Craigslist Dating is Over: Here is How to Find Your Next Online Hookup  

Remember the good old days, when you could just hop on Craigslist personals and find a local hookup in a few minutes flat? 

Well, you’re not alone on this one. Ever since we had to say farewell to the beloved craigslist dating feature, the internet just hasn’t seemed the same.  

If you share this sentiment, I’ve got some fantastic news for you– there are several great alternatives to craigslist personals.  

No need to despair any longer, just check out these great alternative personal ads to fill that Craigslist shaped hole in your heart.  

What is Craigslist dating? 

Okay, if you’ve never actually heard of Craigslist dating, here’s the deal: Craigslist had an entire section dedicated to connecting like-minded people.  

This section was called Personals, and it was full of local people looking for casual hookups. 

Craigslist personals were convenient because it was free to access, had a huge user base and you could use it for virtually any U.S. city. 

Well, like so many beautiful things, a few people had to go and ruin it for the rest of us.  

Due to a concern that the site was being used for sex trafficking, the personal ads were officially shut down in 2018. 

Luckily, there are several excellent replacements. Let’s take a look! 

 

Top Alternatives to Craigslist Personals 

 

 

Doublelist 

Doublelist cuts straight to the point by providing a place strictly for personal ads. You’ll find that it’s super similar to Craigslist personals where you can find casual hookups in your area. Doubelist is great for straight, gay, lesbian, and bisexual users.  

Doublelist was started with the idea of providing a quick solution to the loss of Craigslist personals. Well, it turned out to be an incredibly popular alternative, earning a spot as one of the best personal ads on the internet. 

Doublelist has gotten around the restrictions that took down Craigslist Personals by strictly prohibiting sex work of any kind. This site is for consensual, non-paid hookups only.  

Signing up for Doubelist is free and easy. All you need is a valid email address and you’re good to go.  

Pros:  

• Huge user base 
• Lots of categories 

Cons:  

• There are some fake accounts 
• Sometimes registration is closed 

 

Bedpage 

 BedPage is actually more of an alternative to Backpage, but hey, it’s worth checking out. It is still quite similar to Craigslist personals ads because you can search for all sorts of adult services as well as other users looking for a casual fling. 

BedPage is great because it’s not restricted to the US. In fact, you can find users from around the world including Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, and Australia.   

Not only is this great for when you’re traveling, but it also allows you to get to know people from different cultures. 

After you narrow in on a city, you can check the selection of listings they offer. Just like Craigslist, you can find listings for jobs and rentals, but you can also find adult personals.  

Adult services you can find on Bedpage include escorts, body rubs, fetish play, phone sex, and more. They use an extensive registration process to make sure every user is verified and every service listed is legal. 

Pros: 

• Lots of adult listings 
• Worldwide user base 

Cons: 

• Long registration process 
• Some locations have a small user base 

 

Adultsearch 

If you’re looking for something that provides you with a local guide to all things naughty, Adultsearch has you covered. As the name implies, Adultsearch is all about adult services and no strings attached dating. 

On this personals listing, you can find services ranging from escorts to erotic massage. You can also find local places to visit such as strip clubs and bars.  

One of the more unique features of this website is how it personalizes activities for each city. For example, if you’re in New York City, you can read about the city, and even watch a travel guide specifically for the Big Apple. 

As with any classifieds page, you might find that rural locations don’t have much to offer. Despite that, Adult Search is a great option for finding like-minded people in your area.  

Pros:   

• Travel guides for each city 

• A large variety of adult services 

Cons 

• Some bot accounts 
• Watch out for scammers 

 

Classified Ads 

If you really want something that looks and feels just like Craigslist, Classified Ads is just what you’re looking for.  

You can find everything from vehicles and rentals to jobs and pets. It’s almost identical to craigslist in every way, except it still has that coveted personals section.  

Unlike some of the other sites on this list, the personal ads on Classified Ads are a bit tamer. You will see right away that it caters more towards dating and hookups rather than services.  

One area that makes this site stand out is the Missed Connections section. This was a truly beloved feature on Craigslist that let people post about potential connections.  

Say you saw a super cute girl riding the train to work one morning but didn’t want to approach her. You can use missed connections to describe the experience, and she may even see it and reach out to you.  

If you’re looking for a free and easy way to find single people in your area, this site is a great choice.  

Pros: 

• Super similar to Craigslist 
• Great for dating and encounters 

Cons: 

• Lots of advertisements  
• The verification process is weak  

 

Seeking Arrangement 

Seeking Arrangements may not be what first comes to mind when you think of personal ads, but it may have something to offer you.  

Seeking arrangements is a very specific dating site that is focused exclusively on sugar daddy dating. That’s right if you’re an older gentleman looking for an attractive younger partner, this site is for you.  

On the flip side, if you’re a classy older woman looking for a hot young stud, you can find your guy here.  

Sugar babies rejoice because there are over 2 million sugar daddies and mommas looking for someone to spoil.  

