Romantic relationships can sometimes prove challenging to find and grow. Whenever you do put in the effort to find one, develop it, and it crashes and burns, you can easily find yourself slipping into that mental zone where you conclude love is not for you, and you should stop making an effort.
You will find many people tell you this or something similar if you inquire why they are single and making no effort. It can get lonely out there because you just feel ‘the one’ does not exist for you.
The lonely feeling of not being able to find the one is why you should try dating apps. Over 6 billion people live in the world as you know it; the easiest way to seek out who is yours from the multitude of people is to employ tools that have been set-up to achieve that aim.
Which of these numerous apps should you choose? This write-up focuses on two of them, Plenty of Fish vs. OkCupid, to help you make a choice.
Plenty of Fish vs OkCupid
Comparison of History
A similarity in both platforms’ history you will find is that enthusiastic young graduates from prestigious universities started them up. Other than that, both platforms are very different in the way they’ve approached online matchmaking. In 2003, Markus Frind launched Plenty of Fish.
He ran the platform independently for a while before hiring people when it was clear he could not keep up with the site’s demands. If you are a music fan, there is a chance you will recognize this website in some of the music videos it was featured in, from Lady Gaga’s Telephone to Akon’s Available. The dating site rakes in over $100M every year.
Right from scratch, the founders were invested in people’s personalities and how matching can be centered around that. Owing to that, OkCupid is a very personality-centered website. People are matched based on how compatible their personalities are.
OkCupid has a revenue of over $100M and employs more than 100 people. It is worth pointing out that they got acquired by the same parent company at some point in the history of both dating platforms. Match Group owns Plenty of Fish and OkCupid, but both are distinct from one another.
Key Features of Both Websites
A dating website needs some basic functionalities readily available to have any chance of succeeding and not wasting your time as a user. You should see other people’s profiles, message people you match with, and many more.
Both platforms have their bases covered in this regard. In terms of going the extra mile with features, they both score high too.
You will find features that usually cost a premium but make searching for the one a lot easier. OkCupid lets you search for users by their usernames. It has features that help keep things organized.
One such feature is the ‘See who I like’ feature, which keeps those who you’ve hit the like button on in one place for you to see if you have made good choices in the past. You can also see who has hit the like button on your profile; useful for knowing if there is a pattern in those liking you.
Plenty of Fish has various exciting but different features. One unique feature that is important to your matching prospect is the Chemistry Predictor. POF prides itself in being very detailed, and the Chemistry Predictor is an indicator of that. In the Chemistry Predictor, you are given some tests in which you only have to answer honestly as it could help you find the right person. Your psychology is tested; there is also a keeper test and a sex test.
POF also has a Nearby feature that focuses on matching you with people close to you. You can also let a user know you are super into them using the Super Yes feature.
Comparison of the Sign-Up process
The onboarding design of any platform is essential, and you should know about it before hopping to join any platform. Are you about to spend the next 10 minutes on a site and have nothing to show for it? Or will you get everything done in that time frame? Answers to this question are essential.
For OkCupid, in 5-10 minutes, you should be done setting up your profile to an important point. You can use the Facebook login option, which is the fastest, or can fill in your information manually. After that, you need to answer a questionnaire.
It would be helpful if you don’t rush through the questionnaire as your matching prospects rely on it.
Plenty of Fish requires a bit more information than OkCupid at the signing up process, but in 15 minutes, you should be done. It’s advisable only to open an account when you have time to spare.
There is no option to use Facebook for sign-up, but you can import pictures from your Facebook and Instagram. Plenty of Fish is not set-up to get you using the platform quickly. Their sign-up process requires you to be patient and intentional.
User Base
Both platforms are popular in America, so you should expect to meet different people of different backgrounds. Plenty of fish is very American. Of the 150 million users reported to have used the platform in 2019, 78 million are from the USA.
There are more men on the platform than women by a margin of 20%. OkCupid is a little less successful on the user base side of things. Globally, they have about 50 million users, and 10 million are reported to be residents of the U.S.
Despite fewer users, a million people log into the platform daily compared to POF’s 2 million. Women make up about 35% of their user base.
Ease of Using each Platform
Both platforms make an effort to make the platform easy to use, but you can quickly tell that OkCupid makes the most effort from first use. OkCupid is more modern in its design, and the user experience is excellent. It is not that POF is negligent in their interface’s design; it is just a case of being compared to someone else who has done something you’ve done well, better.
Which Dating Site has the highest success rate
A question like this is challenging to put paid to because there aren’t quantifiable metrics that are real-time. More so, both platforms take different approaches to ensuring success. On Plenty of Fish, your fate is mostly in your hands because of the powerful search functionality provided to let you be very picky in your search.
On OkCupid, your fate is in the hands of an algorithm most of the time to match you up with someone that might be compatible with you.
Pricing
OkCupid
A-List Basic Subscription
- 1-Month at $7.95
- 3-Months at $19.05
- 6-Months at $23.70
A-List Premium Subscription
- 1-Month at $24.90
- 3-Months at $68.70
- 6-Months at $119.70
Boost Credit System
- 1 credit at $1.99
- 5 credits at $9.45
- 10 credits at $16.90
Plenty of Fish
There are three plans you can choose from:
- 8-Month Plan – $81.40
- 4-Month Plan – $51.00
- 2-Month Plan – $38.70
Pros and Cons
OkCupid Pros
- A modern interface and easy to navigate
- Exciting Feature
OkCupid Cons
- Limited Search functionality
- Not open to every country in the world
Plenty of Fish Pros
- Meticulous search engine
- Features that increase matching chances dramatically
Plenty of Fish Cons
- Tedious sign-up process
- Presence of ads.
Bottom Line
Despite being owned by the same parent company, both platforms are different in their online matchmaking approach. Plenty of Fish focuses on your personality with more intensity than OkCupid does. By forcing you to upload that much data about yourself, they ensure that users can see a breakdown of who you are, ensuring nobody’s time is being wasted.
Both platforms have their strengths and weaknesses, and it is up to you to decide if a site’s particular weakness is something you can overlook or if it is a deal-breaker for you. The ball is in your court.
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