eHarmony

In-Depth Reviews

eHarmony - This in-depth review was last updated November 2008. All information and screenshots are current as of this date. Please visit the eHarmony service for more complete and up-to-date details.

Originally reviewed in August 2001, eHarmony has grown quickly to online dating prominence. Their service has remained consistent and reliable and we can confidently say that they are one of the best matchmakers in the online world. Information concerning eharmony promotional codes is below with the member pricing information. Free membership begins with joining and completing the personality / compatibility quiz. eHarmony used Christian based principles to aid in their successful match system

eHarmony promotions will be announced on this page as they become available.

Get your Free Personality Profile all you have to do is complete our Relationship Questionnaire. This will give us the in-depth information we need. Once you receive your profile, we make it easy to share it by email with your friends or loved ones. You will also have the opportunity to review information about your compatible matches absolutely free. A US$40.00 value.

Basic Features

Premium Features

Profile Questionnaire

Membership Pricing

Promotions

"Write Your Own Review" Responses

Contact Info: For complaints or inquiries about the eHarmony service please use their on-site form for contact or use this address to contact them through postal mail:
eHarmony
300 N. Lake Ave., Suite 1111
Pasadena, CA 91101

By Phone:
Customer Care at (800) 578-0548 from 9 AM to 6 PM PT, Monday through Friday

Disclaimer: Please note that all screenshots, graphics and information remains the property of their respective owners and is used here for informational and reviewer purposes only. The information presented here was current at the time of publication but may change by the time you visit the service reviewed. The opinions are solely those of the aLoveLinksPlus.com staff and may not be reprinted, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. Â© 2002-2007 aLoveLinksPlus.com, cheerful attitude web design and Robert Lee

Basic Features

eharmony

Screenshot of Home Page (Click to view full screen)

Completing the "Free Personality Profile" is the first step you'll make when you join eharmony. The results of the personality test can help you find compatible people to meet and is yours free, even if you don't become a paying member.

You must be straight, single (never married) or divorced (not separated), and at least 21 to become a member.

Completing the personality profile involves 13 steps that each take between 1 and 3 minutes to complete:
Section 1: Self Descriptions
Section 2: Personal Characteristics
Section 3: About Your Feelings
Section 4: Important Qualities
Section 5: Personal Beliefs
Section 6: About Your Personality
Section 7: Your Personal Interests
Section 8: Living Skills
Section 9: Communication Style
Section 10: Relationship Style
Section 11: Most and Least Like You
Section 12: Family Relationships
Section 13: General Information

Once you have completed the personality profile you will have the opportunity to see the results of the profile and read about some of the members that may be a suitable match for you.

You can upload up to 4 photos to be included with your visible profile, you don't have to share your profile with anyone until you're ready.

Continue through the "About Me" section and fill out more about yourself and your potential match. eharmony works best when all areas that can be filled out have your information/details/wants and desires for other single members to read.

Membership Pricing

Pricing is current only as of the last update of this review and is subject to change without notice.

1 month $59.95
3 month $110.85 Save 35% off our monthly rate!
6 month $173.70 Save 45% off our monthly rate!
1 year $251.40 Less than $21 a month! (This option can be paid in 3 equal payments over the first 3 months of your membership)

Renewals: Subscription memberships are automatically renewed 24 hours before the membership expires unless you change the renewal option in your profile. You should receive an email 5 days before your membership expires with a special discounted renewal price as long as you keep the auto-renew option set to yes.

Refund Policy:
If you are not 100% satisfied with our service, for any reason, you may close your account within the first seven (7) days of your membership and we will issue you a full refund. This offer applies to first time members only.

After the first three (3) business days, early termination of your account, does not result in a prorated refund. After 3 business days we do require that you stay the entire length of your subscription to consider any match guarantees that may apply and qualify you for a prorated refund or service extension.

Refunds are generally not available, see the eHarmony service agreement for full details.

The eharmony newsletter "Enlightenment" will have any current eharmony promotional codes and member pricing promotion information, so be sure to sign up for it. We also publish the promotional codes, when they are in effect, on our contests and promotions page.

Promotions

Current eHarmony Promotions

Take the Relationship Questionnaire and receive a FREE 7-Page Personality Profile.

Receive a FREE Compatibility Profile on eHarmony ($50 Value). No coupon code required.

"Write Your Own Review" Responses

We have one "Write Your Own Review" responses for this service. If you are interested in supplying us with a review of this service please read more about this feature here.

