Zoosk Dating Site Review (2024)
Zoosk Dating
- Free VersionYes
- PricingFrom $10/month
- Age Range25-45
Our Take on Zoosk Dating: Is It Worth the Sign-Up?
Zoosk is a cool and user-friendly dating website that has the potential to help you find that special someone for a romantic relationship. With over 30 million app downloads and a database of more than 40 million singles, your odds of meeting that special someone are pretty good.
We’ve checked out a bunch of reviews about this dating site and tried it ourselves to give you, our readers, the lowdown.
Zoosk at a Glance
Best For: Folks looking for a long-term relationship
Number of Members: 40 million
Recommended Age: 25 – 45
Gender Breakdown: 52% female, 48% male
Who’s on Zoosk?: Mainstream daters, LGBT-friendly with a wide variety of ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds
Favorite Features: Zoosk Great Dates, behavioral matchmaking, dating insights reports
Video Chat: No
How Zoosk Dating Operates
Zoosk is one of the world’s most popular dating platforms and uses advanced tech to match users with the best possible matches. What really caught our eye was the smart matchmaking algorithm that analyzes the people you interact with and suggests the most compatible matches.
To enhance your dating experience and find the right match, exploring the top 10 best dating sites can offer additional choices.
Signing Up for Zoosk
The signup form is right at the top of Zoosk.com. It’s super easy to access – no need to hunt for how to become a member.
You can create a Zoosk account in under a minute, which is faster compared to other dating sites and apps. Once you’re done with the initial setup, you can go back anytime to add details to your profile to make it more complete and help you rank higher in search results. The initial process is simple.
Zoosk will ask for some basic info (name, email address, birthday).
Then, you need to enter your location.
Next, upload a photo; you can do this from your desktop or by connecting to Facebook.
Add more personal details like your body type, ethnicity, and education level.
Once you’ve confirmed your account via email, you’re ready to roll.
Our first impression of the app was a bit shaky since the first photo we uploaded was removed within the first few minutes of signing up for “not following Zoosk’s photo guidelines”. Turns out the app has high standards, which is a good thing. Once we switched to full-body photos with enough coverage, the pictures were approved.
Setting Up Your Profile on Zoosk
Anytime, you can go to your main profile and edit the information you entered during the signup process. It’s easy, and we recommend using the allocated boxes to introduce yourself and add interesting photos.
The photo verification system is pretty strict, ensuring you can confirm that the people you’re talking to look like the photos they’ve uploaded to their profile. It’s a really helpful way to keep you safe from being catfished.
Once you’ve answered a few questions about your dating preferences and been on the site for a while, Zoosk uses its SmartPick™ AI to show you people you might be interested in. One of Zoosk’s strong suits is its matchmaking algorithm that finds you the best matches.
Finding Matches on Zoosk
There are three different ways to find matches on Zoosk. You can search manually, use Zoosk’s behavioral matchmaking, or select potential dates from a carousel.
- Behavioral Matchmaking
Behavioral Matchmaking is a bit like machine learning in the dating world. The system learns your preferences, likes, and dislikes to keep giving you more accurate results. It’s one of the most sophisticated ways to find matches and is intuitive too. Zoosk sends you one match daily that you can accept or decline. - Manual Search
For a more hands-on dating approach, you can manually search Zoosk’s database to find your matches. It’s straightforward; just click from one profile to the next until you see one that appeals to you. You can view other members’ profile pics, ages, and locations to quickly decide if you’re interested in taking it further.
If you match with someone, you can use quick messaging options to get in touch. If not, you can edit your search using age, location, distance, ethnicity, and relationship status filters. - Carousel
This quick match feature lets you swipe through lots of profiles in a flash. You’re shown a profile pic and can click “Yes,” “No,” or “Maybe” to quickly move through multiple potential matches each minute, Tinder-style.
It’s a good way to browse through lots of profiles, so if you’re good at making snap decisions, this is the way to go. You can also star the member to signal that you’re interested. Then, it’s up to them to make the next move. Note that carousel searching is a limited feature, and you’ll need to pay with virtual coins after a certain number of views.
Safety & Security
Zoosk’s photo verification requires new members to take a photo of themselves using their smartphone. This helps prove they are who they say they are and minimizes the chances of getting involved with a spammer or bot.
In 2022, Zoosk launched a groundbreaking new verification system, Zoosk Insignia, which provides an extra layer of safety against romance scammers claiming to be US military members. Zoosk members who submit valid proof of their U.S. Military service status are given a service verification badge on their profile.
Additionally, Zoosk has a strong no-harassment policy and makes it easy to block someone who’s bothering you or being inappropriate. The platform also has a helpful online dating safety guide. It’s an entire section with tips to make your dating experience safer and more comfortable. It offers useful advice on making your profile safe, connecting online, meeting in person, and even spotting spammers.
Boosting Your Zoosk Dating Profile
Create a Winning Profile
Your dating profile is the first impression you make in the virtual dating world. With Zoosk, you can easily and quickly create a profile – also known as a Date Card – and add to it later when you have more time.
Zoosk guides you through finishing your profile by prompting you to fill out answers about yourself and your ideal match. The more information you add, the higher the chances you’ll attract a high-quality match, so make sure your dating profile stands out.
