eHarmony Review (Updated for 2023)
- by
- Matt Marino
- | Updated:
- March 22, 2023
The eHarmony dating app is one of the juggernauts of online dating, primarily catering to singles looking for long-term committed relationships. The company was founded 21 years ago (August 2000) by Neil Clark Warren, a clinical psychologist who utilized his expertise to develop the proprietary questionnaires and matching algorithms upon which the app is built.
According to eHarmony, their compatibility system matches users based on their core traits and values and considers things like areas of shared common ground and development potential. The app looks to pair members whose personalities together will result in certain characteristics typically associated with happy couples.
Is Signing Up for eHarmony Worth It?
That question will be answered in this eHarmony app review!
We’ll take a close look at a wide range of factors including the online dating app’s software, the sign-up process, its membership base, and what it costs to upgrade to a premium membership required to fully participate and unlock features such as the ability to see potential matches’ profile pictures.
Our eHarmony App Rating
There’s a reason eHarmony has maintained their status as one of the top dating apps in the game for over two decades. The service is very good at what it sets out to do: introduce compatible singles looking for serious long-term relationships.
If that describes you, we strongly recommend signing up for eHarmony.
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Features | 4.9 |
| Ease of Use | 4.6 |
| Match Quality | 4.8 |
| Cost | 4.0 |
| Active User Base | 4.6 |
eHarmony Pros and Cons
Pros
- Large active user base.
- Focus on building lasting relationships.
- Driven by science-backed compatibility algorithms.
- Detailed breakdowns explaining why you’ve been matched with other members.
- Fun and creative features.
- New matches provided daily.
- High rate of relationship success.
Cons
- Lengthy signup process
- Not for people looking for casual hook-ups.
- Lacking a search option to find specific profiles.
- Limited features for free members.
- Matches paying members with free profiles.
- Does not cater to gay and lesbian members.
- Sends you lots of emails.
Reasons to Join the eHarmony App
Large Active User Base.
If you’re looking for your dream match, it sure does help to have a large pool of potential partners from which to choose! eHarmony has been in the dating app game for over two decades now, amassing a membership base of over 66 million members, approximately 16-million of whom are active weekly. Talk about casting a huge net!
Focus On Building Lasting Relationships.
As we’ve mentioned throughout our eHarmony review, this dating service was specifically designed for singles looking to form serious long-term commitments. If you’re ready to settle down and find your life mate, eHarmony is the dating app for you.
Driven by Science.
What makes the eHarmony app so special is its use of science to match compatible members. You can click on any of your matches’ “compatibility scores” and access a treasure trove of information about both parties’ personalities and relationship potential. The app focuses on your common ground and development potential upon initially opening the compatibility page, with even more in-depth information only a click away!
You’ll also see a graph that once again highlights your compatability score, with smaller graphs lining the perimeter of the chart. It’s broken up into four major quadrants, with each individual bar representing a different personality trait. Hover over any of the sections to read about your score compared to your match’s.
Detailed Breakdowns Explaining Matches.
Again, one thing the eHarmony app never shies away from is providing detailed reasons for why you’ve been matched with the people you have. You can find every characteristic covered by the relationship questionnaire clearly listed with the scores for you and your potential partner. No other dating app provides its users with such robust data.
Fun and Creative Features.
Another thing our eHarmony review revealed about the dating service is that they make interacting with your matches as pain free as possible. Rather than limited your communication methods to simple “likes” and messages, they provide a variety of ways to break the ice.
Our favorite is literally called “ice breakers.” By clicking on the “ice breaker” button, eHarmony sends your match a series of five questions to answer or pictures from which to choose. You are given the same. Then the app compares your results, giving the two of you a natural conversation starter without any of the awkwardness of opening a dialogue.
New Matches Provided Daily.
If you haven’t met anyone you like amongst your current crop of matches, have no fear – the eHarmony app provides you with a handful of new matches every day! Fortunately, such a massive and popular dating app always has new members joining, which means an ever-growing number of opportunities!
