Living the single life certainly has its perks, but, human beings are not designed for solitude. Sooner or later you will feel the need to find a soulmate. Also see our article How To Cancel eHarmony the Easy Way
Thankfully, there are numerous online dating platforms that match you up with people who share your interests and fit your description of an ideal partner. You can then choose to go on a date with them to see if the two of you really are a perfect match.
Searching for that special someone is much easier from the convenience of your home. But with so many online dating sites, where should you start?
You can start with eHarmony and Match, two of the most popular online dating platforms. To help you decide which one is better for you, we will review and compare their main features.
Who Are They For?
In a nutshell, both dating platforms are designed for single women and men who want to meet that special person and commit to a steady relationship or even marriage. Keep in mind that there is a great emphasis on serious dating, so if you’re looking for one night stands, these may not be the best places to start your search.
The basic difference here is that eHarmony is meant only for straight people, while Match offers online dating services for gay individuals, as well.
Also, if you take a closer look and spend some time browsing through the list of people interested in relationships, you will soon realize that there are more seniors on eHarmony than Match. This probably has to do with Match’s decision to target younger singles in their ad campaigns.
Popularity
If online dating is an industry, these two websites are true veterans. Match has been in the online dating business since 1995 and eHarmony since 2000. But which of the two is more popular? It is really hard to say without bringing out some stats and numbers.
eHarmony covers 150 countries around the globe, whereas Match operates in only 25. If we look at the US market only, Match takes has a 24 percent share, while eHarmony claims only 14 percent.
However, if we analyze the data available on Google Trends, we can see that both sites have experienced a downward trend over the last year or so.
Also, according to alexa. com, the leading site for measuring website traffic, Match ranks much better than eHarmony. These numbers and ranks change on a daily basis, but Match manages to consistently outperform eHarmony in terms of popularity.
Price
Neither of these two dating platforms is free. In fact, the pricing differs quite a lot between these two, what with different price tiers and discounts available to subscribers.
eHarmony offers three plans – Free, Basic, and Total Connect. The Free plan gives you access to your own personality profile and allows you to see your matches’ profile pages. You can’t see their photos or exchange messages with them.
If you opt for a Basic plan, a one-month subscription will cost you $59. 95. The service also offers discounted prices if you subscribe for longer periods of time. A three-month subscription will cost you $39. 95 per month, six months will cost $29. 95 per month, while an entire year will cost you just $19. 95 per month.
The Total Connect plan costs four dollars more per month, but it doesn’t have a month-only option. With it, you get a much more comprehensive personality analysis, verifiable ID, and the ability to conduct anonymous phone calls with your matches.
Unlike eHarmony, Match doesn’t offer separate subscription plans. Yet it fares much better in direct comparison, as it is significantly cheaper. There is no one-month option, but opting for three months will cost you $23. 99 per month, six months will be $19. 99 per month, while a full year will set you back $17. 99 per month.
Match allows you to try the service free for a full week before you decide if you want to subscribe. Yet because it already offers the Free plan, eHarmony doesn’t have a free trial per se. However, if you sign up for one of their paid plans and cancel within three business days, you should be able to receive a full refund.
The Sign-Up Process
There are several major differences here, as well. To sign up for eHarmony, you will need to free up an hour of your time. That’s how long it usually takes to fill out a very comprehensive questionnaire which will provide in depth info about you and your personality. Even though an hour is a bit long, the more personal information you provide, the more accurate your matches will be.
Once the process is done and your profile is complete, eHarmony will run it through 29 compatibility algorithms which are meant to find you the perfect match.
Match is quite different as it doesn’t require a fully filled out profile before you can start browsing for matches. Even if you want to completely fill the profile out first, it doesn’t take an hour. Depending on your willingness to get into specific details, it will take between 15 and 30 minutes of your time.
On the other hand, you can’t really interact with anyone before your profile gets approved. After you sign in for the first time, you will need to wait for up to 24 hours for your profile to be approved.
Design and Interface
eHarmony has a very well designed interface that is all about simplicity and function. It makes it easy to stay updated on all your personal communication and interactions.
On the other hand, Match resembles most other online dating sites and features a host of different options you can choose from. But even though it might seem a little too cluttered, especially when compared to eHarmony, it provides a much more natural way of navigating things around.
All things considered, eHarmony gets points for creativity, while Match gets points for their intuitive and easy-to-navigate design. As such, we can call it a tie.
Features
When it comes to functionality, the main difference between the two websites is that eHarmony works on the principle of a guided experience in dating. You need to actually rely on the site’s algorithms to find the perfect match for you.
On the other hand, Match gives you much more freedom, so you can snoop around and search for matches on your own.
The main feature of the eHarmony is their 29 Dimensions of Compatibility algorithm, which is designed to dig deep and hard to find you the perfect match. The algorithm bases its choices on what you’ve said about yourself and the preferences for your future soulmate.
Basically, it all boils down to finding people who have identical or near identical interests and preferences. We need to point out that when eHarmony runs out of matches for you, you’re done. There isn’t anything else you can do about it until new people who match your search criteria sign up for the service.
Match relies on a completely different array of features. When searching for your potential perfect match, you can select multiple different filters and tweak your search as you go. The filters are organized into five categories – Appearance, Interests, Background/Values, Lifestyle, and Keyword. They go into so much detail that you can even specify the eye color, political views, and exercise frequency of your potential match.
There is also an option to browse in private mode. What’s more, you can even swipe just like you would do with modern dating apps like Tinder.
Match provides much more options and flexibility, whereas with eHarmony you have to rely on what the algorithms give you. Because of this, Match is the clear winner in this category.
Quality of Matches
Let’s look at some numbers to help us put things into perspective. eHarmony says they get 438 people married each day in the USA. Considering the fact that they rely on the complex algorithms to get you to your perfect match, we’d say they are pretty good at what they’re doing.
On the other hand, Match lets you decide what’s best for you in addition to suggesting what they believe would be good matches for you based on your activity on the platform.
It is hard to say which one is better here. On the whole, eHarmony focuses more on finding you the right person to marry, while Match is better suited for those who are in search of a long-term relationship.
Communication
Both platforms offer similar means of communication with your potential soulmates. eHarmony relies more on emailing, while Match encourages users to exchange winks as well. Also, keep in mind that eHarmony will not let you communicate with everyone you want – only those users that the algorithm matches you with.
Both platforms come in the form of an app, which gives you even more freedom, as well as extra features like voice messaging with your potential matches.
Final Verdict
It is difficult to tell which of the two platforms is better, seeing as both offer a rather unique approach to online dating.
If you are young and looking for a serious relationship first, you should definitely check out Match. But if your twenties are far behind and you’re ready to settle down and get married, eHarmony might be a better choice.
