Best Dating Sites For Seniors
Did you know that close to 50 million Americans had tried their luck at online love by 2018? Most of them found love and relationships and you can be part of the statistics.
Dating for seniors can be nerve-wracking even where the internet is not involved. At a senior age, you want peace and independence and getting someone that gives you that might be challenging. However, dating sites make it easy to find what you are looking for. Although most dating sites target the younger generation, there are those structured to help you find love. Here they are:
The Top Best Dating Sites For Seniors
1. Best Senior Dating Site - eHarmony
eHarmony has close to 30 million users, with up to 16 million active weekly users. Today, the site claims to make more than 15 million matches every day and has had close to a million happily married couples.
What makes eHarmony ideal for seniors is its matchmaking system that relies on a series of factors to find you the partner who succinctly meets your needs.
Founded by Dr. Neil Clark Warren, the site’s algorithm runs hundreds of factors to find a match. Dr. Warren, a clinical psychologist, sought to understand what makes long term relationships.
Through research and his long career as a couple’s counselor, he created a matching model that helps everyone find love the easy way. Another reason that makes it ideal for seniors is that it is focused on long term relationships and not causal dates. Members join the site hoping to meet someone they can spend the rest of their lives with.
Create a Profile Today
Perhaps the only part that takes time on eHarmony is creating a profile. To get the perfect match, the system compares your character and personality based on the information you provide when creating your profile.
You can change your profile any times afterward, but you need to take your time to do it right the first time as it determines the matches you get.
You will take tests and a questionnaire that the site algorithm will use to create your profile. When you get a match, you will see in percentage how much their values match with yours. The compatibility tab on eHarmony will show values such as:
Besides seeing how you fair with your match on the above factors, eHarmony also has a Questions and Answers section where you get to further know your match before making contact.
Making Contact and eHarmony App
Once you have found a match, you can go ahead and initiate contact. To do that, the site allows you to:
eHarmony is safe for seniors as you can get to know users before you go out of dates with them. The video data feature is especially important for seniors who are skeptical about the whole online dating scene and wary of the dangers that come with it.
Besides the everyday matches that you get, eHarmony offers 30 additional matches outside of your favorites’ list as long as you are on a premium account.
You can find a match on the eHarmony app which is free to download. The app is available for both Android and iOS users. You will have access to all the features on the desktop site on the app. It has minimal ads and seniors will find it easy to navigate.
eHarmony Costs
You can start finding love on eHarmony for free. On a free account, you will have access to:
To get a better experience, however, you will need to pay. Besides the above free services, a premium account allows you to:
Basically, a premium account gives you full access to the contacting features on eHarmony and gives you more matches. The site offers three options for the premium account; 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months. You choose based on how lucky you feel.
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2. Best Senior Dating Site - SilverSingles
SilverSingles is an ideal dating site for seniors as it caters to users over 50 years old. The site claims to have more than 100,000 members from the United States with more than 5,000 daily logins. Unlike eHarmony above, you do not have to feel nervous in a group of millennials.
Like eHarmony above, the site requires that you fill out a questionnaire (what they call a personality test) to help create your profile. The matchmaking algorithm depends on how you answer the questions on the personality test – so take your time and answer all questions correctly.
Most of the users on SilverSingles are above 50 years old, but you might come across a few people looking for mature love on the site. Better yet, at least 80 percent of the users have at least a university degree so you will be dealing with intellects. The service is available in 20 countries across the world.
SilverSingles is ideal for seniors for the sole reason that it is designed for seniors. Granted, it is easy to navigate, it has more seniors than general dating sites, and no one is looking for a casual date in the site.
Signing Up on SilverSingles
The signup process is straightforward but it takes time. You will basically enter your gender, the gender you are looking for, your email address, and your password. The lengthy part comes where you need to answer questions on the personality test. There are more than a hundred questions.
These questions are about your:
You have multiple choice answers so all you do is click on the answer that describes you. The process doesn't end when you answer all questions. You need to upload a profile photo and answer seven more questions – freely write your answers on these as the answer will appear on your profile. While the process is long, it helps give you a perfect match.
Contact Matches on SilverSingles and App
After you create an account, SilverSingles displays a list of matches on your tab. You can see the compatibility percentage for every of the matches to help you when you start making contact. You can also adjust search filters to include location, height, age, and personality similarities.
You can contact members by:
The profiles on SilverSingles are quite detailed and you may never have a problem finding a member who falls within what you like. The preview shows you the member’s location and occupation and their photos (photos are only visible on a premium account). You can always change your profile details later.
SilverSingles offers a free-to-download app for all its members. The app replicates all the features on the desktop version. The Android and iOS app is easy to navigate, thanks to its intuitive interface, allows you to sign up to the site, and you can take a personality test on it. The pink and white tones on both the app and the website make them easy to see for seniors with site problems.
SilverSingles Cost
Like eHarmony, SilverSingles allows you to find love on a free account. The free account has limited features and only allows:
A premium account opens up all the features of the site including:
The premium account lets you communicate to your matches and not just send them smileys. You can sign up for a month, three months, or six months.
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Generally, SilverSingles is an ideal site for seniors looking for love. Its matchmaking system coupled with the fact that it is for seniors only make it great.
3. Best Senior Dating Site - EliteSingles
EliteSingles is a general dating site, not designed for seniors. However, what makes the site ideal for seniors is the high number of users across 20 countries in the world. EliteSingles claims that more than 65,000 new members join in every week and more than 2,000 couples find love every month. With more than 5 million users in the United States alone, you are sure to find love regardless of your age.
Besides the large user base, EliteSingles is unique in that it caters to elites or intellects. If you prefer an intellectual partner, more than 80 percent of the members on EliteSingles have at least a university degree.
Unlike SilverSingles, which has a low number of active users, EliteSingles has more than 900,000 active users every week. Most active users are from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Another reason for seniors to use the site is that more than ninety percent of the users are 30 years old and above – which means that there are more seniors to connect with.
Create a Profile and Find a Match
Creating an account on EliteSingles is straightforward but you need to fill out a personality test that takes time. The signup will take about 20 minutes. You will need to provide basic information and then proceed to answer 29 personality questions.
According to EliteSingles, the questions are the work of psychologists and couple counselors, and they are geared towards helping you find a good match. If you do not have 20 minutes to fill all the questions, you can save your progress and finish later.
The questions are statements that relate to you and they might include:
After such questions, the matchmaking algorithm is able to find matches for you.
Make Contact on EliteSingles and the App
It is easy to make contact with EliteSingles. Although most of the features are available to members on a free account, you can still make contact. Some of the communication features that you have access to include:
Besides the above features, the site offers a "Have You Met?" feature. Here, the site presents you with an overview of a user's profile and you have to decide whether you like them or not. If you like the profile, you send them a wink; if you don't, you click the X icon.
The EliteSingles mobile app is easy to navigate (just as the desktop version), so, seniors will never find it challenging to find a match. It gives a simple interface where you can review your matches and send and receive messages. It is a light file and is compatible with most iOS and Android devices.
EliteSingles Payment Plans
You will have access to a number of features on the free account. These features include:
To access advanced communication features, you need a premium account which offers:
You can subscribe to the 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month plan depending on how lucky you feel.
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4. Senior Dating Site - OurTime
OurTime caters for seniors over 50 years just like SilverSingles. Founded in 2011 by People Media, the site gives seniors a chance to find love, friendships, pen-pals, dates, and long-term relationships.
Your profile will be displayed on other dating sites under the People Media management, including SeniorsMeet and SeniorPeopleMeet, which means you have more chances of finding love. The site has more than 1.5 million users from the United States, 7.7 million visits per month from the United States, and more than 8 million monthly visits from around the world.
You will have access to so many profiles which increases your chances of finding love.
Sign Up and Find Matches
The sign up process takes only three minutes and you are good to go. All you have to do is upload personal information including gender, age, username, location, email address, and password among others and you are good to go. I find the simple signup process ideal considering that the site is for users aged 50 and above. Specific information that you might have to enter includes:
You can upload up to 30 pictures to make your profile appealing to your matches.
Make Contact
Making contact on OurTime is easy. The site offers you a free search option that allows you to filter your search based on more than ten factors including age range, location by zip code, body type, zodiac, status, children, and more.
You can even filter the search function to contact only members who are online at the time of the search or show only new members. Even with the advanced search function, you need a premium account to start making contacts.
Some of the contact features available on OurTime include:
For a free account, you can only send “Flirts.” Seniors can use the OurTime App to find love. The mobile app is simple and straightforward with highly visible icons and writings for seniors with sight problems. All the features and functionalities of the desktop site are on the app.
OurTime Pricing Plans
Although you can create a free account, it is not easy to find love in it. You will have access to:
The premium account has more features and has the following features:
You can sign up for the standard account for one month or six months, for the value account for six months and get a profile highlight, or buy credits to use for sessions.
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5. Senior Dating Site - Match
Match.com is one of the oldest dating sites in the world with members from all over the world. The site started in 1993 and, for a long time, online dating became synonymous with Match.com.
It is an ideal dating site for seniors, thanks to its large user base. In the United States alone, the site claims to have more than 4 million members. Every day, there are about 3 million logins – which means you are likely to find love regardless of your age.
More than 40 percent of users are aged 45 years old and above with about 15 percent being older than 55 years. This is a huge number considering that the site has more than 20 million users from around the world. Another reason why seniors might find Match.com appealing is the fact that the site is easy to navigate with less complicated functionalities.
Creating an Account and Finding Matches
The signup process is straightforward almost like it was designed for seniors. You will only need to provide a few personal details such as age, location, gender, sexual orientation, email address, username, and preferred password. After this, the system prompts you to the online profile builder where you enter more details to complete your profile.
These details include your:
You do not need to verify your email address, so after the builder, you are good to start finding a match. There is also no picture approval; all you need is to upload a decent picture.
Make Contact on Match.com
Once your profile is complete, you will get a Matches Tab where you get profile recommendations. You can choose to “Like” or “Skip” the recommendations. Once you skip, the system presents you with the next match. If you like a profile, the member gets a notification and you are added on their “Like List.”
You will have access to the Discover search function that allows you to filter the search based on a variety of factors including age, gender, location, interests, personal details, looks, and lifestyle. You can also search for a keyword. The system allows you to save your search queries and choose how you need to display your search results.
Communication features include:
Whenever a member likes your account, you are automatically added to their “Liked List.”
Match.com has a free app that gives you great usability. It is ideal when you need to enable phone notifications. It is available to download for iOS and Android smartphones. The app has the same features as the desktop site, allowing you to make easy and fast contacts.
The Pricing Plans on Match.com
Like the other dating sites above, Match.com gives you access to a free account. The account allows you to:
The premium account has the following features:
Match.com has sister sites where you can send your profile to increase your chances of finding love. You can subscribe to the Standard or Premium Plans for three, six, or twelve months. You can also buy credits using the Match.com Boost feature.
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Senior Dating Sites FAQs
Q: A site-specific for seniors or a general dating site, which one is better?
A: Each has its pros and cons. General dating sites such as eHarmony, Match, and EliteSingles have millions of users from around the world, making your profile more visible and giving your access to profiles of users on a wide age range.
If you are looking for users above 40 but below 60 years, they are more available on these general sites more than on age-specific sites.
Because the sites have advanced matchmaking systems and advanced search filters, you never have to worry about browsing thousands of profiles. The only challenge is that not everyone might be looking for a long-term relationship here.
Senior-specific dating sites are advantageous since you will be in a group of seniors with the same goals as you. However, the sites might not have a large user base and the number of active users might be low.
Q: Are dating sites safe for seniors?
A: As long as a senior doesn’t give out their username and password to strangers, dating sites are safe. Most of the sites use high-end encryption when sending data over the internet.
Some sites such as Match.com make dates safe by keeping records such as date, time, and location or a meetup. This way, they can notify your emergency contact when you go on a date. Some sites allow video chat so you can know your match better before going on a date.
Q: Do I need a premium account to find a date?
A: Yes. For all the sites above and pretty much all other dating sites, you need a premium account to make contact. A free account only allows you to create a profile and send winks, likes, or smileys, but it does not allow you to make contact.
Q: How can I save money on a dating site and still get a date?
A: Dating sites offer subscription plans for a short period such as a month and as long as 24 months. If you are feeling lucky, you can subscribe for one month and work on getting a date within the month.
If you are not feeling lucky, the longest subscription plan gives you the cheapest per-month cost. If a site offers tokens or credits, you can buy them only when you have found a match and need to make contact. This way, you won't need a subscription plan.