Video Dates Before Real Dates: The Best Dating Apps with Video Chat in 2026
Everyone has a December wish list. But the list that really matters isn’t about what you’d like to unwrap. It’s about who you’d love to buy for.
Black Friday lands on 27 November 2026 in both the UK and South Africa, and the festive season follows fast. If you’d like to spend it with someone who’s in it for the long run, the site you choose matters more than any gift.
Picture a small, thoughtful present, picked in the Black Friday deals for someone you’ve already had a few good dates with. That’s the item quietly sitting at the top of many lists, even if nobody writes it down.
The good news: some dating sites are built for exactly that. They ask better questions, show intentions clearly and slow things down just enough.
The catch: “serious” is also a marketing word. So below you’ll find what each site actually does, what it costs in pounds and rand at the time of writing, and who it suits.
Early gifts work best when they’re small and personal. Think shared plans, not grand gestures.
John Lewis is the safe bet for a soft scarf or a good candle, while Etsy UK and Not On The High Street cover personalised prints and keepsakes. Bloom & Wild sends letterbox flowers, so there’s no awkward doorstep moment.
Black Friday is 27 November, Cyber Monday 30 November and the Boxing Day sales start on 26 December. Order anything personalised early.
Black Friday falls just after the 25 November payday, and Takealot has confirmed its Blue Dot Sale is back (dates still to be announced at the time of writing). Yuppiechef works for kitchen and picnic gifts, NetFlorist delivers flowers and hampers, and Woolworths is the easy stop for good chocolates.
December is summer, too, so a picnic blanket or a wine tasting for two beats a Christmas jumper.
No site can guarantee a relationship. What the good ones do is make three things easier to spot:
If a site ticks all three, you’ll spend fewer evenings on chats that go nowhere.
How we chose: relationship focus first, then real usage in the UK and South Africa (Similarweb’s Android dating ranking, 22 September 2026) and what each company says about itself, clearly labelled.
eharmony starts with a compatibility quiz and suggests matches based on your answers. Premium plans come in several lengths because, in eharmony’s words, shorter plans don’t give you the time to properly get to know your matches.
It suits people who want depth over volume. Note for South Africans: the app isn’t listed in the South African App Store at the time of writing.
Hinge is number one in the UK and second in South Africa in Similarweb’s ranking. It calls itself “designed to be deleted”, and its prompts and dating-intentions field make it easy to show you want something real.
Match aims at singles ready to commit and runs free and paid singles events across UK cities, from after-work drinks to cooking classes. If you’d rather meet people in a room than in a chat, that’s a real plus.
EliteSingles has a dedicated South African site and matches you through a personality test instead of open search. It says 85% of its members are highly educated and that every profile you see is verified. Those are the company’s own claims.
Bumble is third in the UK and fourth in South Africa. Since August 2026, either person can send the first message and matches get 72 hours to reply, which helps anyone with a full diary.
Koer, eighth in South Africa’s ranking, is a free Afrikaans dating app with optional paid packages. It’s a natural fit if you’d like to chat, flirt and plan dates in your home language.
OkCupid matches people partly on answers to questions about lifestyle and beliefs. Its pool is smaller (16th in the UK, 14th in South Africa), but those answers do a lot of the small talk for you.
Also worth a look in the UK: Plenty of Fish, seventh in the ranking, with a free version and a one-month subscription listed at about £30.
| Site | Best for | Matching style | Where | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eharmony | Long-term commitment | Compatibility quiz | UK | Roughly £10–£40 a month, depending on plan length |
| Hinge | Thoughtful chats | Prompts and intentions | UK, SA | Roughly £15–£35 a month; SA tiers listed at about R300–R600 |
| Match | Committed singles, events | Search plus events | UK | About £40 for one month |
| EliteSingles | Busy professionals | Personality test | UK, SA | SA plans listed from about R300 |
| Bumble | Unhurried conversations | Either person messages first | UK, SA | Roughly £17–£40; about R180–R200 a month |
| Koer | Dating in Afrikaans | Preferences and location | SA | Free; paid from about R50 a month |
| OkCupid | Values-based matching | Question answers | UK, SA | Check in the app |
Prices are approximate at the time of writing, based on app store listings and review sites, and vary by age, location and plan length. Check the final price in the app before you pay.
1. Say what you want, early. Set your intentions on your profile and describe the kind of weekend you love. It filters faster than any algorithm.
2. Move from chat to plan within a week. In the UK, a drink at the local pub or a coffee and a walk is the easy first date. In South Africa, try a Saturday at the Neighbourgoods Market in Braamfontein, the Oranjezicht City Farm Market at the V&A Waterfront, or a tasting at a wine farm.
3. Save the big stuff for later. The braai with your friends, Christmas with the family and that thoughtful gift can wait until you both know it’s going somewhere. On early dates, offer to split the bill or agree beforehand.
Stay safe: meet somewhere public, tell a friend where you’ll be, keep chats in the app at first and never send money to someone you haven’t met.
There’s no single winner. eharmony and EliteSingles suit questionnaire fans, Hinge suits thoughtful chatters in a big pool, and Koer is worth a try if you’d like to date in Afrikaans.
eharmony does more of the matching for you, while Match gives you search plus real-world events. If you prefer meeting face to face, Match’s UK events are a bonus.
Yes, if you use them with intent. The free versions of Hinge, Bumble and Koer are enough to start. Pay only if a feature clearly helps.
Bumble, Tinder and Badoo top Similarweb’s Dutch Android ranking, with Hinge fourth and Breeze fifth. Lexa and Parship are the local names to know. Check euro prices in the app.
The right site isn’t the fanciest one. It’s the one that matches how you like to meet, used with a clear message from day one.
Pick one or two from the list, update your profile this week and suggest a real plan. By the time the Boxing Day sales or the summer holidays arrive, you may have someone to share them with.