Sounds interesting? Here’s how it works:  

• Make your free account 
• Define what you’re looking for, whether you’re a sugar baby or sugar daddy/momma 

• Start browsing for the perfect arrangement. The site claims that the average time to find a match is only 5 days.  

Seeking Arrangements verifies each member so you don’t have to worry about bots and fake accounts.  

Pros: 

• Great for finding a sugar baby or sugar daddy/momma 
• All accounts are real people 

Cons: 

• Free features are limited 
• Website is not user friendly 

 

Fetlife

Fetlife is a truly unique website. This site is a cross between a dating site and social media and it’s totally dedicated to kinks and fetishes.  

Fetlife proudly hosts 8.6 million users around the world. The tagline describes the site: “Like Facebook, but run by kinksters, like you and me. We think it’s more fun that way. Don’t you?” 

Well, if you’re into fetish play, BDSM, or anything kinky, you are likely to agree with this statement. Fetlife is much more than just a dating site.  

They offer tons of ways for you to connect online to communities related to kink. 

Users can participate in discussion boards, watch videos, look at naughty pictures, check about local events, and read blog posts.  

It’s a fun and dynamic platform for kinksters of all types. This website is all about community engagement and connection. 

Fetlife isn’t a dating site that uses a matching algorithm to connect users. Rather, you can use the site to find connections on discussion forums, blogs, etc. If you’re looking for a place to get a quick match this isn’t the best option. 

In this sense, it is reminiscent of personal listings because you get to interact with any user who interests you and not just your given matches. 

Pros:  

• Open and accepting community 
• A diverse array of fetishes 

Cons: 

• Old school website 
• Not good for a fast hookup 

 

BDSM.com

Like Fetlife, BDSM.com is a great site if you use Craigslist personals to find alternative relationship styles and people open to fetishes.  

BDSM.com is a little bit more specific than Fetlife. Instead of opening up to every kink and fetish out there, this website has focused on BDSM. 

Although it is focused on BDSM, most users on this site will be open-minded about fetishes in general. If you’re looking for a community of like-minded people, you can find it on this site.  

Boasting over 1 million users, BDSM.com is the site to be if you love all things bondage. In fact, the site calls itself a “bondage dating site.”  

Now one thing to be aware of on this site is that there are professionals on this site who are paid to talk to users. That may not be a problem for you, but it’s just good to know if you choose to use the chat feature. 

Most of the features on this are only available to paid members, but you can create a free account to browse the site.  

Pros: 

• Caters specifically to BDSM 

• Great for alternative relationships 

Cons: 

• Free account is limited to browsing the site 
• Poor customer support
   

Oodle 

Oodle is another awesome website if you want a classic personal ad experience. It looks nearly identical to Craigslists as you can see.  

You can narrow down your search by location and then browse through the personals ads to find a potential match. 

Oodle allows users to search and post under several categories. You can choose from Men seeking Women, Women seeking men, or Man/Woman seeking both.  

What’s great about this site is that the man to woman ratio is pretty even. On a search for New York City, there are about 550 men seeking women and 445 women seeking men. Not too shabby.  

Another reason that Oodle stands out is there are valid pictures of all the users. It’s rare to come across this feature and it makes browsing much more enjoyable. 

One thing to keep in mind is that Oodle does have a category for adult services. That doesn’t stop people from posting them, however. Just use the search bar to find whatever it is you’re looking for.   

Pros: 

• Profiles have verified pictures 
• Great man to woman ratio 

Cons: 

• Profiles have limited information 
• You need a Facebook account to register 

Reddit 

Reddit is one of the most visited websites in the world and is often overlooked for finding casual encounters. 

If you’ve never visited this site, it’s a popular social media site that’s made up of thousands of specific online communities.  

Users can post pictures, engage in forum discussions, send private messages to each other, and more.  

Reddit has an NSFW setting that allows for adult subreddits and discussions to take place.  

Here are some of the best adult subreddits available: 

• r/dirtyr4r: a place for Redditors to have naughty interactions with other Redditors 
• r/naughtyfromneglect: this subreddit was made specifically to replace craigslist personals 
• r/(location)r4r: this subreddit is dependent on locations. Just type in your city followed by r4r. 

I highly recommend Reddit as a craigslist alternative with active online communities.   

Quick Tips  

• Never give out your personal information 
• Be vigilant about scammers and fake accounts 
• Always meet in a public place for the first time 
• Be honest about what you’re looking for 
• Don’t be afraid to fact check your matches 

• Google yourself to make sure no personal information is on the web 
• Use a Google voice number to make phone calls 

 

Final Thoughts 

All is not lost when it comes to classified personal ads. As you can see, several gems have emerged in the wake of Craigslist’s unfortunate loss.  

If you have a specific dating style in mind, consider checking one of the more niche websites. Between the Seeking Arrangements website, Fetlife, and BDSM.com, we should have all the bases covered.  

If you’re itching that classic personal ads experience, Classified Ads and Oodle can give you what you’re craving. Lastly, check out Adult Search or BedPage if you’re interested in adult services.  

There are plenty of options so get out there and enjoy these personals ads!