Everything costs money in today\u2019s NYC \u2014\u00a0even making a friend. <\/p>\n
Every day, from packed subway cars to pedestrian-choked sidewalks, go-go Gothamites are surrounded by millions of other people wondering how to find more meaningful friendships \u2014\u00a0forever a challenge in this fast-paced city, and now even more so in the smartphone-obsessed modern age.<\/p>\n
To bridge (and tunnel) the widening connection gap, Big Apple bond-hunters are increasingly banking on a growing number of paid pal-finding services \u2014\u00a0hoping to foster new platonic relationships. <\/p>\n
Smartphone-obsessed New Yorkers are turning to new apps and websites to help them make new friends.<\/p>\n
These apps and websites are bringing New Yorkers together IRL, beating back the ongoing loneliness crisis<\/a> \u2014\u00a0and in some cases, even spurring serious connections.<\/p>\n After going through a devastating breakup in early 2025, Manhattan-based gynecologist Lauren, 33, decided to give a friend-making service a shot, hoping to assuage some of the isolation she felt from being the only single gal in her friend group.<\/p>\n \u201cI realized my circle of girlfriends was made up of mostly people in relationships,\u201d she told The Post, asking that her last name not be used. \u201cI really wanted to meet some girls in the city who had the shared experience of being single in NYC that I could commiserate and go out with.\u201d<\/p>\n After seeing one too many Instagram ads, Lauren took a chance on 222<\/a> \u2014 a company that prides itself on connecting like-minded users by utilizing an in-depth questionnaire to connect potential friends through a smorgasbord of shared group experiences. <\/p>\n The cost of participation is $17 per event (or a monthly membership of $22, which waives the event fees) \u2014\u00a0plus the cost of food and drink.<\/p>\n Before attending a 222 event, a small group of like-minded users is matched for dinner or drinks after filling out an in-depth personality assessment, which features questions like \u201cWould you rather go clubbing or have a daytime picnic?\u201d <\/p>\n A group of newly made friends hanging out at a 222 event, where each participant pays an event fee, unless they sign up for a monthly subscription, in which case the fee is waived.<\/p>\n The matched group is then attends a follow-up activity \u2014 where the pendulum can swing from bull riding at a country bar to laughing it up at a comedy show \u2014 to meet the rest of the 222 crowd.<\/p>\n Luckily for Lauren, she quickly found what she was looking for \u2014 a then-fellow single friend, Izzy U., 28, who would quickly become one of her ride-or-dies.<\/p>\n \u201c222 was the only friend-making service that I ended up trying, because it was immediately very successful,\u201d Izzy, who asked to withhold her last name due to the sensitive nature of her job, told The Post. \u201cI felt like I had been in the city for a really long time and had struggled to meet people outside of work\u2026I wanted to branch out and meet new people, and this felt like the best way to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Izzy also helped connect Lauren with her future husband and will officiate her pal\u2019s wedding.<\/p>\n \u201cI was lamenting online dating to Izzy and showed her (my now fianc\u00e9\u2019s) profile to ask if we should go on a date,\u201d Lauren recalled. \u201cShe actually remembered him from work and told me they had worked on a project together years ago \u2014 and vouched for him when I was planning to cancel the date.\u201d<\/p>\n While friend-making apps and services like 222 have been viewed as a somewhat niche avenue to meet new people, the category is growing quickly \u2014 and there are now a ton to choose from, with varying event price points.<\/p>\n Kindred and Timeleft focus on bringing small groups of strangers, fewer than 10, together for curated group activities. Parlour Social Club and Clockout are dual-designed for professional networking. RealRoots is female-focused and encourages members to invest time and attention into the same small group of women for six weeks in the hopes of creating long-lasting bonds. <\/p>\n Meetup.com brings small groups of users together based on specific interests, like meditation or trivia, while Bumble BFF allows users to swipe on each other for a potential friend match, the same way they would for potential love interests.<\/p>\n Lauren Tetenbaum, LCSW<\/a>, an NYC psychotherapist and author who specializes in supporting women through life transitions, views friend-making apps and services as an effective way to meet people with shared interests, since organically meeting someone new feels like an almost impossible feat nowadays. <\/p>\n \u201cSolid friendships or even just moments of bonding can reduce stress, boost self-esteem and protect against anxiety or depression,\u201d she continued. \u201cWhen we feel lonely or compare our social lives to curated (online) feeds, we tend to feel lost, sad and disconnected \u2014 like something is wrong with us,\u201d Tetenbaum told The Post.<\/p>\n More and more friend-making services are popping up with various ways to pair like-minded people.