Online Dating Review

Introduction to Online Dating

The most comprehensive reviews of dating websites are found on some unusual specialized sites like Online Dating Magazine, which reviews and rates sites in a number of categories, and supplements those with reader reviews. VillageMatchmaker.com and About.com also do a good job covering online dating websites. About.com's review of free dating sites is updated and includes coverage of some brand-new sites. We found information on online dating websites in magazines such as Business Week and Newsweek, and Consumer Reports had a staff member sign up at five large sites for a test spin. There are also lots of review sources that rely on user reviews to identify the best online dating sites. While these can be helpful if you want to read about a specific site, it's hard to get a view of overall satisfaction. For each person who finds success with an online dating service (Online Dating Magazine estimates 120,000 marriages), there are others who are disappointed.

Online dating sites are constantly in the news. Both eHarmony.com and True.com have had lawsuits filed against them. In the eHarmony case, a woman sued because the website does not allow users to select any choices other than "Man seeking a woman" and "Woman seeking a man." The True.com case involves a complaint about billing and cancellation policies. To date, no rulings have been handed down in either case. Chemistry.com is adding to eHarmony's problems with its television ads emphasizing that eHarmony rejects many people for unspecified reasons.

All online dating sites work basically the same way. Many allow you to create a profile, browse and search the site for free. Some even allow free "winks" or "sparks" to indicate your interest in someone. Some dating sites, like eHarmony.com, PerfectMatch.com and AmericanSingles.com, require you to register before you can view profiles. Although browsing is sometimes free, you have to pay for a paid subscription or membership to send and receive e-mail or instant messages. According to reviews, only 20 percent of those with online profiles actually pay for a membership -- so there's a big possibility that you may not be able to contact those who interest you.

Most online dating sites offer subscriptions from one to 12 months in length. Typical online dating sites, including Match.com (*est. $35 per month), charge $17 to $35 a month for membership. Discounts are available for a longer commitment. eHarmony.com (*est. $60 per month) and Chemistry.com (*est. $50 per month) are more expensive, but reviews say their more methodical approach may be worth it for those looking for marriage or a long-term relationship.

Yahoo! Personals (*est. $26 per month) boasts millions of users, and quite a few reviews name it as a top online dating site. However, there are plenty of others who point out that quantity does not necessarily equal quality. Yahoo! Personals requires a Yahoo! e-mail account before people can sign up, and we found reports of explicit spam to users' accounts after signup. Another criticism is that Yahoo! Personals does not offer compatibility tests, nor does it offer help in creating your profile. In response, Yahoo! Personals briefly offered a Premier Service in early 2008 that included compatibility testing, but that has now been discontinued. So Yahoo! subscribers no longer have access to a detailed personality questionnaire that could help find compatible matches.

Yahoo! Personals does offer instant messaging, voice and video greetings, relationship and personality tests and free ice-breaker messages. Yahoo! Personals has introduced a six-month guarantee for subscribers who don't find someone special in the first six months -- they'll get another six months for free. This is similar to the promotion already offered on Match.com.