Most gay dating in Austin starts on an app, and a lot of the rest starts at something that has nothing to do with dating: a Tuesday night run around Lady Bird Lake, a kickball season, a Sunday softball game. If you’re a gay or bi man in Austin and want to meet someone, use an app for reach and pick one recurring group so you keep seeing the same faces. This page covers both, plus the 4th Street bars and how to meet a stranger safely.
We don’t rank the apps. We don’t have numbers on who uses which one in Austin, and anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing.
Dating Apps Gay and Bi Men Use
Each of these describes itself in its own words on its own site. Some lean toward hookups and some toward longer-term; most let you say which you want.
| App | How it describes itself | Owner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grindr | “The World’s Largest Social Networking App for LGBTQ People” | Grindr LLC | Update |
| SCRUFF | “Join 40M+ members.” Profiles let you pick what you’re looking for, from “Random play/NSA” to “Partner” | Perry Street Software | Update |
| Jack’d | “Join 15M+ members,” with the same looking-for options as SCRUFF | Perry Street Software | Update |
| Hornet | “the Queer Social Network,” with “over 100 million users worldwide” | Queer Networks, Inc. | Update |
The member counts are each company’s own worldwide figures, not Austin numbers. Chappy, which the old version of this page recommended, no longer has its own site; chappyapp.com now sends you to Bumble.
Groups That Meet Every Week
A group you show up to every week gets you past small talk in a way a bar rarely does. These are run by and for LGBTQ+ people and allies, and each had a current schedule posted when we checked.
Austin Front Runners
Austin’s LGBTQ+ running club, running for 28 years by its own count. Runs start at The Rock at Town Lake on Tuesday and Thursday at 6 PM and Saturday at 10 AM. Tuesday ends with dinner and Saturday with brunch, at a different spot each week. Walkers are welcome, and the weekly runs are free. There’s also a happy hour, usually the last Friday of the month. Run schedule
Is this your group? Update this listing
Stonewall Sports Austin
A recreational league for the LGBTQ+ community and allies, started in Austin in 2023. Its site lists kickball, volleyball, and softball for fall 2026 and pickleball for winter 2027. You don’t need to be any good. League site
Is this your group? Update this listing
Softball Austin
An LGBTQ+ softball league since 2004, with spring and fall seasons and an Open division for all genders. Its teams host social events off the field too. League site
Is this your group? Update this listing
OutWellness Social Events
OutWellness, the queer and trans-centered gym on East Alpine Road, runs “LGBTQ+ centered events” alongside its classes. Its current list includes a karaoke night, a crafting club, a plus-size clothing swap, and workshops. Events and classes
Is this your business? Update this listing
Austin Prime Timers
A social club for “mature gay, bisexual, and trans men,” in Austin since 1989. Members range from 40 to 80-plus, and younger men 21 and up are welcome. It has monthly meetings, dinners out, potlucks, happy hours, and card games. Dues are $30 a year. There’s more on groups for older men in our guide to meeting older gay men and women. Prime Timers site
Is this your group? Update this listing
Speed Dating for Gay Men
Gay men’s speed dating comes through Austin now and then. A “Boy’s Night” event for gay men 25 and over has been held at The Belmont on West 6th, but no Austin date was posted when we checked in October 2026. Search Eventbrite or Fever for “gay speed dating Austin” and check the date before you buy a ticket.
The 4th Street Bars
Several of Austin’s gay bars are on West 4th Street downtown, next door to each other. They’re better for meeting people on a weekend night than for a quiet first date. Two of them:
- Oilcan Harry’s: 211 W 4th St. Open daily, 2 PM to 2 AM. Monday to Saturday after 8 PM it’s 18 and up, with a $20 cover. (512) 351-8423. Update this listing
- Rain on 4th: 217 W 4th St. Open Monday to Thursday 4 PM to 2 AM, Friday to Sunday 3 PM to 2 AM. Update this listing
Our gay bars guide covers the rest. Austin Pride is in August; 2026’s was August 22.
Meeting Someone From an App
Gay men in Texas have been targeted through dating apps on purpose. In 2021 three Dallas men were sentenced to federal prison for using Grindr to lure gay men to a vacant apartment, where they robbed and assaulted them at gunpoint, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Grindr’s own safety guide suggests a few habits for the first meeting:
- Tell a friend. Send them where you’re going and a screenshot of the profile, and agree on a time to check in.
- Meet in public first. A bar or coffee shop where queer people already go is ideal.
- Get yourself there and back. Have more than one rideshare app on your phone, and keep it charged.
- Watch your drink. Don’t take one you didn’t see poured.
- Leave if the plan changes. If someone shows up with other people you didn’t agree on, go.
If something goes wrong, report the profile in the app. You can also report to police if you feel comfortable doing that.
What We Couldn’t Check
We don’t have data on which apps Austin men use most, so there’s no ranking here. We didn’t attend these groups or events; everything comes from what each one publishes about itself. The older version of this page named events we found no current dates for, including a Rainbow Skate night and an Austin International Drag Festival, so they’re gone. If you run a group gay and bi men should know about, tell us.
Last checked: October 2026. Details read from each app’s, group’s, and venue’s own website on October 12, 2026. See something wrong? Use our contact page.
Coming early 2027
Community Circles: six people, one weeknight, the same faces every week
Small, peer-led, free. A place where people remember what you said last week.