JDate Review

Since it entered the scene in 1997, Jdate.com has been the premier online dating community for Jewish singles. Boasting hundreds of thousands of members and a near-perfect 50-50 male-to-female ratio, Jdate is an ideal place to find friendship, romance, and more. The dating service is available in 5 languages including English, Hebrew, French, German and Spanish.

Jdate averages over 10,000 members online at any one time from all around the world. Jdate’s members are a diverse group of people, but the majority are located in major metropolitan areas (like New York, L.A., Miami and Chicago), well-educated, and upwardly mobile. Their religious and ethnic backgrounds are varied, from Hassidic to Modern Orthodox to Ashkenazi and Sephardic. While some Jdate members keep kosher and regularly attend temple, others do not. What they do have in common is a desire to make new friends, form romantic relationships or find their Beshert.

Jdate has been building the Jewish community for more than two decades, so it is no surprise that it seems like everyone knows someone who fell in love on the service. To accomplish its mission of strengthening the Jewish community and sustaining Jewish traditions, Jdate encourages members to engage both online and off using its fully featured website, dating apps (iOS and Android) and in-person events.

Creating a profile on Jdate.com and the phone apps is free. It is also free to search, look at full profiles, receive matches, and flirt. A paid subscription is required though to message with other members. Free members cannot message each other but paid members can read and message both other paid members and free members as well. Thanks to Message+, if free members receive a message from a paid member, they can reply to it without subscribing. A typical Jdate subscription costs as low as $29.99 USD a month if you pick a 6-month term.

The Jdate profile covers all the topics you would expect on an online dating service, with the addition of a few questions about religious background and synagogue attendance. After answering the first round of questions, new members can provide more detailed personal information if they like. This helps make matching more accurate when browsing other Jdate profiles.

Jdate offers many opportunities to find and connect with potential matches. Under the “Matches” tab, members will find a list of compatible users chosen by the site. You can also browse for new members, online members, and members based on distance from you. Searches can be performed by most aspects of the profile by modifying your Discovery Preferences. When browsing, a photo gallery of available users is shown along with a short summary of their profile information. You can also check out your Activity lists to find out which members have viewed you, you have liked, mutual likes, and more.

When someone piques your curiosity, there are multiple ways to start a conversation. Send a message or click the wink emoji to send a “Flirt” when you are ready to make a connection. If you are looking for a low-key, low-risk way to indicate your interest, use the Like heart button. This lets the member know along with Jdate what you think of the person – if you both Like each other Jdate makes an introduction by sending each of you a message. It is a fun and easy way to break the ice.

Jdate makes a sincere effort to connect members online. If you are looking to find romance and fall in love with someone who shares your faith, Jdate is the #1 destination for Jewish men and women.

Positives of Jdate

These are the best parts of Jdate.

• Highest number of Jewish singles of any dating site and dating app
• Strong community where members actually participate
• Large number of Jewish members with the gender demographics almost split down the middle (males represent 47% and females 53% according to Quantcast)
• No online advertising
• Free members have access to most of the features paid members do (except with communicating via Messages with other free members)
• Free members can read and reply to Premium members messages

Negatives of Jdate

These are the parts of Jdate which needs improvement.

• Many non-Jewish members join the site, which may present a challenge for members who are only looking to date someone who shares their faith. Make sure to filter out those profiles who have set Religion to "Other" or "Willing to Convert"
• Monthly subscription prices are more expensive than average

Editors Bottom Line

What should you take away from this review of Jdate? Our expert explains:

If celebrating your Jewish faith with your partner is important to you, then look no further than "Jdate". It has one of the longest running and largest dating service designed specifically for Jewish singles.

