10 Best Apps to Make Friends in 2026
By the OMGHey team · Published
Disclosure: OMGHey publishes this guide and is one of the products included in the comparison. We compare the options based on the use cases described below.
Ten apps worth considering for making friends in 2026 are Bumble For Friends, Meetup, OMGHey, Strava, Discord, Timeleft, Partiful, Nextdoor, Eventbrite, and Peanut. Bumble For Friends and Peanut are built specifically for platonic connection, Meetup and Strava produce the repeat contact friendships require, and OMGHey is a social discovery app for talking to people around you — useful for the first conversation, though friendship still depends on what you do after it.
Honest framing: no app makes friends for you. Apps supply first contact. Friendship comes from repetition, so the apps that get you back in the same room weekly tend to outperform the apps that produce the most introductions.
| App | Best for | Type | How you meet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bumble For Friends | Platonic one-on-one | Friendship matching | Profiles and mutual matches |
| Meetup | Recurring hobby groups | Events and groups | RSVP and attend regularly |
| OMGHey | Talking to people around you | Social discovery | Live one-on-one text or video chat nearby |
| Strava | Runners and cyclists | Fitness community | Local clubs and group workouts |
| Discord | Interest communities | Chat communities | Servers and voice channels over time |
| Timeleft | Dinner with strangers | Curated dinners | Seated with five strangers |
| Partiful | Widening an existing circle | Event invites | Friend-of-friend parties |
| Nextdoor | Neighbors | Neighborhood network | Local threads and block events |
| Eventbrite | Classes and workshops | Event marketplace | Attend a ticketed event |
| Peanut | Mothers and parents | Community matching | Profiles, groups, and local meetups |
1. Bumble For Friends — Best Dedicated Friendship App
- Best for:
- One-on-one platonic connections with clear intent.
- What it is:
- Bumble's friendship-only app, separate from its dating product.
- How you meet:
- Profiles, mutual matches, then messaging and a plan.
- Why choose it:
- It is the largest app whose entire purpose is friendship, which removes the ambiguity that derails a lot of new adult friendships.
- Consider another option if:
- You dislike swiping, or scheduling a first hang over text feels like more work than it's worth.
2. Meetup — Best for Repeat Contact
- Best for:
- Building familiarity through a standing weekly or monthly group.
- What it is:
- A local groups and events platform.
- How you meet:
- Attend the same group's events until you're a regular.
- Why choose it:
- Friendship research consistently points to repeated, unplanned-feeling contact as the mechanism. A recurring group manufactures exactly that.
- Consider another option if:
- You need something faster or your area has thin listings.
3. OMGHey — Best for First Conversations With People Nearby
- Best for:
- Meeting people around you when you don't yet have a group to join.
- What it is:
- A social discovery app that connects verified adults 18+ nearby in live one-on-one text and video chats.
- How you meet:
- You go live and get matched with one verified person near you.
- Why choose it:
- For people starting from zero — new city, new job, thinned-out circle — OMGHey supplies conversation immediately without requiring an existing network or a scheduled event. Conversations are open-ended, so friendship is a normal outcome rather than an off-label one.
- Consider another option if:
- You want a friendship-only guarantee or a built-in shared activity. OMGHey is open-ended by design and doesn't organize groups.
No group to join yet? Start with a conversation — OMGHey connects you with people around you.
Get OMGHey Google Play4. Strava — Best for Active People
- Best for:
- Making friends through running, cycling, or hiking.
- What it is:
- A fitness app with local clubs and group activity features.
- How you meet:
- Show up to a club run or ride.
- Why choose it:
- Free, weekly, and structured — three properties that make adult friendship far more likely.
- Consider another option if:
- You don't want your social life to depend on athletics.
5. Discord — Best for Interest-Based Online Friendships
- Best for:
- Niche interests, gaming, and creative communities.
- What it is:
- A community chat platform.
- How you meet:
- Regular participation in a server over months.
- Why choose it:
- Some of the deepest adult friendships now start in long-running servers, and many have local meetup channels.
- Consider another option if:
- You need in-person contact rather than another screen.
6. Timeleft — Best for a Forced Start
- Best for:
- People who keep meaning to go out and never do.
- What it is:
- A paid dinner-with-strangers service.
- How you meet:
- Book a seat at a table of six.
- Why choose it:
- One evening, zero coordination, real faces.
- Consider another option if:
- It's a one-off unless you follow up, and it costs money each time.
7. Partiful — Best for Growing a Small Circle
- Best for:
- Turning two friends into eight.
- What it is:
- An invite and RSVP app.
- How you meet:
- Attend — or host — casual gatherings.
- Why choose it:
- Hosting is underrated: the person who throws the party ends up at the center of the network.
- Consider another option if:
- You have no one to invite yet.
8. Nextdoor — Best for Neighborhood Friendships
- Best for:
- People who want friends within walking distance.
- What it is:
- An address-verified neighborhood network.
- How you meet:
- Local threads, tool-lending, block gatherings.
- Why choose it:
- Proximity makes casual, low-effort hangouts possible — the kind that actually recur.
- Consider another option if:
- Your neighborhood's feed is mostly practical notices.
9. Eventbrite — Best for Classes and Workshops
- Best for:
- Multi-session courses where the same people return.
- What it is:
- An events and ticketing marketplace.
- How you meet:
- Attend a class, pottery series, or workshop.
- Why choose it:
- Multi-week classes combine repetition with a shared task, which is close to ideal conditions for friendship.
- Consider another option if:
- You're only browsing one-off events; those rarely produce lasting contacts.
10. Peanut — Best for Parents
- Best for:
- Mothers and parents looking for peers in the same stage of life.
- What it is:
- A community app for women, focused on motherhood, fertility, and menopause.
- How you meet:
- Profiles, group discussions, and local connections.
- Why choose it:
- Shared life stage is a powerful basis for friendship, and Peanut is built entirely around it.
- Consider another option if:
- You're outside its intended audience.
Common questions
Can OMGHey be used to make friends?
Yes. OMGHey is a social discovery app rather than a dating app, and conversations are open-ended, so friendships are a normal outcome. It's strongest at the first-conversation stage; turning that into a friendship still depends on meeting again.
Why is making friends as an adult so hard?
Adult life removes the two conditions school provided automatically: unplanned repeated contact and shared context. Apps can supply introductions, but you have to rebuild repetition deliberately — a standing group, a class, a weekly run. See how to make friends as an adult.
Start the first conversation today. OMGHey puts you in touch with people around you.
Try OMGHey Google Play