Joe Levy of
Rolling Stone suggested that the track "may be carving out a role for [Gomez] as a pop torch singer", describing it as "moody and catchy without being obvious". In comparison with Gomez's previous single "
Good for You", Joe Coscarelli of
The New York Times viewed "Same Old Love" as the more obvious single choice. Nolan Feeney of
Time magazine quipped, "'Same old' pop song this is not". Emily Mackay from
The Observer found the song's understated sound "most surprising [...], despite the hit-making co-writers", deeming it a winning collaboration. Kevin O'Donnell of
Entertainment Weekly said the song's "simple approach shines through".
AllMusic's Tim Sendra praised the "snappy, sassy" sound of "Same Old Love", and felt it did "a fine job" at straying from a formula he felt was common in most of Gomez's music. In a review for
ABC News, Allan Raible opined that the song "gets better with each repeated listen" and complimented Gomez's "convincing level of sincerity". Some reviewers were less favorable.
USA Today critic Elysa Gardner viewed the track as "crisp but generic". Dave Hanratty of
Drowned in Sound found the song engaging, but was critical of XCX "[dominating it] entirely", calling it a leftover from XCX's 2014 album
Sucker. Similarly,
Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani felt the track lacked originality, noting that it was "dominated by the unmistakable presence of Charli XCX". Mikael Wood from the
Los Angeles Times opined that "Same Old Love" was a bold borrowing from XCX's music. Conversely, Michael Cragg of
The Guardian said, "Regardless of its history, and who may or may not be singing what, 'Same Old Love' is ludicrously catchy and oddly brutal." ==Chart performance==