The Best Jewish Dating Sites

Wednesday, December 6th

2023 Jewish Dating Site Reviews

J Date

• Strictly for Jewish singles
• Popular for more than 20 years
• User-friendly app and website
• Events for singles, both online and in person

JDate is a tried and true platform for meeting Jewish singles. It's been around for more than 20 years and is one of the original dating sites, and now includes an app. Even before you meet the person, whether online or virtually, you can narrow your search with filters such as which branch of faith they associate with, if they keep kosher, their location, and a few others.

Helping Jewish singles for more than two decades

JDate is one of the first and most reliable online dating sites, and it was created to help Jewish people find their partner. In 1997, Alon Carmel and Joe Shapira launched JDate and in 2006 won a Webby for social networking. In 2004 they launched their app as well, and this remains the premier dating site and app exclusively for Jewish singles.

The modern Jewish matchmaker

The traditional shidduch is a match-making system in the Orthodox community. JDate has taken the concept and modernized it to an online, convenient way for Jewish singles to meet each other and fall in love. More than 200,000 have found love in a Jewish partner with JDate. By being exclusive to Jewish relationships, JDate is a modern, yet time-tested catalyst for finding a potential Jewish life partner. It aims to strengthen the Jewish community and traditions for future generations, and has done so for decades.

Specific, Jewish filters

Because Jews live and practice their lives and faith differently from one another, JDate has filters with advanced options such as keeping kosher, synagogue attendance, and willingness to relocate. You should know that the vast majority of JDate members are in the US; so if you live in the US and want to remain there, most of the JDate members do too.

They want to keep you safe

This service reviews every photo and profile that is submitted, and they take appropriate action when there are complaints of false profiles - think scammers - or perceived harassment. They pride themselves on their fraud detection tools and software.

The LookBook

This feature is specific to JDate and it lets you anonymously browse profiles that are presented based on your preferences. You don't swipe right or left; instead, you mark the heart or the X to either like or take a pass.

Highly rated - most of the time

The Better Business Bureau gives JDate's parent company an "A+" rating. Trustpilot reviewers, though, give them an average of just 2.5 stars. The complaints there mention fake profiles, abandoned profiles, and that the same people are recommended multiple times, even after marking the X.

Limited free access

There is limited free access on JDate. You can create your profile and browse for free, but if you want to contact someone, you'll need a paid subscription, which is called a Premium membership.

Pricing is hidden

You'll have to sign up for membership in order to find out the price. This means that you'll have to complete a questionnaire and include your photo - no pricing is indicated on the website, including the FAQ section. From what we gathered through user feedback, though, you should anticipate the following prices:

• 1 month for $59.99 (option to renew each month)
• 3 months for $134.97 ($44.99 per month)
• 6 months for $179.94 ($29.99 per month)

They're expensive, but worth it

JDate has been around for more than 20 years, has a great reputation, and a great rate of success in helping Jewish single people find dates, romance, and spouses. Some are unhappy that there aren't a lot of potential matches presented, but when your dating site is niche, such as eliminating those who aren't Jewish or looking for a Jewish partner, consider it a major filter, not a flaw. They are a pricey option, but if you can find a life partner, it's quite worth it. JDate is our #1 pick among Jewish dating sites, and we recommend that you start there.

Saw You At Sinai

• Professional matchmakers
• High success rate
• Appropriately-detailed questionnaire
• Several questions about Jewish culture and heritage

If you've never used a Jewish matchmaker, you should. Especially if you're tired of the algorithms choosing matches for you and you're just not satisfied or wonder what the heck they were thinking. Well, they weren't thinking - they're algorithms. Matchmakers think. And they do a pretty good job. Give SawYouAtSinai's matchmakers a chance to find you a match. There are even live and online events so you can meet people in a setting to get to know them and maybe find your own match.

Ideal if you don't trust algorithms

Many people are tired of algorithms setting up their matches, finding that they're not accurate, or they're just getting old. Behind the curtain here are more than 300 trained matchmakers helping you to find your Jewish person. That makes SawYouAtSinai pretty unique within the Jewish online dating world.

Select your matchmakers

You can select your own matchmakers from more than 300 who are real people, trained in Jewish matchmaking that not only find you matches, but are there to offer support and dating advice as you navigate your dating journey. Your matchmakers want to see you succeed.

