Looking for love? These days, there’s a pretty fair chance you’ll search online for romance. According to a 2013 survey from the Pew Research Center, 1 out of 5 adults ages 25 to 34 had used an online dating site.
But just as there are plenty of fish in the sea, there are lots of “nets” you can catch them with, from Match.com to a dating site called PlentyOfFish. But how do these sites stack up against each other, how much do they cost and what do you get for your money?
This is not a comprehensive list of everything available, but if you’re looking for a dating site to join, you have plenty of options. Some dating sites are free, and with others, you can browse profiles before deciding whether to pay for a membership. Just don’t expect to have a clear idea of what you’ll pay for a dating site until you begin the sign-up process. Most sites offer some form of dynamic pricing, which means the price depends on what part of the country you’re in, the time of year and possibly your gender.
OKCupid.com. This site is free, making it one of the more popular sites. You can communicate with anyone you want, and if you choose to pay for a premium membership, you can, for instance, browse profiles without other members knowing you’ve checked them out. One of the quirks about this site is that there are a lot of questions (apparently in the low thousands) you can answer. The more questions a potential match answers, the better you can gauge your chemistry. Plus, the questions are sometimes thought-provoking, and sometimes kind of weird, so you may have fun answering them.
EHarmony. This is one of the pricier dating sites. How much? It depends. For instance, eHarmony is currently running a promotion for $39.30 a month if you buy someone a year’s membership. The site is also touting a yearlong membership for $15.95 a month if you use a promo code. Sign up for a free membership (you won’t be able to see photos), and you’ll get steep discounts via email.
Arguably, the benefit of joining a site like this is that you’ll find serious-minded members who really want to meet someone, since they’re paying for the service. And as the TV commercials point out, you’ll answer several questions at the outset (give yourself at least an hour to leisurely go through them), and then hopefully you’ll be matched with good candidates.
Match.com. You’ve probably heard of Match.com. Who hasn’t? It’s been around since 1995. Prices vary, but the average cost is $20 a month, according to the company. One compelling reason to join is that a lot of people do. (Some dating sites have pretty slim pickings when it comes to profiles.) As of 2015, Match.com had 2.39 million paying members.
Zoosk. This is a “free” site. That is, you can look at profiles and photos for free. But if you want to contact anyone, you’ll have to get a paid membership, and what you pay may vary. Zoosk doesn’t state what you’ll pay, and a request to the company went unanswered.
You can also buy virtual coins and use them to unlock and access premium features, according to the Zoosk’s website, which is something former member Beth Carter wasn’t crazy about. “I’ve been divorced for over 11 years and have been on many sites. Zoosk is the strangest by far,” says Carter, a business owner who runs Beth Carter Enterprises, an executive coaching service.
PlentyOfFish. This site is free, although you can buy a premium membership. An email requesting the price of a PlentyOfFish membership went unanswered, however. As is the general rule with paid dating sites, the longer the period you join for, the cheaper it is. If you’re an optimist, you may think you’ll meet someone immediately and may opt for shorter membership, right? So in a sense, by discounting longer-term memberships, you could argue that many dating sites reward pessimism.
ChristianMingle.com. Designed for like-minded Christians, this site has become popular partly due to a wave of TV ads. You can browse for free, but like many sites, you have to pay if you want to meet someone. The site, also like many others, doesn’t tell you the price of membership.
HowAboutADate.com. Around since 2011, this site offers a free, 30-day, five-message plan for users to try. After that, there are various pricing plans, starting with $9.95 a month for 50 messages.
Dao Nguyen, the site’s founder and a San Francisco-based software engineer, says she was having trouble meeting someone, so she decided to create a dating site focused on pairing people with similar interests. Nguyen says you post the type of date you want to go on, you receive replies, you (hopefully) choose someone and then you go out.
Nguyen is still single but says she uses her own site and has met many nice guys. She just hasn’t found the right one yet. “I’m very picky,” she admits.
Tips for getting more from your dating service. Brad Hines, a Boston-based serial entrepreneur, social media strategist and occasional user of free dating sites, says he has been paid by some people to improve their user profiles on dating sites. Hines has a couple of suggestions for anyone who wants to dress up their profile and boost their chances of finding a match.
First, Hines suggests posting at least three photos for other members to peruse, but no more than five or six. These should all be reasonably well-shot. “No cellphone selfies, hopefully,” he says.
Hines recommends having one headshot, one showing you from head to toe and another perhaps illustrating your interests.
He says to avoid having a friend in a photo, especially in the first picture people see. He says that’s especially important when using dating mobile apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, which enable users to quickly look at the photo, and, with the swipe of their hand, connect or move onto a new profile.
“It can be very awkward — and probably a blow to the ego — when you find out that the person who swiped for you thought the profile was of your friend,” he says.
More from U.S. News
12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender
10 Fun, Frugal Ways to Spend Your Free Time
10 Ways to Stay in Shape on a Budget
How Finding a Soul Mate Can Cost You originally appeared on usnews.com
