Safety Tip: Make sure your password is unique with numbers, symbols, and some capitalized letters in order to protect your information.
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July 31, 2023
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Everybody wants to find love. It’s only natural, especially for those recently widowed or divorced and searching for a new partner. Even if you are looking to get married for the first time, it doesn’t have to be difficult to find a kindred spirit with whom to share your golden years.
With that said, dating can be overwhelming regardless of age. Online dating is a helpful tool that can make it easy to find that special someone. You may be reluctant to try an online dating site for fear that you won't be able to find anyone your own age. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. Many people over 50 are using the Internet to meet people with similar interests and values.
eHarmony.com is one of the leading sites for online dating, especially among older adults. This detail our experience with eHarmony, taking you through the process of using the service, and helping you decide if a subscription is right for you.
Clinical psychologist, Neil Clark Warren, founded eHarmony in 2000, making it one of the oldest online dating websites and the first to employ an algorithm to match members. The service currently has over 750,000 paid subscribers and 10 million active users.
eHarmony is especially dedicated to helping older adults find partners. While the site is open to anyone over the age of 18, you may specify that matches fall within a specific age range. This is good news because older adults are one of the fastest-growing demographics in online dating. 35 percent of those over 50 say that online dating is how they most often find a date.
As opposed to other services like Tinder or Bumble, eHarmony is the go-to site for those looking for serious, long-term commitments. In fact, eHarmony is the best dating website in terms of marriage rate and future marital satisfaction.
In order to sign up for eHarmony, you’ll want to navigate to their website or download the mobile app. In our case, we used the website. There, we had to select a gender as well as the gender of our preferred partner. Then we clicked the “Join Now” button.
Safety Tip: Make sure your password is unique with numbers, symbols, and some capitalized letters in order to protect your information.
eHarmony requires users to complete a compatibility quiz developed by psychologists and in-house dating experts. The 80 question quiz gathers information about you on the basis of 32 personality dimensions. The examination took us roughly 20 minutes to complete, and it included questions about our personality, values, hobbies, interests, and what we wanted in a relationship. All of this information helps match your profile with compatible candidates. While it sounds daunting, the quiz is an engaging way to inventory your personality.
Once the compatibility quiz is completed, we were prompted to enter information such as our location and profession to help the system find matches in our area.
Tip: Don’t worry about getting compatibility quiz questions “right” and instead be as candid as possible so the algorithm can pair you with suitable potential partners.
eHarmony plans are available at several levels. There is a free plan and three premium plans. Predictably, the free level offers fewer features than the paid memberships. Communication through the system is severely limited to free members; you can browse profiles, but you cannot communicate with others apart from sending them “smiles” or “icebreakers,” which amounts to an online notification. Additionally, you may browse profiles, but you can not view photos.
The premium membership tiers have expanded functionality, including the ability to:
Users can make a one-time payment for the full length of the subscription or pay on a monthly basis. There may be a welcome offer when you sign up, discounting the first few months of the subscription.
To help inform our testing, we opted for the Premium Extra membership.
| Plan | Subscription Length | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Premium Light | 6 months | $54.90 per month |
| Premium Plus | 12 months | $39.90 per month |
| Premium Extra | 24 months | $29.90 per month |
Tip: There are often coupons available for eHarmony on Groupon. Additionally, friends or family may also purchase subscriptions as a gift.
There is a three day free trial period to determine if the service is for you. Once this grace period expires, users may not receive a refund for the service. While users may cancel the subscription at any time if they prefer to, they will not receive a refund for the duration of the subscription. Additionally, service automatically renews at the end of a subscription. eHarmony sends emails to remind users when their subscription is about to end but make sure to keep track of your subscription.
eHarmony is unique among dating sites because it does not require you to search profiles in order to find matches. There is no “swipe” functionality on eHarmony that requires users to select matches based on appearance or common interests. Instead, the compatibility test mathematically calculates your compatibility with others and shows you matches likely to interest you.
