Best Dating Websites
LAST UPDATED: October 2019
Darren
A 30 something from the South of England with experience of using a number of dating apps and sites.
Writes for WhichDate and has worked with a number of dating brands.
You don't need me to tell you how popular online dating has become in the last 10 years. Pretty much all of my single friends have or are signed up to an online dating site or app of some sort. That doesn't mean its the best or only way to meet someone. I actually recommend you get outside and meet people face to face if you have the time and are confident enough to. That being said, online dating is an obvious choice because of the sheer number of people you can meet. If used correctly (and safely) online dating can, and does, offer a great way to find a relationship.
Where to start?
Below we have compiled all of our experience, read hundreds of reviews, spoken to the various brands and tested all of the platforms to bring you what we think are the best online dating websites in the UK today!
If you don't know where to start, then this is a good place....remember, you only get out of online dating, what you put in, so be prepared to spend some time really portraying the best you and thinking about what you really want from a partner. Good luck!
Jump to...
The 5 Best Dating Websites
This is where to start. Have a glance at the overall features and click to read our in depth reviews and read real user reviews.
eHarmony
Cost
eHarmony is middle of the road when it comes to cost.
The best value subscription is the 6 month membership at £9.99 using our promo code.
USERS
One of the most popular dating sites in the UK, eHarmony has over 5 million users and their most popular age bracket is the 25-55 category (from eharmony) with about an even split male VS female.
Best For
Those looking for a more serious relationship and willing to spend some time filling in their personal profile.
Overall rating :
Match.com
Cost
Match.com is a middle to lower cost dating site. The site will cost you less the longer you sign up for, with our recommendation, a 6 month membership for £9.99 a month.
USERS
The most popular dating sites in the UK in terms of profiles, match.com has apparently 8 million user profiles. As with eHarmony, they bill 25-55 as their most popular bracket with an even split of men and women.
Best For
Match is suited to both people looking for a serious relationship and, becuase of its lower price point, more casual relationships.
Overall rating :
Plenty of Fish
Cost
Plenty of Fish is mainly free, so you can sign up and test it out without worrying about a bill at the end. They do have paid extras, but they are mostly a waste of time.
USERS
The jury is out on how many users exactly use POF, but due to their early adoption of free dating, they claim to have around 3 million active, daily users- I would take this with a pinch of salt. They have more males than females to, around 60:40 from what we have read and tested.
Best For
Casual singletons who don't mind the occasional dodgy message and people that want to avoid the paid sites.
Overall rating :
Guardian Soulmates
Cost
The average cost is £16 a month, so its a little more on the high end cost
USERS
Estimated around 500,000 active members with a 60% females vs 40% males. As its the Guardian, you can assume the audience is more left learning/middle/upper class. Their most active age range is 35-55.
Best For
Those types who read the Guardian.
From their site: "politically left leaning, typically more than 1 holiday a year, high disposable income, more likely to attend an opera and eat out at least once a week"
Overall rating :
Elite Singles
Cost
A higher cost at £24 a month, this goes with their targeting of more affluent people.
USERS
Elite Singles will only share the figure of 18,000 new users a week....take from that what you will. They tend to have slightly more women than men and operate in the 35-55 age bracket. They are aimed at more professional / busy people so users tend to be more city dwellers.
Best For
Business people / professionals who tend to think highly of themselves or want to bag someone with a bit of money.
Overall rating :
The Best Free Dating Website
All of the sites above require you to pay to use their most helpful features, so we wanted to recommend a completely free option too, for those who are on the fence. Our recommendation for the best free dating site in the UK is Plenty of Fish.
Plenty of Fish
Cost
Totally free with some paid options, but those are a waste of time in our opinion.
USERS
Hard to pin point an exact number, but guesses are in the millions worldwide with a similar number of men and women. Users age are pretty much spread across the ranges from 25-65.
Best For
Those looking for a free way to enter the dating game. As its free, please do expect some time wasters and those looking for more of a casual thing, than a long terms commitment.
Overall rating :
How Does Online Dating Work?
Online dating, for the most part, is a numbers game. Thats why the best and most popular sites tend to be those that have been around the longest...they have had the most time to build up a large user base and continue to attract new users etc.
The general process of a dating site is this:
- 1User Signs Up and fill in profile
- 2User fills in what they are looking for and what they are looking to avoid
- 3Dating site creates the profile and matches them to others looking for a simialr person. Users are free to search the databse opf other users o nthe dating site
- 4You are promoted to contact other members or other members contact you to chat, before deciding to take things to the next step (ie chat more or meet in real life (IRL)
Different sites may have different takes on the above (ie match lets you search their whole databse, Elite singles limits how many you can see by matching you with the best profiles) but in general, that is the general theme of things. Thats why I say its a numbers game...the more people, the more chance you have of meeting someone you actually like.
Features To Look Out For
The top features to look out for when signing up are:
Paid vs Free Dating Websites
The choice really is down to you. With paid sites you get people who are more interested in long term relationships due to the fact they are paying and taking it more serious. Free dating sites require you to be a bit more cautious and check the safety guidelines again. There will always be people who are weirdos, so make sure you look after yourself and don't invest too much time into anyone too quickly.