It's massively disappointing when you download a great new dating app (that's been given excellent review ratings!) only to find the subscription cost is way outside your budget.
Today the Best10Dating team has collated some advice to help you get the most out of your dating experiences, from:
A limited budget doesn't mean you can't access the top dating sites if you're clever about using them (and when you sign up!).
The easiest place to start is by looking at those well-regarded Christian dating sites with a quick price comparison.
Most will offer a free user account, but whether it has enough features to make it worthwhile is another matter!
Our top-rated sites include:
We'll run through each to give you a snapshot of whether you can join for free and how much a longer-term subscription will cost.
You can sign up to eHarmony free of charge, register an account and build your profile without spending anything.
Free accounts include:
The issue is that you have messaging limitations, but it's a great way to look around the site and decide whether it's worth paying for.
You can keep a free account for as long as you like and upgrade as and when you spot someone special!
Subscription costs are currently as follows:
Signing up and creating a basic profile is 100% free on ChristianFreeandSingle, although, like all these sites, you don't get all the bells and whistles unless you're a paying customer.
There are no time limits, and you can use most of the tools, such as:
Other bits such as the read notifications, VIP search and unlimited messaging come at a cost, although you can go for a pared-down profile without paying an added extra.
The subscription costs are:
Elite Singles has a free trial membership, although you can't send messages or read any messages you receive, so it's only worthwhile if you want to scout out your local matches!
Free users can:
If you bite the bullet and register for a full account, it'll cost you:
Our fourth Christian dating site also provides a ton of freebies, and it's also the most affordable if you decide to upgrade to a paid membership.
As a free user, you can read the help articles, send likes, look at full-size profile pictures, search by age and location, play the Meet Me game and answer multiple-choice questions (or send them to your matches).
The drawback is that you have limited private messages and won't be as visible as someone with a premium account.
The subscription costs are:
Review Canada's Top Christian Dating Sites
Yes, a free dating site membership is definitely a step in the right direction!
It's also a great opportunity to run a few basic searches and see how many members there are in your immediate area.
One of the difficulties of digital dating is that it's common to have a great app that just doesn't happen to be popular in your region, so it's wise to look before you part with any cash.
Here are a few tips to help you maximise the effectiveness of your free Christian dating profile:
We'd also recommend you never give out your number or try to contact somebody you don't know off-platform.
Sure, it might be tempting because you don't want to spend £10 a month to send a couple of messages, but the safety protocols are there for a reason.
It's better to stick with your five message limit a day and choose to upgrade, perhaps just for 30 days, if you really need to send more chats.
Compare Christian Dating Sites
There are some crossovers between Christian and single parent dating for one obvious reason - both dating groups are less likely to be interested in casual dates.
Single parents usually prefer dating apps like Match or eHarmony, because the user base is focused on relationships and possibly marriage rather than quick hookups, which aren't compatible with being a parent.
Likewise, Christian singles want to meet people with the same faith or at least a similar set of relationship values.
They usually opt for a more serious commitment-based dating site, if not a specific Christian dating app.
That explains why two of our best-rated single parent dating sites are also among the best for Christian dating, but with a couple of additions.
Compare the best Single Parent Dating Sites
Match has a free registration option, and you can either try the service or create an account without paying anything. As a free user, you can:
However, as is the norm, you can't read or send messages.
Costs for a paid subscription are:
MeetSingleParentMe is the sister of MeetChristianMe, so we've covered everything you need to know about features and tools for free accounts!
The subscription prices are the same.
If you are new to the site, you can register, create your profile, access the news features, play Meet Me, send and receive likes, and filter by interests, location and age.
You can send limited messages, but you can't use advanced search features as a free member.
Of these six dating apps, the lowest in terms of the monthly cost is Match at £20.99 for a one-month subscription, and it's also cheaper by £1.01 a month for a longer account - but there's more to it than that, as we'll discover next!
How do Match, Elite Singles & eHarmony compare? Read our review
There are tons of tips and tricks to get a free dating experience!
The first is that Match offers you a free six-month premium account IF you don't find a suitable match within your membership period.
If you sign up for the shortest subscription (one month) and aren't bowled over by somebody perfect in those 30 days, you can claim the guarantee and save yourself over £40.
Next, we'd suggest you take a look at the payment terms because these can be quite insightful:
It's also worth checking for discount codes - which we often share!
You can shave off anything from 50% of the subscription fee, get a few months added on, or sign up for a shorter period at a discounted rate.
See also: The Pros & Cons of eHarmony
You'll normally find that the best deals and discount codes are for new users.
If you've used a dating app before but haven’t recently been active and don't have a live subscription, you might want to close down your old profile.
Login beforehand, copy all the profile text (as far as it's still relevant), so you won't have to type it all out again.
Register as a new user with a different email address, and bingo, you'll get the new user incentive prices.
Trial periods are normal, so you will usually get at least a week free anyway.
However, if you have to enter your credit card details, the chances are you'll be billed immediately when that period expires.
Finally, it's common to have an automatically recurring subscription for rolling renewals, which can be a pain if you only intended to sign up for one month.
Check the terms first, and be sure to contact the dating site if you don't want to repeat the payment when the current billing cycle ends.
We hope this guide has explained a little more about how dating site subscriptions work, how much they cost, and how you can make the most of free introductory deals on your selected Christian dating sites!
