I've been meaning to do a review of the dating sites that I have used on this blog for AGES and now that summer's over and we're fast approaching cuddle season, there's no better time than the present.
These are just my opinions from my own experiences so if you've had success then share it in the comments so others can benefit. Make sure you've read part 1 of the series before you proceed :)
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Match.com
Cost
£29.99 per month
The Good
Name's become synonymous with online dating thanks to lots of mainstream marketing so it's becoming more and more acceptable to mention Match.com as a place to go for relationship seeking. I found there was a decent mix of yummy and scummy males on here, much more balanced than any of the other sites.
The Bad
Without paying membership, you can't see what most sites give you for free i.e. winks, favorites, email usernames, views.
Verdict
Little known tip, Match merged with another dating site called Dating Direct. Dating Direct still operates and the two sites are identical including an identical userbase. Members of Match also appear on DD by default and vice versa.
If you're female, Dating Direct is free for you to use including emails, winks, views, etc. Sorry lads, you guys still have to pay your own way. But seriously, the two sites are identical. See for yourself.
See? You're welcome.
eHarmony
Cost
£44.95 per month
The Good
I joined eHarmony on a 3 month free trial and went on a total of 1 date. We went to Winter Wonderland. It didn't work out but it was a fun date.
The Bad
You have no control over your matches as there is no search functionality. The site presents you with 5-10 "matches" per day and you can choose to start a convo or ignore. More often than not, the matches I got hadn't logged onto the site in months. When you do see a match who is active that you like, you are not allowed to send them a message. You get to choose from a list of over 100 questions to send to the match for them to respond. They respond with answers and their own questions and back and forth you go until the site reckons you can be trusted to send an actual email.
Verdict
That price is RIDICULOUS. Beware their periodic "free" weekend communication offers, you will be allowed to communicate with matches but you can't see any of their pictures until you pay the membership fee in full. Until they can guarantee that all matches you get are currently active, there's no way I'd ever use eHarmony again.
Tinder
Cost
Free
The Good
I've mentioned Tinder on the blog before. I like that it's free. I love that the only people who can contact you are people who you have said yes to. If only other dating sites could get on board with this premise!
The Bad
https://www.tumblr.com/search/tinder - Take your pick. Seriously.
Verdict
I have found that the ONLY people who love Tinder are my coupled up friends, they can't get enough and all at some stage or another have said to me that if they were single they would love it. Well, I'm single and I'm not that keen. It's a little soul destroying to find a match, start a decent conversation with someone seemingly normal, then have them post a nude picture on their "moments" feed. The lack of image filtering and the casual nature of the app itself means it is no place for anyone who still believes in true love and fairytales haha.
Lovestruck
Cost
£39 per month
The Good
They host free unofficial happy hours every other week at a random bar in London. If you're single and looking, you ask for a red straw when you order your drink at the bar. It's fantastic if you're the shy type. They're always free and all are welcome.
The Bad
Quality of males wasn't great I found and the price of membership is crazy high.
Verdict
I like the idea of Lovestruck and their undercover red straw parties sound like an awesome idea. The price of membership is a dealbreaker though and I didn't get the sense their userbase was particularly large for the London area. Just my opinion though, maybe I was being very picky.
Plenty Of Fish (POF)
Cost
Free
The Good
There are literally MILLIONS of people on the site. Millions. Everyone you know who has been single in the last 10 years has dabbled with a Plenty of Fish profile. You get a good chunk of functionality for free and you can control who gets to message you to a certain degree (i.e. restrict age, distance from you, potentially lewd users, etc).
The Bad
It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. There are as many fake pictures and fake profiles as there are real pictures and real profiles. Trying to stand out from the POF crowd is like trying to stand out from the crowd at a Justin Timberlake concert. Can be disconcerting to send messages and not get a response but there have been lots of success stories from the site so it is possible.
Verdict
It's good to keep a profile live as you never know who'll stumble upon it. The sheer number of users means standing out is hard but with what seems like all of the UK on the site, you never know ;)
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So there you have it folks. Hopefully this little two part series has made you decide to give online dating a go. Just be safe, be smart, trust your gut instincts and you never know. You might just stumble across that special someone.......'s profile lol.
xxs