We give Jdate, a 4.75 out of 5 Stars!!! 😍

Jdate Profiles & Sign Up Process

You can access Jdate from their website at Jdate.com or from their apps found on Google Play and Apple's App store. When you create your account, you can either use your email address or connect through Facebook. Here is the information Jdate will request from you for your profile:

• Sign-up
  • Jdate requires your First Name, Last Name, Your Gender, Birthday, and Zip Code
  • Tell Us About You
    • Upload Photos
      • Must upload (or import from Facebook) at least 1 photo. Can add a maximum of 6
    • Enter a Display Name or use your First Name (a custom name can be fun and it can say something important about you)
    • Your Details
      • Enter the following: Height, Occupation, Have Kids, Want Kids, Level of Education, College
      • Religion
        • Reform, Conservative, Orthodox (Frum), Orthodox (Baal Teshuva), Modern Orthodox, Traditional, Conservadox, Reconstructionist, Culturally Jewish, Willing to convert, or Other
      • Synagogue Attendance
        • Attend synagogue every Shabbat, Attend synagogue some Shabbats, Attend synagogue on High Holidays, Attend synagogue occasionally, I'll tell you later about synagogue attendance, or Attend synagogue rarely or never
      • Kosher
        • Kosher at home only, Kosher to some degree, Kosher at home and outside, or Not Kosher
    • About You
      • Tell us about yourself and what you are looking for. A short personal essay
    • Search Interests
      • Pick one or more interests based on the following topics: Sports and Fitness, Activities, Arts and Entertainment (Movies, TV, and Books), Music, and Eats and Drinks
      • Many different interests you can choose from. Choose as many as you want
    • Advanced
      • Includes Smoking & Drinking Habits, Willingness to Relocate, Marital Status (Never Married, Divorced, Legally Separated, Widowed), Grew up In (location), Ethnicity, Language, Pets, and Preferred First Date (Coffee or Tea, Drinks, Walk or Hike, Meal, Be Surprised, and Other)
  • Who are you looking for (also called Discovery Preferences)
    • Gender, Age Range, Distance, Your Location, Religion, Type (Friend, Dating, Long Term Relationship, Marriage, Marriage & Kids)
    • Advanced Discovery Preferences includes Level of Education, Kosher, Synagogue Attendance, Smoking & Drinking Habits, Have Kids, Want Kids, Willingness to Relocate, Marital Status (Never Married, Divorced, Legally Separated, Widowed)
    • These settings are used as the defaults when browsing and for the LookBook dating game

For those profile attributes which are important to Jewish singles, we have included the select-able options to show the type of members you will be able to find on this dating service and what is easily searchable. Once you have finished filling out your profile you can then start to use Jdate as a free member to see what all the excitement is about. You can always update your profile settings at a later date from the Profile & Account Settings menu (just click on your profile photo in the main menu bar). Under Account Settings you can also find the following settings:

• Account Settings
  • Email and Notifications (allows you to modify preferences on receiving emails and push notifications)
  • Profile Display Settings (includes options to hide your online status, browse anonymously, hide from Browse & Matches, and delete your profile)
  • Block List (shows a list of members you have blocked, with ability to unblock if necessary)

Jdate Costs

Jdate has a limited Free Membership and a paid Premium Membership.

• Prices last confirmed July 16, 2020. Please check Jdate for most recent pricing. All prices in USD unless specified otherwise. Prices may differ based on location, time of purchase, or access point (this can include device used and/or if accessed from a website or app)
• Free Membership
  • Includes:
    • Create a profile and upload up to 6 photos
    • Browse for members
    • View your daily matches
    • View Full profiles but only the first photo
    • Read and reply to messages from Premium Members
    • Send a Flirt
    • Like a Profile
    • Like your match
    • View your Activity lists (includes Viewed Me, I Viewed, My Likes, Mutual Likes)
  • Costs: Free
• Premium Membership
  • Includes:
    • All Free Members features
    • Send & receive messages with other paid subscribers
    • Send & receive messages with free members (called Messaging+)
    • Read Receipts (see when others have read your messages)
    • Anonymous Browsing (does not trigger a profile view)
    • Hide Online Status
    • Hide your profile from Browse & Matches
    • Get access to all of a user's photos
    • See which users have liked your profile
    • See who has been visiting your profile
  • Costs:
    • 6 months for $29.99 per month (billed in one payment of $179.94)
    • 3 months for $44.99 per month (billed in one payment of $134.97)
    • 1 month for $59.99
• All subscriptions automatically renew for the same price and package length
• You can cancel your subscription and turn off automatic renewal at anytime by visiting your Account page on the website or Manage Subscription on the App store (Google Play or Apple's App store)

Jdate also offers an additional paid feature which both free members and paid subscribers can purchase.

