Match.com Review - Is It A Good Way To Meet Women?

Match.com is the gold standard for dating sites.  Match has been around since 1995, so it knows a thing or two about online dating, but is it any good?  Is Match a good option for men to meet women?  The answer is yes!

I’m not going to sugarcoat it; Match is the hands down best dating site to meet women. Match is better than eHarmony, Tinder, Zoosk, OkCupid and any other dating site you can name.  It doesn't mean Match doesn't have shortcomings; it does.

As with any dating site, there are a few bad things, but the good far outweighs any negatives.  Here’s my comprehensive Match.com review; the good, the bad, and the annoying about the site.

It's free to browse women's profiles on Match

Match allows you to browse women’s profiles free of charge.  Of course, you must sign up so you can view women who are online.

Note, you cannot message women on Match unless you're a paid member.  You can "like" women, and you're profile will appear in women's searches for free, but you're not allowed to message women.

How do you set up a profile on Match.com?

Setting up your profile on Match.com is quick and similar to other dating sites.  You sign up with your email address or your Facebook account then answer basic questions including:

• What's your relationship status?
• What's your body type?
• Do you have kids?
• Do you smoke?
• What's your ethnicity?
• What's your religious background?
• Choose a few of your interests

These questions are pretty much the norm of most dating sites.  You'll have to write about yourself and upload photos as well.  You can load up to 26 photos, but I highly recommend you load no more than 10.

Here are some tips to help you create a dating profile on Match which stands out:

1.  How To Take Good Dating Profile Photos For Men
2.  10 Things Men Should Never Write On Their Dating Profile
3.  How To Create A Good Dating Site Username
4.  10 Online Dating Profile Headline Tips for Men

How much does membership on Match cost?

Match is not a free dating site.  You'll have to pay a monthly fee to meet women.  The price structure is below.  If money's an issue, I encourage you to look for promo codes online or contact their customer service and ask for a discount.

Match.com's private mode hides your profile

Match.com's private mode allows you to search and view women's profiles privately.  You can hide your profile from searches and women won't know you viewed their profile.

I suppose this feature is for women so they can have anonymity and avoid messages from annoying men.  Private mode allows you full control over who can see your profile.

Your profile is hidden unless you email, like, chat, or add a woman as a favorite.  At that point, your profile becomes visible to the woman you've contacted.

Private mode on Match is not free.  You'll have to pay for this feature which is currently $11.08 per month.  I recommend avoiding this feature.  Don't expect to do well on Match if your profile isn't visible to women.  

What is the Nearby feature on Match?

Match will show you, women, you've crossed paths with throughout the day.  Match uses your GPS and shows women who were in the same vicinity as you at some point.  Yep, you're matched with any female Match users who you're near; including where you work which can lead to awkwardness.  

You can turn this off in the Nearby feature by going to your settings and disabling the "Enable Nearby" feature in "Change location settings" option.

I'm not a fan of the nearby feature on Match.  It makes things awkward with co-workers and neighbors.  I live next to a park where parents take their kids for soccer and basketball practice and routinely get notifications from women who are at the park. It's a little too close to home for me.

However, if you're out and about it may be to your advantage to turn the feature on, so maybe you can strike up a conversation with a woman who hangs out at places you frequent.  It shows you have, at least that in common.

Put some thought into a message you send women who you find using the nearby feature.  It might be off-putting to say "Hey, looks like we hang out at the same bar."  That gives a stalker vibe.

How "likes" work on Match.com

When viewing a woman's profile click the "heart" icon to like her profile.  I strongly recommend avoiding liking a woman's profile without sending a message first.  The best approach is to send women a message before liking them.  

Curious how many women like your profile?  Match does show you which women like your profile.  From the main screen click the "Likes" option so you can see which women have liked your profile.

When a woman "likes" you, send her a message.  A woman's like is an invitation for you to send a message to her.  Don't let her sit in your "Likes" section without acknowledging her with a message.  She may move on if you don't make a move.

How to message women on Match.com

Messaging women on Match is the same as all other sites.  Click on the message icon and fire off a message. Simple!

On the Match.com you’re presented a few topics the woman likes to help you craft a unique message.  The screenshot below shows a female member who is interested in camping, travel and performing arts. You could use any of these in your initial message to boost the likelihood of a response.

The desktop version of Match doesn't have this feature when messaging a woman.  I suppose because her profile is right there.  That's disappointing because it's a great tool to help start a conversation with women and I encourage you to use it.

How to "Discover" women on Match

Match gives you several options to search for women on their dating site.  Features include "search," "mutual match," "reverse match," "saved search."

Search - Display your search results based on your filtering settings.  You can edit the woman’s interests, body type, height, ethnicity, education, lifestyle choices, etc.

