Comparison
Plus 1 vs Bumble BFF
honest comparison.
Two of the most-recommended apps for making friends in Miami. Side-by-side features, fees, and the real difference.
Two of the most-recommended apps for making friends in Miami. Side-by-side features, fees, and the real difference.
If you're trying to make new friends in Miami in 2026, two apps come up over and over again: Plus 1 and Bumble BFF. Both promise to help you build a real social circle, but they go about it in completely different ways. This is an honest side-by-side comparison from a Plus 1 perspective - we'll be fair to Bumble BFF where it deserves credit and clear about where Plus 1 works better.
Plus 1 is better if you'd rather meet someone through a real plan (a brunch, a yacht day, a workout) than through a chat that may or may not lead somewhere. You post what you want to do, someone requests to join, you approve them, you meet up.
Bumble BFF is better if you like the swiping experience and want to chat with new people first before committing to a meetup. It's the friend version of the dating app you already know.
Both are free to start. Both are available in Miami. The right one depends on whether you want plans-first or chats-first.
Plus 1 is the plans-first social app. You don't swipe through profiles. Instead, you (or someone else) posts a plan - a specific activity at a specific time, like "Sunday brunch in Wynwood" or "9 a.m. workout at Crandon Park." Other members nearby see the plan and tap Request to Join. The host reviews requests and approves one person per plan, with backup options on standby in case the first match cancels.
That's the whole loop. The app exists to put two people in the same place doing the same thing - intentionally, with very little chatting required.
Active in Miami and South Florida in 2026, with New York launching next.
Bumble BFF is the friendship mode inside the Bumble app you may already know for dating. The mechanic is similar to Bumble dating: you set up a profile, swipe through other Bumble BFF users, and if you both swipe right, you match. Then you chat. The "BFF" in the name signals that you're looking for friendship rather than romance.
It's available nationwide, including Miami, and has a large existing user base because Bumble itself is a household name.
This is the comparison that actually matters. Every other difference flows from this one.
Neither approach is wrong. They're just for different people. If you've been on Bumble BFF for a while and have a folder full of matches you've never met, Plus 1 is built for you. If you actually enjoy the chat-first ramp-up and want to feel out a personality before showing up in person, Bumble BFF is fine.
Plus 1 is free to start. Premium membership is $4.99/mo and unlocks guaranteed entry into Plus 1 sponsored events, up to 5 active plans at a time, and 20% off any Plus 1 sponsored events with a cover. Platinum is $99/mo (or annual with 30% off) for unlimited plans, VIP event access, and verified + background-checked status. See full pricing.
Bumble BFF is free, with a Bumble Premium subscription (~$24.99/mo) that adds features like seeing who's already liked you and unlimited swipes.
Plus 1 requires at least one social media account to be linked (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or LinkedIn) and offers optional real ID verification. Platinum members get background-checked status. After every meetup, a brief optional survey feeds into a reliability score so the community polices itself.
Bumble BFF uses photo verification and has standard report/block features. There's no community reliability score.
Plus 1 is densely active in Miami and South Florida, with the founders focused on building density in one market before expanding. Lots of yacht events, swim weeks, networking mixers, and brand activations from the company itself (see the events page).
Bumble BFF has nationwide coverage, so you'll find users across all of Miami plus everywhere else in the country.
If you're tired of chatting with matches who never want to meet up, Plus 1's plans-first design solves exactly that problem. You post a plan, someone shows up. That's the value proposition.
If you like the lower-commitment swiping experience and don't mind that some matches will fizzle, Bumble BFF is solid.
Worth knowing: many people in Miami use both. Bumble BFF for low-effort discovery, Plus 1 when they actually want to do something this weekend. Nothing stops you from running them in parallel until one becomes the obvious choice for you.
Download Plus 1 for free, set up your profile, link a social account for verification, and either post your own plan or browse what's nearby. The Discover page shows plans based on your current location - pull down to refresh. Most users see their first approved meetup within a few days of posting an interesting plan.
For more on how to make the most of it, read our guide on how to make friends as an adult and our piece on why plans-first beats swiping.
Download Plus 1 and post your first plan. See how fast you actually meet someone in real life.
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