High Rate of Relationship Success.
The best thing about the eHarmony dating app is its proven effectiveness. The company has introduced over 600,000 married couples – and that number grows by over 500 more every day! This is a dating service that takes their mission extremely seriously!
Reasons Not to Join the eHarmony App
| Reason | Details |
|---|---|
| Lengthy signup process | If you’re impatient or hate answering questions, eHarmony may not be for you. Because their signup process is one of the longest in the game. From start to finish, you’re looking at about 45 minutes to have your profile fully filled out and ready to contact your matches. The time commitment is worth it if you’re serious about finding a long-term partner, but frustrating if not. |
| Not for people looking for casual hook-ups | eHarmony explicitly states that its mission is to introduce people who are looking for long-term committed relationships. If you’re looking for a quick hookup or something freakier, this service is not for you. In fact, if the eHarmony questionnaire discovers that you’re looking for a purely physical encounter, they may deny your membership. |
| Lacking a search option to find specific profiles | Sometimes it would be nice to have more control over the profiles you see. eHarmony limits your options to your matches and there’s no search function that will allow you to check out members with whom you aren’t deemed compatible. This is a setback if you’re just looking for the hottest profile pictures without worrying about the personality stuff. |
| Limited features for free members | It can be pretty frustrating not being able to see your matches’ photos with a free membership. It might be nice to see what kind of options they have for you before spending any money. |
| Matches paying members with free profiles | One thing the eHarmony app doesn’t tell you is which of your matches are also paying members. So, you may see someone you like and not be able to communicate with them, since they won’t be able to see your photos or respond to your personalized messages. |
| Does not cater to gay and lesbian members | eHarmony doesn’t cater to gay and lesbian relationships. If you’re looking for same-sex dating options using the same algorithm as eHarmony, the company also offers a dating app called Compatible Partners. |
| Sends you lots of emails | If you do sign up for the eHarmony app, prepare for boatloads of emails. Every time someone so much as looks at your profile, you get an email notification. And that’s in addition to the daily messages of encouragement or notices that you have new matches. If you don’t like spam, you’ll want to set up some inbox rules to hide the massive amounts of mail they send. |
Overview of eHarmony
To review the eHarmony app, we approached the service the same as any new member would. We registered an account, completed the lengthy compatibility quiz, uploaded pictures, answered some “About Me” profile questions, and upgraded to a premium membership. We even reached out to a handful of our matches through the variety of different communication techniques provided by the app.
eHarmony Quick Facts
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Site Name | eHarmony.com |
| Key Info | • Founded in 2000 by a clinical psychologist • Has helped introduce over 600,000 married couples • The majority of eHarmony members are between 25-34 years old • eHarmony's gender ratio is 48% men to 52% women |
| Cost of Membership | eHarmony prices start at $35.90 |
| Free Trial | Yes (Read more about the eHarmony free trial) |
| Sign Up Time | Profile creation and relationship questionnaire take approx. 45 minutes |
If you’re a heterosexual single in search of a serious committed relationship, you’d be hard-pressed to find a dating app better suited to your needs than eHarmony.
A substantial majority of the user base is at an age when they’re looking to settle down and start a family, or at least find a long-term partner. Most users fall between the ages of 25 and 34-years-old, with women making up 52% of the profiles versus 48% men.
The slightly more costly premium membership price further filters out users who aren’t highly motivated to find serious relationships. And make no mistake, eHarmony is one of those dating apps that requires a premium membership to fully utilize its services. You can’t even see other members’ pictures without the upgrades.
Fortunately, you get what you pay for. eHarmony claims that its service has helped introduce over 600,000 married couples. A Harris Interactive study suggested that, on average, 542 people are married every day in the United States, after having met on the dating app. If accurate, that would represent approximately four percent of all marriages in the country being credited to eHarmony!
