As a millennial, I was no stranger to failed situationships, until my friends convinced me to try some of the best pay dating sites. Now, my three-year relationship is proof that paid dating sites can work. If you’re tired of looking for a serious relationship on social media, or you’re a couch potato looking for […]
As a millennial, I was no stranger to failed situationships, until my friends convinced me to try some of the best pay dating sites.
Now, my three-year relationship is proof that paid dating sites can work.
If you’re tired of looking for a serious relationship on social media, or you’re a couch potato looking for a convenient way to meet people—pay dating sites can be a game-changer.
To save your social batteries, and help you jump back into the dating pool, we explore the 5 best paid dating sites online, plus 5 runner-ups, so you can find the ying to your yang.
Pros
Cons
Starting our list of paid dating sites is Zoosk—an internationally diverse dating site available in 80 countries.
Not only that, the pay dating site can be translated into 25 languages and accepts users of all gender, race, and sexuality spectrums—as long as they’re over 18.
What I like about Zoosk the most is that it has an advanced SmartPick dating algorithm. It takes note of the profiles you like and dislike, then provides daily match suggestions based on your preferences.
Prefer to match with people in your area? This paid dating site has got you covered.
After you provide basic personal information, the online pay dating platform instantly offers a plethora of matches in your area.
While you can browse through these profiles for free, you’ll need to upload at least one photo AND pay for a subscription if you want to send or read messages.
Subscribing to Zoosk opens up unlimited messaging and the use of SmartPick recommendations, which are replaced with new ones after 24 hours.
In my opinion, Zoosk is an all-rounder pay dating site since it also offers traditional search filters (age, religion, education, etc.). Most importantly, you can also use the swipe feature called Carousel to search for matches—think Tinder, but better.
Moreover, what makes Zoosk the top pay dating site online is Zoosk Live, a live streaming feature available on the paid dating app. It improves your engagement, increasing your chances of finding romance.
Although the paid dating site might seem feature-heavy and geared toward people aged 18-40, older users are also present. Zoosk Seniors is an in-app option for those above 50.
The pay dating site has affordable subscription rates, which works for users of most backgrounds.
Try out Zoosk the most popular pay dating site online today
Pros
Cons
The next top pay dating site is Elite Singles, which caters to over 12 million highly-educated mature users worldwide.
This approach is aimed at attracting users looking for serious relationships.
What sets EliteSingles as a pay dating site is its psychological quiz, which addresses five, big aspects of your personality:
Taking your test results and your individual preferences into consideration, the top paid dating site then uses an algorithm to provide 3-7 daily matches.
This saves you the time spent filtering, swiping, and scrolling for profiles.
While the site claims that around 84 percent of its 4 million American users have a higher education, the pay dating site doesn’t provide a means of verifying this.
Other than this, the pay dating sites’ typical demographic are usually mature professionals around the ages of 30 to 55. In my opinion, if you’re looking for a short fling you’ll be better off using hook-up sites, and not Elite Singles.
You can sign up for free and take the paid dating sites personality quiz, along with filling up your profile with basic match preferences (distance, religion, smoking, kids, etc.) and browsing the suggestions.
But beyond this, you’ll need a premium membership to send and read messages from your prospective matches.
This opens up the top paid dating site with unlimited messages, allows you to comment on users’ photos, and receive “Read” receipts from other users.
Moreover, apart from the “basic” suggestions, unlike other online pay dating sites, this one offers additional matches from their “Have you met” section.
Unlike other paid dating sites online, Elite Singles offers a full refund if requested within three days of joining the site.
Join one of the best pay dating sites online Elite Singles today
Pros
Cons
One of the popular pay dating sites on the interwebs is eHarmony—touting over 2 million couples and 4 percent of marriages in the U.S..
(Or so they claim.)
eHarmony might seem like your run-of-the-mill paid dating site, but it’s far from it.
Let me explain what I mean.
