JDate: The Busiest Platform to Meet Jewish People

JDate is one of the largest dating platforms designed for Jewish people. With almost a million members worldwide, this site enjoys never-ceasing popularity since its launch in 1997. The platform tailors a very specific, even though not a very numerous audience, which accounts for its impressive success rate. Of all the Jewish marriages that started online, an impressive 52% own their success to JDate, which is a truly astonishing number if you think of it.

The site welcomes many relationship types, and users do not have to be Jewish to join. However, its main focus is on long-term heterosexual relationships between Jewish people. Sure, like any other dating platform, it has certain limitations — so let’s discuss its strong and weak aspects below.

JDate active members

Women outnumber men by approximately 15% on JDate. However, if we take into account the standard gender ratio in the online dating world, we’d have to say such difference is within average for any dating site. Most active members are between 25 and 34, even though JDate has users of all age groups. The site enjoys almost 200,000 global visits every month, and 240,000 of its users come from the US. So, despite its pretty narrow demographics, the odds of finding a suitable match on JDate are quite high.

What’s also great about JDate is that this service does not prohibit any relationships types — here, you can look for straight or gay partners, and you do not necessarily have to be interested in long-term relationship or marriage. Some JDate.com users come looking for friends and activity partners and, more often than not, find what they need. Still, as we’ve already mentioned, people looking for a heterosexual relationship will usually have more success with this service.

How to sign up JDate?

Signing up JDate is free of charge and does not take more than a couple of minutes. Users have to answer some of the most basic questions and verify their emails to get started with the site. There is a questionnaire to fill in later, though — and the more honest you are with your answers, the higher your odds of finding a suitable match are. Also, users can upload up to 10 pictures of themselves and are strongly encouraged to do so — accounts with pics tend to get more profile views. However, site management will take some time approving your profile pics, so they will not show up in your account immediately. Usually, it does not take long, but on some occasions, can take up to a day or even two.

Searching and contacting users on JDate

JDate offers its users pretty standard search filters, including appearance (body type, height, eye and hair color, etc.), age, religion, marital status, and of course, location by ZIP code. The platform gets a bit more creative when showing users their match results, though — apart from the features you’ve listed, it will show you potential compatibility score in percents. It’s up to you to note the compatibility score or not — after all, computers can be smart, but we all know that sometimes opposites attract. Searching for other profiles and viewing them is free of charge.

If for whatever reason, you’re not satisfied with the basic search results, there is also an advanced search option that includes more comprehensive search parameters. Here’s what you can define in the advanced search filters:

• Education
• Synagogue attendance
• Kosher lifestyle
• Drinking and smoking habits
• Children
• Readiness to relocate
• Birthplace
• Languages spoken
• Pets, if any
• First date preferences

If you do come across a profile you like, though, you will face the first and the most obvious drawback of the service — getting in touch with other members is only available to paid users. A free member can only ‘like’ another person’s account, this showing interest in its owner.

Once you get a paid subscription plan, you will be able to send emails and make use of JDate chatroom.

Profiling on JDate

While JDate does not ask its users to upload screenshots of their IDs, the number of fake profiles in reduced to a minimum. We’ve already mentioned that the site takes time to approve user photos. The same goes for reviewing all profile info on the site, so most JDate accounts are very informative.

In addition, JDate places a strong emphasis on their customers’ safety; apart from reviewing their members’ profiles, they take any issues of harassment very seriously, and abusive accounts are immediately banned from the service. On the whole, JDate has some of the most active customer support teams in the dating world, so should you experience any difficulties communicating with other users or have questions that need answers, feel free to contact site support, and they will do all in their power to help you out.

All in all, the logic being JDate profiles is pretty simple — the more realistic your photos and your questionnaire answers are, the more consistent your communication with other members is, the more visibility your account will get.

JDate Design and Mobile Version

All in all, site navigation is intuitive and design — sleek. In addition, there is a mobile version of the site, available both on iOS and Android devices. The app does not compromise on desktop functional, even though it does not add any new features either. The design is consistent and easily traceable both on the desktop and mobile versions. Profiles are properly highlighted, and it’s always easy to reach out to other members — that is, if you have a paid membership; as we’ve already covered, free users cannot do much with the service, and a mobile version is not an exception.

Payments plans and options

Another drawback of JDate is its cost. