Where cougar dating was once seen as a joke, we’re happy that’s no longer the case – with more people opting into this dating dynamic everyday.
Just think about it: the cougar gets to enjoy a lively, young person, and that individual receives a lifetime of experience and knowledge from the cougar in return.
But many popular dating sites and apps have been slow to include cougars in their algorithms.
This is why we dug around and found the best cougar dating sites and apps that can cater to your tastes and preferences. From quality matches to the best premium packages available, find a site for you to enrich your mature dating experience.
Top Cougar Dating Sites and Cougar Dating Apps: Reviewed
- Ashley Madison – Best niche dating for cougars overall
- Cougar Life – Made just for cougars
- Adult Friend Finder – Top site for casual encounters
- Elite Singles – Dedicated to career professionals
- Victoria Milan – Anonymous cougar dating app
- eHarmony – High success rates
- Plenty of Fish – Best free cougar dating site experience
- Singles 50 – Milf dating site for committed relationships
- Silver Singles – For mature cougars
- Reddit – Free cougar dating forums
1. Ashley Madison – Best Cougar Dating Site Overall
Pros
- User data protection
- Large active community
- Free for cougars
- Friendly user interface
Cons
- Expensive premiums
- Short term relationships only
As one of the oldest cougar sites, Ashley Madison was established as a community seeking comfort, pleasure, or solace outside their marital status. It’s earned its reputation as a leading platform where pleasure seekers can mingle without judgment.
AM is a host to countless women that find themselves in dissatisfactory marriages and helps them find a little sun on the side. Although this isn’t an exclusive cougar dating website, young men have lots to reap by navigating the crowd.
Most females on the site are looking for hookups or just a casual, discreet relationship. So you might want to avoid getting too invested emotionally.
The site is, however, not as cheap as you would hope.
For its massive female user base, most of its features are free including messaging. This is very different for male users since it carries a subscription fee and requires that guys buy credits to interact with other users.
It costs 5 credits to send or receive a message. Live chats with other users will see you part with an extra 50 credits per hour, 30 credits for the next hour, and 20 credits to top up another hour.
Ashley Madison has free sign-ups but that’s as far as the freebies go for men.
If the chemistry is right, users can gift each other virtually, with these gifts costing between 20 and 50 credits.
Packages
- Basic: 100 credits at $0.49 per credit ($49)
- Classic: 500 credits at $0.24 per credit ($149)
- Elite: 1,000 credits for $0.24 per credit ($249)
READ OUR FULL ASHLEYMADISON REVIEW
2. Cougar Life – Cougar Dating App Especially for Older Women
Pros
- Easy to sign up
- 7 million registered users
- Reliable search tools
- App available
Cons
- Limited free version
- Fake and unverified accounts
This site is ranked as one of the most active cougar dating sites available.
It was established with the core purpose of eliminating the biased perception around older women dating young guys. Cougar Life has dedicated blogs within the site that cover various issues to do with cougar dating and the whole experience.
How cool is that?
You’ll find a healthy pool of cougars and cubs searching for their ideal soulmates, with over 7 million active users on the site and an estimated 100K new users monthly. You can always bet on finding a partner with an almost 50:50 gender ratio on the site.
Users should, however, beware of accounts without profile photos or are inactive most of the time as these are the common red flags of scammers on most online dating platforms.
One of the site’s niche features is that you can market yourself with a few photos. Users are also allocated a private gallery where you can store the good stuff. An admirer can only view this private collection after you have approved their request.
Cougar Life’s free version lets you tweak around with it before signing up for an active subscription. Among the free features include setting up your registration details and viewing other users’ profiles.
Premium services include the Send a Flirt, which allows you to let another user know your intentions without fumbling with words, and the Chat With Me feature.
Priority Mail prioritizes your message at the top of your favorite cougar’s message list and will cost you about 14 credits.
Packages
- 1 month: $40 for 100 credits
- 3 months: $87 for 500 credits
- 12 months: $144 for 3,000 credits
3. Adult Friend Finder – Top Cougar Dating Site for Casual Encounters
Pros
- Large online community
- Ideal for casual hookups and fetishes
- Loads of cool features
- Super popular site
Cons
- Higher number of male users
- Chance of bumping into fake accounts
AFF is a revolutionary niche dating site that offers a variety of casual dating services to both the young and old. For the free-spirited, it’s one of the best adult chat sites that accommodates casual hookups as well as other forms of short-term arrangements.