Getting to know you

SawYouAtSinai will expect you to be open about yourself. Your matchmaker will want to know your match criteria including age, education, marital status, number of children, ethnicity, cultural background, and more. The Jewish questions include your religious orientation and history, cultural background, convert status, religious background of your family, if you keep kosher and observe Shabbat. It seems like a lot, but when you're talking about Jewish religion and culture, the matchmakers want to get it right.

Good age distribution

Because SawYouAtSinai isn't a site for casual hookups, you'll find that there's a nice, even distribution of both age and gender. There are a few more females between ages 25 and 34, but it's still pretty close in number in the rest of the age brackets.

Not much for free

You really can't do much on SawYouAtSinai for free. You can edit and view your own profile, browse matchmakers, read their blog and dating articles, be admitted to member events both online and in person, and receive one match per week.

Become a member

If you are ready to find your person, join the Gold membership. You'll get all the free stuff, plus two personal matchmakers, a 15-minute conversation with your matchmakers, receive up to 10 matches per week, see your match's full name, and can contact your matchmaker to give input or receive advice.

The pricing will have your head spinning

You can search their site for pricing. What they tell you, though, is that it's totally free, putting free in bold and all caps; and they reiterate it with, "What's it cost? Nothing!" Yet... read further and they'll give you a glimpse. Gold membership, it says, can run between $10.95 and $24.95 per month. But you won't know the exact price until you sign up for the Gold. Argh.

No browsing

If you want to browse profiles here, you can't. It sounds frustrating, but what's good is that the thousands of other members can't browse yours, either, perhaps making you feel self-conscious. Just let go and trust the match that the matchmaker brings to you.

You, too, can play matchmaker

If you find a member that could be perfect for someone you know, you can send along your friend's information to a SawYouAtSinai member.

Don't let the numbers fool you

There may not be as many members on SawYouAtSinai as there are on the non-faith-based sites, but SawYouAtSinai's high rate of successful relationships boasts more than 4,000 engagements.

The personal touch

Matchmakers have been around for generations and are a trusted way to find your Jewish match. SawYouAtSinai has more than 300 matchmakers to choose from, and you can even ask them for advice. Sign up and you can receive up to 10 matches per week. They have had more than 4,000 engagements, so why not give them a try? But if you want to do some browsing on your own, possibly finding your own potential matches, you can't do that here. You'll have to choose to trust the matchmakers.

JSwipe

• Large base of members
• Large majority of members are in their 20s
• Mobile access exclusively
• Quick and easy to set up profile

JSwipe combines the traditions of a matchmaker with the fun of an app and the current trend of swiping to save or eliminate match choices. It's not intended for hookups, and most people don't use it that way. It's intended for Jewish singles meeting other Jewish singles, whether locally or internationally, for friendship, dating, or long-term relationship. There's a free membership, but you really get a lot with the paid subscription, and that's what we recommend.

Swipe left, swipe right

Similar to the popular dating apps for the general public, JSwipe allows you to swipe left or right with potential matches. If you and the other person both swipe right for each other, you'll match and can chat. But unlike other apps, JSwipe gives you a smiling Star of David when you swipe right and a sad Star of David when you swipe left. Cute!

For mainly the younger crowd

There's not a lot of info on profiles when you're swiping: just a photo and some basic info so you can make a quick decision with a swipe. That definitely gives JSwipe a younger vibe.

Simple and quick to get started

Upload your photo, provide your first name, birth date, religion, and kosher status. Complete a brief bio and that's about it. Want more matches? Connect your JSwipe profile to Instagram.

Don't wait too long

Once you match with someone, you have 18 days to reach out to that person, or that match expires. This is great motivation to actually get out there and start chatting to get to know them better and hopefully meet them.

There's a free membership, but you don't get much

For free you can create a profile and add photos. You can even chat with any of the members if you've matched with them. You can also send one Super Swipe per day: a Super Swipe lets someone know you find them special.

So much more with First Class, their paid membership

With a paid JSwipe plan, you can let people know you're a little more than interested, send one first-impression message, view profiles of people who have "liked" you as well as the most popular profiles and those outside of your preferred geographical area, know when your messages have been read, and optimize your photo to increase your "likes." While JSwipe doesn't make it easy to find their pricing information in advance, you can expect to pay the following:

• 1 month for $24.99 (renewable each month)
• 3 months for $44.99 ($15 per month)
• 6 months for $59.99 ($10 per month)

Not for hookups

Some online dating sites have a reputation for providing hookups. What makes JSwipe different is that first of all, it's Jewish; and second, it's not for hookups. Your bubbe would be proud of you using JSwipe. The site has the Star of David and all things Jewish all over the site, and there doesn't seem to be the urgency, if you will, to meet up quickly. However, just like with a traditional Jewish matchmaker, once JSwipe lets you know of a match, you have 18 days to make a connection, or the match expires. Hop on it and start messaging.

