4 Key Differences Between Fee-based and Free Dating Web Sites

You can find a large number of free dating web sites available on the Internet. However, you’ll also find a few which are fee-based meaning they require a monthly or yearly subscription payment in order for you to continue using their services. While the fee portion of the arrangement is one difference between fee-based and free dating web sites, there are a few others. Understanding these differences can help you decide which type of dating service will be right for you.

Membership

A major difference between free dating web sites and their non-free competition is the membership numbers. Despite all of the advertising done by these other sites, membership numbers are still higher at free sites. The most obvious reason is that people are more likely to choose the free option over the paid option every time unless given a good reason not to. With free dating web sites, however, members receive all the same types of services they get with a subscription elsewhere. Plus, when you do find someone special you can leave the site at any time without feeling bad about losing part of your investment in the service.

Identity Verification

One of the drawbacks of free dating web sites is their lack of identity verification measures. Because they do not require someone to provide credit card information in order to join, the people signing up could be anyone or could be making up a completely false identity on the site. While this is possible, the use of the credit card for verification means less today now that identity theft and other financial crimes have become prolific. Instead of talking to the owner of the card, you could be chatting with an identity thief.

That doesn’t mean you should avoid fee-based or free dating web sites. It does mean that no matter which type of site you choose, you have to practice some common sense safety measures, such as not giving out any personal information and not assuming you know anything about the other person until you’ve been in contact for a long time.

Advertising

Most free dating web sites do rely on advertising as their main source of revenue. Basically, the sites contain ads and sometimes the sites ask members to allow for solicitations via email from partners. While these ads can be annoying, free sites are not the only ones who use them. Many of the larger paid services have also begun including ads on their sites and in their emails. Of course, these are less frequent but many members have complained about their presence on sites which require a paid subscription. For users of free dating web sites, they are a fair exchange for a valuable service that doesn’t cost them anything.

More Options

Another nice thing about using free dating web sites is that you have more options. Not only because the sites attract a larger number of members but also because you can join more than one and expand your chances of finding the right person.