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Best Indian Dating Sites 2024 in the U.S.
• Reading Time: 18 minute(s)
Are you someone . . .
. . . who wants to find your perfect Indian match?
. . . who gets excited at the thought of dating Indian and exploring the Indian culture?
. . . who’s curious what it’s like to date Indian people?
. . . who wants to know more about how and where to start looking for your Indian soulmate?
If you're checking all these boxes, then you're in the right spot. Whether you're on the hunt for someone who understands your cultural background or you're just interested in learning about Indian dating culture, we have everything you need.
India is known for its deep and stunning culture, which includes everything from food to traditions to vibrant festivals. The best way to enjoy all this is with someone special by your side. Today, there are many dating sites and apps available, and there's a growing interest specifically in Indian dating. But where should you begin?
Keep reading to discover more. Maybe your perfect match is just around the corner.
In this article:
What Makes Dating Indian People Great
Aside from looking to date fellow Indians, there are those with no Indian heritage asking, “What’s in it for me?” If the beauty of India, its culture, traditions, art do not move you, you might want to check out the following reasons why you should date Indian people. Believe us when we say, you are in it for the ride!
Rich variety of food
When it comes to food, Indians do it best. Forget what you think you know about butter chicken, biryani rice, and naan. When you date an Indian, be sure to ready your belly and whet your appetite for they will introduce you to a bunch of unique dishes oozing with flavors and spices. Sounds delicious? Imagine experiencing the best of the best with someone special to you.
Endearing nicknames
An Indian nickname is much sweeter than your average, “Honey,” “Babe,” and “Sweetheart.”
Because Indians are very much family-oriented, their relatives would welcome you into the family by calling you nicknames. You know they approve of you when they start calling you chotu (little one), golu (happy, cuddly), bablu (friendly, easygoing), or tinku (delicate).
The fine art of haggling
Another thing that Indians do best is haggling. When you date an Indian, you are sure to save money because they just know where to apply pressure to get a better deal. This might not be one of your priorities when looking for a life partner, but come back when you’ve seen how much you have saved for essentials and wants.
Extravagant celebrations
It isn’t an exaggeration when people say Indians go all out when it comes to celebrations. Weddings can take up to four days. Everyone dresses up; food is endless; festivities would continue all through the night. If you are someone who likes parties and over the top events, then you seriously need to attend Indian festivities with your romantic partner.
Talent in jugaad
Jugaad, by definition, translates to hack. Indian people are very skilled in jugaad. You have a problem? Before you’ve finished stating your problem, it’s sure that any Indian would have already come up with ten creative solutions. They are pioneers, entrepreneurs, and very ingenious. Your Indian partner can make your life easier and solve your problems in ways you don’t even know can be possible.
One good serving of family and an extra helping of hospitality
As mentioned earlier, Indians are family-oriented. When you date an Indian, you don’t just date the person. You date their mother, their father, siblings, grandparents, and even their cousins. Indians are big on having strong ties to their families. Indian families are also quite notorious for being hospitable and friendly. Once you are dating an Indian, be sure to get ready for eight different main courses of food and three extra helpings of everything!
Stereotypes of Dating Indian People
Indian culture comes with its own set of stereotypes. Some of these stereotypes affect the way we perceive Indian people, whether we are conscious of it or not. Here are some Indian dating stereotypes that should definitely be put to rest:
From a nice, meek girl to a “nympho” with whips
Often than not, Indian women are pigeonholed into the two extremes of the spectrum. They are either perceived as submissive women or they are viewed as nymphomaniacs well-versed with Kama Sutra.
Indian women are diverse. Just because certain traditions exist such as arranged marriages does not mean that women can be pushed around.
Furthermore, Kama Sutra originating in India does not mean that it is completely alright to fetishize women.
