Best Dating Sites 2018

How to Choose the Right Dating Site

These are the top dating sites on the market today. Read on for in-depth details on features, plans, and pricing. 

Zoosk

• Expert machine learning match algorithm
• Fantastic mobile app
• Fun match search and profile promotion

Zoosk is certainly the cool kid on the block. With a fresh and fun approach to online dating,  Zoosk helps singles find their matches in a simple and non-burdensome way. To start with, you don’t waste hours taking boring questionnaires for the system to learn about you and your preferences. Instead, Zoosk is simplicity at its best. It displays a single profile at a time, lets you look it over and decide what to do next without all of the distractions of news feeds and messages dividing your attention.

Remember, Zoosk has roughly 38 million members, so you have an impressive dating pool to wade through. Most people appreciate the fun gimmicks Zoosk uses to help promote your profile to other singles. You can purchase things like mega flirts or profile boosters. Of course, Zoosk lets you take the quieter route too, playing the matchmaker with its Behavioral Matchmaking engine. This is a sophisticated algorithm that creates matches based on your preferences. The coolest part of this engine is that it improves every time you use the Zoosk website, learning more about you as you go along.

Plus, you’re going to love the Zoosk mobile app. It’s fast, it’s sleek, and it has all the functionality of the desktop version and more! 

Read the full review

Match.com

• Involved search functionality
• Constantly updating software
• Live singles events

Match.com is a popular online dating site because it’s easy to use and successful at matching people up. In fact, Match.com has created more continuous dating (i.e., not a one date and drop) experiences than any other dating site. According to statistics, 38% of members had at least a month-long relationship from a Match.com match, and 33% continued those relationships for more than 4 months.

You don’t have to be ready to tie the knot to make use of Match.com, though. This site is committed to helping its users find exactly what they’re looking for, whether it's someone they want to walk down the aisle with or a date to spur the Walk of Shame.

Match.com is known for its incredible behavioral learning software that helps make matches. And while there are other dating sites that offer similar machine learning algorithms to suggest matches, none have it quite down to the science that Match.com does. It learns about you through your choices to really get to know what you are looking for. Crazy enough, the Match.com system sometimes gets to know your preferences better than you know yourself!

Of course, if you still like doing things the old fashion way, Match.com hosts singles events regularly, so that you can get all dolled up for a night out on the town in the hopes of finding the partner of your dreams. 

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OurTime

• Specializes in singles over 50
• Numerous options for interaction
• Easy-to-use website

OurTime is not your typical online dating website. In fact, it’s dedicated to singles who have celebrated more than half a century on this earth. Not that this limits you to a paltry dating pool. OurTime has over 1.4 million visitors coming to its site every month, so you have plenty of options to choose from. The website is easy to use, accounts are a snap to set up, and profiles take a short time to fill out, the perfect formula for people over 50 who don't want to spend lots of time unraveling the mysteries of convoluted websites.

Members can take it slow with a one-month membership or opt for the cheaper 6-month plan. This brings the price down almost 50%, so if you are serious about dating, the bulk package is certainly worth your while. It also comes with additional features that a single month plan misses out on. The 1-month plan offers messaging and IMing, mobile access, and the ability to see which members are interested in you right now. The advanced plan adds message read notifications, message highlighting, and profile highlighting.

You can interact with other members in a variety of ways and set your personal preferences according to your privacy comfort level. Chat, send a flirt, video message, or more within the OurTime system for fun and safe date vetting. 

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Choose the Right Dating Site: 4 Questions to Guide Your Decision

1 - What Type of Relationship Are You Looking For?

Before deciding which dating site to sign up for, consider your desired outcome. Whether you’re looking to meet interesting people, start dating again after a heartbreak or searching for that person to start a family with, dating sites aren’t a “one size fits all” deal.

EliteSingles, for example, is best suited for daters seeking a serious relationship. While signing up is a lengthy process involving a thorough questionnaire, the result is quality matches with the potential for long-term commitment.

Another site for people looking for a serious relationship, is OurTime, which is dedicated to singles over the age of 50 looking for companionship, love, and romance.

No matter what type of relationship you’re looking for, there’s a dating site—or multiple sites—to meet your needs. Compare some of the best sites to help guide your decision.

2 - Do You Prefer Being Matched or Searching Independently?

Personal preferences matter with online dating—just as they do with offline dating. Some people want to search through profiles before deciding who to chat with, while others feel more comfortable being set up. Luckily, the world of online dating has answers for both.

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match:

One of the major benefits of using a dating site is the ability to filter potential matches according to the values and characteristics that matter most to you. This immediate screening saves time and energy by ruling out people who aren’t compatible.

For singles who want to be set up, sites like Zoosk bring matches straight to your inbox on a daily basis. With Zoosk’s patented Behavioral Matchmaking technology, the site studies your likes, interests and disinterests to provide the most compatible matches.

The search:

Another benefit of online dating is the options. Dating sites bring together enormous numbers of singles, who may have otherwise never met. Using the search filters, you can explore your options based on specific preferences.

Match offers extensive search filters and sorting functionality. Basic filters include parameters such as gender, age, and location, along with more specific fields such as background, interests, and lifestyle.

3 - Which Features Matter Most?

While dating sites all provide singles with the same essential service—a platform to meet new people and find a potential partner—each site does it in a different way.

Compare the features available on the best dating sites to choose the right one for you. Differentiating features include online chat or video chat, safety features like photo verification, and dating games. Choose a dating site that offers the features which are most important to you.

For people with safety concerns, Zoosk offers a photo verification feature to ensure that users are honest, and Match offers offline events where singles can meet up in a group setting. 

As you begin your online dating journey, explore the features available on different sites. Use the comparison chart above, reviews, and relevant articles to guide your decision.

4 - How Much Will it Cost Me?

Many of the best dating sites offer free sign up or a free trial period. However, to unlock all features and communication tools, you’ll need to subscribe. Consider the features, matchmaking and search capabilities, and overall quality of the sites as you compare prices. As with most things, you get what you pay for.

Joining a dating site is a smart investment. If you put yourself out there, you won’t need to subscribe for long. After all, it’s worth it — this is your future and happiness at stake.