POFs Free Trial Comes with 9 of 21 Available Features

POFs Free Trial Comes with 9 of 21 Available Features

Fact Checked by: Charles Roscopf, CPA

Are you fishing for a free way to use Plenty of Fish? It’s as simple as claiming your POF free trial. We’re going to show you how to score the free trial and go over what you’ll get after signing up.

But hold up – before we direct you to your free trial for POF, we want to issue a bit of a warning. POF has one of the worst industry reputations mainly due to claims of fake members, scammers, and “unsavory folks” to put in nicely. In fact, some people actually call it Plenty of Catfish instead of Plenty of Fish.

If you’re okay swimming in the deep waters, keep reading for the instructions on claiming your POF free trial.

Do you still have your heart set on POF? Keep reading to see how the free trial offer stacks up against a premium subscription as well as for the link to get started.

POF Homepage Screenshot

The POF Free Trial includes 9 features, and misses 12…

FeaturePOF Free TrialPOF Paid Membership
Create/Edit ProfileYesYes
See Who Is OnlineYesYes
Meet MeYesYes
SearchYesYes
My CityYesYes
First ContactsYes (1 Per Day)Yes (50 Per Day)
RecommendedYesYes
Live StreamYesYes
Chat with MatchesYesYes
Show Up First on Meet MeYes
View Extended ProfilesYes
See Who Likes YouYes
Unlimited LikesYes
Search by UsernamesYes
First Look at New MembersYes
Extended Profile ViewingYes
Read ReceiptsYes
Add Up to 16 Images to Your Profile❌ (Can Add 8 Images)Yes
Eliminate AdsYes
Profile BoostAdditional FeeAdditional Fee
Live CreditsAdditional FeeAdditional Fee

When you look at the chart, it’s clear that the Plenty of Fish free trial isn’t overloaded with features. Still, you might have some questions about how to use the dating app after signing up. With that in mind, let’s dig into the most important features included with your membership.  

5 Ways to Find Your Match

The free trial to POF includes five ways to browse profiles. We’ve listed them all below, along with screenshots of each option.  

  • Online: Use this feature to see members in your area who are online. Some of the members might be several hours away from your current location.
  • Search: The free trial to POF includes the same search filters that come with the premium membership. You can play around with the filters to discover different profiles.
  • Meet Me: You can swipe through profiles one at a time with Meet Me. If another member likes you back, it’ll show up in your Mutual Likes.
  • Recommended – This is where you’ll find your matches. To be honest, we weren’t impressed with what POF sent our way, though. Let’s just say that we found dealbreakers in most of the profiles before we even made it halfway through reading them.
  • My City – This section contains members who live in your city or nearby.
POF Online Feature Screenshot
Screenshot of POF Search Feature
Screenshot of Plenty of Fish Meet Me Feature
Screenshot of Recommended for You feature on POF free trial
Screenshot of POF My City Feature

First Contact

If you don’t want to wait for a match before messaging, you can reach out using the First Contact feature. Your free trial membership includes one First Contact a day, so use it wisely.

2 Screenshots of Using the First Contact Feature on POF

Live Streams

You can also use your free trial to Plenty of Fish to stream and watch live videos. The live stream has the following categories:

  • Trending – View the most popular live streams so you can get in on the action.
  • Nearby – Watch live feeds from streamers in your area by browsing the “Nearby” tab. This is a good choice if you want to make a love connection.
  • New – Check out streams from new content creators in this section.
  • Date – Play Next Date for a chance to go one-on-one with a streamer.
2 Screenshots of POF Live Streams

What You Don’t Get with a POF Free Trial

A lot of people stick with the free trial to POF, but you’ll miss out on some important features. Remember, we recommend going with eHarmony instead of POF, so we don’t think it’s a good idea to spend your money here. Still, let’s look at some of the premium features.

  • View Extended Profiles – Premium members can view three additional pieces of info when looking at profiles. First, there’s the members’ birth order, which isn’t all that important. However, the extended profile also lets users know if the member will date smokers and parents.
  • More Exposure – If you upgrade to premium, you’ll get the first look at new members and show up first on Meet Me. Plus, you’ll receive 50 First Contacts a day instead of one, so it’ll be easier to make connections.

POF’s premium membership is pretty affordable, but we still don’t think it’s worth it. However, if you’re interested in upgrading, check out our POF membership pricing page for more info first.

Should you claim the POF free trial?

Nope! You’re more likely to catch a catfish than make a real connection with the Plenty of Fish free trial.


Photo of author

Author: Matt Seymour, MSF

Matthew J. Seymour is a dating industry expert with over a decade of experience coaching singles, reviewing dating apps, and analyzing trends within the industry. Matt is a published author with his most recent work “Get More Dates: How to Master Online Dating Apps” that hit shelves in 2023. With a Masters of Science in Finance (MSF) degree from the University of Florida and extensive knowledge of the innerworkings of the online dating industry, Matt frequently serves in an advisory role to some of the largest dating apps on the market. In Matt’s current role with Healthy Framework, he leads the interview team that regularly interviews key dating industry leaders, and leverages his financial knowledge and dating app experience to review and share what singles need to know to get the most out of dating online.