The best Bumble BFF alternatives are Rimeso or Slowly if you'd rather get to know people in writing first, Meetup if you want regular groups instead of one-to-one chats, Timeleft if you want someone else to make the plan, and Pie or 222 if you live in the right city. Which of these apps like Bumble BFF suits you depends on why you're leaving. If your matches keep going quiet, a different format will do more for you than another swipe app.

The short answer

  • Is Bumble BFF free? The new BFF app says every feature is free. Older Bumble friendship versions have offered paid plans.
  • Where the new app works: in November 2026 Apple listed it in the US, Canada, Mexico and Australia, but not in the UK, Ireland, Germany or India.
  • To stop swiping: Meetup, Timeleft, Pie, 222, Rimeso and Slowly all work without it.
  • To see the same people again: a weekly Meetup group beats any list of matches.
  • On iPhone: everything here works except Rimeso, which is Android only.

We make Rimeso, so we're not neutral about it. We've tried to be fair about what each app is good at, including where others are the better choice.

Is Bumble BFF free?

Yes, if you have the new BFF app. Its App Store listing carries the heading "Everything is free" and says "every feature on Bumble BFF is completely free". Bumble's results for the second quarter of 2026 add that the company "has not sought to generate revenue from the BFF app".

It's less clear elsewhere. The same filing counts subscriptions and in-app purchases on the older Bumble For Friends app in its paying-user figures, so that version has had paid options. If you're outside the new app's countries, read the in-app purchases line on your store page before you assume anything.

What Bumble BFF is today

Bumble's friendship product has had three lives, which is why advice online contradicts itself.

  • BFF Mode: a friends setting inside the main Bumble dating app.
  • Bumble For Friends: a separate friends app, launched in July 2023.
  • BFF: the same idea relaunched in the US in September 2025 and rebuilt on Geneva, a community platform Bumble had bought. It kept one-to-one matching and private chat, and added Groups with chat rooms, hangout planning and a calendar (TechCrunch, 2025). Later updates added events you can host.

When we checked Apple's stores in November 2026, the new app was listed in the US, Canada, Mexico and Australia. It was missing from the UK, Ireland, Germany and India, and the UK store still carried Bumble For Friends. So the first question is which version you actually have.

To be fair to it, if the new app is live where you are, give it a proper go before you leave. It's free, every match has passed a selfie check according to its listing, and Groups give you somewhere to go when one-to-one chat dries up. If your only complaint is quiet matches, try the Groups tab first.

Why people look for something else

  • Matches go quiet. This is the standard problem with one-to-one swiping: two polite strangers with no shared reason to keep talking. A group or a shared activity supplies the reason.
  • It's thin where you live. Local matching needs people nearby, and small towns run out quickly. Some countries don't have the new app at all.
  • Choosing friends from photos feels odd. Plenty of people would rather meet someone over an activity, or read what they think, before they see a face.
  • You want a plan. Someone has to suggest a time and a place, and on a swipe app that someone is you.

8 Bumble BFF alternatives compared

AppHow you meet peopleIn person?WherePlatforms
RimesoMatched into a small circleNo, online onlyMore than 60 countries, in English or HindiAndroid only
MeetupJoin a groupYesMost large citiesiPhone, Android, web
TimeleftPlaced at a table of strangersYesMore than 200 citiesiPhone, Android
PieTurn up to a member's planYesChicago, New York, Los Angeles, AustiniPhone, Android
222Invited to a group outingYesSelected citiesiPhone only
SlowlyExchange lettersNoWorldwideiPhone, Android
PeanutLocal matches and groupsYour choiceCheck the appiPhone, Android
InterNationsEvents and interest groupsYes420 citiesiPhone, Android, web

1. Rimeso, for a small circle instead of a stream of matches

BFF starts with one match and asks you to carry the conversation. Rimeso puts you in a small private circle and gives everyone the same question each day, so the topic is already there. You can't read the others' answers until you've posted yours, and then you react, comment and chat one-to-one. It's free, takes about four minutes a day and has no public feed or ads.

We make it, so here are the limits in the same breath: Android only with no iPhone version yet, conversation in English or Hindi, and online only, with no meetups and circles that aren't based on your city. It's a young app, so some circles are quiet. If you want someone to see this weekend, it's the wrong tool.

2. Meetup, for groups you can keep going back to

If you liked the sound of BFF Groups, Meetup has been doing this for years, and it works in many places the new BFF app doesn't. You join a local group around something you like and turn up to its events. Membership is free, organisers pay to run groups, and some groups charge dues.

It can be thin in small towns, and a group is only as good as its organiser. Look at the last three events, not the member count. If the same names keep turning up, you've found a real group.

