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Our Favorite Dating Sites |
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Top Dating Categories |
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Match.com: 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 Match.com |
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URL
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Year Started
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1985
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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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Founded in 1985, is owned by InterActiveCorp and supports 28 international dating websites on six continents. 's North American site has over 8 million members and is part of a network of sites that include Kiss.com and with a total of over 20 million members. has it all and then some!
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Number of Members
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20,000,000
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Overall Rating
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is exceptional in every aspect of its service!
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Match.com Categories & Features |
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Lifestyles
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All
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Relationships
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All
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Religions
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All
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Ethnicities
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All
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Finding Your Match
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Automated Matching
Photo Gallery
Search (Advanced)
Search (Quick)
Smart Matching
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Contacting Members
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E-mail
E-mail (Anonymous)
Online Chat
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Match.com Dating Service Review |
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The Company
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InterActiveCorp lends its substantial power to and its affiliates, and it shows. has some of the best support around and ranks favorably against any site in terms of quality. There's no downtime of any significance, no errors and the site is reliable, honest and safe. The high volume and constant upgrades and improvements show that InterActiveCorp considers this their flagship dating website. The commitment to improvement means will only get better.
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Site Navigation
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Easy navigation, attractive design, sharp, clear photos and very few pop-ups mean is a zippy, fun one to use. Quite simply, there's no need for improvement.
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Site Response Speed
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Fast
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Sign-Up Process
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Easily sign up to with no need to give credit card information. Your profile is easy to fill out, and you can answer as many or as few questions as you like. Browsing ability and use of most features is immediate. The only delay is on your photo, which must be reviewed by before posting to ensure that it isn't objectionable or obscene. When you decide to join as a paying member, it's just as quick and easy.
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Breadth of Services
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's various search options, the direct emails to your own address, the articles, quizzes and links all add up to the most comprehensive site imaginable. The diversity of options for meeting others is impressive, from travel opportunities to "Meet and Greets" in your own city. With dozens of cities offering events every month, you are bound to find a get-together that will interest you.
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User Base
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Heterosexual, homosexual, casual dating, looking for your perfect mate...everyone is online, it seems, at . Ages range from 18 to 90 (no lie!), with a predominance of professionals in the 25-45 range. has so many members, though, that you're bound to find plenty in the age range/orientation of your choice. You can also narrow your search to one of three communities: Gay, Lesbian or Seniors, making it easy to weed out whole groups that aren't of interest. You can also request that consider adding a new community and they will contact you to discuss the possibility.
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User Experience
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Easy, fun and interesting. was the most enjoyable site I've visited to date and surpassed all others for ease of use, quality of the site and content. I received emails every day from interested parties, which proves not only the quantity of members, but the high percentage of people actively using the site at any given time. I looked forward to visiting every day and always found something or someone new and interesting.
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Customer Service
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responded quickly and has a detailed Q & A section and helpful tech support.
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Customer Service Hours
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Live customer service
By phone: 1-972-690-1212
Email via webpage
Mail
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Registration Options
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Registration Procedures:
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
Blocking options
Hide profile option
Live customer service rep.
Online shopping
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Long Description
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has all the standard searches, customized searches, profiles with pics and flirtatious little emails called "winks," but then throws in dozens of interactive quizzes and articles to do everything from honing your dating skills to determining your personality type. Quick-load pages, crisp graphics and bright, colorful photography in a clean lay-out make a pleasure to use and visit. The pages are full of information without appearing cluttered, and the traffic on this site is first-rate. Overwhelmingly, 's members tend to be college-educated, interesting and actively pursuing either dating or a relationship. If you sign up for a membership, you'll get tons of emails from people you will really want to get to know. The matching options also go way beyond your typical online dating site fare - not only online matching, but phone matching, travel tours and events in major cities across the United States.
Test out 's dating features as a trial member
You can be a trial member (or non-subscription member) for as long as you like. This includes almost everything except being able to exchange emails with other members. In fact, you can even receive detailed emails from current members who are interested in you - this is one of the nicest features and one of their greatest marketing assets. When you've received ten or twelve detailed, interesting emails from admirers, you'll be more than ready to sign up so that you can write back. Another great advantage at is the ease of use. Once you've joined and done your profile, you don't even need to sign on to the site to see who has emailed you. forwards the emails directly to your inbox. No, not just a notice that says, "Go to , you've got mail." You get the complete email delivered directly to you, but with the sender's own email address not shown. forwards emails back and forth through their own server, removing any personal email addresses, so you get the advantage of direct communication with the safety of hidden addresses. Each email you get has a link directly to that person's profile, so you can check them out after you've read the email. 's combination of ease of use and safety is hard to beat.
