Get the Lowdown on Dating Web Sites

March 6, 2007 — -- Are you still looking for love in all the wrong places, despite the many matchmaking Web sites out there?

It's often hard to know where to start and which dating sites are right for you. Celia Ellenberg of Jane magazine did some of the legwork for you by trying out nine popular online dating sites herself.

And if you feel like it's pathetic to look for love on the Internet, Ellenberg says get over it.

"There are plenty of great people out there," she said. "It's really a way to give yourself more options. I went from zero prospects to 50 in just two days, so if that's sad and pathetic, count me in."

Another bonus? You can sit in your pajamas in your apartment to look for prospective dates.

The Biggies

Ellenberg went on 11 dates. Here's what she found from several of the sites:

Match.com and eHarmony.com are two of the biggest, and Ellenberg said they are are the best for choice, variety and volume. They're nationwide, and everyone knows about them, so it's a good way to cast a wide net.

Match.com: Very user-friendly and simple. Creating a profile is relatively easy, and if you're interested in more than one profile that you see, you can add them all to a hot list or bookmark them, so the site has helpful organizing tools. And you don't have to give out your e-mail address.

eHarmony.com: There's a big difference between eHarmony and other sites. On others, you look for people yourself. On eHarmony, the people at the site do the looking for you. The profile is exhaustive, and the site asks all kinds of questions to determine your personality and help you find your perfect love match.

There's no browsing, and you can't see photos ahead of time. This is the site if you want other people to do the legwork, but you have to trust them. Ellenberg found that the eHarmony profiling was pretty accurate. If you are thorough, and you like to know the person very well before you go out, this is the place to start.

Joining eHarmony costs about $60 because of the in-depth profile, then a monthly charge of about $50, depending on the plan you select.

Looking for Something More Specific?

JDate.com: Marketed to Jewish people, it's one of the bigger dating sites, with a high volume of people signing up. Many non-Jews are on the site looking for love as well, so JDate is an example of how many of these sites are more inclusive than the names would indicate, so you should think outside the box a bit.

MillionaireMatch.com: Ellenberg tried this one out more for fun. It's geared toward wealthy men, but you're not going to find a sugar daddy here, she said. Most of the e-mails were from traveling businessmen. They don't have time to date you, but they are looking for the more casual relationship. It's $20 to join.

It might not be for you, but it's an example of the various niche interests you can get to if that's what you want. You can find dating sites geared toward conservatives, liberals, vegetarians and so forth…

Letsmeetout.com: This site helps take the pressure off the whole dating process. You sign up with a group, which can be coed or single sex, and you check out the other groups who have signed up. Then the groups go out together. Ellenberg didn't meet a boyfriend, but she did make a new friend doing that. Unfortunately, it's only in New York for now.

One final tip: It's all about lunch. Ellenberg says the lunch date is less pressure than dinner or anything else. It's light outside, so it's not dangerous, and you have a definite end to the date, because you probably need to get back to work.