OkCupid Review (OkCupid.com)

Whether you’re looking to meet new friends, find a hot hookup, or start connecting with someone who could turn out to be the love of your life, OkCupid’s got you covered. On OkCupid they say “Dating Deserves Better” and they’ve got the features to make this happen. The service uses your responses – and a math-based matching system – to pair you with compatible dates, promising a high accuracy rate as long as you know what you want and are honest about it. And you can communicate free as well with those members you have liked and they have liked you back (they do have paid upgrades for certain features).

OkCupid was founded by Chris Coyne, Sam Yagan, Max Krohn, and Christian Rudder, four men with impressive resumes. In addition to OkCupid, Coyne oversaw the development of TheSpark.com and SparkNotes.com, two hugely popular websites that have received accolades from publications like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Newsweek. Yagan was also involved with TheSpark.com, as well as MetaMachine, Inc., Delias, Corp., and Barnes & Noble, Inc. Krohn and Rudder were responsible for two of the most important parts of OkCupid: the OK Web Server and the OkCupid blog.

So what does all that star power give you?

OkCupid.com creates a unique dating environment by putting heavy emphases on member participation. Matches are identified by your profile and your responses to a series of fun questions. Each match question is made up of five parts: the question, the answer you would give, the same question from your matches view, the answer(s) you’re willing to accept from your matches, and a indication if the question is important to you. The more questions you answer, the smarter OkCupid gets at recommending matches for you.

When viewing another user’s profile, tap or click on the Match Percentage to compare your match question answers to their answers. If your answers match, you agree. If they didn’t give an answer you were looking for, their answer is considered a disagreement (the same if you gave an answer they weren’t looking for). If there’s no hope whatsoever, the tab will say “Y’all Have Issues” instead.

OkCupid also encourages user interaction via quirky essays, like “This is the saddest song ever written” or more dating related essays like “On a typical Friday night I am”. These essays (which usually consist of a paragraph or 2) helps other members to understand you better. Essays don’t affect your match percentages, but they can be searched and are a good way for a potential match to find you and then become interested in contacting you thanks to what you wrote.

Getting started with OkCupid is free and easy, though paying for the service has its perks. Unpaid users see advertisements on the site, while paid users enjoy an ad-free experience. Paid users also can see everyone who has liked them, use advanced filters, message all users, and have special identification in search results.

OkCupid takes privacy very seriously, offering a range of privacy controls to members. Users can choose to make their profile viewable only to other OkCupid members who are signed in, and to block or hide users they don’t want to see or contact.

The measure of any good business is its ability to keep up with new trends and changes in the industry, and OkCupid does exactly that. Full-featured mobile apps are available for both iPhone and Android, and OkCupid has a venture called “Events.” OkCupid Events bring online dating into the real world, creating “an instant party where you’re guaranteed to have high matches in the room.”

OkCupid is a force to be reckoned with in the online dating world. It is one of the top free dating sites and apps online, and was voted by Dating Sites Reviews’ users as their favorite free dating site a number of times in past years. OkCupid also has earned a spot in Time magazine's list of the top 10 dating sites. With its user-friendly design and unique and interesting way to meet matches, OkCupid is an excellent choice for singles interested in online dating.

Positives of OkCupid

These are the best parts of OkCupid.

• It is free to use and users can send and receive messages to mutual likes. Paid options are available that include additional dating features
• Wide range of sexual orientation and gender options (including Non-binary). Can choose 5 from over 60 options
• Fairly detailed profiles with a match questions that do not take too long to fill out. Has the simplicity of Tinder and the matching prowess of eHarmony
• Easy to use with a clean interface

Negatives of OkCupid

These are the parts of OkCupid which needs improvement.

• Advertising on the website and in the app
• No group chatting, only instant messaging
• No video uploading or audio/video chatting
• Profile verification is limited to Facebook only. Newer methods using texts and photos are not used
• If you are looking for the unique experience of OkCupid circa 2015 or older, it is mostly gone. All the questions, tests, and quizzes that OkCupid and other members made back then have been replaced by just 15 match questions

Editors Bottom Line

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

"OkCupid" is all about who you are and not what you look like. There motto - Dating Deserves Better - means that they are matching on what matters to you and not the superficial traits other dating services may use. Following this mantra has given OkCupid many fans.

