Plenty of Fish Review & 5 Better Alternatives (Feb. 2024)
Plenty Of Fish Reviews

Online Dating

Plenty of Fish Review & 5 Better Alternatives (Feb. 2024)

Hayley Matthews

Written by: Hayley Matthews

Hayley Matthews

Hayley has over 10 years of experience overseeing content strategy, social media engagement, and article opportunities. She has also written hundreds of informational and entertaining blog posts. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Bustle, Cosmo, the Huffington Post, AskMen, and Entrepreneur. When she's not writing about dating news, relationship advice, or her fantasy love affair with Leonardo DiCaprio, she enjoys listening to The Beatles, watching Harry Potter reruns, and drinking IPAs.

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Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of journalism experience to ensure DatingAdvice articles have been edited for overall clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement. She has worked at The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Gwinnett Daily News, and The Gainesville Sun covering lifestyle topics.

Reviewed by: Hayley Matthews

Hayley Matthews

Hayley has over 10 years of experience overseeing content strategy, social media engagement, and article opportunities. She has also written hundreds of informational and entertaining blog posts. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Bustle, Cosmo, the Huffington Post, AskMen, and Entrepreneur. When she's not writing about dating news, relationship advice, or her fantasy love affair with Leonardo DiCaprio, she enjoys listening to The Beatles, watching Harry Potter reruns, and drinking IPAs.

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Plenty of Fish reviews have been mostly positive over the years, and ours is no exception. We’re a pretty big fan of the POF community, and this article will explain why.

They say there are plenty of fish in the sea, and PlentyOfFish.com modeled its online dating community after that idea. Whether you’ve just gotten out of a serious relationship and want to get back in the saddle, or you’ve been single and ready to mingle for some time now, POF (as the dating website is also called) can offer plenty of local date options and flirtatious opportunities.

Our experts have put together some of the key facts you should know about the online dating site and app, which work in pretty much the same way. We’ve also put together a list of five alternative sites whose waters you can dip your toe in.

Plenty of Fish Reviews | 5 Other Options

Plenty of Fish: Popular & Totally Free But Lots of Vetting Needed (4.5/5.0 Rating)

Markus Frind, who got his degree in Computer Systems Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, created Plenty of Fish in 2003. He ran the dating site by himself until 2008, and now the company has around 75 employees. The POF app for iOS and Android launched in 2010, and Markus said more than 85% of the site’s traffic comes from mobile as of 2014.

Plenty of Fish is one of the most popular dating websites and always has been. The site has over 150 million users around the world, over 4 million active daily users, and over 65,000 new singles joining every day. According to Markus, everyone knows at least one person who’s found a match on POF and the site is responsible for over 1 million babies.

In terms of pop culture, Plenty of Fish has made an impact there as well. The POF site has appeared in numerous music videos such as Lady Gaga’s “Telephone,” Jason Derulo’s “Ridin’ Solo,” and Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me.” In 2015, POF joined the likes of OkCupid and Tinder when it was bought by The Match Group.

To create a dating profile on Plenty of Fish, you first need to input your email address, username, password, age, gender, location, and ethnicity. Next, you’ll have to take the Chemistry Test and Relationship Needs Assessment, which could take about 20 minutes.

The former is made up of open-ended questions and covers five main areas: self-confidence, family orientation, self-control, agreeability, social dependency. The latter is made up of multiple choice questions and has nine main areas: interdependence, self-efficacy, communication, sexuality, preferred expressions of affection, intimacy, relationship readiness, conflict resolution, and attitudes about love.

Finally, you can write a headline, upload photos, and fill out your About Me, Interests, and First Date Idea sections to complete your dating profile.

When it comes to finding potential matches matches, POF has basic (e.g., filter by city) and advanced (e.g., filter by income) search options, the Meet Me feature to quickly say “Yes,” “Maybe,” or “No” to members, and Ultra Match, which shows you a list of those who are most compatible with your date preferences.

Registration and all forms of matching are free — plus you can see who’s viewed your dating profile as well as send and receive messages.

An upgraded POF membership removes all ads from the site and allows you to view extended profiles, find out if someone read or deleted your message, get priority placement on Meet Me and in search results, and see who said “Yes” to you.

As of now, the price ranges are $20 a month, $12.75 a month for four months, or $10 a month for eight months, but keep an eye out because that can (and probably will) change.

What about Plenty of Fish’s reputation? Well, the online dating site has four stars on Google Play and three and a half on iTunes, but it’s also been called some not-so-nice names in some  user reviews — including “the Walmart of the dating world” and “the trailer park of the online dating world.”

Because the dating site is 100% free, anyone and everyone can join and chat, which makes it hard to sort through people who are serious about finding a date or potential partner and those who are fake and/or flaky. You’re also going to have more competition because of the sheer size of the membership base.

If we’re talking about POF user reviews, they’re all over the place. For instance, we checked out people’s thoughts on SiteJabber, and here’s what one user Brielle G. said:

Photo of the POF logo

People seem to either love or hate POF. It’s free but problematic.

