As someone who travels a lot, I have often had a hard time meeting people in the real world and befriending them. Online friendship apps have always come to my rescue. Yubo, in particular, has been one of my top choices.
However, just one app might not be enough or it may not necessarily work for everyone. This is where apps similar to Yubo come into the picture. There are many options available with different natures, and I have personally tried over 19.
After testing each individually for a week, I have decided to share a list of my recommendations. Whether you want to make friends, date a person, just want to have casual chats when feel bored, you’ll find a suitable platform here.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in!
1. Best of All: Bumble BFF
Bumble is perhaps the most popular dating app out there. However, you can use this app for more than just finding your significant other.
Bumble BFF is a very good option for people who just want to make new friends but are not necessarily looking for something romantic.
If you’re just looking for buddies to hang out with, this is my strong recommendation. I have made many good friends thanks to the BFF mode on Bumble, and we continue to hang out even today.
Comparison with Yubo
When you compare Bumble with Yubo, there are quite a few differences. Bumble BFF mainly has you meeting people and talking to them over chat. Yubo does much more than that.
- The focus on Yubo is all about going live. Bumble is more chat-based.
- Yubo comes with a lot of filters and video-focused elements, Bumble focuses on text
- Yubo also has a lot of games and interactive elements, while Bumble focuses on conversations
Key Features
- Meet new and interesting people to befriend
- Women initiate the chat on the BFF mode as well
- Swipe right if you find someone interesting, left to reject
- BFF profile and dating profile are separate from each other
- Meet people based on shared interests, as well as locational proximity
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Good app to socialize with new people | A lot of people tend to use this for dating as well |
| Safe space for women as they make the first move | No live video streams, no group chats |
| You can meet people near you by setting the right filters |
For more comprehensive details, check out the full Bumble BFF review.
2. Best Runner Up: Wizz
Wizz is another good option for people who want to make platonic friendships. Wizz, like many other apps, allows you to swipe through a large set of users and choose who you want to talk to. The app has many unique features, such as a feed, random chats, live videos, etc.
One unique thing here is their age verification system, which happens over a selfie. The app makes use of your selfie to determine your age and ensures you can match only to a certain age bracket.
Wizz also ensures you match with people who have similar shared interests.
Comparison with Yubo
On one hand, both Yubo and Wizz look similar because they are apps that help you find new friends online. However, when you dig deeper, the subtle differences begin to emerge.
Comparisons are bound to happen between the two apps because they both have a similar set of users who are largely Gen-Z and young.
- Yubo focuses more on live streaming, while Wizz focuses more on one-on-one chats and videos
- Wizz focuses on snappy, story-like content, while Yubo is all about longer engagements and interactions on live videos
- Yubo helps you connect with people who are around you or are live at the moment, while Wizz focuses more on your interests and past interactions
Key Features
- Allows you to find people who are online at the same time as you
- Intelligent biometric age verification system
- Focuses on community-building over shared interests
- Use WiCoins to gift other members of the app
- Fun stickers and gifs to express yourself
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| No likes or swiping | The danger of chats moving to explicit conversations |
| Connect with new people and make friends | Biometric age verification might not be 100% accurate |
| Talk to people of your own age group |
For more information, check out the complete Wizz review.
3. Best for Real Connections: Meetup
Meetup is one of the oldest social media apps out there which helps you connect with new people. It has been around since 2002 and offers a fair mix of online and offline interactions.
It also helps people who want to organize outdoor group events like stargazing, group treks, picnics, etc. The idea behind this app is to get people to bond over their shared interests and hobbies based on their field of work.
As someone who is into niche interest groups like Dungeons and Dragons and other board-game experiences, I really enjoy Meetup and host these games fairly regularly.
Comparison with Yubo
While Meetup looks at group activities based on your shared interest and geographical location, the primary idea is to get a bunch of people together to enjoy shared experiences.
Yubo, on the other hand, focuses primarily on online interactions and making new friends over the internet and live streams.
- The primary idea behind meetup is to get people together in the same place geographically while Yubo users can be located anywhere
- Yubo focuses on online connections, while Meetup lets you meet people in real life and bond over actual activities
- Meetup interactions happen on a predetermined time and date, while Yubo allows you to connect to people at any point in time
Key Features
- Know your city better and meet new interest groups
- Create new meetup groups that people can join
- You can also chat with group members
- Great app for professional networking as well
- Save events that you like and visit them later
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A good option to make new friends in a locality | Doesn’t facilitate instant conversations like Yubo |
| Works really well for niche interest groups | No video calls or live streams |
| Great UI and very easy-to-use app |
4. Best for Women: Peanut
While all friendships are important, friendships that women have with other women are even more special because they understand each other better.
Peanut is a unique social media app that is designed for women across different stages in their lives, but particularly for moms.
The app features everything that you would expect from a social networking app. You can find new people, chat with them, give them a video call, and even join clubhouse-like audio conversations.
The app also has groups and communities for shared experiences.
Comparison with Yubo
While both Peanut as well as Yubo are technically social networks, they cater to two very different sets of users.
Peanut focuses on women (specifically moms to connect with other moms), and Yubo is meant for a much younger Gen Z audience.
Simply put, these are two exclusive subsets functioning within the same set of social media users.
- While Yubo has live streams and video-based interactions, Peanut focuses more on chat. However, video calling is a common feature in both apps.
