Skip to content 
Is EHARMONY Worth It? PROS & CONS…
EHARMONY is one of the oldest dating services around. It’s slightly pricey too. But is this survey-based dating application worth it? Let’s find out…
EHARMONY Review – Is It Worth It?
If you’ve tried Tinder, failed with OK Cupid, and find Plenty of Fish too creepy, rather than giving up on online dating entirely, why not try something a little different? Enter EHARMONY, a dating service with a twist. Unlike Tinder, which is all about looks and first impressions, EHARMONY uses data – data derived from a survey you take – to find potential matches for you.
EHARMONY is a paid-service with multiple membership levels, so if you’re looking for something free – look away now. If you’re serious about dating, however, EHARMONY offers one of the most robust, thorough platforms online. Generally, EHARMONY users are more serious about finding love and relationships than those on Tinder. If it were a bar, it’d be a cocktail bar, while Tinder would be more like a college/student dive bar.
What I liked most about EHARMONY, however, aside from the accuracy of the matches you get is that it is far simpler to manage than Tinder. You get a selection of matches daily, and it is limited to just a few, so you can really focus on what’s in front of you, rather than swiping through an endless stream of random people. Plus, the matches you get are based on the answers you gave during your profile setup. EHARMONY only matches you with similarly-minded people, so your chances of success are a lot higher.
In this respect, EHARMONY’s business model follows a quality over quantity approach. If you’re tired of endless scrolling on Tinder, horrible dates with strangers that you have nothing in common with, then EHARMONY is well worth a look. As a platform, it is designed to be specific. And when it comes to dating and finding a new relationship, specificity is key. For this reason, I think EHARMONY, for certain types of users, is 100% worth the asking price.
It is also 100% COVID-19 ready too, so you can date during the pandemic with its built-in video-calling service that lets you char with potential matches. If you’re stuck indoors, or locked down, and want to put that time to good use by finding a new relationship, and you’re tired of Tinder, I would definitely recommend EHARMONY – it is a unique, hyper-targeted dating platform that, while a little pricey, is more than worth the entry price.
How Does EHARMONY Work?
The big difference between EHARMONY and dating apps like Tinder is that EHARMONY focusses on finding out what really makes you tick; SilverSingles does this too, but not in as much detail. Once you’ve been through the induction process, EHARMONY knows your likes, dislikes, passions, and temperament. And this makes it easier for the service to find appropriate matches for you.
This approach, while more long-winded than Tinder, harks back to an earlier time, a time when dating services were run from offices and used filing systems. By filling out answers to specific questions (there are over 100) and completing the survey, EHARMONY can build a detailed “profile” of you. Once it has this, your profile, through the magic of algorithms, can then be matched up with similar or corresponding profiles.
Tinder is focussed, predominantly, on hook-ups. This isn’t the official MO of the company, but that is what most users use it for. EHARMONY is a little more serious, a little more focussed on finding meaningful connections. This is why you have to do ALL these surveys and questionnaires – it wants to know exactly WHO you are so it can make the most accurate pairings. If this sounds more your speed, EHARMONY is a great option.
Once your profile is complete, you can start browsing your matches. At this point, you’ll be asked to select a membership level. There is a free version, but it is very limited, so I’d advise you to go with the paid-membership option. This way, you’ll be able to unlock all of EHARMONY’s features and get the most out of the service. The free version of the app is more of a demo, just a means of showing what is possible on the platform and its features.
Once you’re paid up and have a membership, you can start looking at your matches. When you click on a potential match, you’ll be able to see their photos, read their answers to questions, and you’ll also get a breakdown of how compatible you are (based on the answers to the 100+ survey) which is displayed in percentages and uses factors like Emotional Intimacy, Extraversion, Exclusivity, Intellect, Athleticism, Physical Intimacy, and more.
EHARMONY does not let free users see photos or information about its users. This is a great security feature that ensures all of the users on the platform are there for the right reasons. When money is involved, you won’t get scammers and perverts running amok on the service which is great news for anyone that is slightly nervous about using an online dating service, as it ensures all of your matches are real people that share similar beliefs and personality traits to you.
How Much Does EHARMONY Cost?