Indian people do not date around
Sure, 90% of marriages in India are arranged. However, this tradition isn’t that strongly practiced by Indians who are not living in India anymore. There is still a huge chunk of the Indian population that wants to date around, flirt, and entertain new people. Arranged marriages aren’t the only way for them to meet their life partners. If you come across an Indian person, they wouldn’t expect you to marry them immediately within the two seconds of meeting them.
Curry runs in their veins
When you date an Indian, you don’t have to keep on eating at Indian restaurants just to please them. Sure, Indians love their curry and butter chicken—who doesn’t? But they don’t just exclusively eat that. In fact, Indian cuisine revolves beyond tikkas and chicken masalas. They are actually adventurous with their food. Don’t be afraid to introduce them to other types of gourmet.
Most Indians are poor
Don’t automatically assume they’re poor and that you can cover all the dating expenses. Hollywood’s take on India usually involve the slums and children running around. Yes, there is poverty in the country. But the biggest economic group is the middle-class. You’d find that Indians wouldn’t take too kindly at being treated as if they can barely afford things.
They speak “Indian”
First and foremost, “Indian” isn’t a language. Most people would assume that Indians speak Hindi. You’d be surprised that while a good number of the Indian populace can speak Hindi, not everyone can. India has 22 official languages. It has the second largest English speaking population in the world as well. When flirting with Indians, you might want to get your facts straight first. Learn a few phrases in their native tongue while you are at it.
Do’s and Don’ts of Dating Indian People
Indians dominate the field when it comes to engineering, medicine, law, and business. Aside from that, they are quite good looking, too.
When you walk around any Ivy League schools, you are sure to find good-looking Indians roaming around the campus.
With beauty and brains, it’s no wonder why you’d want to date an Indian man or a woman.
But if you want to get their attention, you would want to step your dating game up. Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to dating Indian people:
Do’s:
- Dress modestly - When out on a date in India, it is better to dress conservatively. Avoid showing off too much skin and informality.
- Have an open mind - India is a very diverse country. Each state can have different languages and unique cultural norms. You can meet people with contrasting personalities, beliefs, and traditions.
- Be excited trying out new things - Show enthusiasm and be brave enough to experience new things that might seem exotic to you.
- Show an appreciation for Bhangra - Bhangra is the percussion-heavy music most commonly featured in Bollywood films. No one can resist the pull of the Bhangra. Not even the most dance-phobic.
- Try to learn a few phrases in their language - Indians love it when you speak their language. Try to learn how to say a few phrases. It will delight your partner, for sure.
Don’t:
- Get upset when their mom calls in the middle of the date - It is completely normal for Indians to live with their parents until they are married. Mothers, most especially, want to keep tabs on their children.
- Be afraid to meet the whole clan - Again, families come as number one priority to Indians. To really get to know your partner, best be ready to face and meet their family as well.
- Insult Bollywood - Bollywood movies are sacred to Indians. Take initiative and cite some references to truly impress your date.
- Show affection in public - When you are in India, PDAs or public displays of affection aren’t common happenings. Better practice caution.
- Talk about caste-system unless they bring it up (which they are most unlikely to) - Caste is a very sensitive topic for them. Instead, talk more about family, celebrities, your travels, and other topics they prefer talking about.
Where to Look for Indian Singles
There are a bunch of ways to meet Indian singles. The fastest and easiest way is through dating sites and apps.
Indeed, there are lots of online dating services that cater to Indians.
With advanced contacting features, you are sure to meet your perfect Indian match with no sweat. No need to travel and go to India.
With dating sites, India just got closer to your home.
