Zoosk Dating App Review: Pros, Cons, Rating, Pricing & More
by John Santana
Have you been looking for love in all the wrong places? If so, there’s no doubt you’re feeling a bit bummed. We totally hear you, but we’re here to tell you that you shouldn’t feel blue. Why? Well, because there’s a dating app that may actually be worth your while: Zoosk.
What is Zoosk? How does it work? Is it really worth giving a shot? To find the answers to these questions and more, keep on reading!
Hopefully, with the information you’ll find in this guide, you’ll have found the right place to find love.
Zoosk At a Glance
Key Features
- Zoosk Smart Pick. An adaptive matching technology, Smart Pick is a feature that is exclusive to Zoosk, so it isn’t available on any other platform. This technology suggests potential matches by assessing and learning about the types of profiles that users interact with and that they like and dislike.
- Large user base. At the time of writing, there were more than 40 million registered Zoosk users. With such a large user base, you’ll have plenty of potential matches to choose from.
- Success. The success story page on the Zoosk website features dozens of testimonials from happy couples who found their match on the platform.
Pros
- Easy to use. Zoosk is very easy to use. Setting yourself up on the site is a cinch. Just head to the desktop site or download the app, sign up with your Facebook or Google, and you’re ready to start using it. As discussed, you can view profiles for free; however, you do need to sign up for a paid subscription to send and receive messages and take advantage of the other features that the platform offers.
Otherwise, navigating, connecting with, and chatting with other singles on Zoosk is a breeze. The platform is well-organized, finding matches is easy, and using the intuitive messaging platform is simple. - Feature-rich. Zoosk offers a variety of features that further enhance the usability of the platform. Examples of the features on the site include behavioral matchmaking technology, premium messaging, carousel swipe, and live streaming. For an additional fee, you can upgrade to additional features, such as Hide and Seek and Boost.
- Large and diverse user base. With about 40 million active users on the platform, consisting of a diverse range of people from all walks of life and from all corners of the earth, you should have no trouble finding other users who have the same interests as you. You can search for users based on their age, sex, sexual preference, location, ethnicity, religion, education level, height, and body type.
- Verification. To protect users’ personal details, Zoosk offers a verification feature. This feature indicates how legitimate an account is, and there are three methods that are used to verify users’ legitimacy, including a Facebook, Twitter, or Google account, phone number, or selfie verification video.
They recently added a new verification feature known as Zoosk Insignia. This feature offers users an added layer of security from bad actors who claim that they are members of the US military, as the platform will only give military verification badges to those users who have provided valid and verified proof of their identity and their service in the military.
Cons
- Cost. Compared to other dating platforms, Zoosk does tend to be a bit pricier than others. You have to pay in advance for the number of months you plan on using the site, and you need to decide how many months you want to use the site at the time of subscription.
Well, what if you decide to sign up for three months, but you don’t like it after a few weeks? Or, what if you sign up for one month but it turns out that you love it and you want to sign up for a longer subscription?
In either case, you could end up losing cash. Additionally, other than a longer membership, you don’t really get more if you pay more. All users, no matter how long they’ve signed up as a subscriber, have access to the same features and capabilities. - It’s a bit laggy. We found that the interface lags a bit, and we aren’t the only ones; in fact, of all the complaints that users have made about the platform, lag is one of the biggest concerns. It might work just fine at times. You might be happily scrolling along, and then out of nowhere and without warning, it will start lagging.
This issue seems to affect the app more than the desktop site. When we ran into this issue, we noticed that it resolved itself; however, in our fast-paced, instant-gratification society, the lag can be annoying. - Lots of ads. Despite the fact that you have to pay for a subscription, that doesn’t mean that you won’t have to deal with ads. Unfortunately, there are lots of ads on Zoosk, which can be really obnoxious. We get that sites need to pay the bills, but given the fact that there is such a massive user base, including millions of paid subscribers, well, you would think that there wouldn’t be as many ads – or one might think that they wouldn’t have any ads at all!
Why Try Zoosk?
Zoosk is an online dating site and mobile app. It launched back in 2007 when dating sites were really starting to gain traction and were popping up all over the place, and ease of use was one of the key aims of the founders. To that end, Zoosk was one of the first dating apps to integrate with Facebook.
All you have to do is connect your Facebook account (or your Google account) to the app. Then you can start searching for love. The site quickly garnered a lot of attention, and in the nearly decade and a half since it first launched, people from around the world have used it.