• Spotlight
  • This feature is similar to Boost on other popular dating apps
  • Includes:
    • Make your profile stand out and appear at the top of the Browse section
    • Your profile also contains the "SPOTLIGHT" blue badge
  • Costs:
    • 30 days for $0.67 per day (billed in one payment of $19.98)
    • 7 days for $1.14 per day (billed in one payment of $7.99)
    • 1 day for $2.99

Current Promotions

• To view Jdates latest sales and deals for Jewish singles please check out the Jdate Coupons page

Jdate Viewing & Communication Features

Jdate is a full featured dating service and has all the required tools one needs to find a compatible partner. Most of the features listed here can be accessed either by tapping on the appropriate item on the main menu bar found at the top of the website and dating apps (for the iOS app the menu bar is located at the bottom of the screen), or when viewing the members full profile page. The full menu bar includes Browse, Messages, Matches, Activity, Help, and on the far right (where your photo is) your Profile and Account settings.

• Profile
  • The full member profiles are accessible by clicking on a member's photo in a profile summary when viewed in the Browse, Messages and Activity Sections. The Matches Section itself already displays the full profile
  • View all public profile information about the member. Tap on the main photo to bring up a larger version and the ability to view any other photos the member may have. A number on the bottom left of the main photo indicates how many photos the profile has
  • You can Like the profile by tapping the heart button, Message the member by tapping the blue mail button, and send a Wink to a member by tapping the winking face button
  • Clicking the "..." menu to the right and bottom of the profile photo will allow you to either Block or Report the member if needed

• Messages
  • To access tap on the Messages item on the main menu bar. A red circle above the menu displays how many new messages you have
  • On larger screens, the members who you have sent or received messages from are displayed in the left column showing the members by latest messages first. When you click on the member, the right side then displays your actual conversations/messages you have sent and received from the member. Just below this you can enter in a new message
  • Messages can contain emojis and image attachments
  • At the top of the conversation you can see the members profile summary. Clicking on this will take you to their full profile. Clicking the "..." menu to the right and top of the conversation will allow you to either Block or Report the member if needed
  • Any Winks that you receive or Mutual Matches (when you Like someone and they have Liked you as well) that happen you will find notifications for them here
• Activity
  • To access tap on the bar graph icon or "Activity" menu item found on the main menu
  • Find summary lists for members who have Viewed Me, I Viewed, My Likes, and Mutual Likes. Can also display all items from within these lists
  • Each member listed shows their profile photo, age, location and if you have liked then. Also included is the date that the item was added to the list
• Flirt
  • A quick, fun way to let someone know you're interested. The member receives the Flirt in his or her message center and then can go to your profile and Flirt back with you. You can send up to 30 Flirts per day, but each member can only be Flirted with once
  • You can flirt wherever you see the winking face button
• Likes
  • Likes is what helps drive matches in Jdate. Just click or tap on the heart icon to Like a profile. If they Like you back (or they Liked you first) then it is considered a Mutual Match and each person is sent a notification in the Message center
  • View a list of members you have liked in the Activity list (think of them as your favorites!)
  • You can Like members (or un-like them) in Browse, LookBook, Matches, and the Activity list

Searching and Matching

The Jdate dating service both on the website and dating apps allows members to search (called Browse) for other members and also receive automated matches.

Searching (Browse)

The home dashboard is the Browse section of Jdate and automatically defaults showing you all the new members that match your Discovery Preferences you setup when creating your profile. On larger screen devices like laptops profiles will be listed in 3 columns. On smaller devices this will shrink to 2 or even a 1 column layout. Profiles are listed in a gallery like format which displays the main profile photo of the member along with their Display Name, Age, Location, Height, Occupation, and Jewish Religion Denomination. Profiles can display a number of badges. These badges indicate things like if they have Spotlight enabled with a blue stared banner badge (these profiles are always listed first), and if they are a Premium member with Message+ by the yellow plus sign and speech bubble badge.

