JDate.com has been connecting Jewish lovers over the web for years. It’s one of those traditional dating sites that come from the dawn of the internet and are still kicking today.
Obviously, there have been some changes to the site over the years, so we are going to take the plunge and see if it’s still worth your time and hard-earned money.
First Impressions
The whole sign-up process is super quick and easy. You basically just put in your name, birthday, gender, and some other personal information before you’re all set to start browsing potential matches.
Straight away, it’s easy to tell that this is a dating site that is top of the line. Years of tweaks, changes, and re-designs have turned this site into a marvel of functionality. I experienced one bug where a page was offset for a few seconds when I first signed up, but other than that I can’t think of one time the site didn’t function perfectly.
Setting up the ‘bio’ section was simple and I kept mine short, but if you want to get a bit more in-depth, you have a 3,000-word limit. Pouring your heart out on the internet has never been so easy.
Since this is a Jewish dating site, you’re required to answer some information about your experience with religion, like how often you go to synagogue.
Oh, and by the way, the girls are hotter than hellfire itself. It’s pretty easy to find an atraktiv froy on this site if you know what I mean.
Features
Being one of the top religious dating sites – along with Christian Mingle – on the web, JDate is absolutely packed with cool features. One of the more basic ones allows you (with a membership) to see who’s recently viewed your profile. Another one lets you take advantage of the site’s killer messaging feature so you can chat up every nice Jewish girl you come across, no matter what kind of subscription they have.
After you sign up for the full version of the site, you gain access to some of the more exciting features. One of these is called “Secret Admirer,” and it feels suspiciously similar to an app we all know and love called Tinder.
The feature lets users discreetly rate other members on whether or not you’d date them or not. It’s an easy way to let a girl know you’re interested and if she sends you a positive rating back, well then that’s your green light pal.
There’s also something else called “Color Code” where you take a short personality test before the site takes your results and matches you up with people who are compatible with you. It’s actually pretty useful since people usually need to have something other than a religion in common to truly connect.
With a membership, you can also finally check out everyone’s pictures on the site. No longer will you be angrily trying to zoom in on the tiny profile picture displayed on each profile. Now you can browse someone’s entire photo album with ease.
Pricing and Membership Details
Okay let’s get one thing straight; this isn’t some sketchy ‘meet and fuck’ scam site. It’s a real dating site for real people looking for love, so you can see why it might be a little… expensive.
The site gives you a total of just three options when choosing a subscription plan. If you’re some shmuck who’s just looking to mess around on the site to get a feel for it, you’re going to be out $59.99 for a month-long membership. You can see why it might just be easier for people to commit to a longer-term on this site.
For people who are serious about getting to know a smoking hot Jewish woman that you can bring home to mom, there’s the three-month option. For $44.99 a month, users can actually save some money so they can spend it on their big date after three months of searching for the perfect woman. This plan is going to cost you a total of $134.97 so it’s important that you think about whether or not this would be for you. I recommend using the free version first.
Finally, the best deal you can possibly get on this site comes in at just $29.99 a month for a six-month membership. If you’re determined to find that perfect Jewish woman you’ve always dreamed of, then you’re going to need a whopping $179.94 burning a hole in your pocket.
I’d say the membership prices are a little outrageous, but I honestly think it’s worth it. The site offers so many great tools for you to use on your mission to find love and it’s essential for anyone who wants to start a Jewish family.
Pros
JDate has a lot going for it, so it’s going to be hard to pin down all the perks, but I’ll try.
The userbase is phenomenal. I’ve seen plenty of online dating communities, but never have a seen one with such an accepting and active community. I get a least three messages a day from local girls who want to meet me, and it’s a breath of fresh air. I’ve signed up for a few sites that promised me dozens of messages a day and thousands of active members, but instead I got scammed out of $40. You live, and you learn I guess.
Something I think stands out with JDate is how fast you can set up and start using your profile. I mean, it’s instantaneous. I started having conversations within the first fifteen minutes on the site, and none of them were fake profiles. One of the girls even went to my high school, and I got to catch up with her.
Another great part about this site is its ability to draw in the user in ways I can’t describe. Being a Jewish male, I can sometimes feel like I’m left out or lonely, but when I log into JDate and see all of the users near me who are actually my same age, I feel at home.
Everyone is super nice and welcoming. I spent an hour yesterday chatting with a couple of girls about our childhoods, complaining about going to synagogue and receiving shitty Haunkaka presents. It was a blast, not going to lie.
Cons
Although I don’t mind spending a little extra money on quality goods, JDate is just a little too expensive. There’s an offensive joke in here somewhere, but I mean it. Paying almost $60 for a one-month membership is unheard of, and I don’t know if I’d be willing to pay up if this site wasn’t some of the most fun I’ve had in a while.
Another shitty thing about this site is its free membership. Sure, you can look at people’s profiles and receive messages from other users, but you can’t ever reply or view full photo albums. Some other big dating sites let free users message, and I can’t name one time it didn’t play out perfectly in membership stats.
Lastly, I want to give out a warning to anyone who lives in a more rural area with a small population; there’s no guarantee that you’ll find anyone in your area. Using parameters set by the site, you sometimes won’t find any members in your area, and that’s a frustrating experience for sure.
Conclusion
Reviewing a big-time dating site like this one was a real treat, so let’s finally answer the question “is it worth it?”
In short, yes. JDate has changed the lives of thousands of Jewish people around the country, and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. There’s just something about connecting with people you share similar experiences with that makes getting to know each other so much more comforting and easy.
With the combination of a beautiful user interface, smooth website, and hot Jewish chicks, this site cannot be beaten. I’m giving JDate a well-deserved 4/5 star rating. I’m going to keep using the site so who knows? Maybe I’ll find the Jewish love of my life within the next couple of months.