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 It also varies by country and changes over time, so any figure quoted on a page like this one would be out of date or simply wrong.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.
For contrast, ours is published and does not move: 34.99 US dollars a year or 7.99 a month, one subscription covering both partners, and no free trial at all. We would rather you knew the price before you downloaded anything.
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 has none by choice, because a trial on consumable content means people binge and cancel, and we would rather the free part stay genuinely free.
- What stays free. In Ottermates the daily question, the reveal and your shared streak are free permanently, plus the first three cards of every pack.
- 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. The daily question is free forever and 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, by contrast, publishes its price: 34.99 US dollars a year or 7.99 a month.
Is Ottermates free?
The daily question, answering it, revealing it together and your shared streak are free permanently, and every question pack lets you play its first three cards in full. A subscription unlocks the rest of the packs, and one subscription covers both partners.
Does Ottermates have a free trial?
No, on purpose. A trial on consumable content tends to mean people work through everything quickly and then cancel, so instead of a countdown the free part of the app is simply free for as long as you use it.
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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