This site allows its millions of users to choose between free and premium memberships.
On a budget? It has you sorted since you can access some of its features for free. This includes viewing other users’ photos, videos, and live cam sessions. AFF also allows users to post media or live streams.
This casual dating site allows users to self-censor the content they post in their gallery. Users are free to showcase photos, videos, or live streams containing mature content.
One of the premium features is that you can make your profile stand out in search results, increasing your possibility of being spotted by potential cougars/sugars. You can also search AFF’s forums and magazines for dynamic discussions and reading up on dating tips.
Their free plan isn’t all that, given the tons of ads that constantly bombard your screen when browsing. However, they came up with several premium plans for those who feel like upgrading from their free accounts:
Packages
- One month: $39.95
- Three months: $26.95 per month
- Annual plan: $19.95 per month
READ OUR FULL ADULTFRIENDFINDER REVIEW
4. Elite Singles – Popular Cougar Dating App for Professionals
Pros
- Advanced search tools
- Refined matches
- Verified profiles
- Over 2 million users
Cons
- Limited free features
- Not exclusively a cougar site
Elite Singles isn’t strictly a cougar dating app. It caters to users across various age brackets, so long as they’re working professionals. Most users here have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree with some well up to their masters and PhDs.
It makes this popular dating app a rich lagoon to fish in if you’re a sapiosexual. Also, most of its members are financially sound, meaning they’re stable and won’t require much from you.
This premium dating site hosts a good number of highly educated cougars who are very specific about what they want.
These established cougars tend to be choosy with their dating options, hence, you might want to ensure that your profile fits their personality to get an upper hand when they use the search and filter tools.
With that in the clear…
If you’re one to switch from steamy bedroom talk to heated debates around careers, then Elite Singles is the one place to search. It allows you to sign up for free, but only premium users can access the cooler features.
For instance, their premium light plan gives you 3-month access to all features for only $173.85. Premium comfort ($269.70) offers 6 months’ worth of access to everything on tap.
Who wouldn’t go premium for a milf with Harvard honors?
5. Victoria Milan – Top Anonymous Cougar Dating App
Pros
- Great anonymity
- Discreet dating
- 6 million users
- Easy-to-navigate app
Cons
- Expensive premiums
- Unresponsive customer service
Victoria Milan is also one of our favorite cougar dating apps mostly frequented by enthusiastic individuals who derive pleasure from undercover romantic arrangements.
With a staggering 6 million+ users worldwide, most of them often want a discreet encounter without the involvement of nosey people in their business. Members on the site include young men between the ages of 25 and 34 hoping to sweep a lucky cougar off their feet.
Most members prefer to remain anonymous and the site has a special feature that allows you to blur your profile photo. It also provides a private gallery that can only be accessed by trusted users.
Victoria Milan is a very hush bunch with payments, too, never using their actual name for billing statements. The site changes its billing name frequently as well.
Currently, they don’t have a one-month subscription, with the smallest plan being a $49.99 3-month package. This allows you to send and receive messages via chat, view people who visit your profile, and also view your “gifts” and “flirts.”
A 6-month plan totaling $239.94 gives you access to all of the above plus 500 credits that you can use to buy and send gifts to your milf or sugar crush.
READ OUR FULL VICTORIAMILAN REVIEW
6. eHarmony – Top Cougar Site With High Success Rates
Pros
- High success rate
- Straightforward interface
- New integrated video feature
- Verified user accounts
Cons
- Limited trial period
- Not very budget-friendly
EHarmony is among the most popular cougar dating apps. It boasts a reliable bank of testimonials from myriads of users who found love on the site. In the US, it is ranked as having the highest quality dating pool.
Not sold yet?
One of the sign-up procedures includes a personality test to help match you with other users. You’ll find questions about yourself, your likes, and preferences.
A fine-wine cougar? Well, here’s your chance.
What sets this dating app apart is its zero tolerance for fake accounts. They routinely flag and delete any that might have slipped through their rigorous sign-up process. This reassures its millions of users of security from the possibility of falling for online scammers.
The site has a monthly premium offer starting at $35.90 per month. This gives you unlimited messaging via chat, checking out user profiles, match filtering, finding out who viewed your profile, and more.
