Zoosk began as a Silicon Valley tech startup in 2007, and a dedicated team of developers and innovators turned it into the online dating behemoth we know today.
Zoosk is a popular dating site and app with tons of chat and matching features, and it can help people build friendships, romances, and relationships on the fly.
Even though it’s been around a long time, not everyone knows how Zoosk works, if it’s legit, and what its membership base is like. This Zoosk review will answer all those questions and more, so you know what to expect when you create a free Zoosk profile.
Our Zoosk Rating: 4.7/5
To kick off our Zoosk review, we wanted to start off with the online dating site’s rating. Our experts have given Zoosk a 4.7-star rating because the dating platform is easy to understand, cost-effective, and fairly popular. Over 40 million people have created profiles on Zoosk, and its influence continues to grow around the world.
Zoosk has integrated social media tools into the online dating experience, so it engages users with its flashy features, personalized notifications, and open-ended avenues to conversation and romance. Here are some of Zoosk’s top stats as a general user-friendly dating site:
Zoosk is a socially savvy dating site known for its diverse membership base and behavioral matchmaking system. Over 40 million singles in 80 countries have joined the network so far, and it's growing larger every day. The platform offers many different ways to communicate and express interest in members, so it's easy to form a fast connection here.
- Send messages to premium members for free
- Over 3 million messages sent a day
- Premium perks include photo verification and sending virtual gifts
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
As you can see, Zoosk has a lot to offer singles seeking local dates or international affairs. Every day the Zoosk dating app connects single people all over the world, and it doesn’t cost anything to create a dating profile and join the fun.
A new member can either sign up using the Zoosk website, or download Zoosk in the App Store or Google Play store.
Ratings by Category
The single population isn’t a homogeneous group of people who all think and act alike. They have different backgrounds, goals, and experience levels, and they turn to online dating with different needs. As a mainstream dating site and app, Zoosk does a great job at being versatile to the varying interests of modern singles.
We’ve rated Zoosk by category to help users understand where they fit in this singles universe and how this dating site can work for them.
For Men | Women | Seniors | Black | Christian | LGBT
No matter your age, orientation, ethnicity, or religion, Zoosk will happily make room for you in its membership base.
For Men
We’d say Zoosk is one of the best dating sites for men seeking local singles. Right off the bat, the dating website offers many free and paid communication features to help get the ball rolling and create instant connections. With Zoosk as a wingman, single men can pursue dozens of women at once.
Zoosk is a dynamic dating site with over 40 million members worldwide. This general dating platform caters to singles seeking short-term and long-term relationships, and you don't need a paid subscription to join the fun. Zoosk members can send messages to premium members for free, and they can use Zoosk Coins to earn added perks.
- Free trial with unlimited profile browsing
- Flirt with women in 80+ countries
- Behavioral matchmaking system pays attention to your likes and views
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
If you’re a go-getter in the dating scene, you should think about going and getting a free Zoosk membership. It’ll help you dive into the local dating pool and meet new people who share similar interests and relationship goals.
For Women
Single women benefit from the security measures and messaging filters on the Zoosk dating platform. Online moderators screen and verify new dating profiles and photos to ensure fake accounts, creeps, and unsavory characters can’t make trouble.
This female-friendly dating service can offer a safe dating experience for women seeking a potential match online.
Zoosk supports online flirtation with its advanced search filters, live messaging system, and SmartPick matches. This dating site has a global membership of over 40 million singles in 80 countries, and it has been translated into 25 languages. Zoosk members can browse profiles, send likes, and message anyone who catches their eye.
- Facilitates friendship, dates, and relationships
- Behavioral matchmaking technology recommends compatible men
- Search filters by gender, age, distance, appearance, and more
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
In addition to its automatic screening, Zoosk has a subscription paywall in place to ensure only serious singles can initiate contact and engage in conversations online. A Zoosk member can also browse incognito for 30 minutes at a time to keep a low profile on the online dating site.
For Senior Dating
Zoosk is open to people of all ages. While young people make up the majority of users, its over-50 population is growing rapidly, so we give it a strong 4.1 rating for senior singles seeking local dates or a serious relationship.