Our favorite aspect of eHarmony’s services is the app’s scientific approach to introducing its members, which is reflected in the compatibility scores assigned to each match. By clicking on a profile’s compatibility score, you open a detailed breakdown of how your values and personalities compare.
Under the compatibility tab, you’ll find the scores for both yourself and your match for the following traits, attitudes, and characteristics – as well as a detailed description explaining each one:
- Common Ground
- Development Potential
- Personality
- Habits
- Interests
- Instinct
- Feelings
- Intellect
- Inner Energy
- Self-Control
- Logical Traits
- Emotional Traits
- Desire for Relational Closeness
- Empathy
- Positive Attitude
- Introversion
- Extraversion
- Desire for Social Interaction
- Inhibition Towards Social Interaction
- Willingness to Adapt
- Pragmatism
- Generosity
- Tendency to Compensate
- Tendency to Withdrawal
- Assertiveness
- Conventionality
- Unconventionality
- Desire for Structure
- Desire for Domesticity
- Need to be Adventurous
- Need to be Peaceful
- Nurturing Parent Influence
- Critical Parent Influence
- Natural Childhood Influence
- Adapted Childhood Influence
- Manipulative Childhood Influence
- Current Communication Style
In addition to the compatibility scores, members will answer profile questions concerning a variety of topics to grant you further insight into their personalities. For example, one of the more popular prompts asks the user to describe their perfect day. Other times they’ll break down their perfect first date.
With so much data at your fingertips, eHarmony makes it extremely easy to figure out with whom you will communicate. The thorough psychological breakdowns are largely responsible for the dating app’s high rate of relationship success.
Signing Up With the eHarmony App
The cost of being given such strong matches and robust compatibility data is that eHarmony’s sign-up process takes a bit longer up front. Think of it as an investment. It takes approximately 45 minutes from the time you register your email address and create your profile until you’re reaching out to potential matches.
However, while the process is long, it’s not especially labor intensive. It can even be quite fun.
1. Create Your Profile
The first step of the registration process is to fill out some basic information about yourself. You’re given the option of signing up with your email address or by connecting your eHarmony profile to your Facebook account.
Once you’ve provided your login info, name, and age, you’re asked some general questions, such as your gender, the gender you are seeking, height, body type religious/spiritual beliefs, whether you smoke or drink, ethnicity, nationality, location, and distance from your location you’re willing to find matches.
eHarmony will also ask you for your match preferences and how much you care about each of those same characteristics when finding a partner.
2. Take the Personality Test
Once your basic profile has been created, it’s time to take on eHarmony’s patented relationship/personality questionnaire – the backbone of the dating app’s matching algorithm. The test helps create a detailed personality profile for each member, which eHarmony then uses to find the most compatible matches with the highest probability of forming lasting relationships.
The quiz consists of roughly 80 “yes or no,” “either/or” and multiple-choice questions. There are also several situational questions asking, “what would you do if…?” or “how would you respond to…?” Some of them merely show you two or more pictures and ask which one you like most. Somehow, at the end of this process, eHarmony has a detailed personality profile for you and compatibility scores with all of your matches.
Here are some examples of actual questions that are asked:
3. Upload Pictures
Once you’ve finished the relationship questionnaire, you’re almost done! The time-consuming stuff is finished. By now, the eHarmony app has already matched you with compatible prospects in your area. Next, the dating service will inform you that profiles with multiple pictures attached get significantly more looks and communications than those without pics.
Upload between 1 and 10 pictures of yourself to build the strongest profile possible. Looks are still important to people, so you want to provide an honest representation of your actual appearance. Otherwise, it will be extremely awkward when you show up to your first date and they don’t recognize you initially.
4. Answer Profile Questions
Now, your profile is ready to go. However, eHarmony will inform you that you can further strengthen your profile by answering some “About Me” questions. These aren’t required, but they provide potential matches with conversational starters, as well as additional insight into your personality.
