In a Nutshell
pros
- Professional matchmakers available offline
- Good reputation
- Guaranteed matches and dates
cons
- Not a dating service, so no real control over your results
- Not always reliable results
Best for: Singles who want to meet other singles in their area
User base: Straight or LGBTQ+ men and women
Number of members: N/A
Recommended age: 35-55
Favorite features: Dating site matchmaking
Signup Process
MateLocal operates out of the United States, Canada, and Australia. The goal is simple: help singles find suitable matches in their area using a sophisticated matchmaking algorithm.
Sounds pretty good, right? Online dating is definitely making the most of technology to help people find romance, companionship, and even marriage, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. One thing to be aware of is the fact that MateLocal is not an actual online dating service. Rather, MateLocal is a service that connects users to its network of best online dating sites. After filling out a short form, MateLocal will choose a suitable site for you and redirect you to this online dating service. From there, you can start searching for love. Here's how our experience with signing up for MateLocal worked out.
- Fill in your birthdate.
- Select your gender, along with what gender you are seeking (both hetero- and homosexual relationships are accepted by MateLocal).
- Next, you’ll enter your zip code.
- Then you’ll input your email address.
- Now, you'll answer a few questions about yourself, like whether or not you have children and what is your ethnicity.
When all this is done, MateLocal will connect you with one of its top dating site partners. So, signing up with MateLocal is really easy and takes 30 seconds. Unfortunately, this doesn’t really get you anywhere because, as we mentioned, MateLocal is not an actual online dating service. If you want to get set up with other singles in your area, you’ll have to sign up for one of the partner sites that has thousands or millions of other members you can date.
We tried the process and were suggested to sign up for 50more.com. Once we signed up for a 50more.com account, things finally started to happen. You're directed to a screen that tells you that you're about to start the "getting to know you" stage. This is where 50more asks you questions about yourself, your preferences, and your lifestyle. The whole thing takes roughly 5 minutes. Not bad. Questions include things like:
- Are you looking for an exclusive relationship or casual friends?
- Would you chat with people outside your area?
- Are you unconventional or traditional?
- Where do you like to spend your free time?
The idea is that 50more wants to build a personality profile that the algorithm can then use to find the most fitting matches for you. The search engine uses all of your answers to paint an accurate picture of who you are and which members in its database would make a suitable partner for you. So, it really benefits you to fill out your profile as fully, as honestly, and as thoughtfully as you possibly can. It won’t do you much good to lie about your height, age, weight, pastimes, etc. because once you go out with the other person, your date will quickly learn the truth.
Matchmaking & Search Functions
MateLocal isn’t a dating site, remember? As such, there are no search functions for you to use. In fact, there isn’t even a database of users to search through! But don’t worry about that because as soon as you sign up for one of the partner sites, you’ll be able to search through the entire database of singles that the partner site has. This can include thousands of singles in your area that you never even knew existed. So, this is a great place to start.
There is one feature that is worth mentioning, though. The site has professional matchmakers that you can meet with if you prefer a more hands-on approach to dating.
Features & Communication Tools
As with the search functions, MateLocal has no communication tools or features of its own. Instead, you can avail yourself of the features put forth by the websites that MateLocal partners with. These can range considerably depending on the dating service, but you can expect online messaging, emailing, video chat, or audio calls to be included. You may also be able to buy gifts for other members or send flirts to get things moving in the right direction.
Safety & Security
MateLocal scores a 100% trust score from Scamadviser.com. Additionally, the site was found to have zero risk issues when tested by both Google Safe Browsing and SiteAdvisor. Plus, MateLocal has got an Alexa ranking, something many other dating site aggregators don’t even aspire to.
In addition to all these online trust symbols MateLocal has built up, the site also implements its own onsite security measures to maintain the privacy and safety of its members. Some security measures include industry-standard encryption and physical and policy protocols both on and offline.
Pricing
More good news! MateLocal won’t cost you a thing to use. That’s because this dating site aggregator doesn’t charge its members to make use of these services. Instead, MateLocal makes its money by charging online dating services to partner with them. So, the sites in the network are paying your monthly subscription for you in essence.
Of course, if you sign up for one of the online dating sites within the MateLocal network, you will be charged the signup fees as per that website’s terms and conditions.
Help & Support
MateLocal offers an email contact form to its customers who are looking for more information. This is the best (and only) way to get in touch with MateLocal if you want to find out more about the offline professional matchmakers as well.
Find Love on MateLocal
MateLocal has been pairing up dating sites and singles for nearly ten years now, so the service must be doing something right! It’s got close to a thousand unique visitors each day, and twice that many views. The site is free to use, and while it doesn’t do very much in terms of style and functionality, it is a good portal for finding online dating sites.