Best Online Dating Sites Of 2024 (2024)

Every day,adults of all agesqueue up their keyboards in search of their future partner. But with all the options out there, finding the right platform for you can be as tough as dating itself. In an effort to help you find exactly what—and who—you may be looking for, Forbes Health took a deep dive into today’s most popular online dating sites.

How Do Online Dating Sites Work?

Online dating sites offer a platform to find a partner that fits into contemporary lifestyles and our ever-increasingly internet-reliant world. These sites are often subscription-based, where you pay a monthly fee to use the service.

Upon signing up for a service, you will usually complete some type of assessment or questionnaire, giving details about what you’re looking for in a partner. Certain metrics are used within the site to match up users, often based on personal characteristics you might have in common, such as education, hobbies, values, goals and more.

How Do I Match With Somebody on a Dating Website?

Dating sites use various algorithms to introduce possible matches. Typically, after you set up a social media-like profile—where you include a few pictures of yourself, a brief bio and some of your hobbies—the platform can use that information to connect you with similar people.

Depending on how in-depth the features are (some sites offer additional subscription bonuses), you may see other singles based on commonalities, areas of interest and intentions for the future. They may even offer the option to rank the order of importance of certain qualities you desire in a partner, such as education level. Meanwhile, other dating sites may match you solely based on age range or distance.

What to Look for in a Dating Website

The type of potential matches.While some dating sites are geared toward casual dating, others may lean toward building strong relationships, sharing certain religious beliefs and other qualities. Research the site, the potential matches and the types of customized filters it offers.

The details.Look for how detailed the profile creation process is, since it may indicate how much you can read into other singles’ pages. Different sites may offer different features such as questionnaires, multiple-choice tests or quiz functions to help you illustrate what you’re looking for in a partner and narrow down your options from there.

The cost.Many sites offer basic membership for free, upgrading with a paid subscription.

The safety.Be sure the site offers key safety features before joining, including tools to protect privacy and data from hackers or suspicious members, and that allow you to share where, when and who you may be meeting in real life with your friends and contacts, if you choose to do so.

The Cost of Dating Sites

The cost of using a dating site will vary depending on the site/company and subscription plan you choose. For example, Christian Mingle offers one-month, three-month and six-month subscription plans, ranging from approximately $24.99 to $49.99 per month. In this case, purchasing a three or six-month subscription would be more cost-effective than if you were to go the month-to-month route, which is something you may want to factor in during your search.

Some dating sites are more expensive than others, so it’s important to consider your budget and desired subscription length while looking for the right site for you.

Paid vs. Free Dating Sites

There are a few distinctions between free and paid dating sites, with the biggest one being price—one costs money and the other is free to use.

Another difference to consider is the level of accessibility you have within the site. Many dating sites will offer limited use of certain features and advertise paid subscriptions within the platform to get full access to all of its features. For example, purchasing a subscription or paying a fee might give you the ability to boost your account and be seen by more potential matches.

It’s also important to consider what you’re looking for on a dating site. If you’re not ready to settle down just yet, you may benefit from utilizing a free site or free version as you please. If you’re more serious about finding the one, the cost might feel more worth it to you, as other subscribers may have the same commitment and motivation to meet their match.

Avoiding Fake Dating Profiles and Scams

Some online dating profiles are too good to be true. In just the past few years, dating scams have led to victims losing billions of dollars and sensitive personal information, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Many scammers use fake profiles to lure you in and then may begin asking for money or personal data they don’t need to know.

Some common dating scam red flags, notes the FTC, include:

• Being asked for money
• Being sold a story about financial loss or being asked to invest in an unusual business
• Always getting an excuse when trying video chat or meet in person

Health Benefits of Meaningful Relationships

Broad research exists backing the link between good mental health and strong social relationships, whereas loneliness has been linked to sadness and other negative mental health outcomes. While not every relationship may lead to marriage, positive companionship can help improve your wellness on many levels, including:

1. A healthier mind.The level of happiness in a relationship can influence overall health, with positive social associations linked to delayed mental and physical decline, notes research inPsychology and Aging^[1].

2. A healthier heart.Positive, supportive social connections including romantic relationships may promote healthy heart functions, suggests data published inFrontiers in Psychology^[2].

3. A longer life.Stable social surroundings factor into staving off isolation, which may lead to a higher risk of morbidity (having a disease or medical condition) and mortality (related to death)^[3].

How To Pick The Right Dating Site For You

The right dating site for you will depend on what you are personally looking to get out of using the site. Take your preferences into consideration, such as relationship type, inclusivity of the particular site, what you’re looking for in a partner, site features and cost as you search for the right site for you.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Hawkley L, Cacioppo J.Loneliness MAtters: Social Relations and Age-Related Change in Memory.Psychol Aging. 2019;34(6):751–765.
2. Berli, C. Loneliness Matters:.“We Feel Good”: Daily Support Provision, Health Behavior, and Well-Being in Romantic Couples.Frontiers in Psychology 2020;doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.622492.
3. Hawkley L, Cacioppo J.Loneliness Matters:.Loneliness, social isolation, and all-cause mortality in the United States.SSM – Mental Health. 2021.

References

• COVID-19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed 09/14/2022.
• Reports of romance scams hit record highs in 2021. Federal Trade Commission. Accessed 09/14/2022.
• Do Social Ties Affect Our Health?. National Institutes of Health. Accessed 09/14/2021.
• The science of online dating. EMBO Reports. Accessed 3/22/2023.
• Key findings about online dating in the U.S.. Pew Research Center. Accessed 3/23/2023.