As large as Match.com is, there are still many singles that have not used the service. It is for this reason that we conducted a series of evaluations in order to present an objective Match.com review.

— Pros and Cons of Match.com —

Pros

• Very thorough user profiles
• Powerful match and discovery engine
• Easy and intuitive to use
• Very low number of fake or inactive profiles

Cons

• Expensive compared to other dating sites
• Requires more time to register properly compared to other dating sites

— In-Depth Match.com Review —

Match.com has been part of the online dating landscape since 1995 — literally at the dawn of the World Wide Web. This long history — and its long trail of acquiring of smaller competing websites — has placed Match.com as one of the leaders in the online dating scene.

Its market position makes it an obvious choice for consideration by single people seeking different types of matches. From people searching for long-term relationships — to more casual encounters — Match.com offers a wide user base with a varied set of interests.

— Match.com Sign-Up Process —

The sign-up process for Match.com requires more time than other dating sites. Our three testers averaged 25 minutes to complete the registration process. This should not be seen as a bad thing. The majority of other dating sites only require a minimum set of information to register. While this may result in registration times of less than two minutes, it also results in sites flooded with profiles lacking detail, fake profiles or profiles that have been abandoned by their owners.

The registration for Match.com is divided into three parts. The first part is very similar to what other sites use as their “complete” registration package. Here you enter your basic information such as age, gender, location. If you have dabbled with other dating sites, this will be familiar and routine.

The second part consists of developing a profile of the sort of people that you would like to meet. This starts by filling in information regarding their physical attributes. Eye color, hair color, height, weight — essentially you are detailing the parameters of the physical attributes that you find attractive in another person. The system allows you to set any of those attributes as “deal breakers.” That would indicate to the Match.com algorithm that your matches must meet those specified preferences in order for them to appear on your results page.

The system continues by moving on to your preferences for the background of your matches. This covers education, ethnicity, and religion. Just like with the physical attributes, you can make any background element a “deal breaker.” The final section for your prospective matches covers their habits and lifestyle. Here you can set preferences for whether or not kids are acceptable, smoking and drinking habits, etc. Any of these can also be set as “deal breakers.”

From there, you move on to the details of your own profile. These include the same items as those that you filled out regarding your prospective matches. Additionally, it allows you to add more detail to each item by including open-field text boxes where you can write something to elaborate on your answers. There is a similar open field text box at the end of your profile which you can use to write a biographical entry about yourself. You can write anything you wish others to know about you. We found this to be the ideal place to display aspects of your personality. There are also supplemental fields where you can list your favorite movies, books, hobbies, etc.

The final step involves uploading your picture. This is what others will see when they look at your profile.

— Match.com Profile Approval —

After you submit all of the information described above, you have to wait for Match.com to screen and approve your profile picture and content. In our evaluation, the approval waiting time for the three testers averaged 25 minutes.

It is important to note that anytime you modify your profile the changes will not go into effect until a similar approval process has taken place.

Online there are other reviews that complain about the waiting time to get your profile approved. We did not find it to be an inconvenience at all. If anything, it was appreciated that there was active monitoring and filtering of the profiles by Match.com This is probably why we did not encounter any profiles that we suspected as being fake. It also resulted in profiles of people that are actually active on the site to dominate the results. There is nothing more frustrating that being on a dating site flooded with fake profiles and inactive ones.

— Functionality of Match —

The feature-set and functionality of Match.com is not fanciful, but it is very effective. As an example, the discovery feature is what members use to search for other profiles matching their search criteria. This is practically a standard on every online dating site. The difference with Match.com is that the results that you get are so much more precise. This means that unlike other dating sites which require you to filter your own set of results — on Match.com the results that you get are a reliable set of matches that you can rely on to start the process of contacting.

The communication system between members is only available to those with a paid membership. Again, at first glance, it appears as fairly standard — an internal messaging system and a live chat module. In practice, however, the user experience is better. Your inbox is not flooded with messages from people that literally have nothing in common with you. You can actually look forward to reading through your inbox at Match.com. On other sites, it becomes more of a chore.

Apart from the robust discovery and matchmaking functionality, you also receive a daily list of potential matches. We found this to be very useful in staying active on the site. While you may have time to actively conduct your own search on the site once or twice a week, the rest of the time it would be idle. With daily potential matches sent to you, it’s easier not to miss out on the match that might change your life.

— Cost of Match.com—

A one-month membership for Match.com costs $42.99. This can be lowered to $20.99 if you pay for a six-month membership in advance.