We give OkCupid, a 4 out of 5 Stars! 😃

Awards

A list of up to the last 5 awards for the Current year and/or Past that OkCupid has been the recipient of, in the Dating Sites Reviews Choice awards.

OkCupid Profiles & Sign Up Process

OkCupid is accessible from their website at OkCupid.com and via apps found on Google Play and the Apple App store. When you join you are required to either use your Facebook account or email address, even on your phone (no phone number is asked for). During signup OkCupid will require you to fill out a large part of the profile. They will ask for the following information:

• Sign-up
  • About You
    • Asks for your first name and location (Country and Zip code)
    • Which gender best describes you? - Choose from Woman, Man, or "More Options". More options contains over 60 gender types which you can pick up to 5 including Bigender, Transgender, Pangender, Other, etc...
    • Find out more on selecting Identity Preferences for LGBTQ+ users
    • Link your profile to a partner if you are in a polyamorous relationship
  • Ideal Person (Who are you looking for?)
    • What connections are you looking for? - Choose from Hookups, New Friends, Short-term dating, and Long-term dating
    • Asks if you are open to non-monogamy (An intimate relationship with more than 2 people)
    • Who are you looking to meet? - Chose from Men, Women, or "More options". More options includes All 22 gender options (which you can select up to 5). If a straight relationship is indicated OkCupid will check if they should show you only straight men or women
    • How old should your matches be? - Choose an age range
  • About You (Tell us about yourself)
    • Add some Photos
    • A photo of you is required to send and receive messages on OkCupid and to appear in Discover
    • Must be larger than 400px x 400px
    • Download photos from your device or pull from Facebook and/or Instagram
    • OkCupid recommends only to include photos of yourself and not with others (as they could take the spotlight off of you). Photos with you and your pet are also fine. The more photos you have means you’ll get more profile activity
  • Introduce yourself (describe yourself in a paragraph or 2)
• Match Questions
  • Answer 15 multiple choice questions to help OkCupid calculate your best matches
  • The results of these are shown as a Match Percentage on other profiles
  • You can skip questions if you wish
  • Each question has 2 separate parts:
    • Part 1
      • These questions relate to matching and range from asking about politics to if you are messy. They deal a bit with personality but mostly with your own preferences
      • These are multiple choice questions with a single answer
    • Part 2
      • This is the same question found in Part 1 but from your ideal persons point of view and how you would want them to answer. Same answers as well but you can select multiple answers
      • Can indicate if it is important to you. If you select every answer, the question will be marked as irrelevant
  • Example Match Questions:
    • About how long do you want your next relationship to last?
    • Which word describes you better? (Carefree, Intense)
    • Which would you rather be? (Normal, Weird)
    • Are you currently employed?
    • Is jealousy healthy in a relationship?
  • You can re-answer any match question, or change its importance level at a later date
  • Answers are public by default, but can be made private

When you visit your profile page under Settings you can answer a number of other profile details and write about other essay topics not asked during the OkCupid signup process. You can also update/change any of the match questions you have already answered. You will find your Profile broken down into sections including Essays, Match Questions, Profile Details, Topics, and Looking For. Here is the general information you can add and change in the details section:

• Basics
  • Includes: Orientation, Gender, Relationship Status, Relationship Type, Height, Body Type
• Background
  • Includes: Ethnicity, Language, Education, Religion
• Details
  • Includes: Smokes, Drinks, Drugs, Children Have, Children Want, Pets, Astrological Sign, Diet

OkCupid essays and topics are an important part of getting to know other members. OkCupid provides 50 profile prompts for essays and topics for you to choose from. Here are a few examples:

• Essays
  • OkCupid will prompt you to fill in about 8 different essay sections
  • Each essay has about 5 or 6 prompts you can choose from to write about or skip and just write your own
  • If you don't fill out a section then it will not appear in your profile. You can always fill it out later
  • About Me
    • Example prompts for this essay section includes "My self-summary" and "Favorite thing about the place I live"
    • This is the required question when you first sign up for OkCupid
  • Aspirations
    • Example prompts for this essay section includes "Current goal" and "What I'm doing with my life"
  • Talent
    • Example prompts for this essay section includes "I'm really good at" and "I could probably beat you at"
  • Needs
    • Example prompts for this essay section includes "My partner should be" and "Six things I could never do without"
  • Hobbies
    • Example prompts for this essay section includes "I spend a lot of time thinking about" and "The last show I binged"
  • Moments
    • Example prompts for this essay section includes "On a typical Friday night I am" and "Best day of my life so far"
  • Secrets
    • An example prompt for this essay section include "This is the saddest song ever written"
  • Dating
    • Example prompts for this essay section includes "You should message me if" and "For our first date, let's"
• Topics
  • Choose many more things to write about based on your passions and hobbies. Topics are used to help OkCupid match members with similar interests
  • Topics includes many different types of activities and interests - Travel, Outdoors, Music, Style, Pets, Sports, Work, etc...
  • For each topic you are required to include a little bit about why it is important to you. Before you write about the topic you can choose 1 of 5 or 6 different essay prompts OkCupid will show you (can skip if you wish). For Example for the Coffee topic you will be shown a number of prompts to choose from like "Without coffee I would probably never" and "My coffee-making setup". These prompts are designed to help members start the writing process
  • You can also include a photo with your topic

OkCupid Costs

OkCupid offers a free membership that includes some communication along with 3 paid subscription options called Basic, Premium, and Incognito Mode. Additional feature(s) can also be purchased by members.

• Prices last confirmed February 7, 2024. Please check OkCupid 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:
    • Creating your profile
    • Viewing other members profiles
    • See all of your potential matches
    • Send and receive Likes (only a limited number per day). Pass on matches
    • View your list of Mutual Likes (you liked them and they liked you)
    • Search for matches (limited search filters)
    • Use Discover to Like or Pass on OkCupids best matches for you
    • Send and receive messages to Mutual Likes
    • One SuperLike to use every week for free which you can include a note with
  • Costs:
    • None
• Basic
  • Includes:
    • Everything from the free membership
    • Send and receive messages to all users
    • Profile will be marked as an paid user in search results and on the profile details view (displaying your status can be disabled)
    • See who likes you - Get the full list of people who like you. This will also be marked on profiles
    • Send unlimited likes
    • Dealbreakers - Set hard filters for the match categories that matter to you the most
    • No ads
    • You can see all your Intros at once
  • Costs (in USD):
    • Monthly for $29.99
    • 3 month package for $59.97 ($19.99 per month - Save 33%)
    • 6 month package for $89.94 ($14.99 per month - Save 50%)
• Premium
  • Includes:
    • Everything from the Basic membership
    • See everyone who Likes you before you Like them
    • See public question answers - See everyone’s public answers to questions before you answer
    • Message priority - Your conversations with mutual matches will always stick at the top of their conversations page
    • Getting 3 free SuperLikes to use each week
  • Costs (in USD):
    • Monthly for $39.99
    • 3 month package for $79.98 ($26.66 per month - Save 33%)
    • 6 month package for $119.94 ($19.99 per month - Save 50%)
• Incognito Mode
  • Incognito is a separate subscription, and does not include features from the Basic and Premium subscriptions except for what is listed below
  • Includes:
    • Everything from the free membership
    • Send and receive messages to all users
    • Your profile is invisible to everyone on OkCupid unless you like or message them
    • Can manually hide your profile from people you already messaged (use the Hide or Block option)
    • If any visitor tries to visit your OkCupid profile who you haven’t liked or messaged they will get a page explaining that your profile does not exist
    • Turn incognito on or off at any time - you're in control!
    • No Ads
  • Costs (in USD):
    • Monthly for $19.99
    • 3 month package for $44.97 ($14.99 per month - Save 33%)
    • 6 month package for $59.94 ($9.99 per month - Save 50%)
• Via website pay by credit card, debit card, and PayPal
• Your subscription will automatically renew for the same price and package length until you cancel via your account settings

OkCupid offers 4 additional paid feature which can be purchased by free and paid subscriber members.

