peek vs Paired: which couples app suits you?

peek vs Paired at a glance

How do they feel day to day?

Paired runs on a little daily ritual. A new question arrives, you answer it, and that unlocks your partner's answer so you can talk about it. Around that sit quizzes, games and longer guided journeys, on everything from household finances to love languages. Paired says it takes about five minutes a day.

peek has no daily ritual. A new pack of cards lands every week and you swipe whenever you feel like it, on your own phone, without your partner watching. When you've both said Yes or Maybe to the same card, it turns up as a match, along with whether each of you was a Yes or a Maybe. Then it's yours to try, flirt about in the chat or save for a night when you've both got the energy.

So the real difference isn't the format. It's what happens to an answer your partner doesn't share.

What can my partner actually see?

In Paired, sharing is the point. Answering unlocks your partner's answer, so it's built for talking things through, honestly and in the open. The trade-off is that every answer is seen, including the ones you're not sure about yet.

In peek, a card either of you passed on never surfaces. If you said Yes to something and your partner passed, they don't find out, and neither do you if it's the other way round. That's what makes it easier to own up to the thing you've been quietly curious about for years: the worst that can happen is nothing.

Paired says your answers and photos are completely private to the two of you once you're paired, and that it doesn't sell your personal data to advertisers. peek doesn't sell your data either, and your matches and chat are just for you two. If you want the detail on what peek keeps and who can see it, we wrote it all down in is a couples app actually private?

What does each one cost?

• Paired has a free tier with one daily question. Paired Premium is $79.99 a year per couple according to Paired's FAQ, with a 7 day free trial on the yearly plan. The US App Store also lists other yearly and monthly prices, including $14.99 a month.
• peek starts with a 30 day free trial, with nothing to pay on day one. After that, the plans and their prices are shown in the app in your local currency. Every plan has the weekly card packs, your matches and private chat, and the bigger plans add seasonal packs, date nights, mini-games, anytime activities, guided quests and monthly missions.
• Both let one partner pay for the two of you.

The other app's prices are in USD. peek shows its plans and prices in the app, in your local currency. On a yearly plan Paired costs less.

When is Paired the better choice?

Pick Paired if:

• you want a general relationship app that covers communication, conflict, money and family, not just intimacy
• you both want to read each other's full answers and talk them through
• you're long distance and want a quick daily ritual to share
• you want content made with therapists and academics, whom Paired names on its site
• your partner isn't ready to download anything yet, since Paired supports solo use for question ideas and tips
• you want the lowest yearly price or a free tier to keep using

It's also one of the most established and most-rated apps in the category.

When is peek the better choice?

Pick peek if:

• the thing you're circling is your sex life, not your communication in general
• one of you is more curious than the other has realised, and you'd rather not find out through a "no"
• you're the less keen one and tired of feeling asked: anything you pass on is never shown to your partner
• you want ideas you can actually do together, like date nights and playful mini-games, not just talk about

Key takeaways

• Paired is a broad relationship app built on shared daily answers. peek is an intimacy app built on private swiping and mutual matches.
• In Paired your partner reads your answers. In peek they only see the cards you both said Yes or Maybe to.
• Paired is cheaper on a yearly plan and has a free tier. peek has the longer free trial (30 days vs 7).
• One subscription covers both partners in both apps.
• You don't have to choose: Paired for everyday conversation and peek for the bedroom can sit side by side.

Frequently asked questions

Is peek like Paired?

They're both couples apps you each use on your own phone, but they work differently. Paired asks you both the same daily question and shows you each other's answers. peek has you swipe privately on cards, and you only see the ones you both said Yes or Maybe to.

Can my partner see my answers on peek?

Only on a match. When you've both said Yes or Maybe to a card it becomes a match, and you can each see whether the other said Yes or Maybe. Anything either of you passed on stays private.

Do we both have to pay for peek or Paired?

No. In peek one plan covers the partnership, so only one of you subscribes. Paired says the same about Premium: only one partner needs to subscribe and access is shared with both accounts.

Can we use peek and Paired together?

Yes. They barely overlap. You could use Paired for everyday conversation and peek for exploring intimacy, since one is for talking everything through and the other is for finding what you both want without having to ask first.