Fun with a Jewish flair

Swiping is fun. And you can let someone know you're interested in them. There's the nudge of the 18-day match expiration and few details in the profile to encourage you to get moving to chat and see if there's a connection. That's really what you want, right? JSwipe helps.

If you're Jewish and in your 20s, we love it for you

There are about a million subscribers on JSwipe, mostly in their 20s. It's fun and current with swiping, but traditional like a matchmaker by obviously helping you match within communication limits of 18 days.

It's not just for dating

If you're looking to make friends, this is a good way to do it. You don't have to feel the pressure of looking for a life partner; maybe you want to start out by looking for Jewish friends in your area, or meet people across the ocean. It's all there for you, just sign up.

Totally worth it

With a paid subscription to JSwipe, you could be connected with Jewish people either locally or internationally, and you have the option to find friends or dates. The app has nice features like helping you enhance your photo, send messages, see who has liked you, and more. There are no games or gimmicks, they just want to help you make meaningful relationships. The one downside? If you're looking for a desktop version, it's not possible - JSwipe is only accessible via app. If you're in your 20s, you'll find the majority of the membership is in your age range. That's not to say there's no older population on there, just the majority age range is the 20s. Overall this is a fun way to meet other Jewish people looking for fun, friendship, and yes, marriage too.

JWed

• Over 3,700 marriages
• Open to all ages
• Safety-conscious
• Web based plus apps

If you're ready to settle down and get married to a Jewish person, JWed is ready to help you. All of their members are also interested in finding a spouse, not casual dating. If you want help in writing a better profile or help with online dating, JWed has people who are ready to assist. And, there are heightened safety features and they don't tolerate cyber-bullying.

Love and marriage

JWed isn't about hookups or casual dating. It's about helping you to find your person... your Jewish person. The profile process might seem lengthy, but realize the premise is the more information disclosed, the better suited your matches should be.

Website and app

You can access the site and your account whether you're on their website or either format of their apps - iOS or Android. Although the app is a newer feature, you might find its design even better than the website's.

Nice features

JWed will let you text, send/receive emails, see who's online at the moment, see new members, choose to lock/unlock your photos with people, use advanced search filters, see the date of a member's last visit, and block/report members if needed.

Waiting period

Remember that JWed is all about safety, so you have to be approved before you can browse, and you may have to wait 24-48 hours for approval to even enter the site. Once approved, take your free tour and see if you like it.

Fee-based

There's no free membership with JWed. The basic subscription will allow you limited access. We recommend that if you're going to do it, do it right with better access on JWed's Premium Subscription. There's free access, but it's quite limited - so much so that they don't describe what you get for free, and they also call themselves a subscription-based membership. The 2 paid options they offer are:

• Basic membership runs $12.95 per month and only allows you to list your profile, search members, access unblocked photos, and reply to messages.
• The Premium plan costs from $24.95 - $29.95 per month and lets you communicate with any other paying member, message all members, see when others have read your messages, browse anonymously, see who's viewed your profile, see who's liked you, invite a member for a video date, record and listen to audio intros, and have access to matchmaking facilitation.

For an additional $20 per month, you can add "Plus" to your membership, which lets you communicate with any non-paying members.

Judgment-free zone

You can filter your potential matches by age, gender, location and beliefs; but, you cannot set a filter for height, weight, body type, or skin color.

You may or may not see their photo

Everyone has the choice to block the view of their photo for a while or from certain members. In the cases where the photo is hidden, you'll need permission from the member to reveal it.

Safety is a priority

Maybe you've been on dating sites and seen profiles that look fake or give you a bad feeling. JWed screens all applications by hand, so you can be assured they're genuine. There's a thorough investigation of any inappropriate behavior, and the process to report something improper or ingenuine is an easy one. Cyber-bullying will not be tolerated.

Dating coaching and profile-writing services

If you want to up your game, you can request help in writing your JWedprofile or get help in dating online. There are also conversation starters to avoid those first awkward moments.

Not for dating casually

If you aren't ready to settle down and would rather just date and see if it leads to marriage, try out another of our highly-recommended Jewish dating sites or apps. But if you want to date with marriage in mind, try JWed.