In fact, here are some people that found success on these sites:
“My mother pressures me to find the perfect girl already. I haven’t brought a single one home because I feel that if I do that and she turns out not to be the one, it would greatly disappoint my family. Desperate, I registered to Jeevansathi. Lo and behold, I met Adra. She is one special lady and thanks to this app, I was able to finally meet her. I will be bringing her home to a family date in a few weeks. Can’t wait for my mother to meet her.” - Sanjay, 29
“Chandi and I met on IndiaMatch. We have been seeing each other for over a year now. I even met the family and all. She cooks the most amazing curry. This woman just wows me every second of the day. I didn’t know what I did in my past life to deserve her. I am thinking of proposing to her soon.” - James, 27
“I was skeptical about Indian dating sites in general. But I got bored one night and decided to try out Indian Cupid. I met some really nice people there. Although, I haven’t found the guy of my dreams I did make quite a few friends. We still keep tabs up to this day. I reckon if I ever visit India, I’d be able to reconnect and meet up with my friends.” - Elina, 24
Land hot, real dates now!
Pros and Cons of Using Indian Dating Sites to Find Matches
Indian dating sites blend matchmaking with technology seamlessly to provide you with potential matches and life partners minus the parents' intrusiveness.
When you sign up to these sites, you take matters into your own hands. You can set your matches to fit your taste in dating sites. Having tons of registered members, you are bound to meet your soulmate without ever having to leave your home.
While dating sites can still be a matter of luck, you will always have the advantage other people don't have.
How to be Successful on Indian Dating Sites
As India grows economically, so are Indian singles looking for dates instead of participating in arranged marriages set up by their parents. It isn’t a surprise that more and more Indian singles flock to dating sites to try their luck at finding the one. So, if you are looking to date Indians, make sure to do your homework and take note of the following tips:
Filter, filter, filter
Just like any other dating site, Indian dating sites want to sell more ads, seen as popular, and attract more members.
What they do is, even if the profile is inactive, they won’t delete the account until it is reported by other members.
The best way to optimize your dating experience is by filtering out inactive profiles and setting them to only provide matches that fit your preferences.
Present the best version of you
Everything is visual. With so many profiles to compete with, how do you get attention? Better take good photos that show the best version of you. Show them in a brief snapshot of how you are as a person. Give them talking points when they want to slide in your DMs. Are you into sports? What are your hobbies? Share photos of you smiling and doing what you love.
Personalize your messages
Don’t just copy-paste messages and send it to ten different people. Inauthenticity can be detected a mile away. Be creative and personalize your messages. Ask them about themselves. Open conversations they couldn’t resist replying to.
Don’t bombard them with messages
If they don’t respond, don’t flood them with messages. Desperation isn’t attractive. If they don’t reply, just let it go. There are other fishes to fry out there. That’s the beauty of dating sites. You will have endless options to choose from.
Fully flesh out your profile
Because of the usual matchmaking nature of Indian dating sites, registration and creation of profiles are much more in-depth than your regular dating sites.
You’d find the signing up process to also include personality tests. Most of these questions ask about your income, how many kids you would want to have, your profession, religion, and other personal info.
Answer them as honestly since by doing so, you’d have more accurate matches. The algorithm finds your perfect match by looking for a member most compatible with your answers.
Set up dates
Now that you have your profile all set up and you’ve been mingling with potential partners, seal the deal and make concrete date plans. All that flirting would just be wasted if you don’t act on it. Ask them out on a date. Make sure to set the time, date, and venue. Plus, just be yourself.
Is Premium Worth It?
If you want to make the most of your online dating experience, the best way to do so is by upgrading your standard account to premium.
With premium membership, you can have access to a bunch of perks such as unlimited searches, more matches, access to other members’ private photos, access to private one-on-one messaging, and so much more.
Most Indian dating sites offer monthly subscriptions in 1, 3, 6, 12-month increments. Other sites use the credit system where you buy credits or tokens to avail of certain services.
If you are looking for long-term relationships and legit matches, you are better off upgrading. Once you upgrade, you are guaranteed to meet real members and who knows, you just might meet your future life partner from this investment.
Meet the love of your life with these sites!
What are you waiting for?
With the innovation of today’s dating sites and apps, online dating has been made especially fun. If you are set on dating seriously awesome Indian people, then your best bet is to try your luck at Indian dating sites. What are you waiting for, go check them out now!
Founder of Dating Scout and Author of the book "Online Dating for Dummies"