is the most complete online dating service
offers more extras than any other online dating site, including MatchTravel, MatchEvents and MatchInternational. The MatchTravel trips include packages like a week in the Caribbean, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, exploring Inca ruins in Peru or skiing in Jackson Hole. There are top-of-the line cruises scheduled with reputable cruise lines and run by employees so that you are guaranteed activities geared not only toward fun, but getting to know the other passengers in an environment designed to optimize mingling. Come on, if you don't have anything in common with these people, you've obviously booked the wrong trip! MatchEvents are scheduled in cities across the United States and include "SpeedMatching," pool parties and game nights. A typical month's offering in one city may include two different SpeedMatching sessions, a pool party, a gourmet cooking party and a night of board games. All of 's events are scheduled at upscale restaurants/bars and generally will allow non-members to attend for an additional fee. Each session is specifically geared by age group so that a 25-year-old man doesn't attend an event only to find he will be meeting women 40 and over. Typical age ranges are 25-35; 35-45; 45 and over. These events are popular and well-attended. If you meet someone during a night of SpeedMatching, you can go online within 24 hours and contact them directly.
is an enjoyable online experience for daters and non-daters alike
Fun, fun, fun! You could spend a few hours on without even browsing the profiles, which are quite good and have excellent photo quality. offers a personality profile of your dating interests and style, tips on everything from safe "first date" rules to "how to write a winning first email," saved searches and, of course, a file for your favorites. The "Quizlets" are great fun with topics like "The Cheap-O Meter," "Do Your Friends Control Your Love Life?" and "Girly Girl or Tomboy - Which is Right for You?" More to the point for those seriously looking for a mate, offers the two Self-Discovery tests, both designed by PhD's to give you an idea what you're really like and what type of person is a good fit for you over the long haul. One focuses on personality (yours) and the other on physical attraction (what catches your eye).
has a simple, functional design
is one of the most attractive, user-friendly designs available. Bright blues and greens predominate, making cheerful without being overpowering. The overall feel is more "friendly and interested" than overtly sexual and includes photographs of attractive but real looking young people. The tool bar across the top makes it easy to jump from one area of to another and IM opens with not only a message window, but a photo gallery of everyone who is online at the time. You can also narrow this down just like in a search so that you will only be seeing and available to chat with, for instance, men who live within 100 miles of your home who are between the ages of 25 and 35. It significantly enhances 's chat feature and quickly gives you the information you need to ask the right questions in chat rooms.
Accurate matches with
's matching system is simple to use and as accurate as any out there. Based on your own preferences and the details of your profile, most of the matches are close enough to be valid and their email system makes it easy to quickly weed out those who aren't that good of a fit. What makes far superior to other online dating sites are the additional options for meeting people. As of January 8, 2004, has added what may be the most unique feature available in online dating, Online Speedmatching. For members only, this feature allows you to schedule a time and date for an online speedmatch session. You are matched with between 4 and 8 people online who not only are a match for you, but who live in your area. At the scheduled time, you log on to see and review their profiles and are connected by telephone with them. You then talk to each match for 4 minutes (no more!), then move on to the next one. You can review their profile while talking to them and take notes so that later, if you feel they are a good match, you can contact them again. This is the newly popular speed-dating taken online and is unique to . Taking a look at the scheduled events, it looks like it will be wildly popular. After all, what's bad about spending the evening chatting on the phone to several interesting members of the opposite sex who are available?
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Match.com Pros & Cons |
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Pros
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is a comprehensive, huge online dating site with real quality membership. If not the top site out there, it's darn close and for good reason.
You can do just about everything here, from the most basic emails and chat to scheduling a luxury vacation with other members.
's profiles have good, solid general information and with the capability to increasingly tailor your preferences and profile, you can get an amazingly accurate portrait of potential partners.
's unique SpeedMatching option is fun, exciting and a great way to put voices to faces and profiles.
Let's face it - you can tell more in a 4-minute phone call than you can from a week of emails, but who wants to risk giving out his or her number to a stranger? This system lets you talk by phone while protecting your privacy.
Customer service was quick to respond, extremely helpful and always pleasant.
You have to love the ease of getting emails from interested members directly in your own inbox without visiting the site! This way, you know you won't miss that "perfect someone" and you don't waste time logging on to the site just to get your hopes dashed.
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Cons
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Not many negatives at . Hmm...maybe it could be improved by dividing members into serious relationship seekers and those just looking to "date casually?" But this is addressed in the profiles, so it may not be an issue.
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Match.com Plans Offered |
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Pricing
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1 month for $24.95
3 months for $44.85
6 months for $65.70
Automatic renewal kicks in two days before your membership expires.
Full access - you can email anyone and begin IM sessions yourself
Access to the two detailed, PhD-designed tests for personality and physical compatibility
Blocking features
Reduced admission costs to attend MatchEvents or go on MatchTravel trips
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Site Freebies
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's trial membership is available for an unlimited time and includes a detailed profile, including photographs and just about everything but email correspondence.
You can chat, send winks, receive emails, browse, and access the quizzlets and articles.
Photo gallery for quick browsing of member photos.
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