Best matchmaking site
- Geared towards long-term relationships
- Scientific approach to matching
- Guided communication process
- Informative compatibility test
- Free mobile access
- Expensive
- Self-searching not allowed
- Lengthy sign-up process
- Slow matching process
- Conservative worldview
EHarmony.com boasts a scientific approach to matching compatible members based on "29 dimensions." Registration is long with 256 questions, but reviewers and users admit you learn a lot about yourself. The test covers traits, relationship skills and values, though reviewers warn that these values are on the conservative side. When contacting another member, eHarmony.com encourages members to follow their guided communication process. This prolongs the matching process, though, which is already on the slow side with some users having to wait a couple of weeks before receiving suggested mates. Critics also say the subscription price is too high for a site that doesn't permit members to browse through profiles. If you're looking to spend less, Match.com (*Est. $35 per month) allows users to perform their own searches. In the past, eHarmony was criticized for matching only heterosexual couples, but the site now matches same-sex couples as well.
We found an interesting approach to reviewing at NextAdvisor.com and PC World, where both a male and female editor weigh in on their experiences with eHarmony.com. DatingSitesReviews.com has also updated its review fairly recently. In spite of being fairly dated, a review by Bonny Albo at About.com provides some useful information, and we consulted user opinions at eDateReview.com and ViewPoints.com.
Our Sources
1. NextAdvisor.com
NextAdvisor.com's male editor has little to say about eHarmony.com, since his application was rejected. The site's female editor feels the long and repetitive questionnaire is worth doing but describes some of her matches as "fluffy." The review admits that eHarmony.com is only for those who are patient and want a serious relationship.
Review: EHarmony Review: Online Dating, Editors of NextAdvisor.com
2. PC World
PC World's editors admit eHarmony.com is for those "who are looking for a serious relationship. Seriously." For anyone less serious, they recommend the free OkCupid.com. Both Purewal and Wawro complain about the exceptionally long questionnaire; Wawro grumbles that it makes you feel like a statistic.
Review: Online Dating for Nerds: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Postings, Sarah Jacobsson Purewal and Alex Wawro, Feb. 10, 2011
3. Dating Sites Reviews.com
For three years running, eHarmony.com has won an award from both editors and users of DatingSitesReviews.com. (Interestingly, it won the 2007 award for best Christian dating site, confirming the comments of other reviewers regarding eHarmony.com's conservative worldview.) Editors like the detailed questionnaire but dislike the expense and inability to search profiles yourself.
Review: Summary of the 2010 Dating Sites Reviews Choice Awards, Editors of DatingSitesReviews.com
4. About.com
Bonny Albo, About.com's dating guide, gives eHarmony.com 4 out of 5 stars for its impressive track record in matching serious singles. She does admit that both sign-up and matching procedures take a long time and recommends users have at least three match suggestions before subscribing. She also notes eHarmony.com's history as a Christian dating site. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)
Review: eHarmony Review, Bonny Albo
5. eDate Review
With more than 2,300 reviews, eDateReview.com contributors have plenty of (mostly negative) things to say about eHarmony.com. Many complain about being matched with inactive or nonpaying members. Others warn that the matching system doesn't mean you shouldn't take as much care in choosing potential mates as at other dating sites.
Review: Reviews of eHarmony, Contributors to eDateReview.com
6. Viewpoints.com
With only about one-quarter of reviewers at Viewpoints.com willing to recommend it, users are not very keen on eHarmony.com. They say the scientific method doesn't work or that matches are unsuitable for other reasons. Users also complain that the service sends far fewer matches than they expected, which they feel is inexcusable when it charges such a high price.
Review: eHarmony.com Reviews, Contributors to Viewpoints.com
Online Dating Runners Up:
4 picks including: eDate Review, Dating Sites Reviews.com…
2 picks by top review sites.
2 picks including: About.com, eDate Review…
Best Reviewed
Online Dating
- Best dating site overall Match.com *Est. $35
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- Best free dating site OkCupid.com *Est. $0
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