Zoosk vs. Elite Singles

If you think that online dating is still some taboo activity, you must be living under a rock. A single google search for online dating will show you dozens of site options, social media pages dedicated to documenting dating site interactions, and articles telling you how to make online dating work for you. 

And in that search, you’ve likely seen two popular sites, Zoosk and Elite Singles, mentioned quite a bit. They are both great sites but also quite different, which can make choosing between them difficult. Today, though, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Our team will show you the differences and similarities of Zoosk vs. Elite Singles and help you to see which of these dating sites is ideal for you.

Key Differences Between Zoosk and Elite Singles

Regarding quality, both of these dating sites come from the same highly reputable company (Spark Networks). Oftentimes in these matchups, we determine that one site is better than the other, and this is usually done on the basis of quality. But since both Zoosk and Elite Singles are high-quality options, the choice for you needs to come down to what you want and what you’re looking for.

Let’s start by looking at some of the key differences between Elite Singles and Zoosk.

• Relationship Goals – Zoosk runs with the full list of relationship goals where users can find anything from a serious and long-term relationship to casual dating and random hookups. Elite Singles, on the other hand, caters more to singles wanting something a little more serious or a committed relationship. If you’re looking for casual, go with Zoosk. If you’re looking for serious, either option should work great for you.
• Dating Process – Elite Singles uses a fairly in-depth matching quiz when you sign up and is a lot more hands-on when it comes to the matchmaking process. You’ll get a lot of recommended matches as opposed to Zoosk where you’re basically free to search for whoever you want. If you want more control over the process, go with Zoosk. If you want technology to do the matchmaking for you, go with Elite Singles.
• History and Ownership – Surprisingly, both of these dating apps are now owned by the same company! Spark Networks, the company that owned Elite Singles, purchased Zoosk in 2019 for a little higher than a quarter billion dollars (yes, that’s with a B)!
• Membership Type – Zoosk uses a standard membership plus add-ons model where you can get access to most features, but there are things you can buy to add-on and enhance your experience. Elite Singles, on the other hand, utilizes a one-size-fits-all approach where you get everything for one price.
• Types of Singles – Both Elite Singles and Zoosk have high quality singles. That being said, there are a few differences to pay attention to. With Elite Singles, the sign up process is a lot more intensive (takes more time), which seems to weed out a lot of the less invested singles resulting in higher quality. In fact, 85%+ of their members hold an above average education. With Zoosk, you can skip significant parts of the sign up process, which means you are going to see more low-effort singles. However, with 35 million+ members, there are plenty of people serious about connecting and getting to know someone.

Who Zoosk or Elite Singles Are Best For

Ultimately, your decision here should come down to what you’re looking for. Here are a few groups that we think might like one site over the other.

• If you’re looking for very casual dating of any kind (or no-commitment dating), Zoosk is the top choice for you.
• If you are looking for committed relationships, go with Elite Singles.
• If you’re looking for something in between serious and casual or you’re just not sure yet, go with Zoosk first and then maybe check out Elite Singles.
• If you are easily bothered by low-effort singles and incomplete profiles, go with Elite Singles. If you’re okay weeding through those profiles and want access to the most singles possible, go with Zoosk.

If you still can’t decide, that’s okay! You can sign up for both of these sites completely free through the links below and compare for yourself. Frankly, that’s what we recommend doing.

Which of These Dating Sites Is Our Favorite?

Zoosk and Elite Singles are both fantastic dating sites, but they may appeal more to some singles than others. In all honesty, our favorite doesn’t matter here as both pass our checks for quality. What matters most is which is your favorite. Getting to the bottom of that may require a deeper look into how each site works.

Zoosk users are pretty evenly split among gender lines and the age range is all over the place from quite young all the way up to seniors. Their focus on interesting add-on amenities makes their dating site fun and an almost game-like experience. They offer video chatting functionality and some features that can help give you a leg up over other singles in your area. If you have a free membership, you can add some features to your account for a small price instead of upgrading to a full premium membership, which helps make it affordable for a younger, less economically stable crowd.

Elite Singles has a more classic approach to the process and utilizes scientific personality assessments, which explains why their average users are late 20s to 30s and 40s and 50s. They have classic chatting options and tried and true features and search filtering. Users do have to pay for a membership to get all features, but the addition of the algorithmic matching means the typical single spends less time looking for a great partner. 

All in all, it comes down to each person’s dating needs, budget, and goals. No matter which of these two sites you choose, if you have done so with your own interests in mind, you will be well off. 

How Zoosk Compares with Elite Singles

If you’re still on the fence about things, we wanted to dive just a bit deeper in our comparison for you. To start, let’s clear up the things that are the same between Zoosk and Elite Singles.

What’s the Same

• Free profiles are available to help users get a feel for the site.
• iOS and Android apps for maximum convenience.
• Photo verification helps prevent catfish and spam accounts.
• Good track record of leading to happy relationships.

There are two popular approaches to dating online – casual and serious. Casual daters just want to have a good time and don’t care much about long term relationship success. Serious daters go into the process knowing they want love and the possibility of marriage.  Zoosk is a site that is taking those two worlds and colliding them through a casual, fun approach to the goal of long term romance. 

From a greater control over choosing matches, to interesting features like going invisible and “crushes,” Zoosk is a truly interesting online dating option. 

Elite Singles has a much different approach to dating. Their users are looking for long term partners that are intelligent, successful, and filled with potential. In short, Elite Singles users know what they are looking for and don’t want to waste time finding it. The platform uses a questionnaire to learn about singles and match them with truly compatible options. This limits access to some singles, but can streamline the dating process by quite a bit!

So, if you are looking for a place that makes dating a slick and precise process, Elite singles might be more your speed. 

All in all, we don’t think that either site is truly better than the other. It is up to each person to take inventory of their dating goals to determine which site is best for them. Those who want the dating experience to be a little looser and casual may really enjoy Zoosk while those looking for more structure might not. The best news is that both these sites have a free trial or membership tier to allow users to test out the platform before spending any money. 

Zoosk Cost vs. Elite Singles Cost

The last thing we want to look at when comparing Zoosk and Elite Singles is pricing. If budget is extremely important, Zoosk may be the only viable option for you as it’s much less expensive. If budget is less important than quality, make your decision based on some of the other factors we talked about in this guide.

Here are the most recent prices of each dating app that we’ve seen from during our reviews.

Zoosk Cost

Elite Singles Cost

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