You've got so many choices to choose from depending on your particular interests.   If you're into something unique, you'll find it.  If you're into something far out there, you'll definitely find that as well.   There are small niche sites with few members and there are huge established sites with millions of members.    You'll find dating sites catering to Christians, single parents, artists, international singles, ethnic singles, big women, and even to tall people!   Generally speaking, you're going to find a monthly fee based format, with most offering an introduction period that the sites hope will hook you into signing on with them.    Because of the extreme diversity of these sites, our focus will be on mainstream established sites.   When it comes to dating sites, there are strong arguments that the bigger sites are the best.

what they offer

You're going to find a similar mode of operation on most major dating sites.    Every member has their own searchable profile.  Before you do anything on the site, you need to answer questions, upload pictures, and explain in your own words what you're interested in.   Your profile is going to have all of your pictures (if you choose), your personal information (though usually not to the point of anyone being able to personally identify you), your interests, your background, your personalized wish list, your general location... it's pretty much everything about you (so long as you are truthful of course).  This process of getting your profile uploaded can take anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple of hours (eHarmony). Of course, you can edit your own profile as you see fit.    Each site essentially is a huge database of usually millions of these profiles, all searchable by others based on what they see as important, whether that be age, religion, location, profession, etc.     You can then contact others through email.    They read your message and decide whether to reply or not.   You can send them cute winks or smiley faces to let them know you're interested.   You can save up hundreds of potential singles in your own "wish list" to think about and contact later if you choose.   That's what the site does for you.  Of course there are lots of other sideline features such as forums, polls, discussion groups, ratings, etc., but really they are all fun diversions from the main goal of connecting people through their site.   Obviously from that point forward, it all depends on whether you can hit it off with your potential match!

why they offer it

Big dating sites make a ton of money off of you, that's why.     You can typically do what we described above only for a short introduction period (2-7 days) before you have to pull out the credit card and start paying for this right.     Most sites will let you stay as a "basic" member if you choose not to pay, but the usefulness of the site will go down to next to nothing for you.   You won't be able to initiate contact with other members (send emails), you may not be able to view pictures, or in some cases you may not be able to do anything at all.   And the dirtiest trick of all that we've discovered... you get a notification that you have new mail from another member, you go to read it and...wait, you need to pay to read that message because you're only a standard member!   You can only imagine what an incentive it is for some singles to sign up for a month because they've got an email from sexypotentialdate22!  

online dating issues

The quality of the profile database makes or breaks a site.   Beyond high fees, the quality of the site profiles is often a significant concern across the board.    The fact of the matter is that you have to be streetwise to be using online dating services.    Just as real world population,  you're going to run into people who represent themselves dishonestly.  But keep in mind, this is really no different than meeting someone for the first time in person.   If you expect the online sites to filter this, you'll be sorely disappointed based on the reviews we read.   Another complaint is that profiles can be painfully outdated... so you'll have no chance of ever connecting with someone who hasn't even visited the site in the past year.   However, you can typically do your searches with many parameters, one of which is often "the last time they visited the site".   Online dating sites have an economic incentive to bloat their membership numbers... be wary of this.    But at the same time, there is no question that a large majority of paying members at the big sites are in fact serious about finding someone. And even with these problems, chances are you still could have very good luck just based on the massive numbers of people using these sites.

what not tips  

• Be sure to utilize your trial period.   Make sure you see potential before paying!
• Don't fall for the "it's cheaper to sign up for 6 months" than by the month.  We suggest paying a bit more per day and keeping your time commitment low.   Not to mention that your goal probably is to find a date sooner rather than later.  
• Be sure to check your email settings on the dating site to turn off all the junk mail you'll otherwise get from them.  We're talking about special offers and promotions, not contact from other members.
• Remember to keep your own safety in mind.   Be street wise and don't be too fast to believe what you read... be skeptical and never put yourself in a vulnerable position.
• Be sure you understand the billing arrangements.  Many sites will automatically keep billing you (and keeping your membership active) unless you tell them otherwise.
• Remember that there are a lot of choices.  Other than the time you spent filling out the profiles and questions, don't hesitate to move on to a different site if it doesn't feel right to you after a free trial period.
• During your trial period, make sure you consider the number of possible matches in your own geographic area.   If you live in Montana and most of the site users are from the big cities, you just might have a problem finding someone.
• Gift subscriptions are available at many... maybe a good way to help a friend?
  

compare TOP PICKS                                            (skip to side notes)
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Level of Competition:   9  [?]
WhatNot Latitude:        2   [?]

	Match	eHarmony	Yahoo Personals	Plenty of Fish
	Best in Class - We found Match.com to be top notch in our own trial runs.   Quality profiles to browse!	Serious Searchers - Unique approach to online dating geared toward those committed to the process.	One of the Best - Huge offering of people, great name recognition and excellent user feedback.	FREE! - Positive feedback and sizable growing member list for this newer no frills dating site! Designed to stop "faceless corporations from preying on people looking for love".
bottom line	Hands down top proven online dating site.   Over 8 million members, great site layout, fast loading pages, cool features, and reasonable rates make this a top of the list choice.	The detail behind their "scientific" matchmaking and the huge number of members (including very believable couple testimonies) suggests this is a worthy option if you're serious about online dating.	Free profile membership that you can upgrade if someone is trying to connect with you.  Though we don't care for how the pictures are presented, the site is fast and seemingly quality results seem to be accurate matches based on our inputs.	Though we found the quality of listings to be a bit less than other major dating sites, the concept is great, and it's well worth your time to check them out.  What have you got to lose?
monthly fee *	$29.99	$ 49.95	$ 24.95	$ 0
free introduction period	3 days	7 days (to get a refund)	7 days (must cancel or credit card will be charged)	N / A
site layout and flow *	Excellent - 10	Excellent - 9	Great - 8	OK - 5
other features or comments	* See who has viewed your profile * "Winking" * Favorites list * Match words searching * Block members from contacting you * Ability to hide profile * Search profiles without filling out profile	* Centered around the "29 dimensions" of compatibility * "Ice breaker" first contact feature * Sends you matching profiles for review versus searching profiles * Free and interesting compatibility profile based on the answers to your questions (even without signing up)	* Can upgrade from basic paid membership to Premier (we don't see the value). * Shows last time the member logged in * We like the "View Similar Profiles" feature * Integrated with IM messenger programs	* "Rate a member" feature is worth checking out just for the fun of it
unique concerns	* Members are free * Subscribers are paid	* Very lengthy questionnaire	* Upgraded Premier membership appears to be a bloated way to get more monthly fees.	* Pictures seem to be somewhat distorted * "Do you do drugs?" is one of the first questions shown on the profile.  Why? * Search only up to 100 miles from your zip