- Reasons to buy: Great dating pool, advanced matching algorithms, virtual gifts
- Reasons to avoid: No free unlimited messaging
Website in 5 Seconds
| Monthly visits | over 40M |
| Mobile version/app | Android and iOS mobile apps are available |
| Matchmaking filters | 10 search filters, 2 available to all users, and 8 for premium members only |
| Messaging on-site | Messaging is the main communication feature |
| Paid or free | Members need to upgrade to premium—the costs of a monthly plan start at $13 |
| Site | zoosk.com |
Who Is Zoosk for
The Zoosk app and site are pretty much for everyone. Some say that’s just a hookup site, but that’s not exactly true. Zoosk really works for people looking for casual relationships, as well as for serious relationships, but it’s not a platform where most users are looking for one-night stands. Instead, that’s a place to meet someone attractive to spend some time with, as well as a dating site to find your future spouse.
Features and Benefits
Every adult user can easily join the Zoosk community. Regardless of what you choose, a dating app or a dating site, you can sign up in just a few minutes by answering some basic questions and adding more details later, which, by the way, is optional. Zoosk has pretty much everything a good dating site should have, but its matchmaking algorithm is what makes it stand out from the competitors. Zoosk not only considers the dating preferences you choose manually but also analyzes your behavior on the site and the choices you make and suggests the best matches based on the results of this analysis. But how exactly do people find partners and interact with others on this dating site? Let’s take a closer look at Zoosk’s search and communication features.
Searching Guide
Zoosk members can modify their search (you’ll see the Modify Search button on the Search page) and set certain criteria manually. Currently, they are:
- Age
- Distance
- Height
- Religion
- Relationship
- Children
- Education
- Ethnicity
- Smoking
- Body Type
Note that only the first two filters can be used by non-paying users. There’s also the Carousel feature on the Main Menu, and that’s the good old swiping feature, but that can be used only by members who have already added a profile photo.
Messaging Guide
Members of Zoosk can contact someone from the search page—the chat window is right under a user’s profile photo. Or you can just scroll down the page to see more detailed information on the member first and then go back to the top of the page and send a message.
The Messages section is on the Main Menu, so you can always go to your inbox with just one click.
Gift Guide
Zoosk members can also send each other virtual gifts, and they will be later shown on their profile, which allows you to understand how popular a user is on the platform. This is a good way to get someone’s attention, but it will cost a user some extra coin.
If you want to send a gift to someone, you just need to go to the user’s profile, click the gift icon and select a present you’d like to send.
Free and Paid Membership Guide
Zoosk can hardly be considered a free dating app or site. Members here can use plenty of premium features, and, generally speaking, using this online dating platform without getting a premium subscription doesn’t make much sense. Still, it doesn’t mean that Zoosk members pay for everything—I tried free Zoosk membership and tested both standard and special services. Now, I’m going to share my impressions and talk about the free and paid versions of the Zoosk platform in more detail.
Free Membership
Members who’ve just joined this dating app and haven’t upgraded to premium yet can do the following:
- Improve and verify their Zoosk profilesThere is a lot of information that can be added, lots of photos that can be uploaded, and non-paying users can also get those verification badges (there is Tinder, Facebook, and phone verification), which automatically lets a member get a lot of attention on the site.
- Use the Carousel feature and like membersAs I’ve noted previously, Zoosk has a swiping feature, and a free member can use it too, at least to know how many people will contact you.
- Use Super SendEven free users who’ve just joined Zoosk can use the Super Send—select the message from the offered templates and send it to many potential matches. That’s how lots of people can notice you at the very beginning of your journey.
- Contact Zoosk customer serviceThere are enough ways to reach the support team and ask any questions about the site, and though responses aren’t immediate, members don’t have to wait for them for days or even weeks.
Also, a non-paying user can see other users’ profiles and set some basic search filters like age and location. Generally speaking, all the free features are aimed at letting a member know what exactly they can get on the site and who they can meet, but it doesn’t allow them to actually communicate with others.
Paid Membership
How much does using Zoosk cost? Currently, members can choose between two premium plans:
3 months
$21.66
THE BEST OPTION
6 months
$13
Extra premium features
$9.50
Also, users can get Zoosk coins to use extra special features like Boosts and Virtual gifts, and the costs are as follows:
60 coins
$9.99
180 coins
$19.95
480 coins
$39.95
Paying members of the Zoosk dating app can use the following features:
- MessagingOf course, an opportunity to interact with other users is the main reason why nearly all Zoosk members buy premium membership plans. A paid subscription makes messaging free and unlimited—there are no extra fees for reaching a certain number of members, credits, etc.
