Our Verdict
A good number of users and free messaging means that POF is a great option for singles who don’t want to pay anything, but the narrow age range could put off younger daters.
- Quick sign-up process
- Free messaging
Against
- Likes are hidden for non-paying users
- Tricky deletion process
Top Ten Reviews Verdict
A good number of users and free messaging means that POF is a great option for singles who don’t want to pay anything, but the narrow age range could put off younger daters.
As of 2018, Plenty of Fish had around 150 million users, so this is definitely one of the biggest and best online dating sites and apps to try if you’re looking for a relationship. Free messaging means that you can contact plenty of other singles, although there is a limit on this (you can only contact 25 new people a day.)
The drawback with this is that, because it’s so easy to set-up a profile and fire out messages, some users report that they come across fake profiles. This wasn’t something we struggled with in our testing, but if you’re worried about this issue make sure you read our guide on how to stay safe online when looking for love.
Plenty of Fish: the best features
The sign-up process is fairly in-depth, without being overly complicated. Along with answering questions about your age, race and body type, you’ll also be quizzed on things like how long your longest relationship was, whether you’re the youngest child in your family and if you’re looking for partners of a specific build. When we created a profile, it only took us about five minutes.
This process has been overhauled and slimmed down, as it used to take around 20 minutes to complete the probing questionnaires on the site. Instead of focusing on profile-building and matchmaking, the POF platform now seems to pride itself on its free messaging options. You can message up to 25 new people a day my link but if you’re already engaged in a conversation with a particular user, you can message them to your heart’s content.
Users should also note that the app has some limitations on who you can message. Members can only contact other singletons who are 14 years older or younger than themselves. If you’re 22 or below, this drops down to a nine year range.
A recent tidy-up of the platforms has made it much easier to navigate, especially the app, which has a fuss-free interface.
For testing, we set up three fake accounts and monitored the responses we got over a period of 24 hours. On average, our accounts received 40 matches, the second highest number of any service we reviewed.
Plenty of Fish: the drawbacks
Although you can message freely on POF, you can’t see who likes you. If you want to access this option, you’ll have to pay out for a subscription. You’ll also have to pay for other extras like uploading more pictures, unlocking extended profiles and removing advertisements.
According to Statista, the site is mostly populated with people aged 45 – 54, so it might not be the best option for younger daters. That said, POF does say that their database is so large that all age ranges should easily be able to find a match.
We also found the deletion process quite tricky, as you have to navigate to the help section to find the correct button. You can’t delete your profile via the app either, so you’ll have to navigate through the desktop version if you want to remove your account for good.
Finally, as mentioned above, we received a large number of matches on our fake profiles. We found this to be a little bit overwhelming if you’re looking for a site that concentrates on helping you find a smaller number of quality matches, we recommend sticking with something like eHarmony or Match.
You might think that Plenty of Fish would attract a higher number of scammers, because of its free messaging options. This isn’t something that we noticed while testing out the platform, although reports indicate that dating scams have risen generally over the last year.
Remember to watch out for users who use overly romantic or sexual language, as that indicates they may be trying to trick you. And never send money to someone that you have met online.
What age group uses Plenty of Fish?
As mentioned above, Statista indicates that the website attracts users who are aged between 45 and 54. There are still a good number of users on the site who fall outside of this age bracket, but you’ll probably find that most Plenty of Fish daters are aged between 30 and 64.
Should I get Plenty of Fish?
This is one of the most popular dating sites in the world, especially in the US, so signing up will give you access to a huge user database. If you’re early on in the dating game, we recommend trying it out it’s free and it’s very user-friendly, whether you’re sticking with the app or opting to access it via your desktop.