As noted above, EHARMONY does offer a free version. But it is more or less useless, so there’s not much point in using it. In order to use the platform properly, you need to opt-in for one of its membership plans. And here’s what they look like in detail:
- Premium Lite – Premium Lite costs $59.90 per month for six months.
- Premium Plus – Premium Plus costs $35.90 per month for 12 months.
- Premium Extra – Premium Extra costs $25.90 per month for two years.
All the plans offer the same features, the difference is to do with the overall cost. If you’re confident you can find and meet someone within six months, go with the Premium Lite membership. Need a little longer, or want to take your time? Go with Premium Plus – this will get you 12 months membership. Premium Extra is the cheapest way to access EHARMONY on a monthly basis, but it runs over two years which is quite a commitment.
Me personally? I’d go with Premium Plus. 12 months is a sizeable commitment, sure, but it is long enough to give you plenty of time to date and meet lots of potential matches. As many of you will know, dating is a lot of fun and relationships soon follow, but things can happen, and if you want to get back in the game, a 12-month plan will afford you that option without losing any of your data.
Alternatively, if you’re confident you can find and meet someone inside six months, go with the entry-level Premium Lite plan. This will give you six months and access to all of EHARMONY’s core features. This is also the cheapest option too. But you will only have the service for six months. At the end of six months, you’ll have to pay for another six months or use another plan – either 12 months or 24 months.
Does EHARMONY Work? Results & Stats
Whenever you join a new dating service, the first question you ask is DOES IT ACTUALLY WORK? Well, EHARMONY scores very highly in this context. According to research conducted by Harris, around 542 couples get married every single day thanks to EHARMONY.
Another survey found that almost 4% of ALL marriages in the USA are the result of matches made on EHARMONY. And if that wasn’t enough to impress you, of the couples that met on EHARMONY and got married only 3.7% ended up getting divorced – the national average in the USA is currently 50%.
These two facts alone prove that EHARMONY, with its 33 million users, and unique-approach to pairing people works. EHARMONY has been doing this for 20 years. It has its cupid-game down to a science. If you take the survey, sign-up for a membership, you are essentially guaranteed to meet someone, someone that is an intimate match for you. And it is this focus on details and data that makes EHARMONY so successful in its pairings.
EHARMONY Premium Features – What You Get
- Send A Smile – This feature lets you send a smile to your matches, indicating that you like them. It is a great way to start a conversation or to see whether they feel the same about you.
- Send Questions – If you want to start a conversation but are unsure about how to break the ice, you can send potential matches a question. And there are no limits on the number of questions you can send.
- Add To Favorites – If you have a lot of matches, you can manage them better by adding your #1 picks to your favorites tab. This way, you have all your most liked people in one easy to find place.
- What If? – This feature will give you 30 extra matches but unlike your usual matches, these matches are outside your preference list. The idea here to embrace the whole opposites attract approach to dating. If you’re bored of your current matches, maybe give EHARMONY’s What If feature a whirl and spice things up…
- Video Dating – COVID has basically shut down everything. With Video dating on EHARMONY, you can now virtually date people using the Video Date feature. This means you can chat to and connect with your matches even while social distancing laws and lockdowns are in effect.
Romain Bertrand, UK country manager for the dating service said: “We’ve looked closely at the online dating landscape and realised that while it’s important to keep developing better technology, people still yearn for a distinctly human touch. We believe the future of dating lies in a more personalised experience.
“We want people to enjoy the benefits of our unique compatibility matching system along with the guidance of their own personal consultant. We’re thrilled that eharmony Premium has launched globally now and are looking forward to seeing its US success repeated in the UK market.”
Wrapping Up…
Is EHARMONY worth it? I think so, yes. It has a ton of unique and innovative features and is highly successful in pairing up people. EHARMONY is responsible for more marriages than any other dating platform, accounting for nearly 4% of all marriages in the USA alone. And that is crazy!
If you’re serious about dating and are looking for a serious relationship or marriage, EHARMONY is just about the best option on the market right now. It is designed to be ultra-focused and personal. If you want hook-ups, go with Tinder or Plenty of Fish. EHARMONY is designed for those that are serious about finding meaningful relationships, love, and potentially marriage.
Keep Reading
Explore more →
