5 Best Apps to Meet New People in Los Angeles 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.
Five apps worth considering for meeting new people in Los Angeles are OMGHey, Meetup, Strava, Partiful, and Bumble For Friends. OMGHey focuses on discovering and connecting with people around you, while the others center on interest groups, athletic communities, party invites, and platonic matching. In LA the deciding factor is usually geography: the city proper holds roughly 3.8 million people spread across about 470 square miles, so a match on the wrong side of town is a match you'll never see.
| App | Best for | Type | How you meet |
|---|---|---|---|
| OMGHey | Meeting people on your side of town | Social discovery | Live one-on-one text or video chat with a verified person nearby |
| Meetup | Interest groups by neighborhood | Events and groups | RSVP to a nearby event |
| Strava | Runners, cyclists, hikers | Fitness community | Clubs and group workouts you show up to |
| Partiful | Party and event invites | Event invites | Friend-of-friend gatherings |
| Bumble For Friends | Platonic one-on-one | Friendship matching | Profiles and mutual matches |
The LA-specific problem: distance decides everything
Los Angeles doesn't have one social scene; it has a dozen that rarely overlap. Silver Lake, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Downtown, Pasadena, and Long Beach each behave like separate towns, and a 12-mile gap can mean an hour each way at 6 p.m. Any app you choose should either match you close to home or give you a reason strong enough to justify the drive.
1. OMGHey — Best for Meeting People Around You
- Best for:
- Talking to someone on your side of the city without committing to a drive first.
- What it is:
- A social discovery app connecting verified adults nearby through live one-on-one text and video conversation.
- How you meet:
- You go live and get matched with one verified person near you.
- Why choose it:
- Video conversation is a strong fit for a spread-out city: you get a real sense of a person before anyone gets on the 405. Local matching keeps the eventual meetup plausible.
- Consider another option if:
- You want a scheduled activity or an established community with regulars.
The practical LA workflow is talk first, drive later. A twenty-minute conversation tells you more than an hour of messaging, and it's the cheapest possible way to find out whether a cross-town coffee is worth it.
2. Meetup — Best for Neighborhood Interest Groups
- Best for:
- Finding a standing group close enough to attend on a weeknight.
- What it is:
- A local events and groups platform.
- How you meet:
- Filter by distance, RSVP, attend.
- Why choose it:
- Filtering by radius is essential in LA, and Meetup does it well. Pick groups within a 20-minute drive or you will stop going.
- Consider another option if:
- Your interests only have groups on the opposite side of the county.
3. Strava — Best for Athletic Communities
- Best for:
- Runners, cyclists, and hikers who want a social life attached to training.
- What it is:
- A fitness tracking app with clubs, segments, and group activity features.
- How you meet:
- You join a local club and show up to its group runs or rides.
- Why choose it:
- LA's outdoor culture makes this unusually effective — run clubs and weekend hikes are among the most reliable recurring social structures in the city.
- Consider another option if:
- You're not into endurance sports. Strava is a poor general-purpose social app.
4. Partiful — Best for Party Invites
- Best for:
- Turning a few acquaintances into a wider circle.
- What it is:
- An invite and RSVP app popular for casual parties.
- How you meet:
- You get invited, you go, you meet the guest list.
- Why choose it:
- Friend-of-friend context makes conversation easy and follow-up natural.
- Consider another option if:
- You don't yet know anyone who throws parties.
5. Bumble For Friends — Best for Explicitly Platonic Matching
- Best for:
- People who want friends and prefer stating it clearly.
- What it is:
- Bumble's friendship-only app.
- How you meet:
- Match, message, make a plan.
- Why choose it:
- Clear intent and a large LA user base.
- Consider another option if:
- You're tired of profile queues, or coordinating a first hang over text feels like work.
Common questions about meeting people in LA
What's the best app for meeting people in Los Angeles if I just moved here?
Use OMGHey for conversations with people near you from day one, and add one recurring anchor — a Meetup group, a Strava club, or a class within a short drive. Details in new to LA: how to build a social life.
How is OMGHey different from a dating app in LA?
OMGHey is a social discovery app, not a dating app. There is no swipe deck and no requirement to be looking for a relationship — you're placed into a live conversation with a verified person nearby and you decide from there.
Skip the group chat that never picks a place. Talk to someone nearby on OMGHey.
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