Where Do I Go Now That Craigslist Personals Are Gone
It was a sad day when Craigslist shut down its personals section. Many users were mourning the loss of one of the original popular online dating platforms.
While Craigslist is overwhelmingly known for its old-school classified posts, most would use Craigslist to find romantic dates, casual encounters, and much more.
If you've been missing the personal ads on Craigslist, we've got quite the opportunity for you!
In the wake of Craigslist Classifieds' demise, a ton of brand new dating and personals sites popped up around the web – many of which are superior to the OG classifieds site of the internet.
In fact, many of these platforms are even better and more user-friendly than Craigslist!
This guide will break down nine of the best Craigslist personals alternatives for casual dating and sex.
Check out our top picks!
Best Craigslist Personal Ads Alternatives
| Website | Editor's Notes | Is it Free? | Score |
| ⭐AdultFriendFinder |
| Free with premium add-ons | 99.5% |
| ⭐Craigslist Missed Connections |
| Free | 99% |
| Free | 99% | |
| AshleyMadison |
| Free for women and $49 per month for men | 99% |
| DoubleList |
| Free | 98% |
| Locanto |
| Free with additional membership plans. | 97% |
| Alt.com |
| Free with a secondary paid feature | 94% |
| Fetlife |
| Free with paid options | 93% |
1. AdultFriendFinder – Best Overall Substitute for Craigslist Personals
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Whether you're looking for a fast hookup, a threesome, or some kinky casual encounters, AdultFriendFinder is probably the best Craigslist personals alternative that you will be able to find.
This platform is massive and has a fantastic user base of people who are all looking for virtually the same things as you – a night of fun with no strings attached!
If dating isn't your thing, this is the website to check out.
You can join for free to test it out, but we recommend investing the premium membership for full access to all of AdultFriendFinder's features, even if it's just for a month.
The only downside to this awesome platform is the spammy ads, but you'll get used to them after a while.
Overall, the function of AdultFriendFinder is excellent.
2. Craigslist Missed Connections – Best Substitute for Classifieds and Personals
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Good ol' Craigslist personals provided excellent opportunities for people to find hookups for their specific needs in their area.
When the Craigslist personals section was removed, many individuals who frequented the boards moved to the still-remaining Missed Connections section.
If you made a connection with someone, romantic or sexual, and you'd like to reconnect, you might be able to do so by posting on Missed Connections.
Just keep in mind that Craigslist isn't as popular as it used to be, so getting your post to the right set of eyes might not be as possible as before.
3. Reddit – Top No-Swipe Substitute for Craigslist Personals
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Reddit is very similar to Craigslist in the sense that it is a posting board, as well as an online forum.
This massive website with a similarly massive user base has a ton of subreddits (small forums dedicated to specific subjects or topics) specifically dedicated to dating, hooking up, kinks, meetups, etc.
Our personal favorites for finding a hookup on Reddit include the subreddits DirtyR4R, Swingers R4R, basic R4R , and more or less every variation of R4R.
You can be as anonymous as you'd like on this platform, too. Just keep in mind that apps or dating sites like AdultFriendFinder might be better suited for very quick hookups.
4. AshleyMadison – Top Discrete and Anonymous Substitute for Craigslist Personals
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AshleyMadison is quite an infamous dating site known for its security breaches and cheating users.
However, the platform has evolved quite a bit in recent years.
You absolutely do not have to use AshleyMadison to cheat. In fact, it's an excellent place to find a casual encounter or hookup in real-time, with complete discretion and anonymity.
The free version of AshleyMadison offers a lot and isn't super spammy with ads, which can't be said for many Craigslist personals alternatives out there.
While the platform has had a history of security issues, it has been secured with modern technology and top-notch security solutions.
5. DoubleList – Top Craigslist Personals Substitute for Classifieds-Based Dating and More
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DoubleList is probably the most similar dating site to Craigslist on this list.
It isn't a complicated platform and is basically just a simple ad posting board.
It's still relatively young, but as more people become exhausted with today's dating apps, platforms like DoubleList will likely become more popular.
Overall, it's a pretty great place to find a local hookup or a casual dating buddy – without having to go through a tedious account creation process.
6. Locanto – Best Craigslist Personals Substitute for Board-Based Classifieds
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Locanto could be considered a Craigslist copycat for its layout alone, which is very similar to the famous platform.
The platform has a lot of different sections for different things, including dating and sex.
While the platform itself doesn't have a ton of traffic at the moment, it might still be worth posting an ad to, especially as more people are getting burnt out on dating apps and want to return to the good old days of simple ad posting on classifieds boards.
