The following review of free online dating sites in New Zealand and the world is to help you in making a choice in finding your perfect date. Take into consideration that many singles looking for love or friendship join several free online dating services. This way they can create different profiles and check out which one gets them more results, thus increasing their chances of meeting someone special. You too should feel like trying several to see which ones suit you best.
For this review we selected six (6) well-known sites from all over the world; we used profile search criteria such as age range, interests and location; we analyzed the membership numbers and compared prices; we assessed strengths and weaknesses for each site and checked what other people wrote about them on independent review sites.
We can’t know all options, so we’ve chosen to include six (6) best free online dating services, but if you’re looking for more, don’t miss our specialized review on ” Senior Dating Sites-Best Free Sites for Over 50 Singles ” or our list of the top 15 general dating sites that are not listed here .
1- Match.com
Overview : One of the largest and most successful relationship companies since 1995. The company operates websites in UK , Spain , France , Germany , Brazil , Australia and China . On its 18 main websites it hosts more than 20 million active members who are men and women between 18-50 years old wishing to find partners from all over the world by using the Internet as their main tool.
Monthly Price : $27.99 for 6 months; $34.99 for 12 months; $39.99 for 24 months
Pros : High number of members (20 million worldwide); Wide variety of profile options; Contact notification system; Tinder-like winks feature with most popular users’ photos highlighted at the top of your screen; Big choice in most popular cities worldwide, where you are sure to find singles looking for love in the same location as you are ; Online chat rooms available .
Cons : Profile information is more limited compared to other sites’ profiles giving only a small amount of textual information about each member’s likes and dislikes. The company also warns that it bans accounts , but some people have complained of being banned without any reason.
2- Okcupid.com Overview : One of the first free online dating services on the Internet founded in 2002. The company operates solely on the Internet with no telephone number or mailing address available for members to contact at any time. It hosts more than 30 million registered users worldwide.
Monthly Price : Basic membership of $10 per month, but two other paid options are available for people looking for additional features; Premium membership costs $180 per year; A la carte friendship option is also available .
Pros : Big choice in most popular cities worldwide (of course not as many as Match’s); Highly customizable profiles including 20+ fields like “Five things I can’t live without” and “Songs I like”; Questionnaire system allowing members to better indicate their type of partner; Plenty of options for same-sex relationships; Most popular users’ profiles are highlighted on top of your screen, allowing you to see who swiped right (for “yes”) and who swiped left (for “no”) on your pictures.
Cons : Basic membership does not allow access to search profiles by email or physical location. This might be a setback if you are looking for serious long term relationship or dating in specific locations worldwide. Some people have also reported being banned without any reason given by the company , but many complaints about this have been addressed by customer service teams so it is likely that this is an isolated case rather than a widespread issue.
3- Blackpeoplemeet.com Overview : The company’s main service is dating between black singles. It hosts more than 2 million active members worldwide, with an average age of about 25 years old.
Monthly Price : $15 for basic membership; Premium membership costs $25 per year .
Pros : High number of members (2 million worldwide); Contact notification system allowing members to be notified when someone looks at their profile or sends them a winks, messages or replies to their messages; Can browse profiles based on location hence finding suitable matches in any part of the world is possible .
Cons : The company has received many complaints about it being difficult to cancel accounts so check carefully if you don’t want to keep your account after one month; Basic membership does not allow access to search profiles by email or physical location.
4- Ourtime.com Overview : It hosts over 8.5 million active members worldwide with an average age of 47 years old (men older than women). The company also operates two other sites for different age groups; Ourtwentyfourseven and Meet50plus .
Monthly Price : $24.95 per month or $35.95 per month if you choose the 6 months package .
Pros : High number of members over 8 million worldwide, making it easy to find someone in any part of the world using this website; Most popular users’ profiles are highlighted on top of your screen, allowing you to see who swiped right (for “yes”) and who swiped left (for “no”) on your pictures; Plenty of options for same-sex relationships.
Cons : Basic membership does not allow access to search profiles by email or physical location .
5- Feeld.com Overview : The company operates solely on the Internet with no telephone number or mailing address available for members to contact at any time. It hosts more than 2 million active users worldwide, mainly in Europe, but also in Australia and the United States.
Monthly Price : Memberships are monthly at $14 per month if you pay upfront or can choose a 6 months plan that costs around $8 per month .
and pop-ups on the website; Plenty of options for same-sex relationships .
Cons : High monthly price of up to $14 which is more expensive than any other dating site mentioned above; No search option by email or physical location hence making it less likely that one would find a suitable match using this website.
6- OKcupid.com Overview : It hosts about 4 million active users worldwide with a wide variety of cultures represented on its database, especially people from the United States, Canada and Australia. The company also runs two other websites called Okcupid Locals and Okcupid plus Plus .
Monthly cost : The basic level of service is free but if you want to contact other members, you are required to upgrade. With the paid account, an average monthly cost ranges from $6 to $16.
Pros : Offers a wide range of services including instant messaging, emailing and online chat; Members can upload up to ten images for free; It has an option that helps older adults find matches with people within their age group.
