EliteSingles is a website/app that takes a more “serious” approach to date.
This makes it more appropriate for the ’30s and over-crowd due to the less rushed approach they use. New users have to answer questions that will help them build a profile that will match them with compatible partners from the app’s database.
The questions touch on everything from personality, character, beliefs, preferences, self-perception, etc… and, at first, glance seems quite comprehensive.
The concept of EliteSingles is that it makes the matches for you and leaves it to you to decide if you like the selection(s) they matched you up with or not.
Their claim is that they profile users who are more refined (hence the “elite” claim) than other hit n’ run hookup apps on the market.
So, since you can’t just browse their database and choose for yourself, you’ll need to pay close attention to your responses to the personality questions so that you guarantee an appropriate match… that’s the theory anyway.
So, for those of you out to really meet someone for a serious relationship, then let’s give EliteSingles a test drive.
Dude Hack Exclusive Offers
How Does EliteSingles Work?
Even though it doesn’t give you that impression at the outset, EliteSingles can get a bit intimidating once you start answering questions because of the sheer volume of probing questions that you need to answer before you can get to the heart of the app and start meeting people.
It starts off innocuously enough… you select your gender, what you’re looking for, your birth date, your education, etc… and then you’re asked to determine how important all these things are in your potential match.
How Does EliteSingles First-Time Sign-Up Work?
Your profile is built up at the very outset, based on a series of almost 120 personality questions. Yes, you read that right… 120 questions!!!
I know it sounds like a lot (and it is!), but the consolation is that it is for a good cause after all, don’t you think?
Just keep an eye at the top of the screen and you’ll see a green progress line that will tell you how far along you are… it is just so you know that the end is in sight.
I suggest giving some time to this part of the setup, which should be around 30-45 minutes.
The questions will start to dig deeper, and it seems like an endless exercise. But that’s why I’m here… to tell you that you need to keep your mind in the game and focus on your answers if you want to end up with any meaningful results.
Anyway, as the questions continue to roll forward, you will find that sometimes they touch on what might be considered awkward or “politically incorrect” questions such as religious beliefs, your (and your potential partner’s) ethnic background and related preferences, income, looks, etc….
One would think that you shouldn’t really ask this sort of thing, right?
Well, as intrusive and somewhat offensive as it is, on one hand, it does help avoid future misunderstandings resulting from bad matches and deal-breakers, on the other.
It will take the embarrassment out of trying to back off from a match who is perhaps too conservative, or who holds views that aren’t necessarily compatible with yours.
So, you can just bite the bullet and answer as truthfully as you can in the hope that the little algorithm elves inside the app will eventually do a good job and find you that ultimate match that will make it all worthwhile in the end.
After that you’ll get to the personality questions (you know, the typical “I get angry easily”, “I am easy to please”, etc…). Harmless enough.
And just as soon as you think you’re done (you’ve actually answered around 30% or so up to this point)… you’ll get this message: “You’ve made it this far! Let’s keep going. We would like to get to know you better!”… aaargh!!!
Related: eharmony vs. EliteSingles – Which Is Better In 2023?
It’s OK… just a bit of patience and you’ll be done with this one-time effort. Yes, more personality questions that are designed to build on the ones you’ve answered so far.
Just a word of caution, at about this point you will want to start just clicking away on any answers just to finish, but I suggest that you take it slowly and be consistent because some of the questions are basic repetitions on a theme that won’t deal well with contradicting responses very well (i.e. you don’t want to answer a previous question that you are an extrovert, and then later say that you prefer to be alone rather than in a big social group).
Go ahead and check it out here for free if you want to complete the quiz yourself.
So, after another 40 questions or so, you get another message: “Next step. Tell us more about your way of life. Your answers are being put to good use”.
This takes you into more probing questions about your smoking and drinking habits, and how you feel about your potential partner’s smoking and drinking habits, etc… and if these are important to you or not.
Questions touch on how you deal with conflict resolution, who pays on a first date, do you call after the first date if it went well, etc…. So you basically answer another 35-40 questions or so (remember, the total is around 120), so you’re basically done(ish).
Now you get this message: “Well done! You finished the personality test”. Oh, joy! I don’t know about you, but I was doing cartwheels in the living room… at last!!!
How Your ElistSingles Profile Works
OK, so now you’re done with the personality questions that will (hopefully) result in your perfect match.
At this point, you’ll be taken to a screen that prompts you to add your photo, and answer some more basic questions (don’t worry, just a handful I promise… well, OK 7 questions… and no, I don’t have 7 fingers on my hand), before you get taken to the subscription plans page).
Before you are actually prompted to upload a photo and answer this “handful” of questions, you will be taken straight to the prominent and boldly displayed subscriptions page.
This features either a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month subscription, but more on that later. For now, you can click on “skip” in the super-tiny script in the upper right corner of the window (sneaky) so you can move on without subscribing (for now).
