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You might think that a totally free dating site would be a waste of time, but we have found that OkCupid.com, one of the only 100% free dating sites around, is actually one of the best – if not the best.
Most dating sites that claim to be totally free do so only to trick you into signing up. Then, once you have signed up and give them information, you see that it actually costs money to use the site. Well, let's say it differently: you can technically use the site for free, but if you actually want to communicate with any of the other members, you will need to pay.
The biggest difference between OkCupid.com and other completely free dating sites seems to be the creators of the site. OkCupid.com was created by the same guy who created SparksNotes.com, the reference guide for literature and other reading. The team at OkCupid.com is a small one, but full of a lot of different intelligence. The team seems passionate about keeping the site free, so if you're looking for the best completely free dating site, definitely create a profile and check it out.
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Transparency |
2.0 / 2.5 |
OkCupid.com is a pretty transparent site, but they do lose points for their lack of contact information. Whenever a dating site does not provide a phone number at which you can contact them, they will definitely lose points. On the other hand, OkCupid.com does provide a few different email addresses to use for the specific problem you are having.
Aside from a lack of contact info, OkCupid gets high marks for their transparency. As far as prices go, they're easy to find – it's free! When they tell you it is totally free, they mean it. The site clearly explains the features offered when you join, and you can actually access all of them once you do. You can browse through and look at all of the profiles, descriptions, and even pictures on the site.
OkCupid also posts a page that explains each of the people responsible for the website, with their names and descriptions. They even have pictures of them, making the site's users feel a bit more comfortable about not getting scammed and cheated by some faceless website programmers.
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Reliablity |
1.5 / 2.5 |
OkCupid.com receives its lowest score in the reliability category for two reasons. First of all, the site has a lot of bad reviews and online complaints from users, claiming the site has a lot of dead profiles. People also claim the site has a lot of creepy, untrustworthy members who are just looking for sex. With a site that is totally free, you have to expect this, but it seems the website creators could do a better job of keeping these in check. From what I've read about the staff, they are probably working on that now.
Secondly, the site has a terrible grade of "F" with the Better Business Bureau. This might have to do with the fact that they have only gotten four complaints and have only solved two of them. It's up to you how to judge this BBB.org rating, but either way, we only give points for sites with a "B+" or above.
OkCupid.com does provide you with user testimonials and pictures, so you can see that people have actually found success there. They clearly post their privacy policies on an easy-to locate page, and they don't need to offer security systems for payments because the don't ask for any money!
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Quality |
2.5 / 2.5 |
OkCupid.com is a very high quality website that is backed by solid technology and staff. The site uses a unique approach to online dating, but doesn't limit you as far as what you can do on the site.
The search engine at OkCupid.com does a good job of balancing simplicity with extensive options. They provide you with basic search criteria to use, but you can also add in other options to do a more advanced search. It allows you to custom-tailor the search engine for the specific things you are looking for.
The site also does a good job of providing comprehensive profiles, as well as an easy-to-use personal home page. The profiles offer basic information, but also give you multiple essay sections to describe yourself and what you're looking for in your own words. The extra features you can use for free at OkCupid are also very helpful in finding a good match. Instead of offering pointless games and icebreakers, they give you questions to answer yourself, as well as what your match's ideal answers would be and how important the questions are to you. Through this process, they match you by % with similar singles. It's an easy and fun way to find like-minded personalities. Finally, OkCupid.com has a nice FAQ section that will give you instant answers without having to sift through entire pages of text. They also provide email addresses for each problem you may be having.
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Cost |
2.5 / 2.5 |
For obvious reasons, OkCupid.com gets a perfect score in the cost category. Unlike the other sites that claim they are free, OkCupid.com is actually free.
At OkCupid.com, the membership, extra features, and chat/messaging are all completely free; they are also nice in quality, so don't feel like you will be using something sub-par. There are no hidden charges at OkCupid.com, so feel free to create a profile and start communicating with singles in your area for free.
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Total Score |
8.5 / 10 |
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