Zoosk's simple signup and intuitive messaging system appeals to senior singles looking for romance. The dating site has over 40 million members, and it sees over 3.8 million monthly visits on average. The site's signature Behavioral Matchmaking system facilitates love connections by recommending profiles that are similar to the ones you've viewed and liked.
- Browse profiles and send likes for free
- Dating Insights can offer personalized advice to seniors
- Photo verification badges authenticate profile pictures
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
Once you create a profile, Zoosk will recommend dates who are in your age range and looking for people like you. The simple, user-friendly features appeal to seniors who may be out of practice or inexperienced online daters, but they’re willing to give it a try.
Plus, Zoosk’s premium messaging feature ensures that you won’t find an inactive or fake profile in your inbox.
For Black & Interracial Dating
Zoosk is a diverse dating site and app with smart matchmaking tools that build common ground and identify personal compatibility. The dating platform’s connective power goes beyond the superficial, and it can offer Black singles a fast way to find singles who share similar perspectives, values, and lifestyles.
Zoosk supports a global dating network active in 80 countries and still growing. This socially savvy dating site has the look and feel of a social networking site, but it's matchmaking algorithm is no joke. Zoosk's trademarked Behavioral Matchmaking System can help black singles narrow a wide dating field down to the most compatible date options.
- Search filters by race, age, distance, religion, and more
- Swipe through black singles in the Carousel
- Translated into 25 languages and active in 80 countries
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
If you’re looking for a specific type of date, Zoosk has your back. The online dating service has advanced search filters that allow singles to search for matches by age, distance, height, education, ethnicity, and other important factors. You can save these date preferences if you want the platform to repeatedly scan for your ideal date online.
For Christian Dating
Christian singles can use Zoosk to explore their options and either date within the faith or cultivate interfaith relationships. You can set dating preferences for Christian or Catholic singles, or you can select “any religion” if your partner’s religious views don’t matter as much to you.
The Zoosk dating app has a user-driven Carousel feature where you can swipe on people with similar backgrounds and create a good Christian match.
Zoosk has over 40 million active users, and about 300,000 of them identify as Christian on their dating profiles. The dating site may not be the obvious place to search for Christian dates, but it has the search and matching tools to set anyone on the right path.
- Over 300,000 Christian subscribers
- Behavioral matchmaking zeroes in on what you like
- Success stories include church weddings and spiritual relationships
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
Zoosk has over 300,000 self-identified Christian subscribers, making it one of the largest dating networks for God-fearing singles. That’s why we give it 4.6 stars in the category of Christian dating. The religious search filters should help individuals find a Christian partner in this diverse dating pool.
For LGBT Dating
Zoosk supports a gay-friendly dating service where same-sex relationships can blossom. You can sign up as a man-seeking-men or a woman-seeking-women and start flirting with local singles who share your point of view.
Zoosk is a fast-growing dating site that reaches singles of all ages and orientations. This global network facilitates romantic connections between gay men with its behavioral matchmaking algorithm, advanced search filters, and premium communication tools. Every day, Zoosk members send over 3 million messages on the site and build close relationships.
- Over 40 million members of all orientations
- Seamless social media integration
- Thousands of success stories in the LGBTQ community
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
Gay, bisexual, and queer men can use Zoosk as an alternative to Grindr, SCRUFF, and other all-male dating apps. Unlike these apps, Zoosk has search tools and Smart Pick suggestions that can help gay men make sense of the local dating scene and find their ideal person.
Zoosk boasts one of the largest dating networks in the world, and it welcomes new members of all sexual orientations. Lesbian women can enjoy a curated online dating experience thanks to Zoosk's Behavioral Matchmaking System. Zoosk has tons of search filters, interactive tools, and premium perks to get singles into the middle of the action.
- Women can set specific date preferences and filter men out
- Over 3 million messages sent per day
- SmartPicks matching based on profile info and activity
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
Zoosk may not have the largest concentration of lesbian singles, but its social network has enough of an LGBTQ+ following to make some introductions, start conversations, and inspire first dates between women looking for a lesbian date.
