From the beginning, eharmony helps local singles get their bearings in the online dating world and find common ground with potential dates. It is completely free to register an account on the eharmony dating website, or you can choose to download the eharmony dating app for free on Google Play or the App Store.
The most difficult part about joining eharmony is the lengthy signup process. But, don’t worry, you can always skip steps and come back to complete your dating profile or take the 80-question compatibility quiz later. The only required sections have to do with important details, including your age, location, and gender (only options available are male or female). A new eharmony member must also upload a profile picture to make his or her dating profile visible in search results and match suggestions.
The registration process can take anywhere from five minutes to 20 minutes to complete, depending on how descriptive you get when it comes to profile prompts like “I have a passion for..” “The first thing people notice about me is...” or “the most influential person in my life is...” You can also write up to five things you are grateful for, choose your best life skills, name five things you can’t live without, and list your favorite hobbies, sports, shows, movies, books, and many other miscellaneous things. These sections are all optional, but they can give a potential match (as well as the eharmony match algorithm) a lot of good information about who you are and what you’re looking for in a potential partner.
How Does the Compatibility Matching System Work?
If you really want to up your profile on eharmony and create smart matches faster than ever, then you should waste no time in taking eharmony’s 32 Dimensions of Compatibility Quiz. This personality test takes into account your emotional temperament, social style, physicality, relationship skills, family values, and beliefs. Over the years, the eharmony team has parsed its test down from over 200 questions to now only asking 80 multiple-choice questions about the really important aspects of attraction and compatibility. You’ll come across questions asking you to rate how clever, dominant, outgoing, and quarrelsome you are.
The result will be a complete personality breakdown that summarizes your personality quirks, relationship behaviors, conflict resolution skills, and style of communication.
In addition to the eharmony questionnaire, new eharmony members can go to the Matches section to update their Match Preferences in terms of age, height, smoking habits, children, and desire to have children. These filters are all free to use, and premium eharmony members have access to additional filters for religion, ethnicity, income, and education. This can help you narrow down the online dating field to the most desirable candidates -- but it relies on singles disclosing this information accurately in their dating profile.
A premium member also has the power to sort their potential matches by registration date, personal compatibility score, distance, and last online. Singles should note that while eharmony will prioritize member profiles in your state or general region, curating a city-specific list is a paid feature on this upscale dating service.
Do You Have to Take the Compatibility Quiz for eharmony to Work?
Absolutely not. The compatibility test is a way of augmenting your online dating experience, and it’s 100% optional. If you have the time and feel like doing a little soul searching, the compatibility quiz can be a fun way to boost your eharmony profile status and make your compatibility ratings more accurate.
If you’d rather not give away too much too soon, then the personal assessment section of your dating profile will remain blank, and the eharmony matching algorithm will pair you with people based on your answers to basic demographic information regarding your age, location, education, ethnicity, income, relationship status, children, religion, pets, etc. The algorithm can also learn what you like based on your browsing and messaging habits. So, the more active you are on eharmony, the more fine-tuned your match suggestions will become.
What Happens After You’ve Completed Your Personality Profile?
After you’ve answered a dozen or so questions and uploaded at least one profile picture, your eharmony profile will go live on the dating website and dating app (pending the team’s approval). Then you can start browsing a curated list of matches — profiles selected based on internal compatibility ratings. The site will post these compatibility ratings on the profile so that members can see where their similarities and differences lie. The scoring is based primarily on your compatibility quiz, and members will see a compatibility score for every personality section and an overall rating that averages the bunch.
A perfect score of 140 is pretty much nonexistent because you and your hypothetical partner would have to answer every question in the 80-question test the exact same way, and the odds of that happening are astronomical. We’d say a score of 100-129 means you’re exceptionally compatible, and 80-100 means you’ve got a lot in common and have a good chance of building a serious relationship. After all, sometimes in a relationship, your differences balance out and make each other stronger, smarter, or more well-rounded.
eharmony’s matching algorithm is a trade secret honed by decades of introductions and successes. It relies on psychological principles to recommend singles to one another. The algorithm does the work so eharmony members don’t have to worry about searching the membership base all by themselves. All they have to do is fill out the eharmony profile, review their matches, become a subscribed member, and start sending smiles, icebreaker quizzes, and messages online.
