Best Online Dating Sites
Based on In-Depth Reviews

With more than 35 million members and a mobile app available for iOS and Android, Zoosk allows its customers to reach a wide range of individuals with similar interests and pursuits. As an online dating platform that’s available in more than 80 countries around the world, Zoosk is an international service that knows no boundaries. 

Zoosk is part of the Sparks Network family of service and has an A+ rating with the BBB. However, its Trustpilot score is a poor 2.22 out of 5, with a number of customer reviews complaining about fake profiles and unwanted messages.

Subscription term lengths for every preference

Zook offers four subscription offers: twelve months, six months, three months, or one month. Prices vary accordingly and customers can choose whether to make a one-time payment or pay each plan on a per month basis. The current subscription offers are: $99.99 for a one year plan (or $8.33 per month), $65.99 for a six month plan (or $11.00 per month), $59.95 for a three month plan (or $19.98 per month), or $29.95 for a one month plan. 

Members can sign up for free to preview the site and browse its features. That way, potential customers can get an idea of how the website works and view its members. Customers can choose to subscribe to be able to message other members and get to know them.

Compatibility is everything

To further help your chances in finding the right person, Zoosk employs its SmartPick feature which evaluates the compatibility between its members. The feature learns from your like and dislike votes so that it can improve the recommendations it provides. Answering the SmartPick survey and constantly voting on member profiles will further improve your future recommendations. There are many other features on the site, such as Carousel, Super Send, Great Dates, and Zooks Live that help you reach more people or better connect with interested members.

Help is on the way

For those new to online dating or who might need pointers in navigating the current dating scene, Zoosk offers its advice platform The Date Mix. Featuring sections on dating tips, relationships and the single life, The Date Mix looks to provide pointers and suggestions on how to approach an interested person, activities to do together, and things to say to get a conversation going. 

EliteSingles is an online matching service that looks to connect compatible partners for a long-lasting, meaningful relationship. Using an extensive questionnaire to determine personal preferences in partners and types of relationship, EliteSingles strives to help busy professionals find the match they’ve been looking for.

EliteSingles is part of Spark Networks Services GmbH, one of Europe’s leading online match-making service providers. The service is available in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa. 

The match-making process and how it works

EliteSingles uses a matching process based on a five factor personality questionnaire that members fill out during their initial registration process. Matches are based on the answers to the questionnaire and each individual's search preferences. 

The service considers a whole range of demographic data to find better matches according to personal preferences. The questionnaire asks questions regarding gender, race, age, education level, and profession, as well as more pointed questions about what each member is looking for in a relationship. This includes questions regarding plans on having a family in the future and the importance of a partner's religion. Using this data, EliteSingles attempts to find the perfect match for you.

The service also provides regional dating guides to help singles in specific cities find matches closer to them.

Membership options and subscription plans

Customers can join EliteSingles as basic members to test out the service and enjoy several free features, including results of your personality test, suggestions for possible partners, photo uploading, and the ability to send smiles and likes to other members (but not messages).

In order to access additional features and perks, members must subscribe to a Premium membership plan. Premium members can receive additional details about their personality test results, get more partner suggestions, view their Profile visits, unlimited sending and receiving of messages with other members, access to photos, the ability to leave messages on other’s profiles and photos, and access to the Have You Met? feature that provides up to 20 matches each day.

Premium services come in three subscription term lengths, with longer subscriptions affording greater savings. A 12-month Premium subscription costs $31.95, a six-month plan is $44.95, and a three-month membership costs $57.95. All of these are charged as a one-time payment at the beginning of the subscription term.

Security and privacy as a priority

An important aspect of online dating is maintaining a sense of security and privacy. EliteSingles vets all dating profiles to ensure that real people are using the service, eliminating inactive members and those with suspicious activities. The company confirms the authenticity of the profile and uses fraud detection systems and SSL encryption to make sure that each member’s data is secure. Further, the company states it does not share or sell your information to third parties.

As an additional measure for keeping a secure website, the company offers articles with helpful advice on how to enjoy online dating safely, providing dos and don’ts on how to engage with other members and what type of information should not be shared.

As an online dating service specifically designed for singles aged 50 and up, SilverSingles provides a matchmaking process focused on connecting members who share similar interests and outlooks with an easy-to-use web interface and mobile app. Starting out in 2002, SilverSingles has been a leading company in over 50 online dating and is currently available for singles in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, France, and Germany.

Designed for the mature dating scene

Registering on SilverSingles is a straightforward and easy process. Customers create an account and a dating profile followed by an extensive personality test that determines your personal preferences in partners and relationships. The questionnaire is based on a five-factor model that utilizes psychological methods to assess personalities. The answers to these questions will help the service’s algorithm connect you with the most compatible older and mature matches available. The site states that it presents you with three to seven matches a day.

Premium costs for a premium service

Customers who register are automatically enrolled in SilverSingles’ free Basic membership. While the basic package does not include many of the perks of a paid membership, it does allow the customer to get a sense of how the service works and the type of members you can meet. 

Once you’re ready to move onto meeting new people, SilverSingles offers its Premium option, a paid membership that allows you to access the service’s full features. This includes unlimited communication with other premium members, read receipts to know when someone has viewed your message, a search feature to browse more member profiles, as well as the ability to create a more detailed personal profile. 

Premium packages can be purchased in twelve, six, and three month options, with prices on the higher end of online dating services. The 12-month package costs $27.95 a month, the six-month package is $37.95 a month, and the three-month option is $49.95 a month.

Launched in 2001, Christian Mingle is the leading online dating service for single men and women of the Christian faith. The website’s goal is to provide a platform where singles can connect with like-minded individuals who are looking for a God-centered relationship. The service currently has over 15 million members. 