At the time of writing, there were more than 40 million members across the planet, and users send out more than 1.6 million messages each and every day! With such impressive stats, it’s no wonder why so many people are talking about it – and why you’ve probably heard of it. In fact, you probably know someone who has used the site.
If you’re searching for a dating site that offers a diverse community of users, where you can find guys and gals that are just as unique as you, and where you’ll have literally millions of chances to find that someone special that really gets you, then you should totally check out Zoosk.
How Does Zoosk Work?
Unlike other dating sites and mobile apps, Zoosk matches users in a variety of ways. In truth, it’s because users aren’t confined to just one or two different match methods like they are on other sites. Instead, they can choose from a variety of different search features that sets Zoosk apart from the crowd. You can really customize your matchmaking on this site.
So, how does it work? Well, for starters, you can use it on your desktop or download the app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store onto your mobile device. Whichever platform you use, signing up is pretty quick and easy.
When you’re signing up, you’ll be asked to provide some basic information about yourself, including the standards (name, date of birth, location, ethnicity, education level, etc.).
After answering all the questions, Zoosk will automatically show you an unlimited amount of potential matches in and around your location. You can look through profiles for free, but in order to send and receive messages, you’ll need to upload at least one image (you can add up to 6) and pay for a subscription.
With a subscription, you can send and receive endless messages and chats. You’ll receive match recommendations on a daily basis, too. These recommendations are generated using the site’s SmartPick feature, an adaptive technology that provides time-sensitive match recommendations that are based on user profiles that you either liked or didn’t like.
SmartPick isn’t the only matching feature that Zoosk offers; there are several others, too. Options include a traditional search feature, a filter feature (filter by age, religion, height, etc.), and Carousel, a swipe feature that will only show you the images of possible matches and lets you vote on the images you like and don’t like.
Another cool feature is Zoosk Live. It’s a live-streaming service, which is only available on the mobile app, and (as you probably guessed) allows users to stream their own videos and view other users’ streams. Zoosk claims that the video stream feature provides people the chance to get to know one another better before they decide if they want to meet in person.
Moreover, Zoosk users can make some cash via virtual gifts that users send them on the platform, which can be changed into real money and cashed out.
Zoosk community members are largely between the ages of 18 and 40; however, that doesn’t mean that if you’re older, you’re out of luck, as there are plenty of users over the age of 50. In fact, there’s a Zoosk Seniors platform, which, as the name suggested, is specifically intended for older folks.
How Much does Zoosk Cost?
As mentioned above, you can view profiles on Zoosk for free; however, if you want to send and receive messages, you will need to add at least one photo, and you will need to pay for a subscription.
The amount you’ll spend varies and depends on how many months in advance you plan on paying to use the platform. Generally speaking, the more months you pay for ahead of time, the less you’ll spend.
That said, the pricing breakdowns are as follows:
- 1-month subscription = $29.94 per month
- 3-month subscription = $19.98 per month (total of $59.95)
- 6-month subscription = $13.35 per month (total of $79.99)
- 12-month subscription = $10 per month (total of $119.99)
While you can choose how many months you want to subscribe for, there’s only one membership option. As such, you’ll be able to access the same tools and features, regardless of how many months you decide to pay for.
Tools and features for paid subscribers include:
- Unlimited messaging
- Zoosk SmartPicks
- Incognito browsing model
- View who likes your profile
That isn’t all, however, as there is a subscription upgrade feature, which offers additional functionality. To take advantage of this upgraded feature, you will need to buy Zoosk coins.
These virtual coins can be purchased for an additional cost in addition to your membership, and you can use the coins to unlike additional features, which include:
- Premium messaging. Registered members who haven’t purchased a subscription can respond to your messages without subscribing.
- Hide and Seek. You can use this feature to fine-tune your visibility level to one of three different levels: hide, seek, or sneak. The “hide” level hides your profile from all other users, save those who send you direct messages. The “seek” feature makes your profile visible to all users and lets them see when you view their profiles. With the “sneak” feature, your profile will be visible, but users won’t know when you view their profiles.
- Boost. With this feature, you can promote your profile on the app, which allows you to get faster views.
Conclusion
If you’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places, Zoosk just may be the solution you’ve been seeking. The ease of use, numerous features, large user base, and dozens of success stories are all reasons why you may finally have luck finding the companionship that you seek on Zoosk.
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