Six-month and yearly packages are also available.
7. Plenty Of Fish – Best Free Cougar Dating App
Pros
- Loads of free features
- Massive user base
- Free mobile app
- Insightful personality test
Cons
- Lots of ads on the app
- Limited chat features
POF is very popular due to the high-end advertising they carried out in the US in the early 2000s. The niche dating site has since been revamped into the gem it is today. It caters to singles of any age looking for love in a lonely world.
With over 500,000 registered users in the US alone, it provides a bountiful pool from which you can net a good catch, whether for a long-term or a casual cougar relationship.
As a member, you’re required to create an in-depth user profile so that the compatibility match function can find suitable matches for you. This site is a bucket full of potential cougars with most users averaging the 35+ age bracket.
POF is also highly lauded for giving users loads of free features such as detailed searches, full access to members’ profiles, and chatting.
As you can see, it’s a go-to option if you are not up for sprinkling dollars on end.
On the downside, there have been numerous reports of catfishing on the site (the irony!), hence users are advised to remain cautious when interacting online.
The premium plan will cost you $12.90 per month. To save in the long run, you could opt for the six or 12-month pass costing $8.50 and $6.78, respectively. All packages include extended profiles, checking who has viewed you, uploading up to 16 photos, and ad-free browsing.
So, are you up for some fishing? There’s plenty of fish in this sea!
8. Singles 50 – Best Cougar Site for Serious Relationships
Pros
- Most members are 40+ years old
- Resourceful matchmaking system
- Easy to navigate
- Best for long-term cougar relationships
Cons
- Not ideal for hookups
- Customer support is lagging
Singles 50 is a dating site for finding mature women looking to rekindle the flames of love. The majority on this site want long-term commitment versus a short-term fling. This is the best place to find divorcees and cougars who are all about that tenderness.
Most users here are a pretty experienced bunch where relationships are concerned, therefore, are very straightforward about what they want.
The free version allows you to access only the first message in your mailbox. Only female users are allowed to send free messages. Premium membership gives access to other users’ photos, see the visitors on your page, and send or receive unlimited messages.
For an all-inclusive experience, the site has 3 options:
- 3 months: $32
- 6 months: $24.95 monthly
- Yearly: $14.95 monthly
9. Silver Singles – Best Cougar Dating Site for Mature Women Only
Pros
- Long-standing site
- Daily matches
- Dating app available
- Fraud detection feature
Cons
- Long registration process
- Limited to users above 50 years old
As the name suggests, most of the available singles on this site are older individuals who are open to different forms of relationships.
Many of its users are either divorced or just senior spinsters looking to jumpstart their love life. The site has been available for over 17 years and has a remarkable track record of promoting singles to duets.
It has emerged as one of the most prominent cougar dating sites available, with users grossing up to 800,000 monthly. The app has fabulous graphics and is very easy to navigate through with the swipe style for users to pick their preferred matches.
Unfortunately, if you’re under 50, you’re out!
Members of this exclusive community are drawn from various lifestyles and come with different personalities, all to walk out cuffed. Only premium members are allowed to use photos on the app with their paid membership starting from $27.95 per month.
10. Reddit – Best Free Cougar Dating Forums
Pros
- Totally free
- Is it legal? Post away
- Large, diverse community
- Easy access
Cons
- Limited censorship, prone to cyberbullying
- Not consistent
If there was a marketplace for free conversation, then Reddit would be it. It doesn’t matter what you’re looking for, if it’s online, then it’s on Reddit too. The site has amassed a mammoth 8 billion monthly reviews across thousands of pages.
It has a steady 3.5 million registered users.
What better place to find older women to date? The site has designated subreddits devoted to specific topics. If you browse through the numerous dating forums, it would not take long to find other cougar-lovers or cub-loving mommas.
Setting up an account is free and quite easy since the site (also available as an app) allows for Google and Facebook sign-up options. We only advise that you practice caution with free spaces like this one as it usually attracts people with questionable characters.
Tips for Using Cougar Dating Apps and Sites
“Cougar” is urban slang for an older woman who wants to be involved romantically with younger men. A woman is usually considered a cougar at 40+ years, while others would say it’s even appropriate for a single lady in her 30s.