What’s Included in a Free eharmony Membership?
At first, eharmony only offered a free trial of about three days, and then it started charging a subscription fee. However, users weren’t too fond of that bait-and-switch style, so now the online dating site has a completely free membership with no expiration date as well as a paid membership for serious daters who want to connect fast.
The basic plan includes unlimited browsing, profile editing, the compatibility test, and standard match filters as well as the ability to communicate by sending smiles, icebreaker quizzes, or a complimentary greeting.
A free member has the run of the eharmony dating site and app, and they never have to pay for a subscription if they don’t want to, but the free communication tools are limited and restrictive. Free members can only message certain people for a certain amount of time, and they are not in control of their own fate.
Free members can browse the dating site’s matches and send smiles or icebreaker quizzes to one another, but only paid subscribers can send unlimited messages, see who’s favorited/viewed them, and use advanced search filters, and view photos. Fortunately, eharmony does sometimes offer Free Communication Weekends to give free members access to all the messages in their inbox and show them what a premium membership could do for them.
Is eharmony Safe for Users?
As a matter of fact, eharmony is widely considered one of the safest and most trustworthy dating sites on the market right now. The online dating site is meant to foster genuine and meaningful connections between singles online, so it promotes high standards of safety and authenticity for its members.
Because of the way eharmony is set up, members enjoy a lot of privacy on the dating site. Dating profiles aren’t published widely to anyone and everyone online — it’s more of a for-your-eyes-only experience. Your eharmony profile can only be seen by compatible members and subscribers. Additionally, only eharmony profiles with photos can be viewed on the site.
Members’ sensitive information, including contact and billing information, is encrypted on eharmony and will never be posted anywhere on the site.
eharmony’s dating experts recommend its users take certain safety precautions such as never sharing financial information with someone you met online and reporting concerns about a match to the Customer Care team. Members on the site can report or block anyone exhibiting suspicious or inappropriate behavior. On eharmony, there’s a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to spammers, scammers, and fake profiles.
What Type of People Join eharmony?
All types of people. When eharmony launched in 2000, it really emphasized the “strengthening traditional marriage” line -- the founder was a Christian theologian and psychologist -- so it started out with a strong appeal to Christian singles who were straight, conservative, and marriage-minded. The platform also garnered the reputation of a senior dating site because of its more traditional and love-driven methods.
Nowadays, though, eharmony is broadening its membership base by encouraging same-sex relationships, casual dating, and friendships through its compatibility matching system.
It still remains true that the core demographic on eharmony are marriage-minded men and women over 30 -- and you’ll definitely still see a lot of Christian singles, but you’ll also see Jewish singles, Muslim singles, and atheist singles all looking for love in their own way.
Is the eharmony App the Same as the Online Dating Site?
Yes, in all the important ways, the eharmony app is very much the same as the tried-and-true dating website. You’ll see the same basic setup, profile layout, and matching system, just in a more mobile-friendly way.
Single men and women can download the app as a standalone dating tool, or they can use it in conjunction with the online dating site. The overall quality of the experience doesn’t change, and you’ll still have access to the same database of high-quality individuals.
Why Does the eharmony App Have So Many One-Star Reviews?
We’ve been very positive about eharmony in our review -- it’s no secret that our dating experts love this relationship-centered platform -- but some singles are not as thrilled by eharmony’s premium prices and lengthy signup process. The vast majority of negative eharmony reviews say that they don’t like that you have to pay to read or respond to messages on the dating site and app.