- Yubo is for young adults to chat about whatever’s trending, while Peanut users largely focus on motherhood and parenting
- There are groups and communities on Peanut focused on specific topics, while Yubo doesn’t really have topic-based communities
Key Features
- Moms and expecting moms can meet other similar women
- You can video call your friends on Peanut
- Audio-based group conversations similar to clubhouse
- Groups and communities to ask parenthood questions
- Over 3 Million users use Peanut
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great support system for mothers | Only caters to mothers and expecting mothers |
| Helps connect with other women in similar stages of life | The incognito function can be abused by trolls |
| Excellent UI and very easy to use |
5. Best To Connect Via Snapchat: Hoop
Hoop is a good mix between Snapchat and Bumble BFF. Much like apps like Wizz and Yubo, you swipe left and right on profiles to reject or match with them. However, the key thing here is the Snapchat integration.
The app shows you the Snapchat profiles of people you’re swiping on. It is based on the snaps that you match or reject them. You can choose the gender and the country specifications and start meeting new people using Hoop.
Personally, I found it to be a good Snapchat companion, but I’ve only ever had very superficial conversations here.
Comparison with Yubo
Yubo is a standalone social media app where users have much greater control over their profile and the kind of content they are putting out.
On Hoop, most of that is imported from your Snapchat. It is basically a discovery app for finding new people to connect straight on your Snapchat, while Yubo lets you meet new people, go live, and interact over video right on its own app.
- Yubo and Hoop both started off as Snapchat companion apps, but Yubo has since introduced many new features and has become a people discovery app on its own
- People can create individual Yubo profiles, while Hoop only allows people with Snapchat profiles
- Both apps, however, cater to the same audience of teens, young adults, and Gen Z users
Key Features
- Connect to new Snapchat users
- Swiping mechanism similar to dating apps
- Earn diamonds on the app to get access to more features
- Meet people based on gender or location
- Decorate your profile to stand out
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Expand your friend circle on Snapchat | Limited user base |
| Earn rewards based on daily tasks | Support teams are slow to respond |
| Easy-to-use app with a familiar swiping-based UI |
If you want to learn more, check out the full review of Hoop app.
6. Best To Connect Locally: Spotafriend
While most social apps and platforms for meeting new friends focus more on the age and interest aspect of new friends, Spotafriend focuses on their location.
It makes use of your phone’s location data to show you people near you. You can create a profile on the app and start swiping.
Every time I have used this app, I have managed to meet some really incredible people who weren’t living too far away. In fact, some of us still connect over a game of FIFA from time to time.
Comparison with Yubo
The very idea behind Spotafriend is to find someone who doesn’t live too far away from you. Unlike Yubo, which offers a ton of interactions and video features, Spotafriend focuses only on text-based communication, which encourages users to meet each other quickly.
- Both apps use a swiping-based mechanism to match or reject new friends
- Both Yubo and Spotafriend allow you to go through each others’ interests
- While Yubo is for people of all ages above 13, Spotafriend is for people between 13 to 19 years of age only
Key Features
- Meet only people who are near you
- Only text-based conversations on the app
- Meant only for users between 13-19 years of age
- Swipe left or right to like or reject people
- Over 2 Million users
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Doesn’t show people who are too far | Limited number of users in smaller cities |
| Superswipe feature allows direct DMs | Users complain of a lot of catfishing happening on the app |
| Drops a new update every month |
7. Best To Connect Globally: Skout
Skout is an app that serves the purpose of both kinds of users. Whether you are looking for someone to date or you are looking for someone to hang out with platonically, you can find both kinds of people here.
Skout not only allows you to look for nearby users but also lets you go global – giving you a much larger pool to match with.
Comparison with Yubo
Compared to Yubo, Skout has a different purpose altogether. Yubo is for meeting friends over shared interests or for going live on video and getting more people to follow you or join you there.
Skout is more about dating than anything else. However, there are many features similar between these two apps.
- Both apps allow you to go live and broadcast your video
- Both apps support one-on-one video calls
- Yubo isn’t really a dating app, while Skout’s core focus is on dating
Key Features
- Swipe left or right to accept or reject people
- Browse through a list of nearby people
- One-on-one video calls and virtual dates
- You can chat with anyone, anywhere in the world
- Watch and interact with people over live video broadcasts
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Offers a diverse range of location-based filters, from regional to global | Lots of bugs in the UI |
| See who viewed your profile | Bad customer support |
| The app is extremely easy to use |
Frequently Asked Questions
No, Yubo is not a dating app. It started off as a Snapchat companion app but has now become a social network in its own right. You can use Yubo to livestream and meet new friends.
Bumble BFF is an app quite similar to Yubo, which is completely free. You might have to pay extra for some premium features but otherwise, there is no need for payment here.
Yubo is largely considered to be a safe app, but there are bad actors on all platforms. There is a risk of fake profiles and catfish accounts on Yubo, but since live streams happen here a lot, the risk is relatively low.
Wrap Up!
My years of meeting people online and on these apps have been put together in the form of this article. I have tried and listed a fair mix of apps for different groups of people.
Other than that, I have tried to list only those apps here that have a very large user base so that you can always match with someone.
Do let me know in the comments below if there are any other apps that you find to be useful and are not a part of this list!
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