Firstly, the pay dating site’s founder has over 35 years of experience as a clinical psychologist, which brings a scientific, evidence-based approach to their compatibility matching system.
eHarmony’s approach is based on empirical data and research, rather than just subjective opinions or intuition.
To create your Personality Profile and find matches, you’ll need to take a comprehensive compatibility test—which includes 80 questions. These delve into your preferences, the way you communicate, and your sources of motivation.
Then, the test results are used in the proprietary matchmaking system to determine your Compatibility Score, which can be 60-140 and depends on your compatibility with other users.
When joining the popular paid dating site, you get unlimited matches, as well as the use of eHarmony’s Icebreakers and one message, for free.
Moreover, the pay dating site stands out because of its moderation team. Specifically, they help weed out the fakes, so you can have a safe experience while using the top paid dating site online.
After you’ve used up your free message, you’ll need to update to a Premium Plan to unlock other features i.e unlimited messaging, viewing user photos, and enhanced search filters.
Undoubtedly, the best premium feature on the pay dating site is the Video Date. As a premium member, you’ll need to exchange a few messages with other paying users before you can use the feature.
I like this because you’ll only talk to people who you’ve already gotten to know a bit, without strangers bothering you.
With the premiums, you get access to video dates, Distance matching (geolocation), and seeing who has visited your profile.
Find success on the best paid dating site—eHarmony today
Pros
Cons
Among the best paid dating sites for people at least 50 years old, SilverSingles has changed the silver dating game big time.
What I love about this site is the amount of thought that the creators have put into creating a platform that is easy to use and a breeze to navigate. This means you won’t get frustrated while looking for a partner on the pay dating site.
And who doesn’t love a stress-free dating experience?
When signing up, new members are instructed to take a detailed personality test, which apparently is a trend among the best paid dating sites. The test is quite shorter than what I’ve encountered on other top paid dating sites.
It’s broken up into a few sections that ask you all sorts of things about yourself:
Then, the pay dating site looks at your answers and compares them with other people’s to find someone who’s a good match for you based on your personality, goals, and values.
As with the average pay dating sites mentioned above, you’ll get 3-7 matches which update daily until you find a partner.
On the downside, you can’t search for or filter out people if you have a peculiar taste, and you have to rely on the paid dating site’s suggestions.
What I liked about Silver Singles dating site is the vast amount of resources available on the site. Newcomers are welcomed with open arms, and there is plenty of expert advice available on the top paid dating site.
From advice on how you pen the perfect bio to make your profile stand out, to tips on taking the perfect profile photo—the Silver Singles team has got you covered.
The premium plans allow direct messages, and commenting on other members’ photos along with a “Smile” greeting if you’re lacking an icebreaker.
Check out one of the best online pay dating sites for people over 50
Pros
Cons
Seeking has rebranded itself, stepping away from sugar dating to become a pay dating site for luxury-motivated users.
Although rebranded, it still has that easy-peasy dating arrangement essence that the paid dating site’s users have come to love.
What do I mean by this?
Specifically, you can easily find a wealthy or attractive partner on this online pay dating site, without worrying that you’ll be judged.
If you want a wealthy boyfriend—just state it on your profile—same goes if you’re searching for an attractive girlfriend.
Plus, thanks to the best pay dating sites’ advanced search filters you get to pick your potential matches, be it someone who’s financially established or physically attractive.
Regardless of which user category you fall under, attractive or wealthy, I recommend divulging all of the details on your profile, to score more matches. Think of stuff like physical details, ethnicity, annual income, any quirks or habits, if you’re a smoker, etc.
Since there’s no matchmaking algorithm, your profile bio and a rockin’ profile pic are what is going to get you noticed on this luxury paid dating site.
While women can message on the site for free, men need to pay for that service. This is what tilts the gender ratio towards women, making for stiff female competition on the top paid dating site.
Both men and women have the option to upgrade to a premium membership on the pay dating site, which unlocks unlimited messaging, hiding your profile, and advanced filters.