Choose the Right Photos
We live in a somewhat superficial world where we look at profile photos before reading someone’s personal description. Since pictures are so important, it’s crucial you choose the right kind of image for your profile. Use a flattering shot, but stay away from a Kim-Kardashian-style selfie in the bathroom. Make sure to include photos of you having fun and doing things you love. Upload a variety so you have a range of different poses and environments.
Promote Yourself
What makes Zoosk different from other sites is that it takes the best parts of dating and social networking and combines them. Using social media can help get more views on your profile and increase your chances of meeting the right person.
Get involved on Zoosk’s community pages where you can get valuable advice and have your say about dating – and get your profile seen in the process. Comments on the boards are added to your Zoosk status feed, which shows up on your Date Card and on the Zoosk front page, seen by singles in your local area.
Get Your Friends Involved
Another great thing about Zoosk is that you can invite your friends to write testimonials about you that are visible to potential matches. (Yes, your friends can be your virtual wingmen!) After all, your buddies know you best and can brag about you in ways you might be too embarrassed to do yourself!
Zoosk Dating App
Zoosk has a convenient mobile app that makes connecting with people throughout the day easier. It’s available for Android and iOS devices and has virtually the same features as the website.
The Zoosk messenger app lets you send SMSes to anyone on the network, making that initial communication a lot easier and less awkward. It’s also useful if you’re looking for a more casual dating experience since it’s easy to search and quickly filter through profiles.
You can link your Zoosk profile to your Facebook account. This updates your newsfeed about your account activity, like when a potential match adds to their profile, uploads photos, or is active in some other way. There’s even a “Super Send” feature that allows you to reach multiple users simultaneously.
On top of that, you can choose from pre-selected icebreakers to send to matches, which is a great way to gauge their interest. Another helpful tool, SmartPick, uses technology to choose matches for you based on compatibility and your history of likes.
Zoosk Dating Customer Support
Zoosk has an extensive help center that includes a searchable FAQ section. You can talk to a customer service representative directly via one of the Zoosk social media accounts or by sending an online support ticket.
Getting a refund from Zoosk may be tough since they don’t have a refund policy. Instead, they encourage customers to reach out to the client support team with any billing or account-related questions.
How to Cancel or Pause a Zoosk Subscription
The easiest way to cancel or pause a Zoosk subscription is to turn off automatic renewals. You’ll still get premium features for the length of your subscription period, but you won’t be charged again when it expires.
It’s also possible to delete your account altogether if you want to remove it from the Zoosk platform. From your browser, choose settings (gear icon on your smartphone app), click “Account,” then “Account Status.” Then, click on “Deactivate” and follow the instructions to remove your account.
Zoosk Dating Pricing
Zoosk’s pricing starts at $29.95 for a one-month subscription and can be as low as $10.00 per month if you commit to a whole year.
If you want to dip your toes in first, you can create a limited free account. To access all features, you’ll need a premium subscription.
The full six-month plan is the best if you’re hoping to get the most bang for your buck since it comes in at only $11.00 per month.
Overall, Zoosk is a pretty low-cost option. Many dating platforms charge $30+ per month, but Zoosk’s annual subscription option brings this cost down to a much more affordable level.
What Can You Do With Zoosk for Free?
Zoosk’s free account includes the Carousel and Behavioral Matchmaking tools and unlimited manual searches. But without a paid membership, you’ll be a bit limited. While you can get an idea of who’s available in your area, you won’t be able to send messages, chat with other customers, or connect with people who have viewed your profile. You also won’t be able to take advantage of Zoosk’s “SmartPick” behavioral matchmaking.
With a free Zoosk membership, you can look around and see what members are online in your area. You can also see who’s shown interest in your profile, but that’s about it.
To contact other profile holders and chat, you’ll need to upgrade to a premium subscription. This makes it basically impossible to get a date with Zoosk for free.
Premium Features and Upgrades on Zoosk
Zoosk’s matchmaking technology plugs your preferences into the Carousel feature to send the best possible matches your way. To fully utilize this smart dating technology, a paid membership is the way to go.
Zoosk offers a selection of interesting features designed to make online dating fun. One of the most unique and useful is the dating insights reports. Here are some of its major benefits:
It gives you real insights into your dating preferences and even your own personality to help you learn more about yourself and who you choose to date.
It makes the selection process faster and easier and can sometimes be an eye-opener.
The more you use the site, the more information it collects and the more insights you get.
If you want to get in touch with someone on Zoosk, you can Smile or Like their profile. Additionally, you can send a text message. If you really like someone, you can send them a virtual gift.
A super-smart and easy way to promote your profile is the Zoosk Boost feature. Buying Boost with Zoosk coins helps you get noticed and highlighted in different places on the Zoosk site and app, including in people’s inboxes and Carousel (the search tool). Zoosk coins can be bought or earned through onsite activities like becoming a fan on Facebook or installing the mobile app.
Another cool feature is Zoosk coins. These let you buy gifts like a virtual box of chocolates, a virtual cocktail, or a digital teddy bear. You can also buy 75 Boosts for 150 coins, which could really make your profile stand out. A package of 180 Zoosk coins costs $19.99, 480 costs $39.99, and 1,800 is $99.99.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zoosk safe and legit?
Is Zoosk just a hookup site?
What age group is Zoosk for?
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