The personality profile is the core component of eHarmony. Profiles are divided into three sections: a personally curated “about” page, photos, and a personality profile based on compatibility quiz results. The about section allows you to enter information about yourself, including a personal quote, hobbies, interests, and art you may enjoy. This section also includes a section of prompts (such as what your perfect day might be) to help you describe yourself further. The more questions you answer, the more likely you will find a match with similar interests.
When you match with someone, you can view your “compatibility score” with them based on the data aggregated from your personality profiles. This score reflects the compatibility quiz results and takes into account each of your personality traits and communication styles. This reduces the amount of effort on your part. Your best matches appear on the homepage when you sign into the service. This streamlines the overall dating process so you don’t have to spend hours sifting through profiles. Once you see someone you like, you can message them directly from their profile.
Since its inception, online dating has evolved to create more meaningful personal interactions. eHarmony, in particular, has many features that help people connect once they’ve matched.
The premium tiers of eHarmony have more advanced features designed to help people connect authentically. Here are some that I found the most useful:
While online dating can be an effective way of meeting a new companion, there are also risks involved. In the past, scam artists have attempted to use online dating platforms to trick people into sending money or personal information. eHarmony has increased security measures to ensure the safety of singles while using their service.
Specifically, eHarmony monitors account activity and screens members against sex offender registries. Most reputable dating sites require members to create a profile with at least one photo to verify that they are legitimate users. eHarmony takes the extra step of requiring three photos that pass stringent security guidelines.
Because of these safety measures, you can use eHarmony with confidence, but you should also apply common sense to online dating. Make sure to employ the following safety precautions when interacting with strangers online:
Use your best judgment, as you would if you met somebody at a coffee shop or the park. Trust your instincts and cut off communication if you feel unsafe or suspicious of malicious activity. If you’re nervous about dating in general, check out our tips for dating over 50.
eHarmony and SilverSingles are two of the most popular dating sites for seniors. Both sites offer a variety of features to help singles find love, including personality tests, match recommendations, and messaging tools. However, there are some key differences between the two sites.
eHarmony is a more comprehensive dating site, with a longer personality test and a larger member base. This means that eHarmony is more likely to be able to find you a compatible match. However, eHarmony is also more expensive than SilverSingles.
SilverSingles is a more specialized dating site, designed specifically for singles over 50. This means that SilverSingles has a more targeted member base, which can make it easier to find someone who shares your interests and values. SilverSingles is also less expensive than eHarmony. eHarmony memberships start at nearly $30 per month while SilverSingles starts at $25 per month.
Overall, eHarmony has more advanced matching features, and in our experience, despite SilverSingles being made specifically for older adults, eHarmony has an equally large user base of people 50 and older.
Online dating is more popular than ever among older adults. It’s never been easier to find a fantastic partner. If you’re interested in online dating, eHarmony is a good option for those looking for long-term commitments.
The subscription is on the pricier side, especially when compared to free services, but for the higher cost of admission, eHarmony can help weed out partners who are not looking for serious relationships. If the eHarmony price tag is out of your budget, but you still want to try your hand at online dating, check out our guide to free online dating sites.
eHarmony may not be for everyone. There are many dating sites for those with specific interests or religious beliefs. There are a lot of options out there to help you find your perfect partner. Don’t be afraid to get out there, and good luck in love!
While there is a limited free membership, eHarmony does have a cost. The price depends on the length of the subscription you purchase.
Online dating is perfectly safe as long as you practice good judgment. Never give your financial information to anybody online, wire money, or click on suspicious links.
While you can cancel your subscription at any time, you will not be refunded for the remainder of your subscription. If you select a 12-month subscription and meet someone in the fourth month, you will still have to pay for the full 12-month subscription.
The most important thing is to use a clear and recent photograph for your online dating profile. If possible, choose a photo that reflects your interests. For example, if you like to ski, using a photo from the slopes may help you find other ski aficionados.
This varies from person to person, based on what you feel comfortable with. I recommend speaking to someone over video chat or on the phone at least once before meeting in person. When you do meet, make sure to meet in a public place.