All users can opt to acquire an ID verification badge. What does this mean for you?
For a fee, the team behind the best paid dating sites online will conduct a background check to confirm your identity, which means more real users approaching you along the way.
Along with the features above, a premium account on this paid dating site allows you to use Vibe on Seeking’s smartphone app.
Just like Instagram Stories, users can look at any photo/video upload for 24 hours before it expires.
Start dating up with one of the best online pay dating sites today
Pros
Cons
Friend Finder is the more toned-down PG version of AFF—one of the biggest and oldest top pay dating sites online.
Friend Finder was established in 1996 and has amassed a pool of around 98 million users, which is a sure sign of a pay dating site that works. Most importantly, with this amount of users, you’re bound to find love just around the corner.
The top pay dating site uses geolocation to provide you with local matches, and again, when considering the number of users, it’s one of the best pay dating sites for quick dates.
But that’s not all there is to it.
Apart from being one of the best paid dating sites online for romantic connections, it’s generally a platform where you can connect with members to make new friends. To find someone up your alley, simply use the pay dating sites’ search filters.
The paid dating website offers a variety of features including chat rooms, instant messaging, blogs, and forums.
You can access these to some extent for free both on the browser site and their Android/iOS app. But ultimately, regardless of your gender or preferences—you’ll need a subscription to fully use the messaging features.
Apart from unlimited messages, you also get priority positioning on the search results, and access to members’ pics and vids.
Find a friend or a date with the help of one of the top paid dating sites
Pros
Cons
Unlike most pay dating sites and apps, Hinge is marketed as an app “meant to be deleted” meaning you’re bound to find love.
Using the geolocation swipe-style model, this pay dating platform is focused on inspiring meaningful conversations among its users.
By putting the focus on completed and detailed profiles, as a paid dating app user you can answer question prompts that will appear on your profile which helps increase engagement and get you more matches.
The prompts can range from questions about your preferences to video prompts, and polls for other users to answer.
What I love most about Hinge is that it encourages you to be more intentional about who you swipe right on. As a member, you’re encouraged to read the completed profiles before swiping.
Finally, the site can be used completely free, with limitations on the number of swipes per day. But hey, they need to incentivize the premiums somehow.
With the premium membership, you get unlimited likes and the ability to see all of the members who’ve liked you in one tab.
Get Hinged by joining the paid dating app for free
Pros
Cons
One of the most popular top pay dating sites and apps is Tinder, the pioneer of swipe-style dating apps.
In its nascency, Tinder was infamous for being a hookup app that drew people with the option to swipe locally or in a preferred radius.
Nowadays, the pay dating site has blossomed into a platform where both serious relationships AND casual flings can thrive. Plus, it’s available across 190 countries and over 56 languages.
Talk about a glow-up!
On a slight downside, the pay dating site and app don’t have much profile moderation, so be wary of bots and fakes with stock profile photos.
While matching and messaging is completely free to use, some nice perks come with purchasing one of the premium memberships.
Elementary premium features include global swiping and profile rewinds (if you accidentally swipe left on someone) with Tinder Plus. If you consider Tinder Gold, you get T+ perks, along with seeing who has liked you.
I like that you can only message users you have matched with, i.e you both swiped right. But if you’re bent on messaging someone without having matched, consider Tinder Platinum (which also has the perks of Tinder Plus and Gold).
Join one of the most popular pay dating sites and apps Tinder
Pros
Cons
With 20 years under the belt, Plenty of Fish stands as one of the best online pay dating sites for people of all ages.
Amassing millions of users, the top paid dating site online will reel you in (hehe) with its fun approach to dating.
The top pay dating site offers various incentives for meeting people including fun prompts and games like Cue’d Up.
Specifically, the game allows you to show your quirky side by answering questions that appear on your profile so that other users can start conversations easily.
You can easily specify what kind of relationship you’re looking for, be it casual, serious, or platonic.
