Which Dating App Is Better: Plenty of Fish or Okcupid?

Author:
Matt G.
Updated:
Jun 20, 2023 10:05 PM EDT

Is the Plenty of Fish Dating App Better Than Okcupid?

Plenty of Fish and Okcupid, which were originally dating websites before smartphone apps became the norm, are two of the oldest dating platforms online along with Match.com and eHarmony. I've used them all, but Plenty of Fish and Okcupid were the two I used the most before dating apps like Tinder and Bumble exploded in popularity.

Unfortunately, POF and Okcupid have dropped in popularity over the years as newer apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and Facebook Dating have taken over. Both apps have gone through a lot of changes too, especially Okcupid, which replaced some of its free features with paid upgrades.

Out of the two apps, I definitely recommend POF. Okcupid was once an awesome dating app, but it's totally changed over the years. If you're single and looking to meet people, it is still worth trying both apps because they're free. If you don't see anyone in your area you can simply cancel your account.

Here are some pros and cons of both dating apps:

POF

Pros:

It's still free. Like all dating apps, there are premium upgrade options available, but the site is completely free to use otherwise, including sending and receiving messages.
Massive user base. Even though dating apps like Hinge, Tinder, Bumble and Facebook Dating are no doubt more popular, POF was once the largest free dating site on the Internet and still has a big member base. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, you will likely see women in your area on the app.
Swiping. You can swipe like you would on other dating apps like Tinder and Bumble. The original website version is still online too.
See who viewed your profile for free. Some apps, like Okcupid make this available only as a paid upgrade.

Cons:

Less message replies. Have you ever messaged someone you matched with and never received a reply? I found this to happen more on POF than any other dating app I've used.
Fake profiles and bots. Almost every time a user would add me to their favorites list it looked like a fake profile. I would also receive messages from these profiles soliciting scams. This doesn't happen on other dating apps I use.
No way to hide a profile. You can block a profile, but you can't hide one, so you see the same profiles you've already looked at every time you do a search.
Declining popularity. The app still has a large member base, but apps like Hinge, Tinder, Bumble and Facebook Dating have become more popular. Personally, I find Hinge and Facebook Dating to be superior dating apps.

OKC

Pros:

Free. Like POF, the site is still free, however, OKC has taken away certain free features like being able to see who viewed your profile.
Profile questions and answers. In your profile, you have the option to answer literally hundreds of unique questions covering many topics. The questions and answers feature is used to calculate your match percentage with other people on the app. This feature definitely sets it apart from other dating apps because you can learn a lot about someone by reading through their answers.
Profile layout. Unlike POF, the profile page is organized by multiple sections, starting with a self-summary.
More photos. You can add ten photos to your profile, in addition to connecting your profile with Instagram to show those photos. The picture quality seems to be better too than POF.

Cons:

Inability to see who viewed your profile for free. This feature was included for free for a long time, but now it's only available as an A-list upgrade.
Fake profiles. For a while it seemed like the fake profiles were improving, but then it got a lot worse.
Annoying notifications. The match notifications are sent almost daily, which I thought was a little too much. Notifications can be turned off though.
Declining member base. This app has gone through a lot of changes, which I talk about in full detail in my Okcupid review. It was once a great place to meet people, but not so much anymore. I've revisited this app more than once and each time there were barely any women in my area.

Is it still worth using POF and Okcupid for online dating?

Even though I find other dating apps like Hinge and Facebook Dating to be superior for meeting people online, I still think it's worth signing up on POF and Okcupid because both are free to send and receive messages and have a decent user base. If you live in a major city, you'll have a much better chance of meeting people in your area, but out of the two apps, I recommend trying Plenty of Fish first because there are more active users on the app.

Okcupid is a good option for those wanting more profile details to fill out and read through. You can spend hours answering your profile questions if you want to. This feature makes it possible to learn a lot about someone before you send them a message, and it is the only dating app with this unique feature that I'm aware of. Some of the questions are bizarre and personal, but you can choose to skip what you don't want to answer.

In the past, Okcupid was one of the best dating apps I've ever used, but sadly, a lot of people stopped using it when many of the free features were removed and made available only as paid upgrades. I personally found the original website version to be a lot better than the app.

Using multiple dating apps at the same time is the best way to get more message replies and dates because sometimes one app works better than another. If you're single and putting in a serious effort to meet people I definitely recommend trying these two apps in addition to Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and Facebook Dating. All of them are free of charge to view profiles and send messages.