Sometimes a user downloads the eharmony app not quite knowing what to expect or how much it costs, and they’re shocked, disappointed, or outraged when they click on the message button only to be directed to a payment window. That can lead singles to call eharmony a scam or a rip off or give it a one-star rating as they delete it, but that doesn’t mean it is an abominable online dating service. It’s really just a premium dating site that isn’t right for everyone.
The eharmony team is upfront that not everything is going to be free here. They want members to invest in the online dating process and escape the overwhelming and overcrowded swiping scene. At its heart, eharmony is a dating site that believes quality beats quantity every time when it comes to building relationships. Someone looking to meet as many people as possible at once, will be understandably disappointed and frustrated by the more curated online dating process offered by eharmony. All this to say: eharmony has gotten bad reviews from singles who want everything to come easy and be totally free -- and that’s not how this app works at all.
Is It Worth Becoming a Premium User of the Dating Service?
This depends greatly on you. Individual singles have to consider their own budgets, time restraints, and relationship goals. An eharmony account does take some time to set up and use properly, and it does cost a fair bit of money (premium memberships start at about $30 a month), so don’t enter this signup process lightly.
If you’re over 30 and serious about settling down, it could be well worth a membership fee to explore the dating world on your terms and meet quality singles who are around your age and looking for the same things in life. The paywall essentially keeps the flaky daters out and allows more quality over quantity. The downside is that you may not have as many match requests and chatting opportunities as you do on a free dating site or app.
While eharmony is one of the most popular dating sites out there, it’s also one of the more exclusive because of its high subscription costs and pay-to-chat policies. Sophisticated and serious professionals may find this upscale dating scene is exactly what they need to up the caliber of their dates. But a user on a budget may not enjoy making a gamble on the eharmony membership base.
Not to worry, though; thanks to eharmony’s free basic membership, it’s still possible to find love on eharmony without becoming a paid member. You’ll just have to be an active member of the site and app, taking advantage of all the free communication tools you can.
Does eharmony Allow Video Dating?
In the wake of the 2020 pandemic, the online dating team worked quickly to release a video dating feature to help singles continue their journey toward love while maintaining proper social distance. This beta feature is available for every compatible match and uses a desktop computer webcam or smartphone camera to stream a live video.
The video feature is only available once you have exchanged a few messages with another person, and it’s best to talk about it before sending a request out of the blue -- it’s important to give a person the chance to dress up for you! Video dating has become an incredibly popular and successful feature on the eharmony site and app, so, if you ask this dating expert, it’ll likely stick around long after the coronavirus has left the news.
How Often Can I Change or Update My Match Preference
The eharmony matching algorithm understands that people’s preferences and priorities change all the time, and it’s flexible enough to go with the flow. A user can change his or her match preference multiple times a day if they choose, and they never have to give a reason why.
It’s actually really fun to play around with the match preferences and look for different types of people who could be right for you. Remember that free members don’t have as many filtering options as premium members, so they’ll have to do a little more hunting and manually look through profiles for dates with a specific income, career, or personality trait.
Your match preferences are never set in stone, and you can always update them as you decide you want someone taller, shorter, nearer, farther, older, younger, or what have you.
What Exactly is an Icebreaker Quiz & How Does It Work?
An icebreaker quiz is a feature that’s exclusive to eharmony. It evolved from the guided communication icebreakers that used to be on the site to help free members get in touch beyond just sending a virtual wink or smile.
How it works is pretty simple. Once you’ve identified a dating profile you’d like to get to know better, you can go into the messaging section and choose the Send an Icebreaker option. Immediately you’ll see a pop-up window asking you to choose your favorite between two photos. Don’t think about this too much. The photos are pretty random. One could show a wintry day and the other depicts raking fallen leaves. One could feature a camping site while the other shows a bustling coffee shop. Just pick the one that speaks to you.