Members with the Message+ badge have paid a subscription which means they can communicate with all members. If you are only a free member, one way to attract their attention (besides having a lot of photos and a detailed profile) is by sending them a wink. This way they will be notified of your interest, and if they reach out and message you, you then can read their full text message and respond back.

Profiles listed also indicate if you have Liked them or not. Tapping/clicking on the heart allows you to Like (solid red heart icon) or un-like the member (a white outline of a heart). Tapping on the photo of the member takes you to their full profile page.

When you view the list of members in the Browse section you will notice a row of buttons across the top. These are used to filter and sort your matches by New, Online, Distance, and Match %. The last button on the right is for the LookBook which operates a little differently than the rest of the Browse section which we will cover in the Matching section below.

Centered under the Browse buttons you will find your current Discovery preferences for Browse. Clicking on this opens a form allowing you to update your preferences. Browse filters you can change include the Gender you are seeking, the Age Range, and Distance from your Location (along with your actual Location). You can also multi-select which denominations of the Jewish religion you want to be matched up with, along with what types of relationships you are interested in. You also have the option of changing the Advanced Discover Preferences. This includes most parts of the profile along with those important to Jewish singles including Synagogue Attendance levels, and what degree it is acceptable to which members are Kosher.

Matching

There are 2 areas where you can be matched with members. The first can be found in the Browse section of the website and app called LookBook. LookBook allows you browse profiles one at a time, anonymously. You will be shown profiles based on your Browse Discovery Preferences. Similar to Browse, when a profile is displayed you can see the member’s Profile Photo, Display Name, Age, Location, Match Percentage, and Essay (depends on screen size). For each profile you have the option to either tap on the Heart button to Like the profile or tap on the X button to indicate you pass on the member. If you click on the Heart, and that member has already Liked your profile, you will be notified of the Mutual Like. If you pass on a member in LookBook, they will not be notified. Only Mutual Likes are notified. If you want to see the member’s full profile, you can click on their photo; however, if you view the full profile you will not remain anonymous.

Another option to find members that Jdate feels will be compatible with you is by checking out the Matches Section. Every day Jdate will prepare between 3 and 10 new matches for you that you have not seen before. They will display these members full profiles one at a time where you can either Like the match or view the next match. These Matches are not only based on your own Discovery Preferences but on the other members Discovery Preferences as well which means you have a much higher chance of success with both of you being interested in each other. Just like in LookBook, if both of you Like each others profile, a Mutual Match happens and both of you will be notified where at that point you can start messaging each other.

Other Jdate Information

Jdate is one of the oldest online dating sites. It was founded by Alon Carmel and Joe Y.Shapira and was launched in 1997. This service is part of Spark Networks which operates several other popular dating properties including Christian Mingle. On Oct 16, 2015 Spark Networks acquired Smooch Labs which runs a competing Jewish dating service called JSwipe. In 2017 Spark Networks merged with Affinitas GmbH to form Spark Networks SE and moved their headquarters from the United States to Germany. This added additional dating services to Sparks portfolio including SilverSingles and EliteSingles.

Jdate also manages the online Jewish singles magazine Jlife (more popular with younger Jewish adults). Here you will find articles on love and dating tips, culture, and success stories from members of Jdate.

For more detailed information on this dating service you can check out our Jdate Facts and Statistics page. Information can also be found in our topic for Jdate news articles.

Jdate Customer Care

Jdate has a fully functional Help section that contains many articles organized by category and is completely searchable. These help articles cover many topics that range from billing questions to how the different features of the service work.

At any time, you can contact Customer Care and submit a request using their online form. Just tap or click on the "Contact Us" or "Submit Request" buttons found at the bottom of all help pages.

Email

Use the "Contact Us" form to ask your question (response times for emails is usually less than 24 hours

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