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Our Favorite Dating Sites |
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Top Dating Categories |
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JDate: 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 JDate |
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URL
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Year Started
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1997
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Location
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United States of America
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Languages
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English
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Short Description
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's mission is to help strengthen the Jewish community and insure precious Jewish traditions are carried on for many generations to come. strives to achieve this goal via a globally accessible community where Jewish singles, interested in meeting, dating or marrying within the faith can find friendship or romance.
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Number of Members
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500,000
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Overall Rating
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A 3; is a great site for Jewish singles and an excellent way to find others within the faith that even mothers will approve of. 's events are top-notch and the set-up is very good. If they fix the few glitches with links and improve the flow of information, will be just about perfect for users interested solely in finding Jewish dates.
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JDate Categories & Features |
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Relationships
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Marriage
Romance
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Religions
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Jewish
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Finding Your Match
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Photo Gallery
Search (Advanced)
Search (Quick)
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Contacting Members
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E-mail
Online Chat
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JDate Dating Service Review |
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The Company
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is owned by MatchNet and, as the first site in the company's network, it obviously has good support. is growing at a brisk pace and positive word-of-mouth has given this site real cache. MatchNet has earned a solid reputation for developing and hosting niche websites and is the star of the pack.
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Site Navigation
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has crisp, quick-loading pages and generally clear navigation, although some links (such as to volunteer opportunities) could be displayed on more than one page. One link (to a "Costs" page) was down for at least three days, although the information could be found elsewhere on .
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Site Response Speed
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Fast
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Sign-Up Process
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It was easy to sign up to and the photos submitted are approved and posted in record time. 's sign-up is tailored to Jewish members and questions are well-thought out and relevant.
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Breadth of Services
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offers fantastic services and opportunities for Jewish singles, including a nice selection of activities and events. The opportunity to be a part of social service/volunteer opportunities is a great add-on. The articles are nice, but could use more variety here.
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User Base
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Primarily college-educated, Jewish professionals. is a North American-based site and has an excellent male/female ratio approaching 50/50. The users tend to be active and friendly.
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User Experience
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's profiles are standard for the industry outside of the key questions about Religion and Ethnicity. On the plus side, users themselves go into more detail and provide better headlines than at most other sites. It's obvious that the people who sign up at really are looking to find someone and that staying within their heritage is important. The navigation was a bit irritating at times, but the experience was generally a pleasure. Perhaps the greatest part of the experience was discovering so many other interesting Jewish singles - it's nice to know there ARE others out there!
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Customer Service
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Customer service was excellent and the telephone service reps were helpful and upbeat. Emailed questions were answered within 24 hours.
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Customer Service Hours
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24 Hour Telephone contact: 1-877-453-3861
Email contact via webpage
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Registration Options
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Registration Procedures:
Free to register
Quick registration
Online help
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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is the flagship of MatchNet, a company that owns and operates several niche online dating sites. , however, is obviously the primary reason for MatchNet's existence and the reason it began its niche market in the first place. Billed as "the world's largest Jewish singles community," has a very specific mission statement that sets it apart from the mainstream. With over 500,000 members, it's accurate to say that more than one in ten Jewish Americans have joined , an astronomical percentage for any niche market, but especially impressive since a large part of 's publicity is word-of-mouth. Here's another interesting detail about - Mothers of single men and women love this site. In today's world, where interfaith marriage and secularism tend to dilute the traditions of any ethnic group, Judaism has lost 5% of its base in the U.S. in the last decade. Jewish mothers see as an opportunity for their grown children to have more opportunity to date and marry within the faith, especially when the Jewish population is small in their own communities.