Photos
So now we reach the photo upload menu. On EliteSingles you will need a profile photo (a good one because after all this effort you’re not going to be stingy about looking your best, right?).
Prompts
Prompts are a series of questions and conversation starters… on EliteSingles (without a subscription plan), you only have the option of sending a smile or a pre-packaged “ice-breaker” to your match(es).
And another thing… as a Basic Member you only see a blurred image of your match until you purchase a subscription plan. Bummer, but that’s why I’m telling you this now.
Preferences
The preferences that you can manage on EliteSingles are the age range you are looking for, height, the distance away from you, desire to have children, income, ethnicity, smoking and drinking habits, etc… and the importance that you put on each of these characteristics.
As a side note, some of the preferences that showed up for me were out of my age range in preferences, but I guess I must have shown up in theirs or something.
But that’s OK, you have the option of declining the match by clicking the “x” at the bottom of the matches. As I mentioned above, you won’t be able to see the actual photos until you subscribe to one of their plans.
How EliteSingles Matching Works
The app actually gives you daily suggestions or “matches” (between 3-7 according to their website) based on your preferences and profile. The matching algorithm basically searches through their member database to connect you with partners who are most compatible with you.
You May Also Like: How Much Does EliteSingles Cost?
Visiting someone’s profile will show that you have expressed an interest in them.
How EliteSingles Messaging Works
Once you have some matches, you won’t be able to see their profile photos clearly as I mentioned above… basically, a blurred image is all you’ll see, but you will have the option of sending a “smile” or a preset ice-breaker (Basic member).
If you are a Premium Member you will see all the profile photos clearly and can send and receive an unlimited number of messages right away.
How The EliteSingles Algorithm Works
EliteSingles’s algorithm works by matching your detailed profile with that of other members and assigning a score that serves as a guideline for your compatibility.
A higher score means more compatible and a lower means less compatible (bear in mind that scores are affected by issues like incomplete profiles so it is not an absolute science).
An important point: you cannot browse the database of members, EliteSingles algorithms make the selections for you, so that is another good reason to pay close attention to the profile questions at the beginning. The website’s claim is that they provide quality over quantity.
One final point (and a big advantage… at least in theory) about their algorithm: it filters out any inactive profiles so they don’t appear in your matches. So in a sense, everyone who appears on your list will at least be current insofar as online presence is concerned.
How EliteSingles Premium Membership Model Works
EliteSingles’ basic membership is free, but functionality will be limited and you won’t really achieve anything except getting a taste of your types of potential matches. That’s why to achieve anything you need to spend some cash.
See Who Likes You
When someone visits your profile, you can find them by clicking on “visitors” to go to their profile (only applies to Premium Membership). You can then favorite them or message them.
Preferred Preferences
As mentioned earlier, your profile preferences are determined by the personality questions you answered. This is the heart of EliteSingles’ functionality.
Unlimited Chats
There’s no limit to the number of people you can chat with as a paid (Premium Member).
What Does EliteSingles Cost?
To benefit from the focused match-making experience on EliteSingles you will pay more on average per month compared to other similar dating sites.
You could argue that their approach to matching does take care of a lot of the legwork for you. No abandoned profiles or radical mismatches. The costs are based on 3 months, 6 months, or annual subscriptions.
| Pricing | Total Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Free | ||
| 3 Months | $173.85 | $57.95 |
| 6 Months | $269.70 | $44.95 |
| 12 Months | $383.40 | $31.95 |
If you do decide to sign up for any of these subscription plans then you are agreeing to a recurring payment (especially if you’re using the app on your iOS or Android device).
EliteSingles: Value For Money
EliteSingles’s subscription plans (A.K.A. Premium Memberships) are EXPENSIVE. Also, I’ve said this before: value-for-money is in the eyes of the beholder… meaning that it boils down to what each person is looking for.
If you happen to be looking for a serious relationship without all the frivolousness of some other websites (I’m not being judgmental, but for some people the thrill of meeting and chatting with tens, if not hundreds of people, is part of the social experience).
EliteSingles Customer Care
The general feedback is not great based on customer reviews. EliteSingles, unfortunately, does not rank very high when it comes to customer service.
They ranked 324th out of approximately 1,500 dating sites with a rating of 1.17 stars out of 5 according to sitejabber.
Final Thoughts
EliteSingles wants to position itself as a more serious matchmaking site and this is probably better suited for people in their 40’s and over. In principle at least. On the surface, it appears to be quite robust (first impression) due to all the profiling questions.
However, I was not blown away by the resulting matches, but maybe it is an ongoing process that adjusts as you communicate with matches… One thing is for certain though, you will need to become a Premium Member to take advantage of EliteSingles.
At the end of the day, it is a decent dating application if you fall into that 30 to 40 age group and are looking for something a little more serious. If that’s you, go ahead and check it out for free here.