They're not messing around

JWed helps to find you a Jewish life partner in a safe environment. You need to be well screened before you can even take a peek at the site. You can hide your photo until you're ready to show it to a particular person, and people cannot filter based on something physical such as skin color, height, or weight. If you want help in writing a better profile or want online dating coaching, you can even hire someone here for that. JWed is a bit more expensive, but if you're ready to find your Jewish spouse, isn't it worth it?

Eharmony

• Detailed compatibility survey
• Helpful conversation starter ideas
• Criminal registry search
• Video chat option

When one thinks of reputable long-standing online dating sites with a faith-based credo, eHarmony comes to mind. They put it right out there that they were focused on facilitating faith-based matches, even though they got flak from it. Well, perseverance worked. They boast more than 600,000 marriages, and every fourteen minutes they've been the catalyst for another relationship. Jewish people are fans of eHarmony too, and have found love and long-term relationships, whether younger or into their senior years.

Simply put: it works

Founded in the year 2000, eHarmony is one of the oldest online dating sites, helping over two million people find love - about one in every fourteen minutes. They also boast over 600,000 marriages. eHarmony started out as a faith-based match site, and there's a large percentage of their clients who are still faith-based, looking for someone similar. There's definitely a filter for finding other Jewish people.

It's worth the time you put into your profile

eHarmony asks that you thoughtfully complete a long, detailed questionnaire that will be your profile. The more details you can give them, the better their search can do in finding you a potential partner. It can also weed out those who don't seem to want an actual relationship or meaningful connections.

Faith and morals questions

When you have a certain faith, whether Judaism or otherwise, you'll want to know if someone you're matched with has the same values. eHarmony does have applicants of varying religious backgrounds and faith preferences; but, they understand the importance of faith if it's important to you. That's why they have a religion filter and also ask questions about your - and their - faith and morality importance so you can be matched with someone similar.

They are Jewish-senior friendly

Because eHarmony has several filters, two of them being religious preference and age category, there's no reason Jewish seniors shouldn't try eHarmony. Besides, eHarmony is noted for long-term relationships, so senior Jewish people who are looking for a long-term relationship should definitely feel comfortable putting themselves out there on this site.

You can have free access

When you get the Basic Membership, which is free, you can match with other eHarmony users; use filters such as Jewish, ethnicity, and location; view an unlimited number of matches; use likes and icebreakers; and have a limited amount of messaging.

Purchasing a Premium plan is worth it

When you get a Premium membership, you can view members' photos, send and receive an unlimited number of messages, search the distance between you and members, and view their complete personality profile. The cost for a premium plan is:

• 6 months for $419.40 ($69.90 per month)
• 12 months for $598.80 ($49.90 per month)
• 24 months for $957.60 ($39.90 per month)

They care about your safety

Dating, especially in today's world, can be not only full of unknowns, but can also be a bit scary. If you've never met the person before, how do you feel safe and secure? Well, we can't answer that completely, but we feel comfortable that eHarmony does a criminal registry search to help weed out such potential applicants.

Dating advice

eHarmony provides articles and blog posts to help you not only to create your profile, but also to know what to include when you message someone as well as find conversation starters.

Video-date option

If you have the Premium subscription, you can go on virtual dates via your device. You can meet in the safety and comfort of your home or private location of your choice, and you don't have to share your phone number or other contact information if you don't want to.

Privacy

There's a two-factor authentication system when you log in to protect against fraudulent attempts, and you can be assured that those you interact with on eHarmony have undergone the same process. Your data is kept private with their encryption. However, your personal information may be used by eHarmony for marketing or research purposes.

Three-day trial period

Once you sign up, you have three days to cancel and request your money back if you're not happy with it. Although you can cancel at any time, if you want money back, it must be within those first three days.

You can't find out pricing without actually signing up

eHarmony lets you sign up for free with your email address and creation of a password. You also need to complete their 20-minute compatibility survey which will be your profile. Unfortunately, you can't just browse pricing if you don't actually sign up. When you're on the site, there are several teasers, such as sections called "How much does eHarmony cost?" , "eHarmony Cost for a Membership," and "eHarmony Membership & Costs FAQ," but none of them have pricing information. Our research, though, has found the pricing to be between $39.90 and $69.90 per month, depending on whether you sign up for 6, 12, or 24 months. This is one of the most expensive Jewish dating sites we've seen.

Their filters aren't perfect and affect their satisfaction score

eHarmony is a highly recommended site, especially for finding Jewish singles, but Trustpilot might tell you otherwise. Of over 800 reviews, a huge majority give eHarmony 1 star. The complaints include not knowing the subscriptions were auto-renewing, not hearing back from customer service, hearing from scammers who say they are from countries that they're not associated with and fishing for personal information, people not who they were claiming to be wanting casual hookups, and not honoring the three-day cancellation period.

