Plenty of Fish is celebrated as one of the first dating platforms, but does it still hold up more than 20 years later?
We’ve thoroughly investigated this dating app, scouring reviews and assessing its features to help you decide if it’s the right fit for you. Follow along to learn more about the platform’s pros, cons, and costs.
Plenty of Fish is renowned as one of the original dating platforms. It’s an online dating service that started as a website in 2003 and expanded to an app version in 2010.
While Plenty of Fish has undergone upgrades and changes over the years to ensure the app keeps up with the times, it still focuses heavily on the messaging features, encouraging users to connect and get to know each other rather than relying on looks alone.
There are by far more negative reviews than positive reviews. Many users complain that the dating app’s quality has decreased in recent years, describing discontent with the platform’s functionality. Of those that left positive reviews, they focused on the app’s big pool of singles, which has yielded successful matches in some cases.
Trustpilot has 53,165 Plenty of Fish reviews, earning the dating site 3.4 stars. Of the total reviews, 51% of users gave the site 5 stars, with another 21% giving it 4 stars. The positive reviews shared success stories of users finding their spouses through the site. As for the negative reviews, many complained about problems with customer service delaying refunds and unfairly closing down accounts.
The App Store shows Plenty of Fish receiving 4.1 stars. Despite its fairly good overall score, some of the most recent reviews complain about fake profiles, problems with customer service, and issues with location features that make it difficult to meet locals.
Of the 1.67 million Plenty of Fish reviews on Google Play, the dating app received an overall score of 3.6 stars. However, most of the recent reviews written this year complained about issues with the location and age search features, fake profiles, error messages, and the app’s pushiness to drive users to pay for a subscription. Many users lamented that the app has gone downhill in recent years.
The recent Wealthy Single Mommy review basically says it’s worth at least trying the free version, as there are some benefits to using this dating avenue. For instance, the review says Plenty of Fish caters to a wide range of users at various stages of their lives who are interested in finding love. However, the review did touch on some of the downsides to the app, including fake profiles, problematic location filters, and limited options available on the free version.
Dating Scout gave Plenty of Fish 3 out of 5 stars. Its review celebrated the app’s big pool of singles, each of whom can provide details about what kind of relationship they want. However, because there are so many users, it can lead to some competition. One thing the review called out was the sign-up process, which requires users to fill out a “tedious” questionnaire, which can be time-consuming.
ProductReview gave Plenty of Fish 1.3 stars. Of the 518 total reviews, 93% were negative. Many reviews called the app a waste of time, warning of fake profiles and scammers, issues with refunds, and unfair account bans.
Like many of the other reviews about Plenty of Fish, conversations on Reddit discussed the app’s penchant for attracting fake profiles and scammers. Some commenters said the older version of the site had more value and that the newer version hasn’t kept up with the advanced features other dating apps offer.
Plenty of Fish received a 2.5-star rating from Consumer Affairs. Of the 753 reviews, 49% gave the app just one star. Similar to the other reviews, these reviews complained about issues with canceling subscriptions, fake profiles, and banned accounts. Some of the more positive reviews focused on the fact that the app is free and has a wide selection of singles.
The reviews of Sitejabber were in line with a lot of the reviews left on other channels. Plenty of Fish received 1.4 stars from 1,917 reviews. Again, the majority of negative reviews bashed the app for continuing to bill users after canceling their subscriptions, allowing fake profiles, and showing low-quality singles. That said, several positive reviews mentioned that users met their spouses through the app.
Yes, there have been lawsuits filed against the dating app. The most recent one was a class action lawsuit filed in 2023, alleging age and gender discrimination.
Yes, Plenty of Fish is a legit dating app.
To join the dating app, you must fill out an extensive questionnaire and include photos of yourself for your profile. Once you’ve registered, you can begin browsing other profiles.
When you come across a profile you like, you can click a heart icon to express your interest or message them directly. To see who has liked your profile, you can navigate to the “Liked You” section or go to “It’s Mutual” to see your mutual matches.
Unlike many other dating apps, Plenty of Fish focuses on the messaging feature, encouraging users to interact instead of expressing interest based on appearances alone.
Plenty of Fish allows users to use the site to find both relationships and hook-ups. When creating your profile, you can specify what kind of relationship you’re looking for.
Yes, you need to create an account to browse the database of singles on Plenty of Fish.
Plenty of Fish is not advertised as a Christian dating app, but Christian users do use the app.
Plenty of Fish has a search feature that lets you search users by username, location, and age. It also has a more advanced search feature that includes descriptive details, like one’s ethnicity, body type, and dating intent. The dating app also provides you with a set of suggestions based on your preferences.
There is a free version, but users can also choose to upgrade to a paid subscription. This upgrade costs $59.99 for three months, $89.99 for six months, or $119.99 for 12 months.
Yes, Plenty of Fish continues to offer a free version in addition to its paid subscription services.
Based on the number of reviews that referenced canceling their subscription, the paid version may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
That said, Plenty of Fish does offer a robust free version, allowing you to see for yourself if the platform is worth your time and energy.
It’s difficult to compare Plenty of Fish and Tinder because they operate in different ways. Plenty of Fish features long, detailed profiles that encourage users to take their time browsing, while Tinder features photos and short descriptions designed for quick swiping.
While they both have their pros and cons, many reviews lean more in favor of Tinder.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any stats regarding Plenty of Fish’s success rate. However, in 2012, the company’s founder suggested that more than one million babies had been born to couples who met on the app.