Totally Free Dating Sites
Looking for Online Love in Your Pocketbook? Don't Bother.
Totally free dating sites not only exist - they've prospered.
When I first started online dating more than a decade ago, totally free dating sites were impossible to find, much less use. Everyone paid and everyone suffered, to the point where online dating sites differed little than blind dates found through friends.
But about four years ago I noticed a shift in the online dating sites. People could sign up and receive messages without paying any fees - costs were incurred only to initiate contact. This model makes perfect sense if an online dating site needs to attract a large amount of users, so online dating sites like Lavalife quickly grew to mammoth proportions. Unfortunately, a strange battle of the sexes began (much like in a nightclub) where men were paying to contact women, while women picked and chose who they would respond to. And so the chase continues.
Totally free dating sites however change the rules completely. No one needs to buy credits, refer friends, or sign up for a free trial. Anyone can contact anyone, anytime, anywhere.
And with that are my favorite totally free dating sites, with a quick explanation as to why they've prospered, and why you should join.
I've been a member here since they opened, and I've never left the site. Not only does CK (also known as CampusKiss) give members free access, you also get a blog, access to some wild message boards, daily horoscopes (created by members), "confessions" (where people answer Truth-or-Dare questions), and live video chat. Plus, you can change your prefered color scheme (both site-wide and with your own profile), link to friends in a MySpace-like net, take the purity test and join groups. Their Spam feature is pretty robust to boot. I've still found nothing that compares to this tongue-in-cheek, totally free dating site.
PlentyOfFish aka POF
When I still lived in Calgary, I found it extremely difficult to meet people. The standard, paid dating sites weren't netting any interesting folk, so I did a quick search for totally free dating sites and found POF. I credit their expansive forums with an extremely busy social life, since the site supports users throwing parties for localites to meet and greet. (One of our bashes had several hundred people mob an unsuspecting bar just to get in the door). POF's new search and spam options are welcome additions, as is the "Who Viewed Me" feature.
While visiting Vancouver, a girlfriend of mine suggested I join this site to meet someone new to hang out with during my stay. The reason I kept using the site though were the tests - thousands and thousands of them. The OkCupid works similarly to eHarmony, where you answer questions that determine how compatible you are with other users. It differs from eHarmony greatly however, in that OkCupid users create the questions (and therefore the matching mechanisms) and it's a totally free dating site. Add some social networking aspects and fun matching criteria (my profile tells me I am "less ambitious, more artsy, more literary and less trusting" than other women my age) and the site is a huge hit.
Related article: Online Dating Services Review
