Zoosk Senior Dating Review, Our Hands-On Test
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August 21, 2024
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Love knows no boundaries, and that’s never been more true than with Zoosk, a dating app and website available in more than 80 countries, including the U.S. Over 40 million people who speak 25 different languages use Zoosk to find love. It’s not specific to seniors; rather, it’s a more diverse crowd that includes a variety of ages, races, and nationalities. If you want adventure and are willing to go on a treasure hunt, Zoosk just might be the dating site for you.
Pro Tip: Zoosk is a great option; however, if you prefer a site made exclusively for people 50 and older, then read our guide to the best dating sites for seniors.
Zoosk Pros and Cons
Pros
- Large number of users worldwide: Zoosk has more than 40 million users across the world, so it’s a great online dating site for active seniors.
- In-person meetups: Through a partnership with CitySwoon, you can find speed dating events in 13 U.S. cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, D.C., Sacramento, San Jose, Miami, and Tampa.
- Free version with unblurred photos: You’ll be able to see unblurred photos on Zoosk for free, but you won’t be able to message anyone without paying.
Cons
- Low usage in the U.S.: A 2023 Statista survey of U.S. adults ages 18 to 64 found that although 62 percent of people have heard of Zoosk, only 8 percent use it, a pretty low market share.
- Not specific to seniors: Zoosk is available to everyone, not just seniors, so it may be harder to find people your age.
Zoosk Memberships Compared
Zoosk’s pricing is very straightforward. There is a free version, but it doesn’t let you message connections, so most people will want to pay something. The cheapest option is to sign up for one year, which brings the monthly cost down to $9.99. However, if you don’t want a long-term contract, there is a month-to-month option for $34.99.
| Membership | Free | 1 month | 3 months | 6 months | 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per month | $0.00 | $34.99 | $19.99 | $14.99 | $9.99 |
| Total amount billed | $0.00 | $34.99 | $59.97 | $89.94 | $119.88 |
| Message connections | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Send winks/messages | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SmartPicks access | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced filters | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Zoosk Pricing
Zoosk’s memberships give you the same features; the only difference is the term length. Aside from that, there is an option to pay more for boosts, which will show your profile in more places to more people. Boosts cost a certain amount of coins, and you can purchase either 180, 480, or 1,800 coins at a time. The more coins you buy, the less you’ll spend per coin.
| Number of coins | 180 | 480 | 1,800 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total cost (with tax) | $19.95 | $39.95 | $99.95 |
| Cost of each coin | $0.11 | $0.08 | $0.06 |
There were a few other add-ons Zoosk offered me:
- Premium messages: You can pay $9.99 a month for premium messages, which lets anyone respond to your messages even if they don’t subscribe.
- Visibility control: For $8.99 more a month, I could go into incognito mode, meaning only people I message can see me, and people won’t know when I view their profiles.
- Read receipts: If I wanted to see when someone read my message, I could’ve paid $14.99 for a month of read receipts.
- Start more conversations: Finally, for $9.49 more a month, I could have liked five people on my carousel per day. Additionally, I’d be able to say yes to people I previously said no to.
My Experience With Zoosk
Zoosk has one of the quickest setup processes I’ve ever completed.
I answered a few basic questions about myself, such as my gender, the gender identity of the person I’d like to date, my age, my height, and my location. Then I was taken to the homepage, which took into account my search preferences. Even without putting in my card information, I could see unblurred photos of other users, making connections fast and easy.
Aside from the main homepage, I could also use a carousel to see my potential matches, an experience similar to dating apps like Tinder.
Of course, once I paid for a subscription, I could message anyone I liked.
All in all, it shouldn’t take you longer than a few minutes to start dating on Zoosk. In my experience testing it out, I had five people interested in me on the first day. Three people said they wanted to meet me, one person viewed my profile, and another sent me a message, all in a matter of hours. I’d call that online dating success!
Zoosk App
I tested out the Zoosk app on my iPhone, where it has a 4.2 out of 5 rating, much higher than its 3.3 Android rating. Overall, I agree with the positive rating. I used the app to search for users, swipe through potential matches, see who viewed me, and message users, all with ease. However, when I tried to use the “live” feature, which would have let me livestream whatever it was that I was doing, the app wouldn’t load.
That’s fine with me, as I’m more of a private person, but this is certainly a bug that should be fixed. The rest of the app functioned normally.
Zoosk User Reviews
Zoosk has pretty low ratings on Consumer Affairs and Trustpilot: out of five stars, it got 1.5 and 2.3, respectively.
One upset user named Andy gave Zoosk a one-star review on Trustpilot, writing, “Awful site, lots of fake profiles. Very badly designed. Every time you search, you have to trawl through the generically laid-out format. Same pics over and over. Can't choose geographical searches. Basically, don't waste your time.”