• SuperLikes
  • Increases your chances of matching with them up to 4x
  • Notified that you SuperLiked them right away
  • You’ll appear in a special SuperLikes Stack
  • Costs (in USD):
    • Can be purchased individually or in packs of 5 or 10
• Stacks
  • The "Popular" and "New People" Stacks are purchased individually
  • Once purchased they will be accessible in the Discover section
  • Pricing for these Stacks are dynamic so may change depending on the time and day
  • Costs (in USD):
    • Access to 1 stack for $1.99 for 7 days
• Boost
  • A Boost will show your profile in more results than it would otherwise be shown in for 15 minutes. This includes all areas of OkCupid
  • Promoted profiles are indistinguishable from other profiles
  • This will give you about 30 times more exposure when compared to a non-promoted profile during the same amount of time
  • See our Would You Pay To Promote Yourself On OkCupid? for more information
  • Costs (in USD):
    • 1 Boost for $6.99
    • 5 Boost Pack for $29.95 ($5.99 each)
    • 10 Boost Pack for $49.90 ($4.99 each)
• Read Receipts
  • Find out when a user has read your message
  • Can be bought individually and in packs
  • Costs (in USD):
    • 1 for ?
    • 5 Pack for ?
    • 20 Pack for ?

OkCupid Viewing & Communication Features

OkCupid has changed in the last few years. Gone are the complex tests and questions (there was over 4,000) users can add to their profile. Instead OkCupid has taken a more stream line approach to online dating. There may be less options but it has made navigating the app and website easier. The features are self-explanatory and make finding members you like an enjoyable process.

Most of these dating features and tools can be found when viewing the profiles either when you search and browse for matches in Discover, or when you use Dealbreakers to see matches from categories that matter to you the most.

• Profiles
  • View profile photos along with any information they filled out for their profile (except for any match questions they have marked as private)
  • If the member has connected their Instagram account, their Instagram feed will appear on their OkCupid profile
  • Any essays and topics that the member is interested in and has added to their profile will also show up here and be highlighted if you share the same interest
  • Match Percentage Results
    • View Match Percentage results right on other members profiles between you and that member including the number of match questions they agreed and disagreed with you
    • Match questions let you define yourself and what's important to you. Your match percentage with someone shows at a glance how compatible OkCupid thinks you are
    • Tap or click on the match percentage to go to a new page that compares your answers to each individual match question. You'll see questions you've both marked as important right at the top, followed by questions you've marked important, followed by questions they've marked important. Below that, you'll see all the questions you've both answered publicly, but neither marked important.

  

  • Like or Pass
    • While viewing any profile you can Like or Pass on them as a match
    • If you Like a profile by clicking on the star icon (or dragging the profile to the right)
    • Once you like someone, OkCupid won't show them to you again on OkCupid until they like you back
    • There is a limit to the number of profiles you can like in a single day
    • If you Pass on a profile by clicking on the X icon (or dragging the profile to the left) their profile will be removed from Discover results (for a while). Any conversations will also be removed that you may have had
  • SuperLikes
    • You get one SuperLike free a week
    • You can send a note with a SuperLike as well to make sure the member really notices you
    • When someone SuperLike you, you'll see a separate Stack where you can view them. They are also viewable in the regular Likes list
  • Report or block members from viewing your profile and messaging you by taping/clicking the three dots icon near their name while viewing their profile. Members can be unblocked from within your Account Settings
  • If you have not liked or pass on a member you can Bookmark them to find their profile later by clicking on the 3 dot icon
• Likes (Who You Like)
  • Found under the Star icon on the top (website) or bottom (app) menu bar
  • Lists all the members who you like but you have yet to like back
  • Once you like them the profile will move to the Messages tab
  • Subscription required

