We evaluated 10 senior dating sites and selected the three best choices after carefully researching each one. We analyzed the number of users, the options available, the ease of use and cost for our evaluations. We then tested out our three picks by creating free profiles. The three companies that bested the competition are SilverSingles.com, SeniorMatch.com and OurTime.com. This buying guide explains how senior dating sites work, how to register and create a profile, and what the various options are. We’ll also share tips on how to meet new people safely. After reading this, you will be able to spot red flags for both dating sites and potential matches, and you will feel confident in taking the next steps towards dating in the 21st century.
Top tips:- Keep your expectations neutral. The adage about never forgetting how to ride a bike applies. You don’t forget how to get to know new people and date, but just like rusty bike riding skills, dating skills can need a refresher.
- Give it time. Cinderella stories of love-at-first-sight do exist, but they are the exception rather than the norm. Finding Mr. or Ms. Right is a process that usually takes some time.
- Be honest and specific when writing your profile. A generic story won’t tell potential matches who you are and what genuinely interests you.
Tips for a Wise Buyer
The “plenty of fish in the sea” are still out there swimming, so be picky.
Don’t feel like you are the only person over the age of 25 who is looking for love and that your choices are few and far between. The dating pool is not nearly as limited as you may think so you can afford to be selective. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2016, there were 19.5 million unmarried U.S. residents age 65 and older. These seniors made up 17.7 percent of all single people age 18 and older.
Senior Dating Site Features
Be honest in your profile, so you don’t waste time on unsuitable matches.
Knowing what you are looking for before signing up for an online dating service and being honest in your profile goes a long way toward your happiness. Are you searching for a serious relationship where your first date could be your last one as well? If the answer is yes, let potential mates know up front that you’re not interested in casual relationships. Did you spend decades with the same person and you’ve found yourself single and wanting to see what else is out there? Be honest and come right out with it that you’re not looking for a forever match.
Make sure the senior dating site you’re considering has these important features before you sign up.
- A detailed questionnaire to set up your profile
- A profile and photo required policy
- Multiple communication methods like smiles, winks, personal messages, email, app messages or text messages
- Reasonable monthly or one-time costs. Look for pricing in the range of free to around $30 for monthly costs and free to around $90 for one-time costs
- Safety features like encrypted systems, fraud detection and sex offender checks
- Demographics of the site’s visitors should be available
Making sure the dating site you use has these key elements will ensure you have a positive experience and keep you safe while your personal information is online.
Making a Senior Dating Site Profile
Don’t write your online dating profile like it’s a resume or a Top 10 List.
When crafting your profile, think of it as writing a story about you. Don’t be afraid to stand out as unique, doing so is much better than not being set apart from the crowd. Are you avid about health and fitness? Share that fact, and why you feel that way, or you may end up getting matched with someone whose idea of fitness is walking to the fridge. Do you avoid dogs due to a terrible scare as a child? Put it out there and share the story to keep Fido’s pet parent out of your top matches.
Snippets like “loyal,” “honest and caring person” and “good listener” maybe some of your traits but are overused terms in online dating profiles. Lists of things you don’t want in a mate are equally unconstructive because they don’t tell who you are; they only list out what you don’t like.
Senior Dating Sites Cater to Different Needs
There are more seniors out there than ever before looking for companionship. Some are searching for love and possibly marriage. Others are more interested in finding someone they can dine, travel or attend events with while sharing common interests. Dating isn’t “one size fits all” now any more than it was when you were in your 20s. Don’t compare yourself to how your neighbor, your co-worker or your family member handled being single after 50. Know what you want and go after it.
Our Search for the Best Senior Dating Sites
1. We searched an extensive list and then narrowed it down to 10 companies
2. We evaluated the site’s number of users, options available, ease of use and cost
3. We provided you the best senior dating sites for consideration
Best Senior Dating Sites Reviews
There are over 2,500 online dating sites, and on average, 1,000 new sites pop up annually but not all stay in business. When these sites first emerged, many people regarded online dating as the last stop when all else failed. Times have changed. Pew Research shows that online dating site use among seniors doubled in the past five years. Stastica.com breaks that down even more, sharing that in 2019, 32 percent of Americans age 50 to 65+ reported that they have used online dating sites.
Deciding which site will best suit your needs can be a daunting task, but with the help of this guide, you can narrow the field considerably.
After our evaluation, we chose the best senior dating sites. Each of these companies stood out above the competition.
Our reviews of each of our picks for the best senior dating sites include observations from using the sites with a free account. Use a free account when you try an online dating site to get a feel for it, but do not rely on this level of access as a real representation of how the site works. Many additional features are available in the paid accounts.
Ourtime.com Review
Great Site for Finding Local Matches
Long distance relationships have many challenges and require extra effort to keep them from crumbling. Ourtime.com solves that problem by delivering local matches up front and organizing events in some cities so you can meet many potential matches at once. Creating a profile is straightforward. Enter your basic information to get started, and then you have the option of selecting answers to 16 personal facts about yourself, ranging from your religious beliefs to your hair color.
You have 1,250 characters to write about yourself and another 1,250 characters to define the type of person you’re looking for, followed by seven personality questions, such as, “How patient do you consider yourself?”. There is a section to share your top three interests. The process wraps up with 11 final questions, and then you can choose four people to interact with, potentially. If they are interested, they will send you a message.
Real life use: After we wrote and submitted our profile (female looking for a male), We got eleven matches. The first gentleman left us confused because he only used 27 words to sum up who he is and the type of relationship he wants. One of the words he used, sports, was found nowhere on our profile. The second match was a much better pairing, and the third didn’t seem like a match for the long haul, but he appeared to be an entertaining person who could be fun to be with as a companion.