Mutual Match - Mutual match is women who match your profile criteria while you also match theirs.  Match will also show you a percent value which represents how well you match up with the woman.  The woman also shows the woman the same value on your dating profile when she views it.

Reverse Match - Reverse match is a feature where Match presents women who are looking for someone "just like you."  Essentially, these women may not fit into your preferences, but you meet their preferences and match up with them well.

This feature is based on your dating profile so the more details you add to your profile, the more accurate your reverse matches will be.

Saved Search - You can create a custom search using Match’s filtering tool and save it for use at a later time.  Match allows you to save up to 25 saved searches which you can use at any time.

Note, Match will email your matches if you click the "Email me my matches" option when saving.  You can have up to three saved searches sent to your email.

Daily Matches on Match.com

Every day Match will send you a list of daily matches.  Match learns what type of women you prefer through your choices.  When you like a woman to show interest or dislike a woman, Match will adjust its algorithm to present you women with similar traits to the ones you’ve liked.

To receive new daily matches, you must rate the daily matches you receive each day. 

One thing I don't like about Match's "daily matches" mechanism is you have to "like" the woman before messaging. As soon as you like a woman, Match sends her an introduction email letting her know you like her.

I wish Match would let me message a woman as Eharmony does.  I don't need to send a "like."   I think "likes" are low effort, so if you use this mechanism be sure to write a message to the woman you've liked immediately.

Match phone

Match phone allows you to place private calls with women without sharing your contact details.  It's a safety feature that allows you to communicate without revealing your personal phone number and protect your privacy.

Match.com's phone feature assigns you and the woman a private custom phone number from which you can talk and text like normal.  You can also block the user as well.

Match phone is an excellent feature if you want to protect your privacy; however, there is a cost to use Match phone.  It's an added feature which costs $9.99 a month.

Match's boost feature supposedly boosts your results

Does Match offer boosts?  Yep, like Zoosk and Tinder, you can boost your profile; at a cost, of course.  According to Match, a boost gets you 3 times more emails and views from women.

Paying for boosts puts your dating profile at the top of women’s search results for 60 minutes.  Do yourself a favor and don’t waste your money on the boost feature.  Instead, focus on sending messages to women you’re interested in instead of paying money for women to view your profile.

Match offers a guarantee!

Match.com offers you a guarantee that you'll meet a woman.  If you don't "find someone special" within 6 months, Match will give you another 6 months for free.

The catch is you must sign up for a 6-month subscription to be eligible for this guarantee.  

Here are the requirements for the Match.com guarantee:

• Create a truthful Match.com profile with a primary photo and keep it visible to the public.
• Respond to, or initiate email communication with at least 5 unique Match.com members each month through the Match.com service.
• Comply with all of the Match.com Guarantee Program rules which are here.

I wouldn't recommend signing up for six months on Match. I think that's too long, but if you choose to opt for the 6-month subscription, be sure you abide by the requirements so you can use the guaranteed if things don't go well for you.

What are Match.com events?

Match puts together several social events as mixers for singles.  These include happy hours, cruises, getaways, culinary classes, and get together's to name a few.

Match promises to keep the women to men ratio balanced.  The FAQ on Match says they will "cancel an event if the ratio of sign-ups is too lopsided."

Match says their research shows 40% of attendees meet someone they'd like to see again.  I'm not sure what this means.  I'd prefer to know how many people go on a date after an event.  I mean, I see a woman at a bar whose attractive, I'd certainly like to meet her, but that doesn’t mean the feeling is mutual. 

I'm not a huge fan of events. It's not my cup of tea; I prefer one on one dates. However, the fact Match offers this to singles is a great idea. If I ever attend one, I'll be sure to update this post.

Final Thoughts

I'm pretty simple when it comes to dating sites; I look for two things;

1.  Are women on the site?
2.  Is the site easy to use? 

Match.com gets a resounding "yes" on both.  I find Match to be the best dating site to meet women.  It's better than Tinder, Zoosk, Eharmony, POF, Christian Mingle, etc.

There are a ton of female members; in fact, Match has the most members for paid membership dating sites in the United States.  You aren't constantly pressed to pay for tons of "premium services" which is the case, for example, with Zoosk.  Sure, Match offers boosts, but Match doesn't present these front and center.  

Match does have issues; the app is better for messaging women than the desktop version for one.  I don't like the "nearby" feature because it's just plain creepy when you see neighbors or coworkers on it, but it's easy to turn off.

These issues aren't deal-breakers though.  I've yet to encounter one fake profile nor encounter any glitches which happen on other sites.  I tested Match for months and was always presented with new daily matches every day which shows there's a lot of women on Match.com.

Match.com is the undisputed champion of dating sites.  Sure, it costs money, but if you're serious about meeting someone, a monthly membership shouldn't be an issue. You can always contact their customer service and ask for a refund.

Match.com Final Rating - 9 out of 10