Believe: Expert advice for Christian dating

Part of Christina Mingle’s services include an online magazine called Believe that provides Christian dating advice to help make the online matchmaking experience that much more comfortable. The virtual magazine provides tips and suggestions that go a long way towards helping you meet the right person such as how to properly use the dating app, how to update your profile to maximize your visibility, and how to handle the first date. 

Believe also includes a bountiful selection of testimonials and real-life stories of couples who met and found love through the service. These stories can serve as inspiration for singles who are still on their journey towards meeting the right person. 

Two types of membership 

Singles who wish to participate in Christian Mingle can sign up for a free membership by completing an online form. The free membership includes the ability to post up to six photos, lets you receive “ Your Matches” emails, allows you to browse the Christian Mingle member database, and lets you purchase a Spotlight service that highlights your profile for others to see. 

Meanwhile, the service offers a premium membership for which members pay a lump sum fee in order to access additional amenities. These include an advanced messaging feature that lets you contact any member on Christian Mingle, the ability to read, reply, and receive read receipts on your messages, and further privacy controls to have a better handle of your information and who is able to see it.

Unfortunately, the website does not include information about its costs unless you become a member. Then you can see the premium options if you want to upgrade. Premium memberships come in six-, three-, and one-month plans, each billed as a one-time lump sum when initially purchased. The six-month premium plan costs $149.94, the three-month plan is $104.97, and the one-month plan is $49.99.

There is no phone number to contact customer support but members can submit a request online and receive an answer “as soon as possible”, according to the website.

J-Date is the world’s premier online dating website for Jewish singles who are searching for connections and relationships. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Sparks Network of online matchmaking services, and has been in service since 1997.

Types of services and costs

Just like other online dating services in the Sparks Network, J-Date offers two membership experiences: free and premium. 

The free membership is available to anybody who signs up and submits the initial profile, including a picture. The service lets you post up to six profile photos, search and browse the website’s member database, receive emails with possible matches, and purchase a spotlight feature that makes your profile stand out prominently on the website.

Premium memberships allow for further advanced features to be used. The Messaging+ feature lets you communicate with any member of the service, no matter if they are basic or premium subscribers. Premium members can read and reply to all messages, get read receipts messages to know when another member has read what you sent, and enhanced privacy control that includes an anonymous browsing mode, lets you hide your status, and gives you the option of removing your profile from search results.

Although we could not find any information regarding pricing on the J-Date website, searching online we found that premium services come in three types, depending on the term length of subscription. A six-month subscription costs $29.99 a month, a three-month subscription costs $44.99 a month, and a one-month subscription costs $59.99 a month. 

Dating resources for Jewish singles

Jlife is a specific section of the website that’s dedicated to providing Jewish singles with information and guides about online dating, culture, and activities. It also shares member’s success stories, providing a resource for singles who are still looking for love and a relationship online. The section, however, has not been updated recently, though there are still hundreds of older articles available to browse.

Emphasizing customer service and safety

J-Date’s customer support team is U.S.-based and provides assistance seven days a week. Although no telephone number is provided on the website, there is an online form you can fill out to send a message regarding any issue that arises.

The website provides helpful information on how to maintain online security while using its services. Safety tips for dating such as keeping communication within the site’s platform, not sharing personal, private information or sending money to an online contact, always meet in public, and alert J-Date of any suspicious or malicious activity. 

J-Date commits to reviewing every single profile and photo posted on its website. It also investigates any concerns a member might have about harassment or fraudulent profiles.

eharmony is sometimes considered the go-to for people looking for a serious relationship due to their lengthy psychological personality quiz . The quiz consists of around more than 100 questions and aims to match couples based on what eharmony calls the “32 dimensions of compatibility.” 

eharmony believes how you answer the questionnaire can determine personality traits that may influence a relationship’s outcome—how much you value and fare in certain areas such as emotional intimacy, altruism, conscientiousness, and extraversion, for example. These characteristics are then shown in people’s profiles alongside a compatibility percentage score.

Screenshots from eharmony.com, January 2020

Although you can technically sign up for free, eharmony provides very little in its free membership. Like many other paid sites, you wouldn't be able to see pictures of your matches or send messages. Its benefits really kick in if you sign up for any of the three premium plans, priced depending on the length of membership. 

Match set this whole business in motion back in 1995 as the first ever online dating site. Inevitably, the site’s age makes it one of the most widely known dating sites resulting in over nine million paying members. 

Match’s eponymous owner, Match Group, also owns some of the top names in the online dating service market: Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge, amongst others.

As the oldest online dating site around, Match is usually compared to other big names like eHarmony and OkCupid. The three feature extensive profiles so it's easier for users to find ideal matches, but Match’s sign up process is quite shorter than the other two—there’s no need to undergo a personality questionnaire. 

On-demand coaching service

Last year Match premiered AskMatch, a date coaching service. The advice comes directly from professional dating coaches and certified matchmakers. According to this TechCrunch article, users can call the service directly from the app and get advice on how to set up their profile or even on how to talk to a match. You must be a premium member to use the service. 

The service started off in New York but was expected to be available nationwide by January 2020.

Keep an eye out for “you caught his eye” emails

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced in September 2019 that they were suing Match Group, owners of Match, for allegedly using fake or flagged profiles to trick people into paying for premium subscriptions on Match.

According to a press release, the FTC believes the company knew the messages free Match users were receiving came from fraudulent accounts but they still encouraged them to subscribe to the premium membership so they could see and answer these messages.

Match responded to the lawsuit stating that they “catch and neutralize 85% of potentially improper accounts in the first four hours, typically before they are even active on the site, and 96% of improper accounts within a day.”