Best Online Dating Services

Full-featured online dating services

With over 15 million profiles, Match.com (*est. $35 per month) is the largest, most popular online dating site in existence, and it is often identified as one of the best online dating sites in reviews. The Match.com website is colorful and has tasteful graphics and an easy interface; it receives good reviews from both experts and users alike. Match.com has more features than most dating services. It helps you to create your profile with several multiple-choice questions, and offers advice on what makes a good profile. Match.com also offers advice on the best way to write an initial e-mail. In addition to basic profiles, users can also set up a video profile or voice greeting. Other features include video e-mails, instant messaging and the ability to make anonymous phone calls. You can talk to other Match.com members without giving out your own phone number.

In reviews, critics are impressed with Match.com's search features. Match.com is the only online dating service that provides keyword searches. If you are looking for someone who likes square dancing (for example), Match.com will turn up profiles of those who also like to square dance. Match.com's dating service also has a two-way matching system that locates members who meet your criteria; it then narrows this list by checking your profile for common interests and preferences. Match.com also has fun personality quizzes so you can learn more about yourself. Like most online dating services, you can browse and search for free, but if you want to read a complete profile you have to register. When you are ready to actually contact someone, then you have to become a member; Match.com subscriptions are offered for one, three or six months. Match.com has three different profile options. You can breeze through the basic profile, but you can also choose to complete more detailed physical and personality profiles.

In an effort to cater to daters seeking personalized matchmaking, Match.com has launched a new Platinum service. Match Platinum connects subscribers with matchmakers who do the work of getting to know you and edit the best matches. Currently only available in Dallas, Texas -- home base for Match.com -- the cost for Match Platinum is determined by your level of commitment and which � la carte features you select.

Lavalife.com is eDateReview.com's choice for the best online dating service. Experts like Lavalife's fun approach, as opposed to eHarmony and PerfectMatch.com's serious attitude. Lavalife divides itself into three sub-sites, depending on your main interest: dating, relationships or intimate encounters. You can browse and search through all three areas, but you have to create a separate profile for each of these three divisions. With Lavalife, you can connect with singles through instant messaging, online chat, e-mails and "smiles" (which indicate interest). It costs nothing to respond to e-mails, smiles and instant messages from other dating service members, but to initiate contact, you have to be a paid member. Photos and video clips can be made public for everyone to see, or private and only available for viewing by permission.

Another online dating site that deserves mention is True.com (*est. $50 per month). What sets this company apart is that it is one of the first dating sites that performed criminal and marital background checks on all its members. The founder, Herbert Vest, has launched a campaign in several states to make new laws that mandate that all online dating services do background checks. True.com attempts to give its members some peace of mind when they enter the dating arena.

However, even True.com can't thwart every creep. In a February 16, 2006 article in the New York Post, Angela Montefinise reports that two registered sex offenders had posted profiles on Match.com, and had been discovered and booted off. One of the two criminals also made it onto True.com; the company said this man made it through the background check because the state where he committed the crime wouldn't release records to commercial businesses. True.com admits that it can't catch everybody, but it does prosecute any felons and report them to the parole board. Married people also aren't allowed on True.com -- the site will search marriage records and deny membership.

True.com isn't as serious as eHarmony or as full-featured as Match.com. You have to register and take the 100-question test before you can search the profiles for free. To contact people and use additional features, you have to be a paid member. You can also add video and audio clips to your profile. True.com is pricier than Match.com, but you're paying for the background checks.

Despite True.com's assertion that it is a serious, security-minded online dating service, it has been heavily criticized for its ad campaigns which picture scantily clad buxom women, thereby emphasizing intimate encounters instead of relationships.

These provocative ads have made True.com one of the most-visited online dating sites. But many subscribers are unhappy with the service. Online Dating Magazine states that it receives far more complaints about True.com than about any other dating site. One reason is the false "winks" (indicating interest) that some members are getting. These winks seem to appear after the member has requested cancellation of the subscription. Like eHarmony, True.com is now facing lawsuits. In June 2007 a man filed a lawsuit in Texas accusing the site of fraudulent billing practices. The law firm representing the case is seeking class action status. The plaintiff asserts that True.com continues to bill members after they have cancelled their accounts.

True.com's push for mandatory background checks has also raised the ire of some in the industry. Yahoo! Personals and Match.com have lobbied against legislation to require all dating sites to do background checks. They feel that such a policy is not very effective and that such background checks also give a false sense of security to people, which might reduce the precautions they take when meeting someone online.