Zoosk Charges $12.49 a Month
Joining Zoosk is completely free, and you are under no obligation to pay for any premium feature on the dating website. However, many singles find it’s worth paying a subscription fee so they can chat with anyone they want online.
In 2013, Zoosk surpassed 500,000 paying members, and it continues growing more robust with time. Zoosk subscription plans renew automatically and offer unlimited messaging and the ability to see who’s viewed your dating profile.
Here’s a pricing breakdown for Zoosk’s monthly plans:
Zoosk subscriptions offer a lot of value for a relatively low cost. Free members can respond to some greetings on Zoosk, but only full-fledged members with a premium subscription can message any user at any time.
Plus, Zoosk members can purchase and use Zoosk coins to boost their profile’s visibility, send virtual gifts, and enjoy special perks on the platform.
Thanks to its free limited communication and token system, Zoosk is more cost-effective than some premium dating sites, like Elite Singles, and our dating experts consider it a good middle-of-the-road option between free apps and high-priced sites.
Create a Profile With Your Info and Photos
The Zoosk signup process takes less than 10 minutes to complete. You can get it done even faster if you connect your dating profile to an active Facebook account. Zoosk can pull basic demographic information from Facebook and use that to auto-fill your profile’s About Me section and photo gallery.
New Zoosk members must provide their gender, gender preference, birthday, and either an email address or Facebook login. Other profile sections go into more detail about your interests, background, and ideal date, but providing this personal information is entirely optional.
Some Zoosk members like to fill in everything from their zodiac sign to their income level, while others prefer to stick to the basics and leave a little mystery in their profiles.
The Zoosk team can verify your photos, social media accounts, and contact information.
If you’ve got a lot to say, Zoosk’s Story section can be a good space to show off your personality and talk about your life experiences. This open-ended section appears near the top of a dating profile and typically contains a brief summary of who that person is and what he or she is looking for in the dating scene.
Uploading a profile picture is the last step in the signup process, but it’s arguably the most important. Your picture is the first thing singles see, and sometimes it can make or break a new connection. You should take time to really think about which photo is going to make the best first impression and attract attention online.
According to Zoosk, singles who have full-body photos get 203% more incoming messages and 33% more responses to their messages. However, singles wearing sunglasses get 63% fewer messages.
Search for Potential Dates & Receive Daily Recommendations
As soon as you’ve got your Zoosk profile set up, you can start browsing the global dating database for potential dates. You don’t need a paid subscription — or even a profile picture — to look around this dating site and see what’s out there.
The Search tab is a good place to start your online dating experience. You can use Zoosk’s search filters to look for dates in a certain age range or mile radius (up to 100 miles), and you can also go into greater detail and use the Advanced Search option to narrow the field by height, relationship status, ethnicity, education, body type, and other characteristics.
The Zoosk search feature only shows you one profile at a time, and you can click Next or Previous to view dozens of people who meet your standards. If someone catches your eye, click the Smile or Like buttons to show interest for free, or you can upgrade to a paid subscription and send a message or use tokens to send a virtual gift.
You can search for dates on Zoosk by using advanced filters and browsing match lists.
Zoosk uses a powerful behavioral matchmaking engine to recommend date prospects in the SmartPick and Carousel sections. Every time a Zoosk member likes a photo or view a profile, the algorithm learns a little more about his or her dating preferences and highlights profiles with similar qualities.
If you’re not picky and just want to chat ASAP, you can head to the Online Now section and get in touch with local singles who are currently on the site or app.
From the moment you log in, Zoosk offers a lot of ways to look for dates and show interest online, and it can provide smart recommendations every step of the way by studying your online dating habits and preferences.
Zoosk Has Over 40 Million Users Worldwide
Zoosk has captured attention with its feature-rich interface and behavioral matchmaking system, but its success rate as a dating site and dating app truly boils down to the quality of its user base. A lot of people turn to Zoosk in search of great dates and potential partners.
California couple Aimee and Almon met on Zoosk, fell in love, and got married.
To date, the Zoosk social network encompasses over 40 million singles spread across 80 countries. The dating site and app have been translated into 25 languages and counting.
