How to Choose the Right Adult Dating Site

With the sheer volume of adult dating sites that are available on the internet, it’s not surprising that many of our users find it difficult to know what to look for in selecting a site that's perfect for them. With our extensive experience of reviewing adult dating sites, we hope that this “Buyer's Guide” will help you know what to look out for as the hallmark of a good adult dating site.

What is Online Adult Dating?

Online adult dating (or ‘internet adult dating’ as it is sometimes known) is a relatively recent phenomenon that has developed and grown in size as the Internet has expanded worldwide. Online dating is not for everyone, but with more than $500 million being spent each year in the US on adult dating websites, there's no doubt that a growing number of people are hitting the web to look for love. And it’s not just love that those using online adult dating sites are looking for, as a number of individuals join such sites for companionship, friendship, sexual relationships and even swinging. The only way to know whether online adult dating is for you is to give it a try, and with most sites we review offering a free trial, you really do have nothing to lose.

Common Features

Many of the sites we review offer a number of common features, intended to improve your online dating experience. We have chosen our five favorite (and most useful) features that you can find on a number of online adult dating sites:

Photo or Video Profiles – An extremely common feature of many online dating sites is photo profiles, which allows users to store photos alongside their profile in order to ‘advertise’ themselves to other users. Less common, but still accessible, are video profiles where users can leave webcam messages for users checking out their profiles. Both are exciting, and both offer an opportunity to get a feel for the person before you contact them.
Instant Messaging (IM) – Instant Messaging (similar to that provided by Yahoo, MSN and GoogleChat) is provided on a growing number of sites to allow users to engage in a “real time” conversation, without the stunted nature of a conversation by email. We recommend looking for a site which offers this feature, as it really improves communication opportunities with other users.
Webcam Chat – Webcam Chat lets users communicate through their webcams. We think this is a great opportunity to get to know users in a way that’s totally personal. Depending on the user, and context, it's also a great way to move an existing relationship on a little by engaging in some webcam fun!
Forums and Chatrooms – Forums and chatrooms hosted by online adult dating sites allows users to communicate on a number of different topics (both related and unrelated to online dating), giving users an opportunity to get to know each other a little more, as well as creating a community feel.
FAQs and Tech Support – Sounds a little boring, but we think this is really important. Look out for sites that offer technical support by email and phone, especially those that offer support 24/7. FAQs are also important to help you solve common issues.

Niche Sites and Specialist Sites

As the popularity of internet adult dating grows, providers have diversified into offering users not only the traditional “general” adult dating sites, but also a number of specialist and niche adult dating sites. Niche sites offer the opportunity for users to get in contact with specific types of people – either a specific category or group, or individuals with specific interests – which should give you a great starting point when getting in contact with other users. Some users find that niche sites start off a relationship with a common interest or desire, or highlight from the start what the intentions of other individuals are. Others feel that by limiting the users to a particular niche from the start, it limits the opportunity for users to meet people with new interests. We’ll leave this one up to you – if you find a site that you really like, with the sort of individuals you would like to meet, it’s the perfect opportunity to start up a great relationship, regardless of the niche.

“Powered By…”

A common feature of a number of sites is that they are “powered” by another, larger site. This simply means that the site shares the features, structure and often, membership directory of the parent site. Many users find this a comforting element in choosing a site to join, having the security of a major site and being able to search through and choose from the millions of users that can sometimes exist on larger sites. Others will just want to cut out the middle-man and join the parent site directly. This practice is relatively common, so don’t be concerned when you look at a site which is “powered by” another.

A Note on Privacy & Safety

One of the biggest concerns that came as part of the expansion of the internet is the privacy and safety of individuals who use online adult dating sites. It is certainly a notable concern with online profiles on dating sites holding a large amount of personal information. We have highlighted in our reviews which websites offer additional privacy protection, but most websites offer the opportunity to block users from viewing your profile or apply additional privacy settings to your profile (to make your photographs or videos private or password only, for example). Many sites offer an additional safety measure that involves a process commonly referred to as “ConfirmID”. This process allows users to submit a copy of some form of ID, have an ID check through their credit card details, or have the accuracy of some information (profession, income, geographical location, age etc.) confirmed to other users by providing evidence to support such assertions. Generally, only the larger sites such as Adult XXX Date and Adult Friend Finder offer such advanced services, but we do think they are worth paying a little extra for if you are particularly concerned about safety and privacy.

Pricing & Free Trials

The price structure for adult dating sites varies considerably between sites. Check out our adult dating reviews for an up-to-date listing of prices for each site and their relative subscription lengths. Most sites offer free trials to allow you to get a feel for the site and decide whether you wish to sign up for a full subscription.

The Popularity of a Site

Dating is a numbers game, and online adult dating is no exception. The larger the number of members on a site, the greater your chances of scoring a hot date in your local area. Also, with more members comes more variety, and so your chances of scoring multiple dates or finding your perfect sexual match are also greatly increased if you join one of the more popular adult dating sites. It is for this reason that we put great stock in the size of the members' database of each site when compiling our reviews.

The Bottom Line…

Online adult dating is, essentially, a numbers game. Most users will find that the bigger the site is, the greater the opportunity to meet the perfect partner. Check out our reviews for an indication, where possible, of the size of the site and the number of users.

Reviews of the Best Adult Dating Sites

How to Choose the Right Adult Dating Site