Plenty of Fish is a site with quite a basic platform. Members are allowed to browse and message other singles without cost The site has been able to grow significantly in popularity over the years thanks to its easy to use. The compelling factor of Plenty of Fish is that the basic service is free.
PoF has come a long way from its humble beginnings. The dating site started out in 2003, and since then has grown into a powerhouse, boasting of more than 100,000,000 members. It also happens to be free, which has earned it the prestigious title of “#1 free dating site worldwide”. The site receives up to 2.4 billion page views each month, with an average of 3.6 million members logging in every day. With the sheer amount of members, you are guaranteed a variety matches on the site, which has become one of PoF’s main selling points.
When it comes to its members, Plenty of Fish seems to be attracting a somewhat equal number of men and women towards its site. The current member structure at PoF is 52% men and 48% women. Most of the member’s fall between the age group of 25 and 34, which means the service is frequented mostly by the younger crowd. According to the site, it gets close to 50,000 new members every day. The Match Group acquired PoF for $575 million in 2015. The Match Group is responsible for dating platforms such as OKCupid, Tinder, and Match.com. Since then the members of PoF has grown by leaps and bounds.
While PoF offers many of its features for free, you can pay for the service if you want to. The following are some of the packages that are offered at PoF:
• Free Account $0
• 2-Month Subscription: $18.59/month
• 4-Month Subscription: $13.39/month (save 29%)
• 8-Month Subscription: $10.68/month (save 43%)
Fees are to be paid upfront and users can pay via their credit card, PayPal or via mobile phone. All paid memberships are automatically renewed at the ending of the membership period unless it is canceled by the user manually. For those who had subscribed to the PoF service via the mobile app, they will need to cancel the service through the iTunes store or Google Play.
One of the reasons why PoF has managed to maintain its popularity is because it keeps up with the times. The dating site has released countless updates that have been directed at improving the user experience. The site works hard to stay up-to-date with the most recent trends.
For instance, those who have Google Home will be surprised to know that Plenty of Fish can also be accessed through Google Home via Google Assistant. This actually makes PoF, one of the first dating sites to offer this feature. Apart from being smart home-friendly, PoF offers an array of interesting features that make staying on their site enjoyable.
Messaging
Members of Plenty of Fish are allowed to browse the huge pool of members without needing to subscribe for the service first, which is a great advantage. There are several ways in which users can browse through profiles. You can also use an advanced search to get more specific results.
Other search options that are available on PoF are searching by city, new users, contacts, favorites and by who’s online. PoF also offers notifications for profile views which are located in the Alert Center of the site, which is at the top of the pate.
Then there are also other features such as Meet Me, which is pretty straight-forward and provides users with a quick and easy way to interact with the profiles that they are interested in. Since this is a free site, members are able to message each other for free and can also expect to receive messages in return without having to be a paid subscriber.
The first message that all PoF users receive when they start using the platform is from its founder, Markus Frind, who will make a few suggestions on ways in which you can get the most out of using PoF.
Ultra Match
Ultra Match is basically a list of the best matches that the PoF algorithm was able to curate based on the answers you have provided on the initial signing up form. According to PoF, most of its members end up dating the suggestions that are made in the first 50 of Ultra Match. Of course, the dating site offers way more than just 50 top picks, which is solely to provide more options for its users.
Meet Me
Meet Me is a feature that allows users of PoF to browse through the members one picture at a time quickly. You then get to choose either ‘Yes’ ‘No’ or ‘Maybe’ depending on how you feel about the members you are viewing. The Meet Me feature goes a step further by enabling users to get notifications if someone has said yes to your picture. While you can view how many people have said yes to your picture, you will need to be a paying member to actually see the profile.
The Chemistry Test
The Chemistry Test is a one-of-a-kind feature that PoF offers its users. It gives you the ability to determine your compatibility based on five factors; self-confidence, self-control, family orientation, social dependency, and easygoingness. Most users of PoF provide this information up-front so that they are able to meet better matches. The Chemistry Test also gives users the opportunity to find out what they are truly like, rather than making assumptions on their personality.
