We make one of these two apps, so read this with that in mind. What follows is what genuinely separates them, including the parts where Paired is the better choice. Competitor details were checked on 31 July 2026.
The short version
Paired is the biggest app in this category and it is built around expert-led relationship content: daily questions with guidance written by therapists, quizzes, and courses. It is a good product with a very large audience.
Ottermates is built around a game. One question a day, you both answer, and neither of you sees the other's answer until you have both had your say. There is no expert commentary, because the point is what the two of you say rather than what a professional thinks about it.
If you want guided advice from qualified people, Paired is the better fit and this page will not pretend otherwise. If you want something you play together in a minute a day, keep reading.
What Paired costs
This is the question most people arrive with, so here is an honest answer rather than a made-up number.
Paired is free to download and charges through an in-app subscription. Apple's listing confirms it has in-app purchases, and Paired's own site leads with a free trial, but the actual subscription price is not published on their website and Apple does not show the tiers on the web listing. It also varies by country and changes over time, so any figure quoted on a page like this one would be out of date or simply wrong.
The reliable way to see it is to open the app and look at the subscription screen, where the price for your country is shown before you buy.
Ottermates requires Premium for new couples to use daily questions and question packs. One subscription covers both partners. Your app store shows the current local price and any eligible offer before you subscribe.
Where they genuinely differ
Set out plainly, without pretending our choices suit everyone.
- Expert content. Paired writes guidance around its questions with input from therapists. Ottermates does not, deliberately: the answer you get is your partner's, unmediated.
- The reveal. Ottermates holds both answers until you have both replied, so neither of you can see the other's first. That single rule is the product.
- Free trials. Paired leads with a trial. Ottermates offers a seven-day free trial on Monthly for eligible accounts. Yearly has no trial. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled.
- App access. New couples need Premium for daily questions and question packs. Existing couples with grandfathered access keep that access. The browser question game and editorial guides on this website remain free.
- One subscription for two. In Ottermates, one partner subscribing covers both.
- Scale and track record. Paired has a far larger user base and years of iteration behind it. We are new, and that is a real reason to pick them.
Who should pick which
- Pick Paired if you want structured guidance from qualified people, courses to work through, and a large established product.
- Pick Ottermates if you want a daily game rather than a curriculum, if you want a price you can see before you install, or if you are long distance and the answer-separately-then-reveal mechanic appeals.
- Pick both if you like: they are not really solving the same evening.
Ottermates is the one we make. One question a day for the two of you, both answer, then reveal together. Daily questions and packs require Premium for new couples. One subscription covers both partners.
Get the appApps like Paired, briefly
If neither fits, the category is bigger than these two. Couple Joy and Cozy Couples are both large, well-rated relationship apps with a broader home-for-us feel. DeepQ is a questions-and-games app closer to what we do. All are free to download with in-app subscriptions.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Paired cost?
Paired is free to download and charges through an in-app subscription. The price is not published on their website, Apple does not list the tiers on the web version of the App Store, and it varies by country, so the reliable way to see it is the subscription screen inside the app. Ottermates also shows current local prices and eligible offers in the app before purchase. One subscription covers both partners.
Is Ottermates free?
New couples need Premium for daily questions and question packs. One subscription covers both partners. Existing couples with grandfathered access keep that access.
Does Ottermates have a free trial?
Yes. Eligible accounts can try Premium free for seven days on the monthly plan. The yearly plan has no free trial. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled. New couples need Premium for daily questions and question packs, and one subscription covers both partners. Existing couples with grandfathered access keep that access. Your app store confirms eligibility and the price before you subscribe.
What are the best apps like Paired?
Couple Joy and Cozy Couples are the two largest alternatives, both free to download with in-app subscriptions and both rated highly. DeepQ is closer to a questions-and-games app. Which is right depends on whether you want guided relationship content or something you play together.
Keep going
If you are here for the questions rather than the apps: questions for couples, the couples quiz, 87 conversation starters.
One question a day, for the two of you. Ottermates picks it, you both answer, and you find out what the other said at the same moment.
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