Free or paid online dating sites? Must I really pay to find a match? Is it worth it?
If you've ever asked these or similar questions, you've come to the right place. In this post, we'll address the long-standing debate about whether free online dating apps for free are enough, or whether you need to pay money to step up to the big leagues. We'll look at both options from an unbiased perspective. We'll show you the pros and cons of each option and ultimately give you our opinion on what's best for you to achieve your goal of finding love.
The lure of free
We get it. If you can get something for free, who would turn it down? Right? It's certainly a temptation, especially when it comes to online BBW dating or dating of any kind. Dating is expensive. It costs money to take someone out for dinner, drinks, or coffee. It costs money to get yourself dressed up for a night out. It takes time away from work and other things (and your time is money) to focus on dating.
On top of that, do you even have to pay to get the date and then pay more? Trust us; we understand the allure of free. While jumping on the free bandwagon may seem like a no-brainer, we'd like to suggest taking your downtime first. The old saying "you get what you pay for" couldn't be truer when it comes to online dating. There's even a Stanford University study on the phrase that says pricing can influence how effective a product is for you.
The perfect quality filter
If you don't already understand, we are big supporters of paid online dating sites versus free sites. We don't support overpaying, but we do think that pricing plays a role in how successful your online dating is.
Have you ever dated someone who was recommended by a friend? For most of you, you'd probably say that at least that date wasn't as bad as some of the other random dates you've been on. Why? Well, it's because your friend had pre-screened the person before recommending them to you. Your friend (hopefully) acted as a filter to make sure that the person wasn't a total bum or a danger to you. Our friends aren't always perfect, but even their efforts do help.
Using a well-paid online dating app that is a lot like this. When you go to a completely free website, you get a lot of, well, bums. There are no barriers to people accessing the site, which means a couple of things. Firstly, it means that a lot of people won't take it seriously. You'll end up with a lot of people who don't care about the process because they don't have anything invested in it. As you might have guessed, this won't be good for you.
Secondly, when someone pays to join an online dating site, they are letting you know that they have some disposable income that they are willing to dedicate to the process. This means that they are likely to have a job or be in a good financial position to some extent. It also means they are willing to commit to the process. This means fewer pieces of the puzzle that ultimately lead to more success for you.
Invest in yourself
We touched on this in the last paragraph of the previous section, but we wanted to make sure we knocked it home. When you put money into an online dating website, you are investing in yourself. You have to think about what you are looking for here. You're looking for someone to spend time with, someone you might be intimate with, someone you might have your kids around, or even someone you might want to spend the rest of your life with.
We're not trying to make you afraid of online dating, but we do want you to realize that you're looking for someone who will play some kind of important role in your life. If this isn't worth a few dollars a month to you, then again, you need to rethink some things before you go putting yourself out there.
You should constantly be looking for ways to invest in yourself. This doesn't stop especially when it comes to your online dating experience. Whether you're looking for something casual or someone to grow old with, you need to be willing to do what's necessary to ensure the best, fastest, and most meaningful results.
