Online Dating : Ratings of Sources

Our AssessmentEditors of DatingSitesReviews.com provide overviews, pros and cons, and fees for more than 50 online dating sites. For the third year in a row, Match.com is the editors' top pick overall in 2009. Editors primarily base this award on popularity and the website's new mobile application. Readers also get the opportunity to vote on their favorite fee-based and free online dating sites. For 2009, Match.com wins in the fee-based category with 201 votes, representing almost 30 percent of respondents. EHarmony takes second place with 153 votes. The top choice for free online dating website is PlentyOfFish.com, which earns one-third of the votes. This site also has articles about dating and the online dating industry.

Our AssessmentOnline dating industry professionals vote on their favorite dating site in 11 categories. We don't know how many votes were cast. Match.com is named the best dating site and also earns honors for site design. Zoosk.com is named best mobile dating site and best up-and-coming dating site.

Our AssessmentDating guide Bonny Albo reviews seven dating sites and, in a separate article, seven free dating sites (although three of the websites appear in both articles). The reviews feature a rating, a brief description of the site, costs and what's included in the membership, as well as descriptions of the target audience and what's different and unusual. OkCupid.com receives the highest rating of five stars in both articles. We give this source a lower rating because, while Albo states she has used OkCupid.com for years, it's not clear if she signed up and tested any of the other dating websites herself. Furthermore, the articles aren't dated, so we don't know how current the information is. She also has separate articles reviewing individual websites like Chemistry.com and True.com. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Our AssessmentMark Brooks is an Internet dating industry consultant, member of the Internet Dating Conference and publisher of OnlinePersonalsWatch.com, a blog assembling online dating news and statistics. It's a good site to visit to find out about online dating scams and legal issues. According to Hitwise, an online measurement company, PlentyOfFish.com, Match.com, SingleNet.com, Yahoo! Personals and DateHookup.com were the most visited dating sites in the U.S. in October 2009.

Our AssessmentThe nicest thing about this site is a comparison chart that lets you quickly size up features offered by 10 different dating sites. Individual write-ups include a more detailed discussion of features, with some comparisons. It appears that the reviewer did test each site, filling out the profile and clicking around on each site. Match.com is the only site that receives an "excellent" rating in seven of the eight categories. The pricing information is not correct, so other information may be outdated as well.

Our AssessmentThis article has some interesting statistics about the rising popularity of free dating sites, which is likely spurred by the floundering economy. According to 2008 statistics from Hitwise, "eHarmony's traffic dropped 61% and True.com's tumbled 68%" in December compared to the prior year. A user survey at the free dating site, PlentyOfFish.com, reveals that "62 percent had tried paid online dating in the past." To capitalize on this trend, Match.com launched its own free dating site, DownToEarth.com in November 2008. The site's founder says their focus is younger adults than the typical 29-year-old or older member of Match.com.

Our AssessmentThis site is published by a couple who met online and decided to provide online dating information and advice to others. It offers reviews and descriptions of nine dating sites; however, the following five sites all receive a perfect rating of five stars: Chemistry.com, eHarmony.com and Match.com, PerfectMatch.com and Yahoo! Personals. The pros and cons of each website are listed in an easy-to-read format, but the information in rather general in nature.

Our AssessmentJoe Tracy, the publisher of the site, gives lengthy detailed reviews of six sites. He discusses the best feature, most annoying feature and other pros and cons. eHarmony.com gets the highest rating of 8.5 out of 10. However, the eHarmony review was written back in 2003 and was last updated in 2006. Additionally, the 33 reader reviews of eHarmony average to closer to three stars. One of the services, American Singles, is no longer online.

Our AssessmentThis insightful (though dated) article by Michael Kerry offers some very useful advice about using online dating websites. The comparison chart of Match.com, eHarmony.com, Yahoo! Personals and PlentyOfFish.com is rather outdated, though. Kerry prefers Match.com, largely due to the "quality profiles to browse" and a top-notch site layout.

Our AssessmentEditor Andrew Ryan recounts his personal dating experience on eHarmony.com and Great Expectations. He went on dates with two different women through eHarmony and dated one women for at least five weeks. He had less success with the two women he contacted through another dating site, Great Expectations.

Our AssessmentThe creator of this website met his wife online and names Yahoo! Personals, AmericanSingles.com, WebDate.com and FriendFinder.com as his top picks. Webdate is a free dating site, and AmericanSingles no longer exists. This site examines over 50 dating sites and offers sections for many specialty groups. However, the site only provides the features of dating sites without giving recommendations and appears to be affiliate-driven.