The Relationships Needs Assessment Quiz
As the name implies, this is a quiz where users have to answer 50 multiple choice questions that are designed to give users a better understanding of their personality. The questions are based on in key factors such as; communication, sexuality, preferred expressions of affection, relationship readiness, conflict resolution, interdependence and so on. This assessment is quite accurate and helpful when it comes to finding out what you really look for in a match.
User Name Search
There’s also a feature that allows users to carry out a search of other members of Plenty of Fish by using their username. You will, however, need to know the exact username of the person you wish to search for to find a match.
The sign-up process for Plenty of Fish is extremely easy and will not take much time. That said, you might want to take out 15 minutes out of your busy schedule to sign up properly. PoF offers a pretty straight forward signup process. You will be asked to fill out a mix of closed and open-ended questions that will help determine what you are looking for in a match.
After answering all of the questions, the site gives you an opportunity to describe yourself in 100 characters. It is important to be as honest and straightforward as possible while telling the service about you since it will help zero in on potential matches based on your answer. Plenty of Fish also provides users with instructions on how to use their service, what’s acceptable and the behavior that’s frowned upon by PoF. This includes any inappropriate content and use of sexual language. Any sort of misbehavior will lead to the termination of your account, which only goes to show how serious PoF is in making sure that only those who are serious about dating use their services, which is a good thing.
Logging in to Plenty of Fish is also easy. All it takes is an email address and a password, and you’re in. What sets PoF apart from the rest is that it offers easy-to-use features that don’t require the user to guess. Most of the features are also available for free, which is a huge plus point for many users of the service.
Safety is always a big concern when using an online service, especially when it comes to online dating sites. Luckily, Plenty of Fish offers a safe way for men and women to find a suitable match without the dangers of getting their data stolen or misused. Plenty of Fish does not perform any record checks on its free or paid members, nor does it provide identification confirmations, which makes it difficult to guarantee user safety. But then again, which online service can?
That being said, there have been no recorded incidents of data theft or user identity theft. Neither have there been any complaints by the users of Plenty of Fish regarding the site’s security, or the lack thereof, which only goes to show that PoF is serious about the services it offers and has a solid platform where those looking to step into the dating circuit can use freely and without any worries regarding their safety.
PoF does warn each of its users to not disclose too much personal information to someone who you have just met online. Duh! At the end of the day, while PoF does offer a decent level of security, it will be up to the user to act responsibly while using the online dating service. Users are also advised by the team at PoF to report any suspicious behavior they come across while using the service.
Being a free site, scammers don’t have a subscription payment deterrent, so, it’s important to be careful in both online and in person encounters.
Users are able to report inappropriate images or fake accounts, but there is no live chat or email provided.
Pros:
• Free sign-up
• Large member pool
• Many features to interact with other members
• Features are accessible free
• Advanced search capabilities
Cons:
• Not integrated with social media
• Non-intuitive website layout
• Basic match-making algorithm
• No video chat or access to chatrooms
• Free site so it can attract a lot of time-wasters
• Zoosk.com
• Xmatch.com
• Friendfinder.com
Considering the number of features that Plenty of Fish has to offer its users without asking them to pay for it, and the sheer number of members on the platform, using it to find a compatible match is a great option for those on a restricted budget. The service also offers a mobile app for Android and iOS that’s quite popular. In fact, according to the founder and CEO of PoF, Markus Frind, nearly 85% of the platform’s traffic comes from the mobile app.
Plenty of Fish is an online dating service that’s been around for a while and continues to update its service according to the trends, which is what has made their service seem fresh for so long. There are useful features and functions that users can take advantage while looking for a match online, without having to pay for the service.
The free to use model does mean a lot of those with no serious dating intentions join the site. Also, given the vast number of members, your profile can lost amongst the crowd. As with all the ‘free’ sites, POF does offer some premium features such as getting your profile highlighted.
