The design of the website and app are pretty modern, as they both emphasize engagement and interaction. In fact, the first thing you do after you create an account is start “liking” people, so the algorithm can get a feel of your preferences.

You can either like someone with a smiley face, which indicates friendship, or you can like someone with a heart, which indicates love. There is no “dislike” or “pass” option in the main online matching section, so if you don’t want to mingle with a profile, you simply leave it alone.

Refine your matches

Zoosk lets you cast as wide or as small of a net as you please, with preferences that you can broaden or refine. You have the chance to match with people depending on their location between three miles to 100, while the default setting is “auto-selected.” You can pick the age range of your matches too – anywhere between 20 to 93 years old. (Check out the best dating sites for the over-60 crowd here.)

You can also go a bit deeper with settings for height, religion, relationship history, body type, children, ethnicity, education, and smoking preferences all in the mix to tweak or leave alone. Even if you have the pickiest specifications, the platform has someone in mind for you.

Is Zoosk worth its membership price?

I mean, a paid membership is required to even talk to anyone. With a basic account, you can only browse and like other users. If you want to read or send any messages, you’re going to have to pay for it. While other sites like OkCupid, Tinder, and Bumble have a robust free option that allows you to read, send, and receive messages, Zoosk does not. It feels like there are way too many junky profiles to require users to pay to do anything.

The price points are on par with other dating sites and it’s a little bit easier to navigate. You also know that if you receive a legit message from a real user, then you can also send a reply back to them. Speaking of which.

The messaging system is quite impressive. If you’re going to pay for a service, then something has to feel like it’s worth it. You can message within each profile card, so you don’t have to leave the page to reload another to send one.

The dating site even has a few canned “ice breakers,” so you don’t have to come up with something that’s witty or clever. You can ask things like “How’s your Thursday?,” “What did you study in college?,” or “Do you like going to church every Sunday?” The ice breakers are generic, but sometimes suited for the profile, such as the church question is for someone who is religious, while the college question is for someone who graduated from college. It’s a good way to say something, if you can’t think of anything right away.

With a lower tier premium account you can only send and receive so many messages until you have to pony up more money. Zoosk makes these “microtransactions” cute, with in-app purchases of “coins,” which is frustrating considering you have to spend more money after paying for a subscription.

Let’s talk about coins

The site has a virtual currency system that allows you to “buy” matches virtual gifts so you can stand out from the rest. These “gifts” can be roses, bouquets of flowers, beach balls, chocolate covered strawberries, and much, much more. You can also use coins to send special emails to matches, send more messages, or have your profile highlighted during searches.