The idea that people swipe their way into marriage once sounded like a late-night comedy bit. By the mid-2020s, it had turned into a normal part of adult life. Dating apps shifted from novelty to basic infrastructure, quietly shaping how partners meet in the United States.
The statistic that about 27 percent of couples who married in 2025 met through a dating app sits right in the middle of that shift. It captures not only a trend, but an entire social rhythm that changed within one generation.
You can trace the number back to serious sources, not gossip. The statistic does not speak for the whole world, and it does not claim to apply to every age group or demographic. It speaks to a large, very specific population of couples in the United States.
Even so, it tells you something important about dating in the mid-2020s. Apps are no longer a fringe path into long-term relationships. For millions of people, they are the main door.
Today, we will discuss what the 27 percent number actually means, where it came from, and what it says about modern relationships.
Where The 27 Percent Number Comes From
The strongest foundation for the 27 percent figure comes from The Knot’s 2025 Real Weddings Study. It is one of the only large-scale wedding industry reports where couples directly describe how they met.
The Knot surveyed nearly 17,000 U.S. couples who married in 2024 or planned weddings for 2025. When asked how they first met, the most common response in that massive sample was online dating.
A little over one quarter of all surveyed couples, about 27 percent, said their relationship began on a dating site or app. That means roughly one in four marriages in that segment of the United States grew out of an online match or message. In plain language, swiping is now routine, not unusual.
Keep in mind that The Knot surveys couples who are already using a wedding platform. That makes the sample large, consistent, and convenient for long-term trend tracking.
It also means the number does not claim to describe every marriage in every community. It reflects the slice of couples who are active on a wedding planning platform, almost all of them in the United States.
Even with that limit, the number is powerful. It represents thousands of recent marriages. It shows what modern couples actually say about their own story.
Engagement Data Shows The Same Pattern
The Knot also runs a large Jewelry and Engagement Study that surveys thousands of engaged couples every year. In that data, online dating stands out again as the most common origin for committed relationships headed toward marriage.
Previous waves of the engagement study fall in the same ballpark, around 27 percent of engaged couples meeting through online dating. That strong similarity across two separate populations tells you the trend is consistent.
Many couples also shift toward choices that reflect shared values, which is why eco-friendly engagement rings have become a common part of modern proposal planning.
What Counts As “Dating Apps” In That Number
The Knot combines dating apps and dating websites into one category. That includes:
- App-based platforms such as Hinge, Tinder, and Bumble
- Legacy sites such as Match, OkCupid, and eHarmony
Inside the subset of app met couples in the 2025 Real Weddings Study, Hinge leads with about 36 percent of the matches. Tinder follows with about 25 percent.
Bumble accounts for about 20 percent. Those numbers describe only the people who met online, not the entire population of married couples.
So when someone says “27 percent met on dating apps,” the more precise version is that 27 percent met through online dating tools in general. Inside that group, the most used modern apps.
How Popular Is Meeting A Spouse Online In 2025 More Broadly
The Knot’s number explains a narrow slice of marriages. To see whether twenty-seven percent is high, low, or sitting somewhere in the middle, it helps to look at other dependable studies. Different researchers count different groups, and that changes the percentages.
Pew is widely trusted because it surveys large, nationally representative samples. According to its 2020 and 2022 reports:
- About 30 percent of U.S. adults have used a dating site or app
- Among people who are currently married or in a committed partnership, about 10 percent met their partner online
- Among partnered adults under 30, that figure rises to about 20 percent
- Among partnered LGBTQ adults, about 24 percent met their partner online
Those percentages may look lower than The Knot’s 27 percent, but the reason is simple. Pew counts all partnered adults, including couples who met decades ago, long before dating apps existed.
The Knot focuses on newlyweds in the app era. When you narrow the timeline to recent relationships, the percentages grow quickly.
Stanford And PNAS Findings
One of the most influential sources on how couples meet is the How Couples Meet and Stay Together dataset, led by Stanford sociologist Michael Rosenfeld.
