What Singaporeans look out for in a romantic partner – and does this differ across dating apps?

How important are qualities like physical attractiveness, shared hobbies and food choices, common values and spiritual beliefs in a romantic partner to daters in Singapore?

In Part 3 of our three-part study on Dating app usage in Singapore: Popularity, Barriers and Perspectives, we review the top factors that Singaporeans most look out for in a romantic relationship – and how these vary across users of different dating apps.

What do Singapore’s residents most look out for in a romantic partner?

Latest research from YouGov Surveys shows that among attributes that Singapore residents think are important in a romantic relationship, sharing similar values and outlook in life emerged as the most widely prized quality.

Over nine in ten (92%) say they consider this “very important” or “fairly important”, and this proportion was comparable across dating app users and non-users.

Being attracted to each other’s physical appearance (79%) is the next most widely considered quality judged to be important, ahead of sharing similar religious views and similar hobbies and interests (both 76%), as well as similar food choices (70%).

While a similar proportion of dating apps users and non-users felt that physical appearance, similar hobbies/interests and food choices are important qualities, a significantly larger proportion of dating app users held that they were “very important”.

Do users of different dating apps vary in what they look out for in a romantic partner?

Across all major dating apps, more than nine in ten users say that having similar values and outlook in life is important when looking for a romantic partner. But this is most widely prized among users of eHarmony, Hinge and Lunch Actually, while Happn, Tinder and Paktor have the relatively smallest proportion of users who think this is important.

Physical appearance and attractiveness are most widely prized among users of Hinge (93%), Grindr (92%) and Tinder (90%), and least widely prized among users of eHarmony (74%), Lunch Actually (81%) and Bumble (82%).

Meanwhile, sharing similar religious views or spiritual beliefs are important to the largest proportion of users on Happn (100%), eHarmony (91%) and Hinge (88%), but the smallest percentage of OkCupid (75%), Coffee Meets Bagel (76%) and Tinder (76%) users.

Having similar hobbies and interests are most widely prized among users of Happn (92%), Lunch Actually (89%) and Paktor (85%), and least widely prized among users of Bumble (73%) and OkCupid (74%).

Finally, having similar food choices and eating habits are important to the largest proportion of users on Happn (86%), Lunch Actually (84%) and eHarmony (82%), but the smallest percentage of Coffee Meets Bagel (68%), Hinge (73%) and Bumble (74%) users.

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online in January 2024, with a national sample of 1,034 Singapore residents, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, and ethnicity to be representative of all adults in Singapore (18 years or older) and reflect the latest Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) estimates. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

_{Cover photo by miodrag ignjatovic}