You might be surprised by who you connect with!
7. Alt.com – Top Craigslist Personals Substitute for BDSM Fans and Newbies
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If you're into a certain kink or fetish, or perhaps you're simply interested in exploring alternative sexualities, Alt.com is a great place to start.
Alt.com has a ton of traffic all of the time, and it makes sense why.
This platform is an open and welcoming place for newbies and experienced kinksters alike to find a new partner (or partners) in a safe and secure environment.
While Alt.com has a notable amount of fake profiles and scammers, it's pretty easy to identify who is legit and who is fake.
8. Fetlife – Best Craigslist Personals Substitute for Kinksters
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Whether you're into BDSM or a very niche fetish, Fetlife can help you find a hookup or ongoing sexual relationship near you.
Hookups can be challenging for kinky people, but Fetlife makes finding the right individuals as easy as possible without fear of shame, rejections, or scams.
Signing up for Fetlife is relatively easy, and connecting with users is also a breeze. You can also enjoy the platform's mobile app, which is well-designed and user-friendly.
In general, Fetlife is an excellent choice for those with alternative interests, especially those just beginning to explore their kinks.
Best Craigslist Personals Alternatives – The Top 8 Runner-Ups
- Fetlife – Great for exploring certain fetishes and kinks
- What's your price – Makes online dating very simple
- Swingers Date Club – Meet a swinging couple tonight using this site
- CasualX – Very easy-to-use dating app for hookups and more
- Whiplr – One of the world's biggest fetish dating clubs
Best Craigslist Personals Alternatives: FAQ
Are These Alternatives to Craigslist Safe To Use?
In general, a vast majority of Craigslist personals alternatives are very safe.
Most of the apps we've discussed on this list have their own established safety measures, verification processes, and rules in place to keep everyone on the platforms safe.
The more anonymous Craigslist personals alternatives have rigorous identification processes in place to make sure that whoever uses their apps is completely verified or completely discrete.
In general, we recommend using common sense when hooking up with a new potential date from any Craigslist personals alternatives.
For example, try to meet in public first to ensure that they are the same person you've been talking to online.
Which of The Above Dating Sites Are Most Like Craigslist?
We would say that a majority of the Craigslist personals alternatives that we've listed in our guide are pretty similar to the Craigslist platform.
To begin, Craigslist Missed Connections is technically still part of the Craigslist platform and, as a result, has a similar user interface to the rest of the Craigslist website.
Just as well, personals and classifieds board dating sites such as DoubleList and Locanto are very similar to Craigslist, especially when compared to more modern apps like Ashley Madison or AdultFriendFinder.
Either way, even if you are not used to more modern applications, we recommend giving each of the Craigslist personals alternatives on this list a try, even if they are not particularly identical to the Craigslist interface or vibe.
Online dating and hookup culture have changed significantly in recent years, but those new changes make online dating a lot easier.
Are These Alternatives to Craigslist Free to Use?
Each and every Craigslist personals alternative we've listed has a free version in some capacity.
Platforms like Reddit, DoubleList, and Craigslist Missed Connections are 100% free to use with no expensive add-ons to consider.
AdultFriendFinder, Locanto, Alt.com, and Fetlife are free to use or free to make a profile on but offer premium memberships or additional paid features.
In general, though, each of these Craigslist personals alternatives is free to set up and try out before investing any amount of money into them.
Free is always ideal, but some of these platforms are definitely worth the premium cost, especially AdultFriendFinder and AshleyMadison.
Best Alternatives to Craigslist Personals – The Takeaway
The world of online dating has changed so much since Craigslist's renaissance as a personals and classifieds platform, but most of these modern changes are for the user's benefit.
Craigslist personals weren't ideal in many ways, particularly when it came to safety and ease of use.
For those looking for the ideal Craigslist personals replacement or classifieds site that is quite similar to Craigslist in terms of results, our top pick has to be AdultFriendFinder.
For hookups and casual sex, AdultFriendFinder works very differently from your typical dating site.
The platform is a lot more efficient, provides a wide range of features that Craigslist personals simply never offered, and is better at finding quick and discreet hookups or dating opportunities in a specific area.
On the other hand, AshleyMadison comes with some impressive security features, and they are free for women to join!
Still, we would recommend giving all of these excellent Craigslist personals alternatives a try to see which one has the most benefits for your needs.
Best of luck!
Where Do I Go Now That Craigslist Personals Are Gone
Source: https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/national-marketplace/best-craigslist-personals-alternatives-16-new-craigslist-personals-check-out-for-hookups-in-2021/
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