The study shows that online became the most common meeting channel for heterosexual couples around 2013. In its 2017 wave, about 39 percent of heterosexual couples said they met online. Same sex couples reached roughly 60 to 65 percent.
Those numbers include more than dating apps. They count all online interactions, such as social media or forums. Still, the trend is clear. For couples forming in the last decade, online channels are the biggest pipeline into relationships.
Newer Estimates For Newlyweds
A 2024 write-up in Global Dating Insights, based on a PNAS-linked study, points to an even higher share for newly married couples.
It suggests that about 60 percent of newlyweds met online, across all online channels. That is larger than The Knot’s 27 percent because it counts every type of online meeting, not only formal dating apps and sites.
The story does not change the direction of the trend. It only expands the range. Once online channels entered everyday life, they grew fast.
Why Studies Show Different Percentages
You will find more infographics at Statista
You can find numbers as low as 10 percent or as high as 60 percent in news headlines. That does not indicate confusion. It reflects differences in who gets counted and what counts as “online.”
Who Is Included In The Sample
The biggest driver behind different percentages is age and relationship age. Studies that include everyone in long-term relationships, including people who met in the 1980s, will naturally show lower rates of online meeting. Studies that focus on recent or younger couples show far higher rates.
What Counts As Online Meeting
Some datasets count all online interactions. Others count only formal dating platforms. For example, Rosenfeld’s broader numbers include any online meeting.
When narrowed only to dating apps, the share drops because many couples still meet through broader internet channels rather than through official apps.
Demographic and Country Differences
Most of the major studies referenced here focus on people in the United States. That matters because different countries have different adoption rates.
Within the United States, LGBTQ adults and younger adults show higher reliance on online tools.
With all of that in mind, the 27 percent figure sits comfortably in the middle. It is not wild, and it is not a statistical outlier. It is simply measured using a narrower definition.
Relationship Quality Among Couples Who Met Online
Once you accept that a large share of modern couples met through apps, you naturally look at outcomes. Are app met relationships stable. Do they last. Are they satisfying.
The research landscape is nuanced. You can find small advantages in some studies and small disadvantages in others.
None of the results suggest that app origin couples are inherently doomed or inherently superior. They show a pattern of mild effects and context.
Early Research Showed Slight Positives
A 2013 PNAS paper led by John Cacioppo compared couples who met online with couples who met offline.
It found small but positive differences in satisfaction and a slightly lower rate of divorce. The results were not dramatic, but they helped make online dating more socially acceptable.
Later Research Added More Layers
Liesel Sharabi’s work pointed out that meeting online can mean you know less about each other’s social networks at the beginning. The lack of an immediate shared circle can create challenges when building trust or merging lives.
Yet Sharabi and others also found that once couples bring the relationship into their wider social world, the differences shrink.
A 2024 study by Junwen Hu and colleagues reexamined the question using Pew data. For married couples, meeting online had a small negative association with relationship success.
For non-married relationships, the disadvantage disappeared. People who integrated their relationship into their social network showed no clear disadvantage.
A 2025 Cross-National Study
A large 2025 cross-national study, including about 6,500 people across 50 countries, found that online met couples scored slightly lower in intimacy, passion, and commitment on average. The researchers stressed that many other factors shape satisfaction.
Culture, age, and relationship length all influence the dynamics far more than the initial meeting channel.
Public Opinion Has Shifted
A 2024 SSRS poll asked Americans what they believed about couples who meet online. Most adults, roughly 61 percent, said relationships that start online are just as successful as those that begin in person. Only a minority said that online origins lead to worse outcomes.
Taken together, the research paints a straightforward picture. Online meeting creates some unique challenges. It can also produce strong relationships.
The differences in quality tend to be small. Personal choices, emotional skills, social support, and timing matter far more than the technology itself.
What The 27 Percent Number Means For Single Adults
Dating apps are not a quirky alternative anymore. They are a standard part of how adults form long-term relationships.