Despite being one of the best pay dating sites, POF is well known for its robust free features. These include free messaging, uploading photos, using advanced search filters, taking the quiz, and playing Cue’d Up.
A premium plan gets you ad-free browsing, seeing who’s viewed your profile, and getting a profile boost for more visibility.
Plus, you can use a new feature called Live! which lets you do a daily 90-second live stream, similar to Insta Stories.
Find your catch of the day on the best online pay dating sites POF
Pros
Cons
HER is one of those exclusive paid dating sites and apps dedicated to the FLINTA community worldwide.
Specifically, it’s intended for anyone who identifies as women, lesbians, inter, non-binary, trans, or agender. So if you’re looking for a cis straight man to match with, try your luck on other top pay dating sites online.
The paid dating app is a swipe-style haven for over 10 million members, who even engage outside the app through virtual events (like $5 speed dating) and social media communities.
There are more than 30 inclusive communities available where you can find a match after your own heart. Examples include a dedicated lesbian group and an “Over 40” community.
As with most paid dating apps, the basic features are free, which include chatting, swiping, browsing profiles, and joining community groups.
But here is where pay dating sites premium comes in handy.
Since it offers incognito browsing, it’s handy if you haven’t come out to your friends and family yet. This way you can find and match with people, without worrying that you’ll be outed to the world.
Convenient right?
On top of anonymous browsing, the premium gets you ad-less browsing, and filtering your search by sexuality, too.
With that, you’re not just limited to the age and location filters.
Join HER for one of the best online paid dating sites premiums online
Now that we’ve gone over the top online pay dating sites on the internet, are you ready to find the perfect one for you?
Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think.
Here are some tips to help you choose the right pay dating site online:
Before choosing a dating site, it’s important to consider your budget.
If you want a paid dating site with cheaper premiums, Zoosk has a relatively affordable premium that unlocks all features. Some pay dating sites offer free trials, while others require a monthly subscription fee.
Regardless if you’re looking for a casual relationship or a serious one, there’s a dating site that caters to your interests.
Take the time to research different sites and find one that matches your needs. FriendFinder can be a nice way to find a serious relationship, but it’s also one of the best pay dating sites online for making friends.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for fellow sapiosexuals, Elite Singles is your best bet.
Do some research to find out if the dating site you’re considering has a good reputation. On Zoosk and eHarmony you can read the couple’s testimonials that showcase their legitimacy.
When it comes to the best paid dating sites online like POF and FriendFinder, they both have over 20 years in the dating business, which is proof in itself.
Different dating sites offer different features, such as chat rooms, messaging, and advanced search options.
Consider which features are important to you and choose a site that offers them. For example, POF offers games that play a huge part in the way other users perceive you. Others top pay dating sites like HER offer anonymous browsing which comes in handy when you’re still in the closet.
The paid dating site that is best according to our research is Zoosk.
It’s one of the online pay dating sites that are popular among users of all ages, in addition to having an intuitive matchmaking algorithm and several ways of searching for matches.
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Yes, paid dating apps do work when you use them properly.
If you follow the pay dating sites’ instructions and create an engaging profile with a stunning picture, you’ll surely run into success.
eHarmony, Zoosk, and EliteSingles all have a testimonials section where you can find the couple’s success stories.
The dating app and one of the best hookup sites that is 100% free is Hinge.
Along with that Tinder is the next completely free choice that you can consider if you are not looking for paid dating sites online.
Ultimately, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
I can go on about the top paid dating sites online for days, but in the end, the choice falls into your preferences.
Almost all of the top pay dating sites online have a free trial, which will allow you to get a taste of the members on the site.
For an all-rounder online pay dating site, which allows for several modes of finding matches, check out our top pick Zoosk. On top of interest-based matching, you get daily suggestions that will change every day until you find “the one”.
So, brush up on your pick-up lines and icebreakers, coif your hair and take a killer photo and start joining these websites.
Good luck!
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