Read our complete review of OurTime dating services.
| OurTime.com Subscription Rates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Features | Cost |
| Basic | With a basic membership, you can create your profile, upload a photo, search by multiple parameters, message and send flirts. |
Free |
| Full Price | Full price includes full mobile access for one month. | $29.96 for one month. |
| Standard | Standard includes full mobile access for six months, with a discount for paying upfront for the extended plan. |
$59.95 for six months. |
SilverSingles.com Review
Great Profile Depth
Silversingles.com starts out asking the basics: your age, gender, zip code, then asks what you’re searching for in terms of gender and age group. The personality questionnaire consists of over 100 questions answered by using slider scales to gauge your weakest and sharpest personal attributes. After answering those questions, you must respond in full to seven more questions. This survey helps to craft a baseline of who you are. Your religious preferences, economic status and education level are all covered as well as whether or not you smoke, drink, have children under the age of 18 living at home and how you feel about those characteristics in others.
Real life free trial: We created a portfolio and SilverSingles.com as a woman seeking a male and SilverSingles.com immediately showed us 29 matches with our similarities score. We could narrow the field with adjustments to the age range, height range and distance in miles. Our match with the highest compatibility score was a gentleman named Bob who is three years older than our profile creator and lives a little over 90 miles away. His personality traits make him sound like a great match. As a free member, we could add him to our list of favorites, send him a message (but not necessarily see if he responded) or send him a “smile” (internet flirting). But, his photo was blurred out, and the paywall hid his more personal info.
| SilverSingles.com Subscription Rates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Features | Cost |
| Basic | With a basic membership, you can complete the personality test and set up a profile. You will receive matches, but with limited access to features and limited communications with other members. |
Free |
| Premium | Premium Light grants you intelligent matchmaking, unlimited communication and full access to other features for three months. |
$59.95 a month |
| SeniorMatch.com Subscription Rates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Features | One-Time Cost |
| Basic | With a basic membership, you can create your profile, upload up to 26 photos, search by age/gender/state, message and send unlimited winks. |
Free |
| Gold – 1 month | Adds these features to the Basic plan:- Send messages and chat online – Email and wink filter settings – Photo and profile security options – View compatible matches – Reverse matches – View last login time – Search for people by keywords, state, zip code or city |
$29.95 |
| Gold – 3 months | Same as Gold one month, with savings for paying for three months upfront. |
$59.95 |
| Gold – 6 months | Same as Gold one month, but nearly half-off for paying in advance for six months. |
$95.95 |
Additional Senior Dating Companies
– Match.com is one of the largest dating sites, with options for people of all ages. Read our comprehensive Match.com review for more information.
Related Senior Dating Site Resources
Readers of this Senior Dating Site guide also found these related articles helpful.
Senior Dating Statistics
This report summarizes the latest senior dating statistics, including older adults’ usage of dating sites and apps and senior sexual activity.
Senior Dating Scams to Avoid
Like most online platforms, senior dating sites are subject to scammers. Read about red flags that could be a senior dating scam and see tips for senior dating safety.
How to Build a Senior Dating Profile
Read about how to make your senior dating profile stand out while making sure you get matched with someone who meets your standards.
5 Things to Know About Dating for Seniors
From how dating has changed over the years to making sure you keep an open mind, here are five things to know as you start dating again.
Best Matchmaking Services
We chose the eight best matchmaking services in 2023 based on brand reputation, price, and track record of helping singles find love.
Frequently Asked Questions about Senior Dating Sites
Is online dating safe?
Online dating is as safe as you make it. The same rules you use when meeting new people anywhere apply: don’t give out too much personal information, meet in public places until you’re comfortable and if something your date says makes you uncomfortable, trust your gut and walk away.
Is there a “does and don’t” list for first dates?
Yes, there are ways to show yourself in the best light on your first date while remaining authentic. Here are our five tips for a great first date:
Do keep it light and have fun.
Be open to sharing stories and anecdotes about yourself and your life without getting too personal.
Listen when the other person is talking instead of worrying about what you’ll say next.
Don’t spend your time rehashing former partners and what went wrong or right in the relationship.
Don’t go into detail about your health, your money or issues with family members.
What kind of photo should I use?
You don’t need to hire a professional photographer but be sure to use a recent photo that shows you at your best. Photos with friends are great for additional pictures, but you want your main profile photo to be just you, smiling at the world.
Why should I use a senior dating site?
While there are people over the age of 50 on the general dating sites, those sites don’t cater specifically to the senior crowd, so the profile questions are not always relevant to this age group. Senior dating sites are crafted with the over 45 crowd in mind and tailored to fit that demographic.
Do these senior dating sites have mobile apps?
Yes, all of our picks for the best senior dating sites have mobile apps for Android and Apple iOS devices. Some of the mobile apps for senior dating services allow younger people to participate in finding matches. If this does not interest you, SeniorMatch does not allow access to anyone under the age of 30, which is still a far cry from retirement years. You can use filters in the apps to select age ranges of interest.
Conclusion on Senior Dating Sites
Bottom Line:
You will get out of a senior dating site what you put into it.
If you half-step your profile or cheat on your photos, you probably won’t be satisfied with the results because you won’t be introducing the real you to the dating world. However, if you take time with the profile and the process, you can find some decent dating matches.
Senior dating sites are an excellent way to meet new people, make new friends and maybe even find someone to enjoy your golden years with. The three best senior dating sites we profiled here are all top of their field choices and have reasonable prices with plenty of options.
Best Senior Dating Sites
| Expert Review | Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy to Use | SeniorMatch.com |
| 2 | Great Matching | eHarmony |
| 3 | Great Profile Depth | SilverSingles |
| 4 | Personality matching technique | Elite Singles |
| 5 | Great Local Matches | Ourtime.com |
| 6 | Large Online Dating Site | Match.com |
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