Zoosk cultivates a global audience, and that means you can meet people from all walks of life mingling here.
“I knew from the first date that I would marry this man,” said Aimee, who met her husband on Zoosk. “Thank you, Zoosk, for forever changing our lives!”
As a mainstream dating site, Zoosk has taken the something-for-everyone approach to online dating, and people of all ages and races find love by browsing the database and conversing with people online.
If you’re looking at Zoosk reviews, you may encounter some disgruntled folks who didn’t find what they wanted when they wanted to. These bad reviews may claim the dating site is a scam that never works. However, thousands of success stories in the couples archive would beg to differ.
Zoosk users come from a variety of backgrounds, but they share a common goal to build romantic connections and find a friendship or serious relationship that matters.
Contact Zoosk via Email or Contact Form
The Zoosk team is always available to give advice, resolve issues, and offer support to singles. You can email Support@Zoosk.com to get in touch with a member of the team and receive a direct response within a few days.
Singles can also use a contact form to send a message to the Zoosk Customer Service Team. This is a good option for Zoosk members with billing questions, technical support, or general questions about the platform.
The Help Center can provide quick tips and online dating guidance for Zoosk members.
In the meantime, you can always go to the Help Center to see if you can find the answer to your question there. Zoosk’s Help Center includes video tutorials, step-by-step troubleshooting, and FAQs about the dating site’s features, subscriptions, and upgrades.
Do I Need a Facebook Account to Sign Up for Zoosk?
No, you don’t need to link your Zoosk account to your Facebook profile if you don’t want to. A simple email address or Google signup will suffice. However, if you want to speed up the registration process, it may be a good idea to use Facebook as a shortcut to your personal information and photo gallery.
Your Facebook profile can upgrade your Zoosk profile and make the dating experience run more smoothly from the very beginning.
Plus, by linking to Facebook, Zoosk can verify your identity through the social media site, and that could make your dating profile appear more legitimate and appealing to other Zoosk users.
Can I Use a Zoosk Coin to Pay for My Membership?
Zoosk coins is the virtual currency for special features on the Zoosk dating website and mobile app, but members can’t use to pay for a premium membership. You have to use a credit card or PayPal account to pay for a Zoosk subscription.
Subscribers should note that you’ll pay a lump sum upfront — not in monthly installments — and a premium member’s payments will autorenew unless the Zoosk user goes into their settings and cancel autorenewals.
What Are the Differences Between Zoosk and eharmony?
Zoosk and eharmony are quite different online dating services, but they do have some similarities. They’re both free to join. They both welcome singles of all ages, orientations, and backgrounds. And they are both remarkably successful and popular places to pick up a great date.
The biggest difference is that eharmony focuses on fostering relationships through its psychology-driven personality test and compatibility ratings, while Zoosk uses behavioral matchmaking to power casual dating, online conversations, friendships, and relationships.
You can read our eharmony review to get a better sense of what is has going for it and how it can help the elite singles of the dating scene.
Since its launch in 2000, eharmony has endeavored to find the formula for love. Its 32-dimension personality test uses psychological truths to identify areas of compatibility between two individuals. The dating site's mission is to foster relationships that last, and every potential match has a reason behind it.
- Over 2 million people have found love here
- Users can filter their match recommendations by age or city
- Compatibility Quiz identifies common interests, lifestyles, and goals
- Browse eharmony profiles 100% free »
The eharmony website and app offer more guidance with tons of match suggestions and compatibility information, while Zoosk is more of a choose-your-own adventure dating experience where singles can direct their own course through search tools and swiping.
Another big difference between Zoosk and eharmony is the price. The eharmony dating service comes with a bigger price tag — as little as $30 a month or as much as $70 a month depending on the subscription — and the free membership package does not include free communication.
Zoosk is more affordable than eharmony, and it has free messaging options and Zoosk coins to give online daters extra bang for their buck. You can go wrong looking for a date on either dating site, honestly, but we’d recommend Zoosk if you’re on a budget and eharmony if you want to invest in your romantic future and find a serious relationship.
What Are the Guidelines for a Zoosk Profile Picture?