3. Timeleft, if you're tired of planning

Timeleft skips the part where two people politely fail to agree on a Saturday. You pick a format and a night, it forms a small group of strangers, and it shows you the venue shortly before you go. It runs in more than 200 cities, with dinners, drinks, coffee and walks, for ages 18 and over. You need a paid membership to book, and your food and drinks are extra.

There's no chat to fizzle out, because you meet first. The trade-off is that each table is new, so ask for numbers before the bill arrives.

4. Pie, if you live in the right US city

Pie is close to what BFF Groups is trying to be. Its App Store page names Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Austin, where members host run clubs, supper clubs and watch parties, and regular groups get a permanent page called a Community Home. The app is free to download, for ages 18 and over. Outside those cities, check again in a year.

5. 222, if you'd like to skip profiles altogether

222 has no profiles, direct messages or swiping. You take a personality test and receive invitations to group outings at public venues, and you can bring a plus-one (TechCrunch, 2026). It's iPhone only and paid. Intentions are mixed: Global Dating Insights reported in March 2026 that users split roughly evenly between people seeking friends and people open to romance. If you want strictly platonic, one of the others is a safer bet.

6. Slowly, if fast chat has worn you out

Matches that die after two messages are partly a speed problem. Slowly removes the speed. Your letter takes a few hours to a few days to arrive, depending on distance, so nobody expects an instant reply and people tend to write properly. You appear as an avatar, and letters are free with optional paid extras. It won't find you a friend for Saturday, but it might find you a good correspondent for years.

7. Peanut, if you're a mother

If you came to BFF to find other mothers, go straight to the app built for it. Peanut offers local matches, groups and a place to ask questions, with a selfie check on profiles. It's free to download with an optional paid plan, for ages 18 and over. Fathers aren't its audience.

8. InterNations, if you've moved abroad

InterNations lists communities in 420 cities, with local events and activities for people living away from home. You need a membership to use it, with free and paid options, and it's for ages 18 and over. Everyone there has the same problem as you, which makes the first conversation easy. Add one local activity so your social life doesn't stay inside the expat bubble.

If you're over 40, TechCrunch's roundup also points to Meet5 and Wyzr Friends, and our full list of the best apps to make friends covers more options. If what put you off was the dating feel of it all, see our guide to apps to make friends that aren't dating apps.

Before you switch, try these three messages

A new app won't rescue a flat opener. These work on any of them.

  1. Open with something specific. Say their profile mentions a half marathon: "How's the training going? Have you picked a race yet?" A question only they can answer beats "hey".
  2. Suggest something by the fourth or fifth message. "I'm getting coffee near the station on Saturday morning. Want to come for half an hour?" It's short, specific and easy to refuse, and that makes it easy to accept.
  3. Nudge once, then let it go. "Still up for that coffee? No worries if not." Silence usually means a busy week, and it costs you nothing to move on.

💡 The maths behind groups: researcher Jeffrey Hall estimated about 50 hours together to become casual friends. At one hour-long coffee a month, that's more than four years. At a two-hour group every week, it's about six months.

That sum comes from Hall's 2018 study, and it's the strongest argument for choosing a repeating group over a list of matches. Our guide to how long it takes to make a friend looks at it in more detail. If you're finding all this harder than you remember, you're in good company, and our guide to making friends in your 30s explains why.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bumble BFF free?

The new BFF app says every feature is free, and Bumble says it has not sought to earn revenue from it. Older versions such as Bumble For Friends have offered paid plans, so check the in-app purchases on your store page.

Is Bumble BFF a separate app from Bumble?

In the US, yes. Bumble For Friends was relaunched there as BFF in September 2025. In November 2026 Apple also listed the new app in Canada, Mexico and Australia, but not in the UK, Ireland, Germany or India.

What is a good alternative to Bumble BFF without swiping?

Rimeso puts you in a small online circle with a daily question, on Android only. Meetup is the widest choice for in-person groups, Timeleft books a table of strangers for you, and Slowly works through letters.

Is there a Bumble BFF alternative for iPhone?

Yes. Meetup, Timeleft, Pie, 222, Slowly, Peanut and InterNations all work on iPhone. Rimeso does not, because it is Android only for now.

Sources

A small circle that actually gets you.

Rimeso gives you one thoughtful question a day to answer with a small private circle matched to your interests. No feed, no followers, no ads. About four minutes a day.

Get Rimeso free on Google Play Android now · iOS coming soon
If you're struggling right now: Rimeso and this article aren't a substitute for professional care. If you feel unsafe or in crisis, please contact your local emergency number, or find a free, confidential helpline in your country at findahelpline.com.