There are many details to consider when analyzing a dating site. Some of these details are major, some are not, and describing all of them would be too much: no one wants to read a 5,000-word essay about each dating website. That’s why we divided all of them into 5 categories, from Profile Quality to Customer Support.
Obviously, they are not equally important—the presence or absence of ID verification is much more important than the presence or absence of live chat customer support. That’s why we’ve created this scoring system with 5 categories that are not equally significant—the higher the maximum possible score is, the more important the category.
Profile quality & verification—/35
In this category, there are various factors we analyze. The number of photos the profiles have, the number of public/private photos, the profile descriptions, and even the frequency of their online activities—that’s what we pay attention to in order to understand if the profiles are good on a dating site.
When it comes to verification, it’s simple: if a dating site has an ID verification, we give it more points. Dating platforms with an ID verification service are more legit and trustworthy to us, and the chances of meeting a scammer there are much lower; that’s why it’s so important.
Communication features—/ 20
It’s both about the quantity and quality of these features. Most dating sites today offer a live chat and an email feature, so even a site with only these two tools can get 20 points. That’s where the quality comes into play: if a website has a live chat/email service only, it must be 100% convenient and intuitive.
If a website offers more messaging features, such as video chat or voice calls, it will get 20 points easier (but the quality is still important). We also analyze additional features, such as gift delivery (but we don’t remove points if there is no gift delivery).
Pricing & value for money—/20
When we’re talking about dating sites with a premium membership system, it’s simple: if it’s not too expensive, it’s ok. In our opinion, paying $15, $30, or even $100 for 1 month of international communication doesn’t sound too expensive. But the thing is, most international mail order bride sites have a credit-based system, which means a user can control their spending—and that’s where it becomes tricky. Some might want to send real gifts every week, while others prefer live chat, and the difference can be huge.
However, we believe that there is an acceptable price range when it comes to dating sites—this range is around $30-$200 per month. According to our experience, the absolute majority of paid mail order bride sites’ users do not exceed this range.
So, we calculate the average monthly price of a dating site based on the cost of the credits/coins, and if this price is not higher than $200, it’s ok. If the average monthly price we’ve calculated is too low or too high, we will tell you about it (and deduct marks).
Ease of use —/15
This one is important, too, but obviously not as important as the previous categories. The site must be intuitive, easy-to-use, and the design shouldn’t be outdated—that’s what we think about it. However, if the design looks slightly outdated and everything else is great, this won’t affect the total score heavily.
Customer support—/10
Customer support is even less important because most users will never need it. However, if you actually need it, you want to be sure you’re chatting with professional support representatives. Here, we analyze how fast they respond and how helpful they are—the sites with the best customer service get 10 points.
Total score (0-100)
After that, we translate the total score to a five-point scale, which is much easier for people to perceive and understand. Obviously, most mail order bride and dating sites here get at least 75–100 points (4-5 out of 5) because we select only the best ones. Poor-quality dating websites just don’t make it to our lists, so you will not see a lot of sites with low ratings here.