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people may be reluctant to try these apps because they seem untraditional \u2014\u00a0 but just as dating apps have become mainstream, friendship apps can be life-changing and lead to really fulfilling relationships,\u201d the expert pointed out. \u201cIt\u2019s important to be open-minded about who you might connect with and why. You never know how deep a connection can go, but it\u2019s worth trying to reduce loneliness or build your network with a bit of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n While this sect of apps and services is meant for members to cultivate lasting bonds and friendships, walking away with a BFF is, of course, not always guaranteed.<\/p>\n Shortly after moving to NYC last July, Mathew M., a 23-year-old engineer based in Midtown West, found the \u201cmajority of (his) friend group\u201d through 222\u2019s meet-ups. However, he wasn\u2019t as successful when he joined a soccer league through Volo<\/a>, an adult social sports network with a strong presence in NYC.<\/p>\n \u201cVolo lacks a lot of structure,\u201d the Manhattanite told The Post. \u201cA lot of our games were canceled due to weather, with nothing rescheduled. They kind of (use) the 222 format, where you go play a game and then go to a bar. But no one really goes to the bars after. There\u2019s no real pushing you towards the social side of it, which is why people do these things\u2026I think it\u2019s super hit or miss.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily for Julie Ferguson, CEO and founder of Positive Momentum Project<\/a>, her friend-making attempt was a hit. <\/p>\n The 39-year-old tried both Timeleft and NYC Brunch Squad<\/a> after finding herself bombarded with Instagram ads for both shortly after moving to NYC in 2022, when she was looking to grow her network and general friend group.<\/p>\n Julie Ferguson (L) and Veronica Hernandez (R) met through NYC Brunch Squad. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n Ferguson (L) and Hernandez (R) grabbing a late-night bite. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n Timeleft, an app where users sign up for Wednesday night dinners with six \u201clike-minded\u201d people who sync up with one\u2019s general demographic and neighborhood, turned out to be a fun but temporary hit for Ferguson because she found it too \u201crestrictive\u201d for her schedule and wasn\u2019t a fan of the co-ed service, noting that both \u201cwomen and men tend to act slightly different when the opposite sex is around.\u201d<\/p>\n But with NYC Brunch Squad, a women-only operation that hosts events\u00a0ranging from book clubs to upstate apple-picking, she enjoyed the slightly more elevated, female empowerment-focused vibe. She also met one of her closest friends, Veronica Hernandez, through the group, whose Austin, Texas, wedding she\u2019ll be attending in a few weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m super grateful for Veronica\u2019s friendship \u2014 she\u2019s got a kind heart and she\u2019s really fun to be around,\u201d Ferguson told the Post. \u201cWe\u2019re like kindred spirits. I wouldn\u2019t have met her if I hadn\u2019t gone to New York City Brunch Squad, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n The duo has become very close friends. stefano Giovannini for NY Post<\/p>\n For 29-year-old sales manager Caroline S., signing up for Hot and Social<\/a> \u2014 a Big Apple-based events company founded by content creator Liv Schreiber<\/a> that curates gatherings designed to help adults connect and make friends \u2014 turned out to be a major hit.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York is such a social city on the surface, but it can actually feel really isolating because everyone is busy, always on the go and already has their routines,\u201d Caroline, who tried the service to meet \u201cother girls in NYC who shared similar interests and were open to making new friends,\u201d told The Post. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not always easy to meet people in a genuine way. What Hot and Social does so well is take away that awkward barrier \u2014 everyone shows up with the same intention of meeting people, which makes it feel so much more natural and less intimidating,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n A group of eager New Yorkers at a Hot and Social event. @hotandsocial<\/p>\n After attending her first H&S event \u2014 an after-work yoga class at Hall des Lumi\u00e8res \u2014 with a coworker, Caroline met a group of girls with whom she remains close \u201cyears later.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve gone on vacations together and regularly get together for dinners and nights out,\u201d said the sales manager. <\/p>\n \u201cThose friendships have grown into something much deeper than just people I met at an event, which I think really speaks to how genuine the connections can be. I\u2019d like to think the universe would have brought us together somehow \u2014 but I\u2019m so grateful that Liv and the Hot and Social team helped spark those relationships and make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t