To keep users safe and discourage illicit behavior, Zoosk has instituted some rules and standards regarding photos uploaded to the dating website and dating app. Here’s a summary of the Zoosk profile picture guidelines:
- Your face must be clearly visible in the photo
- No nude photos, dick pics, or underwear selfies
- No sexually suggestive or explicit images can be in the photo
- No trademarked images or cartoons are allowed
- No photos showing drugs or illegal activities
- Weapons (guns, knives, axes, etc.) cannot be in the picture
Zoosk reserves the right to remove any photo that breaks these rules and compromises the integrity of the overall user base.
Only a Zoosk member with an approved photo can send and receive messages, so make sure to get this right before setting up the rest of your profile and browsing the user base.
Can I Use Zoosk for Casual Dating?
Yes, you can think of Zoosk as an all-purpose dating website and dating app. It works if you’re looking for a potential partner, a new friend, a casual first date, or just someone to chat with in your downtime. You can keep things casual as you mix and mingle on Zoosk, and you don’t have to worry about offending anyone’s sensibilities.
As a free online dating service, Zoosk attracts a lot of local singles who are willing to go with the flow and see what happens. They may be open to a serious relationship down the line, but they’re more focused on short-term chatting, flirting, and matching at the moment.
Zoosk is a fun-loving dating site where singles can let go of their inhibitions and attract dates one private message at a time. The site's varied search options and communication features facilitate fast connections in a unique social environment. Zoosk members are a chatty bunch, sending over 3 million messages a day, so you won't have to search far to find hookups here.
- Fast-paced dating scene available in 80 countries
- Full members can send unlimited messages
- Advanced search filters help you zero in on the hottest dates
- Browse Zoosk profiles 100% free »
Our dating experts have given Zoosk 3.8 stars as a hookup site and app because it offers an engaging and fast-paced interface for picking up a date, and the vast social network is perfect for someone who’s not looking for a big commitment in the online dating scene. Free members can take their time browsing dating profiles and seeing what’s out there.
Zoosk users can let go of their inhibitions and enjoy the flirtatious casual dating atmosphere of the site and app.
If you have a premium membership, it’s even easier to court hot dates because you can send and receive messages from everyone online.
Is Zoosk Better Than Tinder?
Tinder is one of the most widely used dating apps of all time, so it’s hard to imagine a dating app competing with this swipe-happy scene. However, Zoosk has been able to hold its own as an online matchmaker and mobile dating service. We consider Zoosk to be a good alternative to Tinder if you’re looking for more communication tools, search options, and matching features.
Zoosk got started in 2007, while Tinder didn’t launch until 2012, so the Zoosk company has a little more experience and longevity to its credit.
Still, Tinder is a fast-paced dating app with more matches, dates, and relationships under its belt than most of its competitors.
In 2012, Tinder pioneered a swiping-based match system that empowered singles to connect with dates who liked them back. Tinder users can message their mutual matches for free on this fast-paced dating app. Since its launch, Tinder has created over 75 billion matches worldwide.
- Supports active daters in 190+ countries
- The swiping system creates over 12 million matches per day
- Tinder Plus members have unlimited likes and 5 Super Likes
- Browse Tinder profiles 100% free »
Tinder is significantly larger than Zoosk in terms of overall downloads. The Tinder app has been downloaded over 530 million times, while Zoosk has only been downloaded 30 million times. The difference in size may speak to a fundamental difference in reach — Tinder reaches 190 countries, while Zoosk is only available in 80 countries.
If you want to jump into the largest possible dating pool, then Tinder is the best bet. But, if you want a more targeted dating experience, Zoosk can help you out with more search filters, dating parameters, and communication options than Tinder.
Zoosk is more proactive than Tinder in recommending date prospects. The Zoosk platform gives singles the chance to send virtual gifts as well as messages without first making a mutual match. That opens up a world of romantic possibilities for singles who are burnt out with the swiping scene.
Does Zoosk Cost More Than Tinder?
