts are icons that can be bought using Badoo credits and sent to other users to catch their attention. These are virtual equivalents of real gifts, so instead of giving a girl flowers, you can purchase the flower sticker instead.
What are Badoo Superpowers?
Badoo Superpowers is just another name for Badoo premium, which gives users exclusive perks that can increase their visibility and make them more popular on the dating website.
Can I report violators of the Badoo Terms and Conditions?
Yes, you have a right to privacy so you can report any abuse or violation of a member to the Badoo team by filling out the Feedback page. Make sure to include examples of the actions the user did so Badoo can act accordingly.
Another option is to visit the user's profile and click the "Report Abuse" link. Choose the reason for the complaint and submit.
All of a sudden, I can't access my Badoo profile. What's going on?
If you suddenly can't access your Badoo profile, it's most likely that your account got suspended for violating Badoo's Terms and Conditions.
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