- Smart PickThat’s the behavioral matchmaking technology that analyzes how the user makes their choices, whom they like and whom they don’t like, and makes match suggestions based on this information.
- Going invisibleOn Zoosk, members can see profile visitors. So if you don’t want anyone to see you on that list, you can spend some Zoosk coins and become invisible for half an hour.
- Sending giftsAs I’ve noted previously, Zoosk coins can be spent on gifts, and that’s a great way to attract someone’s attention on the online dating site.
- Crushes and UndosZoosk offers some extra special features to its paying members. In particular, they can send 5 crushes to people they liked a lot on Carousel and undo their actions if they accidentally skipped or liked someone.
- BoostsBoost is a feature that allows you to get more attention on Zoosk pretty easily. I could spend some coins, use the boost, and my Zoosk account was shown to many members on Matches and Carousel. Also, the more you use this feature, the more people will see your profile.
Zoosk is a very popular dating site, despite the fact that nearly all its users pay for premium services. The thing is that a premium user gets more than most other dating apps and dating sites usually offer, and considering this, the prices are very reasonable. In addition, all the features mentioned above really improve the experience and allow for meeting lots of similar-minded people and communicating without any limitations.
Tips For Using Zoosk to Find a Perfect Relationship
Researcher
You definitely need a good profile on Zoosk—otherwise, you will hardly succeed. Also, special features can be really helpful. However, I’d recommend spending some time on the site without paying for special services that cost coins or extra money—analyze the dynamics and response rate and then start using boosts and sending gifts to improve the efficiency, if necessary. Also, though the dating app lets you reach someone without even reading the information in their profile, I’d not recommend relying on appearance only. That’s how you can spend a lot of time on the site chatting with the wrong people and paying for a Zoosk premium membership.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Great dating pool
- Strict moderation policy, real members
- Lots of special features that improve the experience
- Easy ways to get someone’s attention
- Transparent policies
- Reasonable pricing
Cons:
- No free unlimited messaging
- Extra payments for some special features
Your Safety on Zoosk
Zoosk app is actually one of the safest popular dating platforms—it’s all due to the right safety measures that the company takes to protect the users, namely:
- Profile photo approval—Zoosk moderators check it regardless of a user’s desire to verify it
- Profile verification—verification badges allow members to avoid scammers and catfishes
- Online dating safety tips—there are some great guides on how to avoid romance scams on Zoosk or any other dating sites
- Reporting and blocking users—if you notice something goes wrong, you can just block a user and report scams
However, even on Zoosk, members must take safety measures, too. That’s the only way to stay safe, and the most important rules are as follows:
- Never send money to anyone and also refuse to accept it—it’s always a scam.
- Try to contact verified users only or at least use Google search by image to ensure photos are real.
- Spot red flags—if things are moving too fast, it’s not always a good sign; usually, someone is trying to make you trust them.
- Don’t agree to share your personal or financial information with anyone you meet on Zoosk or another dating platform.
Remember that your case won’t be an exception to any of these rules. So if it seems that anything goes wrong, it really does.
4 Ways to Make Your Zoosk Profile Stand Out
Zoosk is a premium dating platform, and using it with not-so-good profiles just doesn’t make much sense. Here are 3 tips that can help you improve your response rate by 50-500%.
- Verify your account—as I’ve noted previously, there are a few different types of verification, and I recommend passing them all to become more popular on Zoosk.
- Add all icebreakers you can add—it really helps people on Zoosk to get creative and write something interesting in their first message.
- Add as many Interests as possible and choose them carefully, setting the priorities to attract the best matches.
- Focus on your self-description—get creative and mention your relationship goals.
How you represent yourself on the Zoosk dating website matters—the right representation improves your chances of finding the right partner, but if you don’t make enough effort, you’ll hardly succeed, or it just will take too much time, even if you choose the right dating site.
Conclusion
So, is Zoosk the right place to explore the online dating world? Generally speaking, this is definitely one of the best platforms that the online dating industry offers now. It works as a casual dating app and site and can also help you find a serious relationship—after all, there are a lot of Zoosk reviews written by people who found love on this online dating site. Zoosk dating app also works for those who are looking for friendship, short-term relationships, and communication because it has a great dating pool and provides a good online dating experience.