No, these two dating apps cost the same, which is free! Both Zoosk and Tinder offer a free membership to all users, and they offer free communication — with some caveats. A Tinder user can only send messages to people in their mutual match list, while Zoosk only unlocks free greetings and icebreakers for a potential match with a high compatibility rating.
The Zoosk premium membership option does cost a little more than a Tinder Plus or a Tinder Gold subscription on average (about $13-$30 a month versus about $10-$15 a month). However, if you’re looking for a serious relationship or even marriage, such price differences aren’t all that big in the grand scheme of things.
Is the Zoosk App Different From the Online Dating Site?
The Zoosk app has all the bells and whistles of the dating website, but in a more compact and streamlined interface. You can still use the search filters, Carousel feature, and SmartPicks tool from the app, but the dating profiles will look a little different because the profiles picture is featured prominently, taking up the whole screen in some cases.
The Zoosk Carousel functions more like swiping on the mobile app as well because you’re using your fingers to swipe yes or no instead of clicking.
With an average user rating of 3.7 stars on Google Play, the Zoosk app is a smart pick for modern singles. The most common complaint we’ve seen is about the pricing options because not everyone is willing to pay to send messages to their online crushes.
What Are Some Dating Sites and Apps Like Zoosk?
Zoosk is a tried-and-true dating platform that’s been around since 2007. Many dating sites and apps have followed in its footsteps and offered similar matching technology and dating opportunities.
For instance, Elite Singles also recommends compatible dating profiles based on a user’s preferences, and it also offers an in-depth profile setup where uses can disclose everything from their educational background to their relationship goals.
EliteSingles.com maintains a sophisticated network of young professionals seeking a relationship. Over 80% of its members hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree, and over 90% are over the age of 30. Elite Singles uses an intelligent matchmaking system to introduce daters to someone on their level.
- Over 2 million monthly users
- Premium members receive 20 wildcard matches a day
- Search features include age, height, education, ethnicity, and lifestyle habits
- Browse Elite Singles profiles 100% free »
As you can probably tell from the name, Elite Singles caters to a more upscale crowd than the Zoosk platform. Most of its members have graduated from college and pursued professional careers in medicine, law, engineering, technology, marketing, or sales.
If you’re in the LGBTQ+ community, then you could think of Grindr as the gay version of Zoosk. This app’s geosocial technology focuses on local date recommendations and introduces gay men to nearby date prospects.
Grindr became the world's first gay geosocial app in 2009, and it continues growing its all-male user base more than a decade later. The app uses real-time GPS data to locate nearby date prospects and give gay and bisexual singles a chance to connect while they're out on the town.
- Social networking for gay, bi, trans, and queer men
- Location-based matches spark instant chemistry
- Grindr Equality advocates for LGBTQ+ interests on the global stage
- Browse Grindr profiles 100% free »
Grindr has over 27 million users (all of whom are men seeking men), so it’s relatively similar in size to Zoosk. But it caters to gay, bisexual, questioning, queer, and curious men who want to escape the straight dating scene for a night or an afternoon of real-time flirting and same-day meetups.
Unlike Zoosk, the Grindr network is mobile-only, meaning you have to download the app to access this gay social network.
At the end of the day, many reputable dating platforms are similar to Zoosk, but most of them don’t have quite as many chat options, matching hacks, and social networking insights as the original Zoosk dating site and dating app.
Reviews Are In: Zoosk is a Top Dating Platform
As you can see from our Zoosk review, the old-school internet site has evolved into so much more than a Californian startup with a funny name. The dating site and app have grown by leaps and bounds, and now Zoosk fosters an engaging social network with success stories spanning the globe.
Over the last decade, Zoosk has streamlined its tools and created innovative ways to connect people online. As a free site, it has a lot of pros, and not very many cons. Members can enjoy both free and paid communication features, and they can customize their online dating experience according to their dating goals.
If you don’t think Zoosk is the right dating site or app for you, then check out our Match review and consider joining an even more time-tested platform. Our dating experts have given Match a 4.9-star rating because it has been around longer than any other dating site, and it’s about as good as it gets in the online dating world.
Before you join any big-name dating site, make sure you do your homework and understand what you’re getting and what to expect. Choose wisely!
