What are the best subscription dating sites?

[Sunflower6]

Can anyone advise which are the best subscription dating sites? For example is match.com better than free sites like pof

I have used most of them, and found Match the best overall. That said, I don't currently fancy my local members on there, and seem to be seeing a lot of the same old faces! I did REALLY enjoy it the first time around though, when it was all new and exciting, and would definitely recommend it as a starter site.
POF is okay, but there will be a LOT of wheat and chaff sorting to be done, as there is a fair amount of dross on there.
I actually quite liked Zoosk too. OKCupid was undoubtedly the worst site I've ever used. EHarmony and Match Affinity (careful that you don't sign up for the sister site) are a waste of time.
Hope this helps, and good luck!

Depending on what you’re after, seeking arrangement is well, a little different from the norm.

Match.com if you’re after a relationship, I remember when I was in there a lot were looking for the same thing. Met dh on there, been together 5 years, house and mortgage at 2 years, dog at 3 and we have just had our first son 5 weeks ago! An online success story right here :) x

Hi yes I want a relationship, the pof in my area always seem to have the same faces on it.

To be fair, most of the sites appear that way after a while!

I used eharmony a few years ago and liked it... I met DH on there and we've been married 2 years. I really didn't like match

I met my bf on Guardian Soulmates. The thing with that one is that there are so few people on there outside of London. All of the profiles are lengthy and detailed (partly because some of the people are a bit up their own arses - hello Mr African Poetry Festival). I found that the experience of dating through GS was much more focused than with the other sites I used: people were prepared to send more lengthy emails, travel further and to meet for proper dates (ie food) and to stick to arrangements they had made. I had nothing but politeness from everyone involved.

Having said that, OK Cupid seemed pretty okay and the men I corresponded with were mostly courteous. Only two abusive messages and no dick pics.

I met the guy I'm seeing right now on Match, but truth be told I was on their months with no luck whatsoever (no dates and only a handful of messages) and had already cancelled my membership when he popped up! So, actually, you only need that one match!

I found EHarmony a total disaster, absolutely nothing from it and I hated the way it worked.

The best one I found for messages and actually dating people was the local radio station which falls under the Ventro group, lots and lots of smaller dating sites fall under that same umbrella. It's worth looking into the 'about' tab of any dating site to see which ones they are linked to.

Good luck

I met my OH on POF nearly 6 years ago..... I know a few girls who are married/still with their POF fellas..... not sure what it’s like now but I would recommend POF but I’m afraid I’ve got the best of the bunch from there, so there might only be feckboys left 😂👍🏻

Internet dating is like trying to shoot a fast moving black cat in a dark room. You could be lucky but the odds are poor.

The + side of paid sites is that you know people are serious; the down side is that they have fewer active members.

In otherwords it's all about luck. You could be on a free site and Mr Perfect for you happens to be signed up that week and you connect. You could be on a paid site and zilch. If you want to meet someone just try them all in rotation - each one for a couple of months. This is no bad thing because it is the new users who get the most attention.

My single friend - this would be my top pick every time. Decent people who you know have at least one friend who rates them.

Match.com - I found it a waste of time as it has loads of dead profiles. I read an article about it posted on here I think. Some guy did research on it.

Times Encounters - Ok - but the men are very much of a type.

Guardian Soulmates - I never used this but

Eharmony - the whole question and answer stuff is very protracted. The + side of this is that the men on it are 100% committed to finding a relationship and you do get to know about a person. the - side is that ultimately dating does have an element of sexual attraction and it doesn't really matter how compatible you are if you find them grotesque.

OK Cupid - I liked this site myself and found the guys there were a bit more proactive and dynamic. It has a reputation though.

PoF - I found this fun. There is far more weeding of the weirdos/married to be done here but because it's free they have a big active user base and its more relaxed.

Guardian soulmates - I never used this but friends have and rated it. I think it attracts guardian reader types which is not my thing!