Who doesn’t love free stuff? And a free trial sounds just as great, right?
You get to sign up to the online dating site of your choice, and with a free trial, you can use the service to see if it’s right for you – all at no extra cost.
If you are wondering about free trials in online dating, what you get, and which reputable dating sites offer a free trial, I’ve got all the information you need (plus more!).
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- Faithfully reviewed over 1000 International online dating and matchmaking services.
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- Contributed in many publications including Notsalmon.com, Marriage.com, or Medium.com.
What Is a Free Trial in Online Dating?
The textbook definition would be that a free trial is a service or product you can access for free for a short period.
The purpose of the free trial is to entice you to sign up and try out the service or product, and hopefully, the trial will convince you to “buy.”
With a free trial, you may have access to some aspects of a service or the whole thing.
In online dating:
- Some dating sites provide a free trial when you sign up.
- Some have a free trial at random.
- Some don’t have an official free trial, but if you request a full refund of your membership fee after a few days of registering, it’s like a free trial.
- A free trial can also refer to being a free member of the site with no expiry date.
When you access a free trial for an online dating site, you get access to the same services you’d use for free (signing up, creating a dating profile, searching and browsing, etc.) AND you may get access to a few more services or all of the services the site offers.
What Should I Expect to Get With a Free Online Dating Trial?
A free trial in the online dating world:
- Is limited for a short period of time (the trial can be for three days or it can be for seven days)
- Limits what you can and can’t do
- Is typically 100% free - but read the fine print before you jump with joy at the free trial offer
- May require you to “sign up” using your credit card or with some other payment method, and if you don’t cancel, you’ll be charged
- Gives you access to various services you don’t have access to as a free or basic member
Generally, with a free trial, you can:
- Register on the dating platform
- Create your online dating profile
- Search for love matched
- Browse profiles
- Send and receive messages
- And more
5 Dating Sites With Free Trials
We’ve thoroughly tested the following dating sites and apps to see what their free trials are all about.
We checked:
- The site’s reputation
- Whether it’s worth signing up for a free trial
- How transparent the site is with information regarding the free trial
- What services you have access to as a free/basic, free trial, and premium member
eHarmony
eHarmony was created in 2000, and it’s been around for quite a while. It’s one of the most reputable online dating platforms with many success stories.
First things first. The free trial on eHarmony is 100% free.
Secondly, it isn’t a typical free trial that you have access to once you’ve signed up. Instead, eHarmony has Free Communication Weekends at random, which is their free trial (not counting that you can sign up for free and use basic eHarmony services).
Check out eHarmony’s website and their social media accounts for an announcement of when the next Free Trial Weekend will be.
The other option to access a “free trial” is to set up your account and create your eHarmony dating profile. Sign up for one of the membership plans, and then cancel the membership within three days and get a full refund – provided you are eligible by living in one of the specified U.S. states.
- Register your eHarmony profile
- Create and edit your online dating profile
- Complete the compatibility or matchmaking questionnaire
- Get matches
- View profiles
- Send 5 auto-generated questions
- Add profiles to a Favorites list
- Send smiles
- Send and receive messages
- See who viewed your profile
- See who added you to their Favorite list
- Get matches outside your preference list
- Play What If
- See a match’s photos
Match.com
Launched in 1995, Match.com has been around for what feels like forever. It’s a reputable international dating platform that caters to singles all over the world.
Match.com services 24 countries and is available in 15 languages.
Match.com has two free trial options, and sometimes there are also promotional codes on Groupon and other sites. You need to provide payment details to access the trials AND you need to cancel the trial subscription to avoid being charged.
The free trial options on Match are:
- A three-day free trial
- A seven-day free trial
What you get, depends on the free trial option you choose.
