OKCupid is one of the most interesting dating websites. It was founded in 2004 by four Harvard students, and is now one of the most popular dating websites and dating apps. It’s not only popular amongst straight people; due to its various gender and sexual orientation options – it’s one of the most popular dating websites for queer people too. Latest reports in 2017.claim that
OKCupid has an estimated 5 million active users and their app ranks high when it comes to how often it is downloaded amongst apps. The age range of the majority of users is in between 25 to 34, making it a more suitable website for young adults to find love than for seniors.
The website used to be known as more of a “hook-up” website, or a website for casual dating, but due to the numerous changes and updates that they have made, lots of people have found love thanks to OKCupid. On their website they claim that OKCupid has been mentioned more than any other dating app in the marriage sections of New York Times.
Their motto is “Dating deserves better” and they are proud of the fact that they want people to connect more based on their interests and based on what matters to them as a person – therefor, not just making connections that are exclusively based on looks. Another thing to absolutely applaud OKCupid for is their marketing and their ads. They make sure that everybody knows how inclusive they are, which is refreshing to see.
Sign up
The signing up process is fairly simple. You have the option to register via your Facebook account (while not posting anything on Facebook) or through your email address. Once your account is created, the next step is to create your personalized profile. Here you can answer open-ended questions and yes and no questions, ranging them on how important the topic of the question is to you. Like on many dating sites, it is encouraged to fill up your “about me” section, and then you can start browsing for your potential partner right away.
All the questions that you answer help the algorithm get a better view as to what your “type” might be like, and who you would be the most compatible with. The questions range from simple questions such as “Are you a morning person” to more political questions such as “Do you consider yourself a feminist?”, which sets OkCupid apart from a lot of other dating websites.OKCupid's matching strategies are based on non-traditional questions and they push for lasting connections.
The fact that you have the possibility to make your profile as much “you” as it can be, by answering as many general and very specific questions as you want, is a big plus for OkCupid. Even after answering several match questions, you can unlock “personality traits”, which make your profile even more unique and stand out more.
Features
Unlike many other dating websites, on OKCupid, a free member can do a lot of things. Free members can send messages, “like”, see who’s online, search for potential matches and the option of “Quickmatches” which is a selection of potential matches that the algorithm comes up with for you so you don’t have to scroll through members. With Quickmatches, you have the option to “like” them or to “pass” them. However, recently a new feature was added to the messaging system in order to filter out unwanted and inappropriate messages.
Now, in order to see the message that is sent to you, you both need to have “liked” each other. Free members can see full profiles of other members, and all images uploaded to OKCupid are public. You also have the possibility to “boost” your profile, which is an add-on feature. That means that your profile will be shown more frequently on other’s members Quickmatch or Double Take and that you will appear more often in searches. However, this is not a free service, and one boost lasts 30 minutes.
App and Mobile
The design of the mobile app is similar to the design of the website. It is aesthetically pleasing, and very user friendly. The interface is great and the mobile app offers the same features as its website counterpart. It is free to download both for iOs smartphones and for android smartphones.
Basically, the app is for anyone who wants to see their matches on-the-go. However, the Double Take feature is reported better on the mobile app. It functions similarly to Tinder, because you swipe left if you’re not interested and you swipe right if you are. Once you swipe right, you are shown your compatibility percentage with that user, and when it’s high, the app encourages you to send a message to that user.
Cost and Prices
Like we have already established, on OKCupid, like on many other dating websites, you have the option to have a free membership and be somewhat limited or to be a paying member. OKCupid offers two kinds of paying memberships. Something interesting to note is that OKCupid has dynamic pricing, so the price varies from person to person.
The price youget depends on factors like your gender, location, age, or even level of attractiveness.The first membership is called “A-List basic”, which has additional features such as: no ads, more search options, the ability to change your username once per month, storage for 5000 messages, etc. that enhance your experience as a member of the dating website. Since the pricing is based on the user, the prices can range quite a bit, even though the price is still pretty average (maybe even a bit cheaper) for any dating site.
The other is called the “A-List premium”, which comes with even more features such as one free boost per day, your messages come up on top in your potential match’s inbox etc. The previously mentioned “boosts” can be purchased even without a membership. One boost costs $1.99, five boosts cost a little less than $10, and ten boosts cost about $17. The subscriptions are renewed automatically, however, you can cancel auto-renewal through the settings in your account.