Once you’ve completed the easy four-question quiz, your potential messaging partner will receive an invitation from you to take the same quiz. Only then will your answers be revealed to each other. You’ll see a quick rundown of which questions you answered the same way, and which you answered differently. If you answered a lot of questions the same, the eharmony algorithm will reward you with some free messaging! Talk about a good way to break the ice.
Thanks to the icebreaker quizzes, singles can more easily tell if the person messaging them is a compatible partner and use the questions as an easy way to start a lighthearted conversation about their common interests or areas of disagreement. These quizzes shouldn’t be taken too seriously from a personal compatibility standpoint, but they can be used to spark a connection by saying, “I enjoy a juicy burger too -- what are your favorite toppings?” or “I see you liked the picture of the tent. Do you go camping very often?”
Can You Cancel eharmony at Any Time?
Yes, you can cancel your eharmony membership and ask for a refund any time after you subscribe by sending an email to support@eharmony.com. The customer service team will get back with you shortly to ask what the reason for your cancellation is and if it warrants a refund. The eharmony team doesn’t give refunds for reasons like “I didn’t see anyone I liked” or “I was ghosted by my match.” You’ll have to show that you went in with good faith, and the dating service failed to deliver on its promise.
If you ran into a scammer, that’s the sort of thing you’ll want to report to the eharmony team immediately so that they can take the appropriate action to remove and ban that person. You can start by blocking the scam account online, and you can also write a report to send to the eharmony team. To do this, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of the dating profile and select Remove Profile to block someone and Suspicious Profile to report someone.
Premium users should note that you will only be able to delete your eharmony account by contacting the customer care team. In the meantime, you can hide your profile from the eharmony database by going into your Data & Settings and sliding the Profile Visibility slider to Not Visible.
How Responsive is the eharmony Customer Care Team to Requests?
Even though eharmony is a massive dating service with tens of millions of active users worldwide, the Customer Care team stays on top of member requests, reports, and issues. A dedicated team is responsible for answering your questions and addressing your concerns via email, and they are incredibly knowledgeable and responsive.
Of course, before you take the time and effort to contact the Customer Care Team, you should always first try to resolve the issue on your own. The Help directory is very useful for providing answers to frequently asked questions, and it can link to resources or provide step-by-step guides to help eharmony members figure things out. Try a keyword search or scroll through related FAQs to see if the website can clear things up for you. If not, go ahead and submit a contact form.
Your contact form will be connected to your email address, and that’s how the eharmony team will respond to you, typically within 3-5 business days. The responsiveness can vary, but eharmony generally seems to be good at responding to queries promptly and satisfying customers with thoughtful service.
Does eharmony Have a Lot of Success Stories?
You don’t have to look very hard to find eharmony success stories. The website publishes testimonials and love stories all the time, and many couples have gone public with the fact that they met on eharmony. It’s no wonder so many eharmony reviews declare that it’s the best dating site for finding a serious relationship.
Because eharmony has been around for longer than most online dating sites and apps, it has a longer track record of success and more happy couples and families to its name than most other dating services.
In total, eharmony estimates that it has introduced over 2 million couples in the U.S. alone, and it creates a new love connection every 14 minutes.
“A few days before my contract expired a good looking man with ridiculous hair was "matched" to me and wanted to communicate with me,” said Rachael. “It is mind-boggeling to think about how many times our lives may have intersected and how every time we missed each other just by an inch. Thank you, eharmony, for matching us. We probably couldn't have done it with out you!”
“We also knew almost immediately that we were attracted to each other and knew there was something special with the relationship,” said Barbara and Robert, two retirees who met on eharmony. “Thank you very much for offering this medium which allows people to find their soul mates.”
“We were matched on my second day on eharmony,” said Jason and Anna. “Obviously, you guys know what you are doing! My best friend’s sister found her husband on eharmony, Anna's sister found her husband on eharmony, and now Anna and I found each other through eharmony.”
The enduring eharmony legacy is one of love and true companionship. Some of eharmony’s couples have been together for decades, and they have children who are about ready to create eharmony dating profiles themselves!
