Lavalife isn’t a new name in the online dating industry, and our review is one of many endorsements of it. That’s because Lavalife is one of the oldest names in the business. For over two decades, Lavalife has been pairing singles with similar passions, personalities, and life goals, and it has come up with some pretty great ways to break the ice and make a romantic connection.
There’s more to Lavalife than just the matching system, though. Our online dating experts have broken down the site’s signup process, pricing, features, and everything in between. We’ve also picked out a few other dating sites you’ll want to look into as well — because, when it comes to finding love, you can never have too many avenues.
Lavalife Has a Large User Base, But You Have to Pay to Communicate With People (4.3/5.0 Rating)
Lavalife launched in 2001 with a mission to “make dating fun again.” We can get on board with that.
From start to finish, the dating website endeavors to take the pressure off singles, matching them based on their interests, which makes it easier to start a conversation. More than 2,000 people visit the homepage every month, and the app is available for iOS and Android devices.
It’ll take less than 10 minutes to fill out your dating profile, and then you can start searching for potential matches. New members receive a free seven-day trial that’ll allow them to access all of Lavalife’s features. First, you’ll provide your full name, your gender, the gender you’re interested in, your birthday, email address, and password. You could also sign up through Facebook to make the signup process go even faster.
The next part is choosing a username, typing in your zip code, and selecting your height, body type (athletic, average, curvy, plus size, or slim), ethnicity (black, Caucasian, East Asian, European, First Nations, Hispanic/Latino, Middle Eastern, Mixed, Pacific Islander, South Asian, or other), and religion (agnostic, atheist, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, New Age, Other, Sikh, or Spiritual).
Lavalife also wants to know what you’re looking for (casual dates, relationship, long-term, friends, or hookups), your education level (high school, trade, college, university, post-graduate, or other), your smoking habits (never, socially, regularly, or trying to quit), drinking habits (never, socially, or often), if you have children (no or yes), if you want children (yes or no/no more), and your annual income (under $30K, $30K-$40K, $40K-$60K, $60K-$80K, $80K-$100K, $100K-$150K, or over $150K).
For all of these questions, you can choose Ask Me Later and come back to them whenever you want. The About Me and My Ideal Date sections can be filled out any time as well. However, your profile pic, an opening line, and city are all mandatory.
Once all of this information is submitted, Lavalife offers a quick tutorial to show you how everything works, but you can jump right into browsing through dating profiles if you feel ready to go.
Basic search has filters for username, what you’re looking for, age, and distance. Advanced search has filters for recently online, interests (e.g., pets, travel, fitness), and Find Me At (e.g., concert, movies, work), among other things. Save your searches for more efficient browsing the next time you log in.
When you find a special person who catches your eye, use the In Common feature to see what makes you two click. You can also “like” profiles, see who’s viewed your profile, send smiles and chat requests, and send and receive messages.
However, once your free trial is over and done, you won’t be able to initiate messages anymore. This is the part about Lavalife that seems to bother singles the most. You’ll need to upgrade your membership, and prices include one month for $19.99, three months for $49.99 (saving you 17%), and six months for $89.99 (saving you 25%). Note: The three- and six-month memberships must be paid in full upfront — there are no monthly payment options.
Online Dating Alternative to Lavalife
Lavalife is a longstanding name in the industry, but just like you shouldn’t limit yourself to just one one coffee shop, one gas station, or one fast-food brand, you shouldn’t limit yourself to one online dating site. We’ve got a top recommended site that can stand up to what Lavalife is offering.
Match the company was founded in 1993, and the dating site was launched in 1995 — six years before Lavalife. Match also sees more than 13.5 million visitors a month — not to mention the 30 million people who’ve already signed up.
Match
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
You can take Match with you wherever you go by downloading the app from iTunes or Google Play, and features like Missed Connections will make sure you find your perfect date or partner. In fact, Match has led to more dates and relationships than any of its competitors.
Lavalife: Definitely Worth Trying, But Keep Your Options Open
As a whole, Lavalife gets the job done and can be fun for some singles, but there are a couple of areas for improvement in terms of popularity and pricing. We’d recommend that online daters sign up for that free membership first, so they can explore their options and make up their own mind about the online dating site. If Lavalife is not your cup of tea, take a look at Match, Elite Singles, or Zoosk.
In a lot of ways, these premier online dating sites make up for what Lavalife lacks, and they can offer a lot of promising matches in your area. Good luck!