• Messages
  • Found under the speech bubble icon on the top (website) or bottom (app) menu bar. May also be called "Conversations"
  • Shows all of the active conversations you're having: all messages from people you have Liked. Messages from people you have not yet liked will be waiting for you to Like them on their profile
  • If the conversation has been inactive for 90 days, it will move to the Older Conversations section (below the active ones)
  • If a conversation you want to view is missing, then that user may have blocked you (or you blocked them), been banned, or have deleted their account
  • Members can be blocked from viewing and communicating with you from the conversation window by taping on the 3 dot icon
• Notifications
  • Includes email and mobile push notifications
  • You can choose from the Settings in the app or website if you'd like to receive notifications for each category (new messages, likes, etc...)
  • You can edit your notifications from your profile's Settings page
• Bookmarks
  • On the website found under your profile menu. For the app, Bookmarks is found in the Discover tab (under see all)
  • Allows you to bookmark a profile that you like but have yet to message or like
  • Once you have liked or messaged the member, the bookmark to their profile will be removed

Searching and Matching

OkCupid offers the ability to be matched automatically based on match preferences and more detailed questions designed to help determine your ideal match. You cannot really search in the traditional sense but just view different stacks (categories) of cards in Discover.

On the surface OkCupid's "Discover" works similar to other dating apps matching system. When you select a Stack, you are shown one profile at a time which you can Like or Pass on. What makes OkCupid Discover different is the quality of the matches thanks in large part to the Match Percentage algorithm. OkCupid profiles with their essay and topics feature are also more detailed than your average dating app making it easier to determine if you have more in common with the person. The profiles highlight the individuality of the member helping you better connect with them. Photos are shown along with personality information and your match score.

If you like the member OkCupid will make sure and show them your profile as often as possible until they either like or pass on you. If a mutual like happens they will appear in the Messages section of OkCupid. If you pass on someone they will not appear in your Discover results for a long while. Liking someone leads to a better chance of getting a conversation started and mutual Likes are required to send a message as a free user. You can also send a SuperLike once a week which includes a intro message to anyone on OkCupid who has not blocked you.

In Discover your matches are sorted into 9 different Stacks (which are like categories). The ones available to free users include:

• Recommended - OkCupid’s top recommendations based on your preferences.
• Match %
• Passport - Connect with people all over the world
• Climate Change - Climate activists
• Online - People recently online are most likely to respond
• Question Pros - OkCupid Questions determine compatibility. These people have answered the most OkCupid questions
• Nearby - People in your area

There are 2 stacks that you can only access by paying. These include:

• Popular
• New People - Those who have just joined

Popular and New People members show up in other Stacks but if you want to see them all in one place you need to purchase this feature separately.

OkCupid Basic and Premium members have the option to filter all the profiles in Discover by specifying Dealbreakers. These are match preferences and filters for your stacks. They filters are organized by groups like Basics and Looks, and include attributes like Gender, Orientation, Age, Distance, Body Type, Height, etc. Please note that if someone doesn't fill out the sections that you've included as Dealbreakers, you'll still see their profiles. OkCupid doesn't remove users who've opted not to share certain parts of their life.

OkCupid only shows you a Stack if there are enough people who match your preferences. If you are not seeing a Stack, it is suggested you expand age, distance, or other preferences to see more people which may open a missing Stack.

One recommendation we can make to increase your profile visibility on OkCupid when others are reviewing their matches in the different Stacks is, stay active. Use the service at least a couple of times a week. Like members, send messages, add photos, update your profile, and answer Match Questions, all will increase your visibility to others.

Other OkCupid Information

OkCupid was founded in 2004 and is based in New York city. In 2011 Match Group purchased OkCupid for $50 million USD.

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

Disclaimer: While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of our information at DatingSitesReviews.com we shall not be held responsible for any discrepancy. There is a possibility that the information provided here is outdated or wrong, please check with the service directly for the most recent information. As always you should read your terms of service before purchasing a product and/or signing up to any online service. DatingSitesReviews.com may receive a portion of revenue if you click a link in this page and buy a product or service. Editorial opinions expressed in our official reviews are our own and are not provided or approved by advertisers.