profiles allows you to express your Judaism
's profiles give you the usual opportunities to list your interests, age, occupation, etc. along with an essay about yourself. Questions for the detailed profiles include "What's your idea of a perfect date?" and "What have you learned from past relationships?" In keeping with the focus of , the basic profile information also includes questions specific to Judaism, including what your ethnic background is (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Ethnic, Mixed Ethnic), whether you keep kosher (at home, at home and work, not at all, to an extent), religion (conservative, orthodox, conservadox, Hassidic, Reform) and how often you attend Synagogue. 's profiles are easy to read, clearly designed and are almost always filled out completely (another advantage over many Jewish dating sites where men especially skimp on the details). 's help area has extensive instructions on how to navigate the site and even tips on writing an interesting profile. also offers significant extras in the Events arena. Check out 's Events calendar and you'll find activities going on in cities across the U.S. A typical recent month included events in Florida, New York, Hollywood, Denver and Bethesda, MD. Some were theme nights (Retro Disco), others were for specific age groups (20-somethings or the 35+ crowd). These are well-organized, popular functions for Jewish singles that are held at popular clubs and often sell out in advance, so order your tickets online to make sure you can get in to the next meet-and-greet night. If you want to bring friends, you can bring along non-members but their tickets are generally more expensive. offers a few travel opportunities as well (a cruise, a ski trip), but these are in the fledgling stages and there aren't as many offered.
's membership process designed to get serious Jewish daters only
You can sign up at , post a profile and photo and send "teases" to show interest in other members. You can't, however, email or instant message without becoming a paying member. You also can't respond to emails sent by others, which is more limiting than some other websites where you can't initiate contact but you can respond. At , you can't see the contents of the emails sent to you until you join; you simply get an email alert saying that, for instance, three members have emailed you at the site. If you want to read them, you'll have to pay the membership fee. While this ensures that you are only getting serious members signed up, it might be a good idea to at least let those visiting read the emails they received. I, for one, am more likely to join if I can actually read an email that was sent - the interest of a member who expresses himself well, sends an interesting and amusing message is definitely a reason to join. A note saying I've received an email that I can't read unless I pay is a bit off-putting and is essentially a leap into the dark. That said, the quality of 's members is high - predominantly professional, with a median income of over $60,000 and most of them college educated.
allows you to help the Jewish community while searching for love
One of the most unique aspects of is the sense of social conscience. The website has a link called "Hooking Up and Helping Out" displayed on the homepage. This links to opportunities to socialize with other members while volunteering through United Jewish Communities (UJC) and Tikun Olam Volunteer Network (TOV). They also encourage registering as a bone marrow donor since genetic matches are the most likely for donors within racially insular communities. In fact, there has already been one successful donor match and completed bone marrow transplant surgery from a member to a recipient. By combining the potential to meet other Jewish singles with the opportunity to give back to their communities, has found a winning combination that appeals to the socially conscious. For better results, however, these links should be more accessible. Once you join and leave the homepage, it is difficult to find your way back to these links.
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JDate Pros & Cons |
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Pros
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is the best possible site for anyone looking for a relationship within the Jewish faith. The profiles acknowledge the importance of ethnic background and religious affiliation and give excellent background material in the profiles.
's photos are generally of good quality and the navigation on the whole is straightforward.
The events are great - well-attended, fun and relaxed. They are scheduled in cities with a large Jewish population to ensure that you will meet lots of other potentially interested singles.
's members tend to be quite active and on any given night you will find about 6,400+ members online chatting.
Customer service is available by phone 24 hours a day.
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Cons
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's free membership is unusually limited, with no option to respond to any emails or even read the emails paying members send you without paying the membership fee yourself.
The links on can be confusing in a few cases, such as trying to find the link to TOV or other volunteer opportunities. It could be placed in the corner of every page for more effective use.
The chat rooms don't have as much activity as some other Jewish dating sites.
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JDate Plans Offered |
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Pricing
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1 month for $28.50
3 months for $79.00
6 months for $149.00
You can send and answer emails and join chat rooms. Instant messaging is also an option. You must be a member to correspond in any way.
Blocking features
Articles and dating advice
Email notification of new members who match with you
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Site Freebies
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Your free membership includes a detailed profile and the chance to post up to four photos.
Photo gallery for quick browsing of photos.
"Teasers" to show interest in other members
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