We still rate them highly

When they are one of the original online dating sites and boast over two million successful relationships with more than 600,000 marriages, it makes eHarmony pretty, well, attractive. We applaud them for the safety features of dual authentication and criminal record checks. Unfortunately, their prices are well hidden, and there are significant complaints about not honoring the 3-day satisfaction guarantee. That keeps eHarmony from earning our #1 spot, but it's still a great option among Jewish dating sites.

J Retro Match

• The help of an actual matchmaker
• Privacy settings determined by you
• Reasonably priced for what you get
• Potential for events in your area

If you've ever wondered what it would be like if you had your own matchmaker, wonder no more. JRetroMatch gives you your own real matchmaker who's there whenever you need a bit of advice, and will send you a match per week. It's great motivation to actually get out there and go meet someone specially chosen for you. But if you want to look at a bunch of profiles on your own, you can't - those are for your matchmaker only. So the mystery is how many potential matches are in your area for them to choose from - you'll have to wait and see.

Your very own matchmaker has the help of a database

JRetroMatch takes the "retro" approach using actual human matchmakers to help you find someone compatible. Jewish matchmakers use their skills in combination with the info from the database of available members. You'll even get an interview with a matchmaker that you've chosen so they can better match you with someone.

Refreshing

Unlike many other Jewish dating sites, with JRetroMatch you can actually get information on the site without having to create a profile and share personal information. JRetroMatch freely offers information you'd like to know just by going on their site or checking the menu at the bottom of the home page. Pricing is a little harder to find, but at least you don't need to offer personal information to get it.

There are events to meet people

We were curious, so we checked the Events page. At that time, there was one advertised event in New York focused on Orthodox people. It happened to be a link to a different dating site's offerings, but still, why not combine resources? This is a great idea and we look forward to more events offered in the future.

Free membership

You can sign up for a free membership with JRetroMatch, but you won't have a matchmaker who will actively search for your matches. You will get to create a profile, have access to articles and workshops, have access to members-only events, be included in their database, and you'll have a 5-minute screening call by one of the JRetroMatch specialists.

Gold plan pricing

The paid membership plan offered by JRetroMatch is called their Gold Plan. The costs for this membership are:

• 1 month for $19.95
• 3 months for $47.85 ($15.95 per month)
• 6 months for $77.70 ($12.95 per month)

Gold Membership benefits

With the Gold Membership you'll enjoy all the benefits of the free membership plus:

• A 15-minute interview with your personal matchmaker
• A continuous search by your matchmaker to find matches for you
• The ability to ask for and receive advice and thoughts from your matchmaker
• Advantage of the ability to receive one potential match each week
• The list of all the matchmakers

Your matchmaker is there to help

You're not in this alone, so it doesn't have to be scary. Once you fill out your profile, you'll be assigned to a Jewish matchmaker, who will chat with you via phone and emails. They select people for you, and you accept, hold, or decline that potential match. If you each accept each other, your information will be shared so you can now set up a conversation and make plans for a date. You'll let your matchmaker know about your progress, and you both will take it from there.

No browsing

This isn't your typical online dating site. There's no looking at all the prospects to judge, swipe, accept, or reject. Nope. Your matchmaker will send you a prospect of someone they think would be worth your time.

The personal touch

Dating sites have one thing in common: photos and bios of potential matches. Some have strong filters to help you narrow it down. But you're still on your own. So why not use JRetroMatch's tried-and-true method of a Jewish matchmaker who will get to know you and help you find the right person for you? They do the work of finding someone - you just decide if you're willing to chat with the match and set up a date to meet them. It really is a good motivator.

What's not to like?

When you have a matchmaker on your side who wants to help set you up with "a nice Jewish person," you know that your potential match has been specially chosen for you. Your face and bio aren't out there for everyone to see - just the matchmakers and your potential dates. There's also motivation to go on a date because your matchmaker will follow up with you in a few days to find out your progress with the person.

But how many potential matches are near you?

Because you can't browse profiles to see how many singles are in your area, we don't know what the matchmakers will do if there really isn't anyone geographically desirable. Perhaps that's a question for your matchmaker. If you're not in an area with a higher Jewish population, perhaps only sign up for a month to see how it goes.