The first section to complete asks you to “introduce yourself.” This is just a general bio explaining who you are, what you do, and what you’re looking for. Then, you can choose from a list of prompts such as:
- My best attributes...
- An odd habit of mine...
- The most important thing I’m looking for in a person...
- I spend my free time...
- The most influential person in my life...
- The first thing people notice about me...
- My ideal first date...
- My happy place...
- My most unforgettable travel story...
- I would describe my appearance like this...
- I should do this more often...
- I have a passion for...
You can answer as many of these writing props as you want. The more you do, the stronger your profile will be and the more opportunities you have to impress prospective partners. When matches are browsing your profile, they can hit the “like” button on any of your answers, which sends a “compliment” to your messages, effectively opening a dialogue between the two of you.
5. Contact Your Matches
All that’s left to do now is to start contacting your matches!
However, if you haven’t upgraded to a premium membership, your communication options are quite limited. Free users may send “smiles” and “winks” to other members, as well as “ice breakers” which ask both parties to either choose their five favorite pictures in an automatically generated assortment or answer five questions. These members may also send “compliments” by hitting the like button on various sections of a profile. They cannot send personalized messages.
Premium members can see which users are online and active and can send messages to their matches at-will. You can also expand your filters to include potential matches outside of your compatibility area. You can change the age range, location, and multiple other characteristics to narrow or widen your net as necessary.
The eHarmony app will also provide tips for effective communication, so you can open dialogues with the utmost confidence.
eHarmony Cost
eHarmony is one of the pricier dating services, which has its pros and cons. The higher cost of entry ensures a more serious, driven user base that takes finding romance seriously. But, it’s still a hefty financial commitment – and times are tough, financially speaking!
The dating service offers 6, 12, and 24-month plans. The longer the duration of your membership, the lower the cost per month. Unfortunately, they do not offer month-to-month financing options. You can either pay the entire total up front or break it up into as many as four equal monthly installments.
Premium Light
6-month plan-
View unlimited photos
-
Unlimited messaging
-
See who's viewed you
-
Distance search
-
Detailed personality profile
Premium Plus
12-month plan-
View unlimited photos
-
Unlimited messaging
-
See who's viewed you
-
Distance search
-
Detailed personality profile
Premium EXTRA
24-month plan-
View unlimited photos
-
Unlimited messaging
-
See who's viewed you
-
Distance search
-
Detailed personality profile
The good news is that the eHarmony cost can be flexible. If you reach out to their customer service department, they’ll often respond with a link offering sizable discounts. We were able to get 60% off with just a simple email.
What People Are Saying About the eHarmony App
Looking for more feedback than our eHarmony dating app review? That’s where customer reviews come into play! While any one opinion may be biased or flawed, a large sample size of reviews can provide an excellent general overview of a service. Make sure to read a wide range of customer reviews to find patterns and trends. If you see the same points being made – whether they be positive or negative – you know to take them seriously.
Alternatives to eHarmony
If the eHarmony dating app isn’t what you’re looking for, here are some other top-quality options that may better fit your needs.
| Dating App | Best For | Review |
|---|---|---|
 Elite Singles |
Older, highly educated singles who know what they want | Elite Singles Review |
 SilverSingles |
Over 50 singles looking for meaningful connections | SilverSingles Review |
 Christian Mingle |
Christian singles looking for love or friendship | Christian Mingle Review |
 Zoosk |
Singles looking for short-term or long-term relationships | Zoosk Review |
eHarmony FAQ
Still have questions or want more information about the eHarmony dating app? We’ve got you covered! Below find our answers to many of the most frequently asked questions that we see about eHarmony.
Other premium members see your self-authored biography, your pictures, and characteristics such as height, body type, religious/spiritual beliefs, and whether you smoke or drink. They can also see your distance from their location and the answers to any “About Me” questions you may have answered for your profile.
To see for yourself what your matches can see, click on “preview my profile.”