A three-day free trial gives you:
- Access to see photos of singles who are near you
- May be able to message and read messages (but it depends on the Match free trial offer)
A seven-day free trial gives you:
- Message singles in your vicinity
- Browse through photos of nearby singles
On both free trials, you can:
- Create a Match.com account
- Set up your profile
- Search for singles in your area
- Use a swipe-style feature to get matched
- Send likes
- Join a matchmaking game
- Receive SingledOut matches
- Download the mobile app
- Maybe Video Date
- Use Real Talk (like ice-breakers)
You don’t get the following with a three-day free trial:
- Possibly the ability to send and receive messages
On both free trials, you can’t:
- Access the instant messenger
- See who has viewed your profile
- Get read notifications for mails
- Get a spot in the daily matches
- Play MatchPhone
- Browse anonymously
- Access Reply for Free
- MatchMe
Parship.de
Parship.de is a German dating site where you can find your German soulmate. The site was created back in 2001, and it’s also available in 9 other versions/languages. Read also: The Best 6 German Dating Sites and Apps & Dating German Women: The Complete Guide
Parship.de doesn’t have a “traditional” free trial. The “free trial” is signing up to the platform and using whatever services are available for free or basic members.
- Register your Parship.de account
- Fill out the personality questionnaire
- Create your dating profile
- Get love matches
- View profiles
- Send likes
- Send smiles
- Send ice-breakers
- Read and reply to the first message from a premium member (if they initiated contact)
- Save a profile to a Favorite list
- Download the mobile app
- Send and receive an unlimited number of messages
- See photos of your matches
- See who has visited your profile
- Use advanced search parameters
- Search for singles in your local area
- Opt for the “contact guarantee”
The League
The League was founded in 2015. It’s an online dating platform that appeals to the elite, ambitious, and super busy. Every member-only profile is moderated, since the company prioritized quality over quantity.
There isn’t really a free trial on The League; the company encourages those who are serious about joining to become a paid member. However, if you want to try the service, sign up and join the waitlist.
It’s a waiting game until you ascend through the waitlist, your profile is approved, and you can try out The League before you decide to upgrade or not. Priority is given to paid Members, VIP Pass Holders, and those with Endorsements, so the more of these join, the further down the waitlist you move.
- Register
- Create your profile
- Link your account to your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts
- Get three potential matches a day during Happy Hour
- Can buy League tickets
- Access discounted membership upgrades
- Possible participation in virtual speed dating (aka League Live)
- Download the mobile app
- Auto acceptance
- Rematches
- See read receipts on messages
- Profile stats
- Guaranteed entry into League Live
- Concierge assistance
- Complimentary profile boosts
- Profile privacy
Seeking Arrangement
Seeking Arrangement has rebranded and is currently called Seeking or Seeking.com. The site was established in 2006 and falls in the sugar dating niche.
Seeking.com doesn’t have a traditional free trial. Instead, the free trial is signing up to the sugar dating site and using the platform as a basic member.
Also, if you opt to be an Attractive member (aka sugar baby) and you are still in college, use your college email address to use the site’s features at no cost.
- Account registration
- Creating and editing your dating profile
- Searching for matches
- Browsing profiles
- Sending messages (provided your profile photo is approved); if you are a sugar mommy or daddy, you can send 10 messages for free
- Download the mobile app
- Gift wish list (for sugar babies)
- Access to all features if you are a verified college sugar baby.
- Sending messages if you don’t have a profile photo
- Privacy options
- Filter your inbox
- No ads
- Advanced search parameters
- Message read receipts
- Video chats
- Income verification
- Profile boost
- Make notes on your love interests
Online Dating Sites Free Trials FAQs
Match does have a free trial or trial subscription. The free trial on Match.com is for 3 or 7 days, and you can try out the online dating service and view photos or chat with singles. You’ll need to match certain “eligibility” criteria before you can sign up for the trial.
eHarmony has a Free Trial Weekend that happens at random. If you qualify, you can try out the dating service for either three or five days. The only other way to use eHarmony for free is to meet their eligibility requirements and cancel your premium subscription within three days for a full refund.
EliteSingles doesn’t have a free trial. As with most other online dating sites, you can sign up and access certain features on EliteSingles for free. You’ll need to pay to send messages. If you live in certain U.S. states, you can request a full refund within 3 days, which is like a free trial.
Match has a Match Dating Guarantee that states that if you can’t find a match within 6 months of becoming a Premium member, you’ll get access to Match for 6 months for free. You’re only eligible for this guarantee if you’ve subscribed for a minimum 6-month membership.
Most dating services offer some features for free, and then if you want access to advanced services, you need to pay. However, there are some dating sites that are “free” – but you always pay in terms of the personal details you share when you sign up.
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