It combines the traditional and modern, and we like it

In general, JRetroMatch has a lot to offer that your typical Jewish dating sites don't. Your matchmaker has the advantage of a database of people to help find you a match, and they'll follow through to keep you motivated to meet the person. We like that your profile and photo aren't out there for everyone to judge, and we like that you just leave it all to the matchmaker. If you like the idea of having a more curated dating experience, JRetroMatch is worth a shot.

Jewish Cafe

• Feels comfy like a coffee shop
• Free, three-week full membership
• Monitored group chat rooms
• Pricing is easy to find on the website

Jewish Cafe is a warm and friendly environment where you can find Jewish singles and join a chat room (like a group at a coffee shop), or just chat one-on-one. You can have free access for up to three weeks, which is highly unusual for dating sites. There may or may not be many singles in your area, but we find that free is good to check out what Jewish singles are available near you.

The only thing more comfortable than a cafe is a warm blanket

If even thinking about online dating stresses you out, think again. Jewish Cafe allows you to meet Jewish people in a stress-free environment. They even describe themselves as, "warm, romantic, and inviting."

You actually get something for free

Most dating sites don't give you much or any access for free, but Jewish Cafe will allow you full access for up to three weeks. For us, that's a no-brainer as a reason to try it. If you would like a longer trial period, you can earn it by uploading photos or inviting others to join.

Survey to get the trial membership

If you want the trial, answer about 20 multiple-choice questions. They're not too difficult - they want to know your age, education, occupation, if you keep kosher, attend synagogue, if you're willing to relocate, and a few more. We find it curious that there's a body-type question, and for ladies only. They don't ask women what body type they're looking for, and they don't have the same question for men. (Get with it, Jewish Cafe.) Other than that pet peeve, they keep it light with the answer selections, and they might even make you smile with their sense of humor. After that questionnaire, there are about six essay questions.

Most people are paying members

That's actually a good thing. This means that Jewish Cafe members are committed to finding someone; and if you're paying, you're probably pretty dedicated and haven't let your subscription lapse. And that's good news for you as a new member.

Pricing

Rather than different pricing for various levels of membership, with Jewish Cafe you either sign up or you don't, and you get all the features or none: just choose the length of time of your membership. You can choose from 2 weeks to 12 months, and costs are as follows:

• $24.95 for two weeks
• $32.95 for one month
• $44.95 for three months ($14.98 per month)
• $69.95 for six months ($11.66 per month)
• $99.95 for 12 months ($8.33 per month)

You'll actually see the price on the website

Most online dating sites hide their pricing until you have jumped through several hoops to become a member - even if you don't want to - just to find out what it costs and what you get for your subscription. Refreshingly, Jewish Cafe shows you their pricing on the website - you might already have some idea how unusual that is.

Chat room and other features

There are chat rooms where you can join a moderated live chat room, held periodically throughout the week. There's a Quickmatch that matches you with someone according to age, type of relationship, and geographical location. Find out who's on the site and send a message. Find out who the new members are and send them a message. Narrow down your search by customizing features that are most important to you, such as religious type, education, and the other items in the questionnaire.

How many members are there?

Since Jewish Cafe isn't one of the most well-known Jewish dating sites, consumers have said that they haven't had a large dating pool to choose from. If you're in a location that isn't a well-populated Jewish area, you may not find many local members to choose from. Best to sign up for the free trial and find out. We created a profile and five singles came up within our age range and 500 miles of our location, but only one was in our generous age range.

It's good to try it out

Jewish Cafe is one of the few, if only, Jewish dating sites we've found that allows full access without having a paid subscription on auto-renewal. The feel of the site is really rather casual like a coffee shop, which is nice. What we don't like is that women (only) must enter their body type, and there may not be many fish in this sea. That said, free is good, so we'd say to give it a go and see what you find in your pond.

J People Meet

• Profiles are instantly activated
• Easy to use
• Inexpensive
• Find people in your area with just a click

J People Meet is a great site to meet Jewish people in North America. Even before you sign up, you can see photos of available people in your state to see if they are in a good location radius and in your age range. The membership price is reasonable if you would like to see more and chat with them. There aren't the heavy filters and long personal essays, which not only take time, energy, and stress, they take out a lot of the mystery of getting to know someone by actual conversation. J People Meet's style facilitates a curiosity for conversation.