Cons : Its search function often gives irrelevant suggestions hence making it hard for users to find potential matches especially if they are looking for specific things in a match such as living close or being interested in religion or even certain activities. Also ranked second on our list of least popular dating sites due to its confusing interface.
7- EliteSingles.com Overview : It is a highly exclusive dating site with about 500,000 active users across the globe; but despite attracting such high number of members, it has not listed any scientific evidence to prove that its members are for real when it comes to online dating.
Monthly cost : $35 per month if you sign up for 6 months in advance.
Pros : Makes use of personality questionnaire which helps search for potential matches without disclosing your identity; Offers half-price deal on six months membership plan; Has an in-depth questionnaire that aims at understanding the mindset of members hence making it easy to send interest or wink feature .
Cons : Aspects like age and physical type are preferred by most people using an online dating site hence making it less likely that you would find someone with your preferred type of match; It has a match-pro feature which is paid service, so this might deter free members from using the site if they are unable to upgrade.
8- Plentyoffish.com Overview : PlentyOfFish (POF) was founded in 2003 by Markus Frind and incorporated in Canada as “Plenty Of Fish Media Inc.” under Registrar of Companies number M144436. The name PlentyOfFish came about because there were already many dating websites but just few that adequately served all people who needed matching services.
Monthly cost : Free, although it offers premium account for $16 per month or even more depending on how long you want the membership to last.
Pros : It has an easy-to-use search function that helps users find potential matches; Its profile building tool makes it easier for members to prepare their profiles; Offers instant messaging and chat options.
Cons : The site is not user friendly hence making it unappealing especially to its target audience; Has negative reviews from media publications like The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail , CBC News, Xtra! Canada (an LGBT news organization) among others who claim that the website allows scammers to create fake profiles, thus creating false hope for real people looking for real love. They also claim that Plenty of Fish does little or nothing about these fake profiles since they make money off their monthly fees regardless of these fake profiles.
9- eHarmony.com Overview : It is one of the most popular dating sites in United States; created by Neil Clark Warren who has appeared on various television programs as a relationship expert. He also founded Church of Christ , which is one of the first online churches.
Monthly cost : $40 for 3-months membership; $24 per month if you sign up for 1 year; Free to create your account but if you want to contact other member, you are required to upgrade.
Pros : One good thing about this site is that it only charges members once they find someone they wish to communicate with and not just registration or monthly fees hence making it affordable; Its compatibility questionnaire helps its users find potential matches who share same values and interests.
Cons : One of the biggest issues with eHarmony is that they claim to be a Christian dating site yet does not allow access from countries like Philippines where majority of its residents are Catholics; Members can only communicate outside the website by charging them $1 per email or $4 to respond to emails received; Does not provide contact options for users who no longer wish to use their services hence defeating the purpose of online dating.
10- Zoosk.com Overview : It is one of the most popular social networking websites that specialize in online dating; founded in 2007 by Shayan Zadeh, Gidi Raz and Alex Mehr. The company was launched TechCrunch40 conference where it won the Audience Choice Award.
Monthly cost : $20 for 3-months membership; $15 per month if you sign up for 6 months; Free to create your account but only limited features are available unless you upgrade to premium membership that costs $35 per month or more depending on how long you wish to be a member.
Pros : The site offers lots of options on how members can meet potential dates; Offers full-screen HD video chat option which is not widely offered by other online dating sites; it has modern design and layout making it appealing especially among its target audience.
Cons : Majority of the users who joined the website were dissatisfied with what they got for their money since most active local singles have already found partners hence making it difficult for new users to find someone they like hence the need to pay just to contact other members; Its site is not user-friendly and navigating through is a challenge.
11- okcupid.com Overview : Founded by four students at Harvard University: Christian Rudder, Sam Yagan, Chris Coyne and Max Krohn in early 2000s; The most popular dating website among millennials due to its effective matching algorithms which help singles find their perfect match based on what they are looking for in a partner.
Monthly cost : free but with limited features unless you upgrade to premium membership that costs $10 per month or more depending on how long you wish your membership last
Pros : It’s really easy to use plus offers lots of features and options; The site is equipped with an automatic translation service which helps make communication easier; Members can upload photos and videos to share their experiences; Offers blog where dating experts post useful tips about online dating.
Cons : Majority of its users are from United States hence making it difficult for foreign singles to join the website since they cannot be able to read other’s messages or answer questionnaires without upgrading their membership plan; It does not have a mobile application which makes it difficult to use if you don’t have full access to computer, tablet or smartphone all the time.
12 Sophisticated People Dating is a new dating website for men and women who believe in love, not lust. This dating website is free to join and allows members to create an online profile as well as browse single men or women without purchasing a membership. In order to communicate with other members via the site’s internal email system, you must first become a member of SophisticatedPeopleDating.com by paying a registration fee. A three-day trial membership is also available so that users can try out all of the features before committing to a permanent membership package. Once inside the dating site, users have access to over fifty search ready categories which allow them to find potential matches quickly and easily based on their interests, body type, age, location and many other factors.