While Zoosk is more of a come-one, come-all dating site, with all levels of seriousness, casualness, and flakiness that may entail, EliteSingles poses itself as a space for goal-oriented singles more intent on a serious relationship. Those differences aside, both sites take online dating seriously and utilize modern matching tools. While Zoosk is tech-savvy and uses smart-matching Behavioral Matchmaking technology, EliteSingles’ algorithms are fueled by an in-depth personality quiz offered to every member upon signing up.
While both sites boast user counts in the millions, there are some distinct differences.
EliteSingles at a Glance
Best for: Educated professionals interested in a serious relationship
Number of members: 13+ million, with 165,000 new members every week
Recommended age: 35-55
Favorite features: 5-factor personality assessment test & the ability to “like” specific sections of a profile
Read the full EliteSingles review
Zoosk at a Glance
Best for: Anyone looking for a long-term relationship
Number of members: 35 million
Recommended age: 25-45
Favorite features: Behavioral matchmaking & dating insights reports
Read the full Zoosk at a Glance review
EliteSingles vs. Zoosk: How We Ranked Them
We’ve put the 2 popular online dating choices in the spotlight, and pitted them head to head. We judged them on a set of characteristics we find to be most important in an online dating site. These include:
- Pricing: How do the prices compare? Are there membership discounts? Extra features you need to pay for? Which is the most affordable option?
- Sign-up process: How easy is it to join? How long does it take? Do you need Facebook to create an account?
- Ease of use: Is the site easy to navigate? Are there confusing search filters? Unnecessary clutter? How much effort does it take to get started and start meeting people?
- Communication tools: How do you reach out? Chat? Message? Phone call? Which site best fosters the transition from interest to interaction?
- Mobile app and Site: Can you match on the go? Is the mobile app as intuitive or as detailed as its desktop counterpart?
- Search: How do you find who you’re looking for? Are there filters in place that let you find matches that share your interests?
- Safety: What efforts does the site take to ensure that its users are safe, well-informed, and equipped with tools for dealing with spammers or inappropriate behavior?
Pricing
As an elite dating service, EliteSingles has a higher than average price tag attached to it. Pricing starts at around $29.95 per month, and a 6-month package is double the price per month of Zoosk. Elite also offers some extra features, such as manual profile verification and their matchmaking technology.
Zoosk prices start at $12.49 per month, making it a lot cheaper than EliteSingles. As Zoosk also offers smart matching technology, we think this site wins this round on value for money.
Sign Up
If you’re looking to be in and browsing singles in a matter of minutes, you can’t get a more streamlined sign up process than Zoosk. Enter a few basic facts about yourself, or use your Facebook account to sign in, and you’ll be taken straight to the home page. You can choose to fill in your profile right away, or wait until later.
EliteSingles is all about the personality quiz, which means it takes some time to get started. You’ll need to set aside at least half an hour to fill out the questionnaire, which covers everything from your lifestyle and background, to your thoughts on sex, past relationships, religion, and emotion. In terms of laying the groundwork to finding a great match, the EliteSingles sign up can’t be beat.
Winner: EliteSingles
Ease of Use
Simplicity is at the heart of ease of use, and EliteSingles is a simpler site overall. With less bells and whistles, it focuses on the core compatibility element, and matchmaking. Simple inbox messaging, matches sent to your home page daily, and an extra focus on moderation and security.
Zoosk mirrors a lot of social media sites, making it a great choice for millennial users. But if you want something easier, for the less technologically inclined, EliteSingles is the site for you.
Winner: EliteSingles
Communication Tools
Once you’ve found someone you like the look of, you want to be able to communicate! EliteSingles relies on the inbox message, which is a tried and tested way of having steady conversations to get to know one another to see if chemistry exists.
Zoosk also has inbox chat, but follows it up with instant messenger from both desktop and mobile—with a useful mobile app.
The only communication features we found to be lacking on both sites were safe calling and live webcam chatting.
Mobile App and Site
EliteSingles recently redesigned its mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices. They are gorgeously designed, easy to use and offer a great way to search for singles and keep track of messages and interactions on the move.
Mobile is where Zoosk really shines. This app has extra functionality compared to desktop with a range of easy-to-use features, and was rated number one in the app store for online dating.
Winner: Zoosk
Search
Zoosk has so many ways to look for singles, you’ll be overwhelmed with choices. The search features have basic and advanced filters, the “Zoosk Carousel” game lets you casually browse singles at anytime, the daily “Zoosk SmartPicks” are daily curated matches, and there’s an easy way to help you find local singles.
EliteSingles relies heavily on matches from your personality quiz. You’ll receive between 3-7 new matches daily, with the option of accessing up to 20 extra “wildcard matches” daily by upgrading. And if you prefer to taking the reins, either check out the “Have You Met” game or use the search tools to look at matches by profile filter.
Winner: It’s a Tie!
Safety
These two sites are hands down the best in online dating for security.
EliteSingles manually moderates each and every profile, which reduces scam profiles and less serious users. It also offers ID verification tools to anyone who wants to make sure they come across as sincere and trustworthy. The serious nature of the sign up also discourages any abusive members.
Zoosk has less precautions for sign up, but raises the bar once you’re a member. As well as hosting an InPrivate mode of browsing, you can verify your profile by mobile, email, social media, and even video.
There’s no excuse for not giving users the confidence that you are exactly who you say you are.
Winner: Zoosk
EliteSingles leads the way on compatibility matching, and we love its sign up and ease of use. But if you’re looking for great security and communication tools, with an industry-leading mobile app and competitive pricing, Zoosk is for you!