Another user was more measured in a three-star review: “I like the ease of using the site and that it seemed to have a lot of members in my area. It was clear to me that some of the “views” that it indicated that I had were not really sent by another member. More than once when I sent a message from some of my “views” the person would send me a message that she had never visited my profile. She confirmed that she had noticed the same problem before. To be honest, I felt that this was a marketing ploy that was possibly done to make the it look like there is more activity than there was in order to promote more use & subscription renewals. This made me distrust the information that I received and was the primary reason that I did not renew.”
That being said, some people had much better luck using Zoosk. A user named Amy posted a five-star review on Consumer Affairs, writing “I've been wanting to do this for a while and decided to take a few minutes to do so. I met my wife on Zoosk in July, 2022. We were married in July, 2023. We had both had really poor luck with dating and love and had just about given up on finding the one. Thank God we did not. Zoosk brought us together. Thank you, Zoosk!!!! We owe you!!!”
Online dating is always going to be a mixed bag, but at the end of the day, it only takes one. And mazel tov to that reviewer and Amy on their recent marriage!
Zoosk vs. SilverSingles
Both Zoosk and SilverSingles are owned by Spark Networks, and there is very little information from either company about its members. However, we do know that 80 percent of members on SilverSingles are 50 or older, as the site is meant for seniors seeking seniors. Zoosk, on the other hand, is marketed toward a younger crowd, with a distinctly more “hookup culture” feel, as you can swipe through matches. It’s more similar to Tinder than eHarmony, which means it may be better for casual connections with people outside your age range.
Zook is also cheaper, with prices ranging from $9.99 to $34.99 a month, while SilverSingles runs from $24.95 to $44.95 a month. Additionally, Zoosk has a one-month membership option, whereas SilverSingles starts at three months, making me even more certain that Zoosk is marketed toward a more casual dater. For seniors, most of whom want to meet a long-term spouse or partner online, according to a Pew Research Center study, SilverSingles might be more fruitful.
But which one is more popular overall? To find out, I turned to Google Trends, which tells me how many people searched for each website over the course of a year. And the results nearly blew me away.
As you can see, way more people searched for Zoosk compared with SilverSingles, which makes sense, given that it’s not marketed toward a specific demographic like seniors. So while Zoosk is better across all ages, SilverSingles is more likely to lead senior users to a serious relationship.
Bottom Line
Zoosk is ideal for someone seeking casual connections with all ages, around the globe. However, if you are looking for a serious relationship with someone in your area, it may not be the most helpful dating app for you.
I recommend giving the free version a try and seeing who is available near you. If you are open to dating people of all ages, you may want to upgrade, but if you want seniors specifically, I’d recommend a website like SilverSingles or Match, the most popular dating site for seniors. Or, if you’d like to learn more about Zoosk, keep reading my frequently asked questions below. Happy dating!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is Zoosk safe to use?
Yes, Zoosk is safe to use, although, like all online dating websites, there are risks of scammers.
However, the website does have some features to make Zoosk safer for users, including:
- Profile verification: You can verify your Zoosk account through your Twitter or Facebook accounts. You can also use your photos or your cell phone number.
- Reporting system: If you need to report suspicious or inappropriate behavior, you can easily block the user and report them.
- Private profiles: For an extra $8.99 a month, you can hide your profile and view people’s profiles without them knowing.
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Does Zoosk have a free version?
Yes, Zoosk has a free version. However, the free version doesn’t let you send messages or winks, or see who viewed you.
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How do I pay for a Zoosk subscription?
To pay for a Zoosk subscription:
- Log into your Zoosk account
- On the left-hand side, click the green button that says “Subscribe.”
- Choose the membership you want and click “Select Plan.”
- Enter your card information and billing address.
- Decide if you want to add Premium Messaging or not. If not, click “Skip.”
- Check the box that says you’ve read and agreed to the above terms regarding the automatic renewal.
- Click “Purchase Subscription.”
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How do I cancel my Zoosk account?
To cancel your Zoosk account:
- Log into your Zoosk account: https://www.zoosk.com/login/email.
- Go to Settings.
- Click “Subscription.”
- Click “Cancel Subscription.”
- Check the box indicating your reason for leaving.
- Click “Unsubscribe.”
- Click “Unsubscribe from Zoosk.”
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Does Zoosk have a version for seniors?
No, Zoosk does not have a version for seniors, as it’s meant for people of all ages. However, a company called Spark Networks owns the senior-focused website SilverSingles in addition to Zoosk, which is a similar website with a largely 50-and-older member base.