It's easy to become a member

You just fill in your first name, email, click on what your general personality is, and write - or not - about yourself, and send in - or not - a photo. There are some simple questions to answer, if you choose to do so. Basically, they'd like height, weight, what type of relationship you're looking for, occupation, education, if you have children, if you smoke, and what your religious background might be. It's simple, and you don't even have to answer any or all of the questions. That said, the person whose profile you peruse has the same choices you do, so you may or may not gain much information from their profile. You can choose to answer some easy personality questions such as if you're a patient person, if you enjoy cooking, if you enjoy movies and/or reading, and the like. And until you post at least one photo, you're considered invisible.

Not much for free

With a free subscription here, you can create your profile and add a photo, if you choose. You really don't have to tell much about yourself, or anything at all really, to complete the profile. You can see who viewed you, but you can't see who has liked your photos or message them. But really, J People Meet is quite reasonably priced, so it's not asking a lot financially to start communicating with a potential date.

Best to get the paid subscription

When you pay for a J People Meet subscription, you can chat with members, read and reply to messages sent to you. and see members who have flirted with you and Fave'd you. You can also enjoy their enhanced search and match options. Here are the costs for their paid membership plan:

• $16.99 for one month
• $26.97 for three months ($8.99 per month)
• $38.94 for six months ($6.49 per month)

Are there enough people to choose from?

Well, J People Meet does allow all the age ranges, so that's definitely a benefit. However, in the Phoenix area, for example, there weren't any men 21-30 years old, nor any men from 31-45, and only ten who were aged 46 - 75.

Take a peek

You can go to J People Meet's homepage and quickly see photos of the people available in your state, general area, and look at their photo for age. When we perused, there were only two people in Mississippi, five women in New Mexico, about 200 people in New York, almost 300 people in both Florida and California. Location, location, location, right? Best to peek before you make your profile.

What you see is what you get

When you have a membership, you can see the person's photo and profile. If you would like to sift through your choices, however, J People Meet doesn't have advanced search options. The website is your only access - there is no app yet.

Ages 18 - 80+

You can sign up starting at the age of 18. However, when we looked at photos of potential dates in many states, there was only a handful, if that, of those in the youngest ages. Most of the clients we saw were in their middle to senior years. That's actually a breath of fresh air for the "seasoned" folks.

A bit of lit

J People Meet provides a few helpful articles on Jewish dating these days and also on dating safety and protecting your personal information.

Stuck in the past?

When you hop on J People Match, it feels pretty retro, let's say, to 20 years ago when this and then other sites were created. It's quite basic: the look of the site seems left behind and there's no app, either. This could be why there weren't the quantity of members that we had hoped for. But if you're okay with the old-school look and feel, and potentially fewer members, it's not a bad site.

We like simple, but would prefer updates

Is it a coincidence that the old-fashioned website seems to have mainly "silver" members? If they update their format and create an app, would they have more and younger members? Put a splash of paint on the site, add a few filters, but keep the simplicity of less-is-more so you're encouraged to start up a conversation with someone you might be interested in.

The KISS method: Keep It Simple, Silly

If you're looking to sign up on a Jewish dating site but don't want to write an extensive personal essay, give J People Meet a try. A free account can take about a minute of your time. To message someone, take a few more minutes to get a membership. J People Meet's simplicity is organic and refreshing: you learn just the basics about the person online so you're motivated to reach out to the person to learn more. However, with so few members, this dating site only ranks as "just average" compared with the other options we evaluated.

Match

• One of the first online dating platforms launched
• Can see photos of matches with free access
• Free as well as Premium access
• Discounts to Match events

Match is one of the first online dating sites and attracts a variety of singles. You can have limited access with the free membership, but you'll want the Premium to access all that Match offers, including Match events. For Jewish singles, though, Match doesn't have a filter we find niche enough to be approved by your bubbe.

Not much with free access

With the free membership you can message someone, but you have limited access to it. You can see up to six top picks daily. Therefore, without many top picks, you'll have to keep checking daily to see additional people. You can send a Like an unlimited number of times, and you can see who Super Likes you.

Better to pay for the paid memberships

In addition to the Free access plan, Match offers 2 paid service options: a Standard plan and a Premium plan. What do you get with these memberships?

Pricing is tricky

If you want to find out the price, Match doesn't list it on their site. Once you sign up, including offering your email, phone number, your photo, and answers to their questionnaire, they will let you know the price. We have researched their pricing, and here's what we found:

• Standard Plan
• 1 month for $45.99
• 3 months for $95.97 ($31.99 per month)
• 6 months for $137.94 ($22.99 per month)
• 12 months for $227.88 ($18.99 per month)
• Premium Plan
• 1 month for $50.71
• 3 months for $104.97 ($34.99 per month)
• 6 months for $149.94 ($24.99 per month)
• 12 months for $239.88 ($19.99 per month)

Filter for Jewish matches

You can use a filter for religious or other preference, and Jewish is one. This filter isn't 100%, though. And with their logarithms, they watch your searches. If you seem to be attracted to people of a different religion or heritage, Match will use that information and show you people in that new category, perhaps away from the Jewish people you were initially aiming to find.

