Frequently asked questions

Because pricing is set after you register, and often varies by age, location and device. Six of the eight platforms we checked publish no price at all on their own website. It is the norm in this category rather than the exception.

OkCupid, Bumble and Hinge all let you browse, match and message without paying - the paid tiers buy visibility rather than access. Match, eharmony and EliteSingles let you look but not message.

Worse for predicting what you will spend. A subscription is a known monthly figure; credits are charged per interaction, which means the operator earns more the longer a conversation goes on rather than the sooner it succeeds. Neither is a scam - but they create different incentives, and you should know which one you are in.

Look at who profits from what. Warning signs: you cannot see any price before handing over details; messages arrive instantly from unusually attractive profiles the moment you register; you pay per message rather than per period; and there is no clear way to cancel. None of these alone proves fraud, but together they describe a business that earns from your time rather than your outcome.

The subscription ones generally do, by default. Renewal terms are usually presented during checkout rather than beforehand, which is why we score how plainly a platform states them.

It varies and it is rarely identity verification in the legal sense. Bumble and Hinge offer selfie or photo verification, which confirms the person matches the photos - not who they are. Treat every claim as "this reduces obvious fakes", not "this guarantees a real person".

Because nobody can verify them. Every platform's published success figures are marketing, and scoring them would mean inventing a measurement. We score what is checkable.

InternationalCupid is the one here aimed specifically at cross-border matching. It publishes its Terms of Use in full, including that subscriptions renew automatically - but not what any of it costs, which you only see after registering.

Not on a platform you have not used yet. Long plans are where the per-month price falls and where cancellation complaints concentrate. Buy the shortest term first, then extend if it is working.

Five weighted criteria: whether a price is published before registration, what the free tier can actually do, how it bills you, what verification it states, and how plainly it explains leaving. Built from what each platform publishes, not from using them.