When I first heard about prison dating sites, I didn’t give inmate penpals much of a chance as a market segment.
The current population of all prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities in the United States is over 2.3 million. This includes inmates at the county, state, and federal levels. Despite this, it is possible for relationships to persist even while behind bars. We found several prison-centric dating platforms for current and former inmates, as well as those curious about pen pals from prison.
Jail dating site
Now, these dating sites don’t condone breaking the law, nor do they offer exoneration for criminals. However, they can provide a safe space for people who have paid or are paying their debt to society, and allow prisoners to start over and meet new people who won’t judge them for their past. It’s free to create a personal profile or write a letter on the following dating sites.
1. Match
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Match doesn’t cater specifically to single inmates and their admirers, but it has more users than most other dating sites, and it’s the most successful (having been responsible for the most dates, relationships, and marriages). Match also offers a 100% free membership that includes signup, matching, communication, and live events, among other features. All it takes is an email address, a first name, and some personal information to complete your dating profile, and then you’re part of a community of over 40 million singles in 50+ countries.
| User Base | Gender Ratio | Popularity (Visits/Mo.) | Today’s Deal |
| All Singles* | 49%*51%* | 39.7 Million* | Get 3 Days FREE |
Meet An Inmate
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Meet An Inmate has been connecting inmates with pen pals since 1998, and its commitment to supporting people in the prison system is unmatched. While inmates pay a small fee to be listed on the site’s personal ads, it’s 100% free for people to write to an incarcerated person and establish a correspondence. The letters are sent via the US Postal Service. According to Meet An Inmate, “We are very customer oriented. We have been the trusted prison pen pal site to list inmates for many years. Our success lies with our word-of-mouth advertising between inmates who have had success using our service.”
URL: https://meet-an-inmate.com/
Love A Prisoner
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Love A Prisoner is an inmate dating site with a 75% compatibility rating. Users can browse by gender, ethnicity, location, prison, and type of member (regular or VIP), and they can write to each other and buy each other gifts if they feel like splurging. Not only that, but Love A Prisoner provides information about the criminal justice system, including prison laws, self-help, and statistics as well as places to report problems or fraud on prison pen pal websites.
URL: http://loveaprisoner.com/
Write A Prisoner
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Write A Prisoner focuses on inmate correspondence and reintegration into society beyond the prison wall. The website’s members can find pen pals, counselors, educational materials, employment, housing, legal information, scholarships, and even artwork and poems. In addition, the prisoner penpal site has a blog and forum where members can ask and answer questions and share what’s on their mind. Since launching in 2000, the Write A Prisoner website has facilitated friendship, education, legal help, and, yes, even some romantic relationships.
URL: https://writeaprisoner.com/
Inmate Classified
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Inmate Classified has been around since 1996 and caters to “inmates seeking friendship outside prison walls.” Once you register on the pen pal site, you can gain even more attention by being highlighted in the Featured Profiles section of the homepage. It’s a chance to get to know a person through letters and online interaction, and it could potentially make a difference in someone’s life. As the Inmate Classified site says, “There is no greater gift you can give to a stranger than a few words of encouragement when he or she needs it most.”
URL: http://inmate.com/
Inmate Mingle
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“Making connections from the inside out,” Inmate Mingle is one of the top prison dating sites that can facilitate new friendships, casual dates, and serious relationships. Whether you’re on the desktop or mobile version of Inmate Mingle, you don’t have to pay anything to become a member, browse profiles, and correspond in certain ways. An easy way to start a conversation is by looking at the birthday section of Inmate Mingle’s homepage. If someone catches your eye, say hello to them on their special day.
URL: https://inmatemingle.com/
Dating Prisoners
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Dating Prisoners does what its name says it does and introduces male and female inmates to potential relationship material. On the dating website, it’s free to create a profile, edit your personal information, add several photos, and see who’s online at the same time as you. The free membership also allows you to browse members by your preferences, receive matches, and flirt. In addition, Dating Prisoners, which has offices in the US and Greece, is mobile-friendly, so it works similar to your favorite dating app, but you don’t have to download anything to meet inmates in the prison system.
URL: https://datingprisoners.com/
Prison Inmates
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The self-proclaimed “world’s most trusted prison pen pal service in the USA,” Prison Inmates welcomes people of all genders, sexual orientations, religions, ethnicities, and cultures. The main requirement is you have to be 18 or older to join. No underage users are allowed. More than 3,000 inmates make up Prison Inmates’ user base, and the pen pal website has seen over 200 million page views. The search filters include State, Lifers, and Death Row. In addition to funding an inmate’s account, other extras available for purchase include gift cards and message service renewal.
URL: https://prisoninmates.com/
Friends Beyond The Wall
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Created in 1999, Friends Beyond The Wall understands that “prison is a lonely world without a friend,” so the site publishes new inmate ads every week. In total, the site has published more than 2,500 ads from people behind a prison wall in 46 states. Inmate addresses are given to members for free, and you can send your first letter via email to break the ice a little more easily. It’s also worth mentioning that Friends Beyond The Wall is owned and operated by family members, friends, and acquaintances of incarcerated people, and it offers gift packages and search filters to make finding a prisoner pen pal easier.
URL: http://friendsbeyondthewall.com/
Women Behind Bars
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As you probably guessed by the name, Women Behind Bars is specifically for incarcerated women and those who want to meet them. A free membership allows you to upload information and photos, and view inmate listings, and find female inmates who are interested in chatting. Founded in 1997, Women Behind Bars says that “you can make a difference and become a ray of hope” in another person’s life simply by writing a letter, so give it a try.
URL: https://womenbehindbars.com/
Inmate Passions
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Inmate Passions isn’t just a dating site — it’s also a social network where inmates, former inmates, and their admirers can come together via forums, groups, live chat, webcams, photos, private emails, and other forms of communication. And when Inmate Passions says it’s 100% free, it absolutely means it. You’ll never have to provide payment information. While a Network Membership provides a banner-ad-free experience, it’s not necessary in terms of finding your ideal match.
URL: https://inmatepassions.com/
Canadian Inmates Connect
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Canadian Inmates Connect is dedicated to helping single inmates in the Great White North regain their dignity, self-worth, and independence by matching them with people who are empathetic to their situations. The penpal site’s team had this to say about connecting with an inmate: “Consider taking a few minutes to write a letter or send a card. It’s something simple like this that could lift their spirits and brighten their day.” You must be 18 or older to correspond on this site, and you must agree to its privacy terms to view the personal ads listed daily.
URL: http://canadianinmatesconnect.com/
Being Single Doesn’t Have to Be a Life Sentence
Most inmates want companionship just like everyone else, and it’s the mission of the 12 prison dating sites on this list to help build those human connections on both sides of the prison wall. You never know, that new friendship or correspondence may just help an incarcerated person feel more hopeful and reintegrate with society.
Inmates can find a caring pen pal, a fun date, or even a life-long relationship on these welcoming sites. It’s a freeing experience that could lead to something truly remarkable.
Just remember that you’re still meeting strangers online, and fraud can be an issue on even the safest dating sites, so take precautions and make sure you’re not putting yourself in too vulnerable a position as you write to your pen pals. Safety first!