Whatever the case may be, if you’re new to the cougar world, whether you’re cougar or cub, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1. Don’t Focus Too Much on Age
This is the most important thing to keep in mind when older women and younger men date. Of course, she knows she’s older than you, but that shouldn’t mean you treat her any different.
Remember, the main reason people get into relationships is to feel desired and loved. Older women deserve no less and would be thrilled to find a genuine connection, like anyone else.
2. Be Respectful
In some cases, those in the dating scenario may not want to be referred to as actual cougars and cubs. Slang isn’t verified grammar, and even if it was, we need to keep the other person in mind.
This is especially the case if parties are interested in a more serious relationship.
On that note, do remember that “cougars” are typically confident, independent women who have their sh*t together. This means fewer qualms around body image, more financial stability, etc.
These ladies are full-grown adults that usually aren’t looking to mess around, regardless of how casual or serious they are about the hunt.
3. Don’t Rush into Things
As much as you might be dying to unravel your cougar’s life experiences in bed, do remember there’s much more to a person. Take your time getting to know each other by spending time together, enjoying hobbies and more.
Best Cougar Dating Sites FAQs
Is There A Dating Site for Cougars?
Yes, there is a dating site for cougars – in fact, there are a few listed up above!
The internet is home to millions of people like yourself making it easy to connect. There are more young people interested in older females than you would think, and vice versa.
Some top cougar dating sites like Ashley Madison and Cougar Life are quite accessible to finding older women to date. They provide users with secure, private, and quality memberships that greatly increase your chances of finding a suitable partner.
How Do I Get A Cougar?
To get a cougar, all you have to do is sign up on the cougar dating site of your choice and start searching around. Some sites are free to use while other cougar sites carry premium privileges.
After paying for a package, you can cruise the site or thumb through the recommended matches provided by the platform to find someone who strikes your fancy. Once you identify a potential crush, be bold enough to slide to her chat line.
Remember to be casual, straightforward, and polite while stating your intentions.
Some sites even save you the hustle of initiating the conversation by allowing you to send a simple wink to your crush to let him/her know you have them in your crosshairs.
What happens next will be up to both of you and your imaginations!
What Is A Cub in Dating?
Well, a ‘cub’ in cougar dating is a young male mostly under the age of 30 who has never been married and has no children. When dating an older woman, the younger guy, if under 30, is known as the ‘cub’.
These are young men who find romantic satisfaction when they’re only dating a mature woman who maybe doesn’t come with lots of expectations that come when dating younger women.
Most of the time, they either get romantically involved with older women because of their stability or simply out of genuine love.
So, do you qualify as a cub? Maybe, maybe not, but now you know.
Are There Any Free Cougar Dating Sites?
Yes, there are free cougar dating sites and top hookup sites available that offer free sign-ups, features or both.
Such sites include Reddit and Plenty of Fish.
Reddit gives users 100% free access to all of the site’s features including messages, posting ads, and searching for potential matches.
POF on the other hand has a free plan that gives you access to things like search and messaging without paying. Still, you’ll have to subscribe to one of the premium plans to enjoy things like ad-less browsing and more photo uploads.
How Can You Avoid Getting Scammed on Dating Sites?
The best way to avoid getting scammed on dating sites is by using a verified dating site.
These are sites with an established history and have the means to vouch for their users. Most platforms on our list definitely fall into this category.
To be safe:
- Only interact with verified accounts. All verified accounts have a recent profile photo that matches the stated demographics on the profile (age, location, etc).
- Avoid and report any user trying to prime you for money or favors that are divergent from the site’s objectives.
- Insist on having regular video calls with your match. This will help you know if you’ve been talking to a real person or another sleazy scam.
- It also goes without saying that you shouldn’t share your personal or bank details with anyone you meet on online dating platforms.
Best Cougar Dating Sites – Takeaway
When it comes to romance, age is truly only a number. It doesn’t matter where you find it – love is a wildflower that blossoms anywhere.
So, if you’re looking for older women or younger guys to get hitched with, then you should try CougarLife for an authentic cougar experience. Moreover, if you’re too busy because you’re always working, Elite Singles has got you!
Whatever the case…
These cougar dating websites on our list offer great opportunities for finding both young lovers and love with mature women. Thanks to digital innovations, the odds are in your favor now more than ever.
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