** Undercover review by K., female, June 2005.

1. I was attracted to eHarmony's matching process, which is based on compatibility in 29 key personality dimensions rather than outward appearances. I found my own personality profile, which is free to all members who are willing to sit through a 490-question questionnaire, to be quite accurate. In viewing my matches' personality profiles, I could also quickly see why we were considered compatible. So, there seems to be some solid basis to eHarmony's matching strategy. No special software is required to use eHarmony.

2. I used a PC with the latest version of MS Internet Explorer and a DSL connection to access and use eHarmony. I noticed no downtime or glitches other than an occasional sorting problem. eHarmony recently introduced the capability of sorting matches by Distance, First Name, Match Date (Recent), Match Date (Oldest), Recent Activity or Communication Stage, so this issue will likely resolve itself in the near future.

3. The initial questionnaire eHarmony requires prior to matching is extremely rigorous and takes at least an hour to complete. It did, however, ask deep personal questions that are pertinent if you're in search of a soulmate as opposed to a hot date.

4. One of the really nice features about eHarmony is that it gives you control over if and when your most personal profile sections (photo and personality profile) are released to matches. As someone who hates to be hit on based purely on looks, I took advantage of the photo-hiding feature, releasing them only after a match had put forth the effort to get to know who I am on the inside. A caveat: A vast majority of eHarmony users set their photo-sharing option to a later communication stage or don't post one at all. So, if looks are your number-one priority, eHarmony probably isn't for you.

5. While almost all of my matches' profiles seemed to be genuine, eHarmony is a lot more expensive than the other dating sites. And since sign-up and matching are free but communication is not, many matches will never respond to your requests for communication. In my personal experience, only 25% of matches ever reach true communication. Another point to note is that if you live in a rural region and are seeking only local matches, your chances of being matched diminish significantly. With my profile set to send matches only within a 30-mile radius (the strictest eHarmony allows), I received only 8 matches in a one-month period. On the plus side, a full 50% corresponded with me at least to some degree. When I widen my geographic criteria to anywhere in the world, I received over 70 matches in a month, but that's when the communication percentage also dropped.

6. Spamming was not at all an issue. All correspondence is conducted through eHarmony's communication system. Personal contact information is only released to other members when you feel comfortable doing so. During my first month, I only received a few welcome messages, communication notices, a monthly newsletter and a renewal notice from eHarmony, so I don't believe they sell or share their membership's email addresses with outside services.

7. I was a bit bothered that eHarmony does not allow narrowing of the age range of matches. This inability forced me to close out some matches from the get-go, possibly hurting feelings, when that hurt could have been avoided by being able to exclude members I considered too much older than me for compatibility. eHarmony estimated a response to my query within 24 hours. It actually took them 25 hours, so they're not too far off in their promises. Their response was extensive and thorough, albeit a rehearsed and pat answer. Ultimately, my issue was not resolved as narrowing of age range is still not allowed, but eHarmony pointed out that this is one of the ways in which they are different from their competition and it was this difference, after all, that drew me to the site in the first place. As of this writing, eHarmony has just unveiled a new customer service telephone number, so urgent issues are likely to be more quickly attended to.

I would recommend eHarmony to someone on two conditions:

1. That s/he was going to sign up for at least three months. One month really doesn't give you enough time to properly communicate with your matches through all four stages and discover if there is a real connection.

2. That s/he was serious about finding a long-term, compatible partner. With no searching capabilities whatsoever, you have to be willing to take a shot on those individuals who are deemed a psychological fit with you, even though they might not fit your own preconceived notions of the perfect match.

eHarmony member comments we've received:

I've been a member on and off for a couple of years---still haven't met her!

A few things that seem to be sadly lacking are:
(1.) I'm rural---don't want to change that! Eharmony allows members to use any zip code location they choose, and there's absolutely no questioning or display of info that would indicate where that member actually lives, or whether that kind of area is compatible.
(2.) The communicating process can be aggravatingly slow!
(3.) Eharmony does allow a lot of choices and the anonymous process many think they want for safety---but life isn't all safety, and many of our "gut feelings" and first impressions are very accurate---like when you spot someone across the room at a party---eharmony doesn't do that---it does the opposite!
(4.) Eharmony, in general, is very "impersonal" and doesn't provide any more guarantees than other sites---any member can still lie through his/her teeth!
(5.) Last, but not least, eharmony does not give choices of categorical responses which the member must pick from; ie. physical activities, energy level, favorite entertainment/diversions. If the member doesn't answer the canned question directly and completely---as most fail to do---it's worthless.

Bottom line? It's a lot of $$$, and more importantly---a lot of time to go through a process that most of us are capable of doing ourselves if we go about it sensibly! The major eharmony feature attraction seems to be anonymity---and it's unnecessary! Any one of us can block email from anyone else---if we're using one of the other sites. "Nuf said!

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