If you are single and actively dating, skipping apps entirely removes you from a large relationship channel.
Treat Your Profile As Infrastructure
Profiles are not random snapshots. They function as a gateway into your social life. You can improve your odds by managing them with intention.
Practical moves include:
- Use recent, clear photos that show your face, plus one full body photo
- Write a short profile with specific details that spark curiosity
- Avoid generic lists and vague personality claims
- Keep responses short enough to scan quickly
The goal is not to engineer perfection. The goal is to create a clean, honest starting point that supports real conversations.
Prioritize Movement Into Real Life
Many singles stall in endless chat loops. A better approach is to move toward in-person or video interaction faster, as long as the match seems safe.
A quick video call can save weeks of mismatched energy. It can also confirm that both people intend to explore something genuine.
Expect Real Diversity In Outcomes
Apps are not magic filters. They introduce you to strangers who vary in honesty, readiness, and emotional skills. The best results come from people who balance curiosity with boundaries and patience with clarity.
What The 27 Percent Number Means For Couples Who Already Met Through Apps
If you already met your partner online, your story is normal by modern standards. The majority of people under 35 who enter committed relationships now have at least some history with online dating.
Social Stigma Has Largely Faded
You do not have to hide the story behind cautious edits. You do not need to invent tales about mutual friends or gift shop coincidences. Public opinion and credible data show that app met couples are entirely mainstream.
Integrate The Relationship Into Your Wider Life
Research consistently shows that couples who bring their relationship into social networks early build stronger relational foundations.
That means introducing each other to friends and family, forming shared routines, and building a life outside the app environment.
Managing Real Risk In Modern Online Dating
The growth of online dating also brings risk. Some of these risks are well documented.
Financial Scams
Romance scams produce huge financial losses each year. People lose money not because they are naive, but because scammers use skilled emotional manipulation.
Guardrails:
- Never send money
- Avoid fast-escalating emotional stories
- Video verify anyone before meeting
- End any connection that begins asking for financial help
Protecting Parents And Children
Reports in 2024 and 2025 show that some offenders use dating apps to target single parents. If you are a parent, you can protect yourself by separating your early dating life from your children’s environment and using identity-verified platforms.
Managing Psychological Overload
App fatigue is real. Too many options can undermine commitment. The way out is structure.
Practical boundaries include:
- Limiting daily app time
- Pausing the app when you begin a real connection
- Keeping a small, manageable number of conversations open
Key Numbers At A Glance
Below is a simple overview of the major figures that shape the landscape.
| Question | Percentage or Result |
| Couples married in 2024 who met via a dating site or app | 27 percent |
| Share of app met couples who used Hinge, Tinder, Bumble | Hinge 36 percent, Tinder 25 percent, Bumble 20 percent |
| Heterosexual couples who met online in 2017 | 39 percent |
| Same sex couples who met online in 2017 | About 60 to 65 percent |
| Partnered adults who met their current partner online | 10 percent overall, 20 percent under 30, 24 percent LGBTQ |
| Adults who have ever used a dating app | 37 percent |
| Adults who say online relationships are just as successful | 61 percent |
| Online daters who entered a committed relationship with someone they met online | About 40 to 42 percent |
| Newlyweds in 2024 who met online (broader online definition) | About 60 percent |
Summary
The statistic’s real message is straightforward. Dating apps and online dating platforms are firmly embedded in the foundation of modern relationships. They are shaping marriage trends, partner choice, and even how families begin.
The number shows three core points:
- Meeting online is now a central part of relationship formation
- A large share of newly married couples started their path through an app
- The trend is continuing upward as younger cohorts enter long-term relationships
Relationship outcomes depend on behavior, communication, timing, and compatibility. Apps are simply tools. Used with clarity and realistic expectations, they open doors that would not exist otherwise.
Online dating is no longer a quirky backstory. For a significant portion of couples marrying in 2025, it is the starting point of a lasting partnership.
