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Our Favorite Dating Sites |
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Top Dating Categories |
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IndianMatrimonials: Full Review |
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Pro Rating :
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User Ratings :
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Avg. Rating :
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About IndianMatrimonials |
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URL
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Year Started
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2004
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Location
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India
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Languages
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English
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Short Description
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(formerly IndianMatches.com and IndianMarriages.com) is one of the more popular websites for Indian singles. Based out of New Delhi, India, where the actual site seems to be operated, is owned by Webcapacity Incorporated, with offices in Colorado. caters to Indians from all areas of the globe, but predominantly to those who are in India, the United States or Canada.
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Number of Members
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170,000
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Overall Rating
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A 3; if you are ready to commit to finding a bride or groom of a particular caste or have a firm conviction that you have to marry someone Indian, is a good site for you. If not, you are better off looking at other sites. If you have a problem with arranged marriages, steer clear - you'll get tired of ' profiles showing women listed with contact information for their brothers.
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IndianMatrimonials Categories & Features |
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Relationships
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Marriage
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Religions
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Buddhist
Hindu
Muslim
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Ethnicities
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Indian (India)
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Finding Your Match
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Photo Gallery
Search (Advanced)
Search by location
Search (Quick)
Smart Matching
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Contacting Members
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E-mail
Instant messaging
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IndianMatrimonials Dating Service Review |
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The Company
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is India-based, but maintained by WebCapacity, Inc. There is virtually no information available on WebCapacity and they didn't respond to emails requesting information about ownership of IndianMatrimonials.com after 72 hours. When information on ' broken links was requested, I was referred back to the IndianMatrimonials customer information page, which, coincidentally, was one of the broken links.
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Site Navigation
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' lay-out is basic and nothing exciting. Most links were clearly marked, but some loads were slow. When you try to do searches or browse, confusing pages will sometimes pop up, insisting that you join before going any further. This isn't spelled out in ' FAQ's.
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Site Response Speed
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Average
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Sign-Up Process
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Signing up to is relatively quick for a basic profile and one photo, but the site does push very hard for a paying membership.
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Breadth of Services
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The newsletter is so-so, the range of members is very good within the Indian population, especially if you are traditional. has a large population of women on the site and many of them are looking for marriage.
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User Base
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caters to strictly Indian heterosexuals, most looking for a serious relationship. A high number of educated, upper-caste members.
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User Experience
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Between slow response to questions and broken links, the time spent at was more frustrating than not. The best pages were actually offsite, when you visited the links to the wedding and astrology sites, which were better maintained.
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Customer Service
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No phone support, no contact information for the actual owners of . Links to Webcapacity, Inc. didn't lead to much help.
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Customer Service Hours
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Email contact via webpage
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Registration Options
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Registration Procedure
FREE to register
Quick registration
Online help
Tips and examples
Send photos by mail or email
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Additional Services
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Automatic renewal
Hide profile option
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Long Description
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With over 170,000 members, is a fairly comprehensive Indian dating site for a culture steeped in tradition and not necessarily on the cutting edge of dating and mating services. offers a great opportunity for Indians in North America who would like to date and marry within their own culture and/or religious affiliation and often matches up U.S. citizens with potential partners who are still in India. The search engine allows a search as broad as "anywhere" to as narrow as the particular major city you live in or near, whether that is New York City or New Delhi. 's website is attractive enough, done in henna-like colors and with decent photo quality on the profiles, but there's nothing flashy or innovative about the set-up. This is a straight-forward, basic site. self-promotes with a link labeled "recommend us" and postings of dating/matrimonial success stories.
Post a personal ad at for free
Free membership includes posting a profile and photo with detailed information covering topics such as religion, cultural values and caste and subcaste. is a site that honors both the more modern methods of dating as well as the obviously old-world method of matchmaking. Many members, particularly those in the U.S. and Canada, have profiles that mention having fun, open communication, mutual respect and careers. Others, on the other hand, describe women whose attributes include virginity, cooking skills and a "pleasant demeanor" (whatever that is). To get an idea of the sheer breadth of the postings, compare one New York woman ("Witty Sikh woman in N.Y. seeks gentleman with Sikh values and American progressive attitude for travel, adventure and serious relationship. Hey, it's time to settle down with someone special, right?") with the next profile for a Punjab woman (Brother invites interested men to contact him by cell phone to discuss marital alliance with never-married, 25-year old, virgin sister. Caste a consideration, but all suitable gentlemen with appropriate family history will be considered. Only serious men with financial prospects considered.")
has an intense focus on marriage (and marrying off others)
Be very cautious using and aware that there are a few potentially dangerous aspects, such as people who list their cell phone numbers. At one point, members could also post their own email addresses, although has a statement posted that this practice was suspended late in 2003. The cell phone numbers continue to be listed, however, which is unusual but obviously posted in most cases by either parents or brothers who are looking to marry daughters or sisters off. There are also some men and women looking for a "Visa marriage" and they are pretty upfront about it, stating right in their profiles that they live in India and are looking for marriage to a U.S. citizen. You can respond to emails by sending your reply to the email address listed in the body of their email, even if you aren't an member, but you can't begin a correspondence without paying for a full membership. If you want to acknowledge someone's interest but are a bit shy, you can acknowledge their interest with either a positive or a negative response without having to actually write an email response of your own, putting the ball firmly back into their court. There is a matching system that will match your profile up with those who may be of interest to you, but this only runs once a week, so don't be surprised if when you first sign up you don't get any matches at all. Check back in a week or so and you'll have quite a few. Speed and efficiency isn't a hallmark of .
is a dating site heavy with Indian tradition
is focused on long-term relationships and marriage within cultural, caste and religious restrictions and it doesn't hide this fact. While there are plenty of modern, Westernized members looking for dating and romance, there are just as many looking for marriage, including arranged marriages. offers extras like links to Astroyogi, which offers astrological advice such as the most auspicious wedding dates, the star signs most compatible with your own and whether a love match or an arranged marriage is best for you. AstoShopping includes Yantras and other cultural items catering to Sikh, Muslim and a variety of other religions. The most prominent link at is to ShaadiOnline, a wedding planning website that specializes in traditional Indian wedding ceremonies and traditions, including beautifully crafted, traditional Indian wedding garb.
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IndianMatrimonials Pros & Cons |
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Pros
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If you're looking to have a serious relationship or matrimony with another Indian and issues of caste and/or religion are important, is probably your best bet for finding the kind of traditional ethnic relationship that you desire.
' links and newsletters are a nice extra and the fact that three countries are well-represented in terms of their respective population densities is a testament to the need for an Indian-specific website.
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Cons
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Limiting even the browsing option for free registrants means you may not be able to get a real feel for who is available that fits your interests without joining.
Some of the links were down on occasion and the fact that automatching only happens once a week means resources are limited on .
The number of women whose profiles are posted by their brothers will be either a simple cultural phenomenon or a disturbing example of "selling" women into marriage, depending upon your own cultural biases and identity.
You can't join for just one month, but have to buy for a minimum of three months to get full member benefits.
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IndianMatrimonials Plans Offered |
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Pricing
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3 months for $29.00
6 months for $39.00
1 year for $59.00
You can correspond with other members, do instant messaging, and do advanced searches.
Newsletter
Blocking features
Automatic renewal
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Site Freebies
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Free membership includes a profile and one photo. You can browse for a limited time, but after you've looked at several profiles, you will be invited to join in order to continue viewing additional profiles or to contact anyone. Basic search includes vital stats and religion, country and what type of relationship you are looking for.
Matches once a week
Email alerts of interested members
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