“I am happily engaged to an amazing gentleman and, yes, I met him via the site. I have found that the men on this site were in comparison to OkCupid [but] much better. As with any dating (FREE especially), you need to understand how to navigate the waters… I would say give this site a month, at least.”

But here’s what another user named Issac H. had to say:

“This site sucks. I have used it on and off. I have never got any messages sent to me. No women on here that I message [will] message me back. This site sends me all the wrong kind of users as matches that think I would like. This site is not worth your time.”

Other Dating Sites & Apps Similar to POF

Plenty of Fish isn’t a bad dating site, but we’d recommend using it in addition to a couple of others. The free dating site could be your gateway to romance, but if it’s not getting you the results you want, you may want to spend your time and money on a more reputable and serious dating site, like the ones listed here:

1. Match

★★★★★
Match.com 4.9/5.0

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

4.9/5.0

Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships

Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more

Our Experts Say: “Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review...” Full Review »

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POF may have a lot of users, but Match was the first online dating site ever, launching in 1995. Plus, 30 million members and 13.5 million visitors a month isn’t something to sneeze at. Match has also created more romantic connections than Plenty of Fish or any other competitors. You can sign up, fill out your information, add photos, and communicate in certain ways (send virtual winks, receive messages, etc.) — all for free.

2. Zoosk

★★★★★
Zoosk 4.7/5.0

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

4.7/5.0

Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships

Match System: Search and get match recommendations

Our Experts Say: “Zoosk is integrated with social media sites, like Facebook and Google+, so it's very popular with singles on the go...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

Zoosk is probably the most comparable to POF. In regards to numbers, Zoosk has more than 38 million users, more than 3 million messages are exchanged on the platform every day, and the app has been downloaded more than 30 million times. In regards to features, Zoosk’s Carousel acts very similar to Plenty of Fish’s Meet Me feature. And in terms of price, Zoosk offers a lot of free communication options, including instant messaging certain users.

★★★★★
EliteSingles.com 4.7/5.0

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

4.7/5.0

Relationships: Serious Relationships

Match System: Search, Receive Partner Suggestions

Our Experts Say: “EliteSingles is a leading dating site just for busy, single professionals. More than 80% of members have earned a college degree, and most are looking for a serious commitment...” Full Review »

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EliteSingles is unlike most dating websites on the market because the dating website focuses on quality over quantity. It’s membership base is successful and well-educated. In fact, about 82% of members have a higher-level degree (bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate), with 65,000 new smarty pants joining per week. This elite site does have a lot of free components, but not as many as POF. However, if your goal is a long-term relationship, you’re more likely to meet a potential partner on your level on Elite Singles.

★★★★★
eharmony 4.8/5.0

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

4.8/5.0

Relationships: Casual Dates, Deep Relationships

Match System: Personality test suggests matches

Our Experts Say: “Accounting for 2% of U.S. marriages, eharmony's compatibility-based system and commitment-minded user base are ideal for those seeking a serious relationship...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

Another premium dating service for commitment-minded singles, eharmony takes pretty much all of the work out of online dating. The dating website has no searching options because it delivers matches to you using its one-of-a-kind system, which consists of about 80 questions based on 32 dimensions of compatibility. The personality test asks pointed questions about how you perceive yourself and the world, your capacity for kindness, and your attitude toward physical health. In a nutshell, if you don’t like Plenty of Fish, eharmony is a great option because it’s basically the total opposite and is designed to spark a serious relationship.

★★★★
BeNaughty 4.2/5.0

Our expert ratings are based on factors such as popularity, usability, value, and success rate of each site.

4.2/5.0

Relationships: Hookups, Chats

Match System: Search by encounter, location, and more

Our Experts Say: “BeNaughty is a premier hookup app where you can feel comfortable expressing your desires. Plus, it's free to join, browse, and flirt...” Full Review »

Browse Free: View Photos Now

Since Plenty of Fish is known as being one of the more casual dating websites (whether the company wants it to be or not), we included BeNaughty in this list to satisfy you frisky men and women seeking a hookup. Not only is it free to sign up, browse profiles, and start a conversation, but the adult dating site is also safe to use. BeNaughty requires members to verify their identity via a text or phone call and uses SSL encryption to protect your personal information (look for the lock icon before the “https”), while POF doesn’t seem to do that.

POF Is Typically a Go-To, But It’s Just One of the Sites You Can Use!

Plenty of Fish has its pros and its cons just like anything else in the world. We’ve given you a lot of facts in our Plenty of Fish review, and now it’s up to you to decide what to do with them. There are millions of date options available in the POF community, so don’t be afraid to dive in and see if you can land a good catch!

Plus, since POF is free, you don’t really have anything to lose by signing up and chatting with like-minded people. Remember, just like there are plenty of fish in the sea, there are plenty of dating websites on the web that you can try on until you find the right fit. Good luck!

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