There's an app

Match's app lets you browse profiles, send messages and reply to messages at any time. You can even get notifications for when there's activity with your account.

Customer support

In addition to their help center with several FAQs, Match has a customer support team available during regular business hours.

The elephant in the room - lawsuits

There was a lawsuit against Match in 2021 that accused Match of not informing their customers of auto-renewal memberships. Match paid the $2 million and now discloses the auto-renewal policy. A second lawsuit against Match involves their shareholders, not the actual customers, so we'll leave that case out of our review. A third lawsuit filed on behalf of the subscribers, indicated Match allowed fake and fraudulent profiles to be created, and would pretend that someone was interested so that people would re-subscribe once they were out. The case was thrown out because Match never promised it wouldn't do that.

Not our highest recommendation

Lawsuits aside, our focus is Jewish singles. Yes, Match is well known, but their filter for Jewish singles isn't strong when considering Jewish dating. If you show searching interest in non-Jews, Match will send you matches according to those searches. In addition, they only ask religious preference, nothing more, such as how often you attend synagogue, which category (Orthodox, Reform), and other questions pertaining to the Jewish religion and culture. Therefore, for Jewish singles looking for other Jewish singles, we believe there are better sites for you.

J Singles

• Browse for free
• No paid memberships

JSingles doesn't look Jewish at all and we're not sure it's a real dating site, as at least some of the profiles don't look legit. Of these, they were lightly smattered across the globe, barely in the US. You can browse profiles for free and see what we're talking about. If you want pricing information, you have to first sign up, and we don't recommend that. Please check out Jewish singles sites and apps that we highly recommend, and stay away from JSingles.

Not what you would think

Although the site clearly states at the bottom that it is a Jewish site for Jewish singles looking for Jewish singles, that's not what we found at all. We decided to make a free account, and with that we received a page with what looks like a bulletin board with profiles of people with their pseudonyms, photo, and a quick blurb.

"Single White Female"

The profiles look like old-fashioned want ads, where you'd expect the cliche, "Single White Female seeking..." Each person has a photo, their age and location, and about one line.

Geographically undesirable

We chose a common US location for our profile, and found that there were no location filters at all. Our potential matches were one from completely across the country, the UK, France, and Iceland. Not one was of the opposite gender, which is what we were seeking.

Not Jewish

We don't know what the filters are on this site, if any. We didn't find anyone in our recommended matches who proclaimed to be Jewish. In fact, there was nothing in the application or profile process that asked us if we were Jewish or anything about our Jewish practices.

Free membership

There's no cost to join; just share your email. We joined, but it said a few times it didn't recognize our username or password, so we tried and tried again, and got the same response. Yet, we were able to browse photos, which you can only do if you have a membership, so go figure.

Supposedly there's a paid membership

This site is so basic that we looked up what others thought of it, almost as if there was something we were missing. One reviewer said there's a way to get a paid subscription, but this isn't necessarily good news. They said that the paid trial membership doesn't expire, it transforms itself into a premium membership and you pay for that. And it's expensive.

It doesn't feel right

We received supposed potential matches that were not of the correct gender or people necessarily looking for the gender of our profile. Of these "mis-" matches, only one said they were Jewish, one was within 100 miles of us, and there were random places overseas: France, Italy, and Iceland. The whole thing just felt uncomfortable and we regret giving our emails to this company. We saw that the company is based in Cyprus - not that there's anything wrong with that, it just adds to the mystery.

Is safety a concern for JSingles?

With the Jewish dating sites that we have rated highly, the companies have a huge concern for safety, and make it clear on their site. JSingles, on the other hand, makes it clear that they do not screen members for criminal background. Add that to our collection of red flags.

It feels fake

There were profiles that were clearly fake. The site states that it's for Jewish singles, but there was hardly anything in most people's profiles that we saw that indicated they were Jewish or looking for Jewish people. Many profiles didn't look legit.

At the bottom of our list

There's nothing positive we have to say about JSingles, especially when we have so many other Jewish dating sites that we highly recommend which are more than reputable and are safety conscious. Don't bother with this one.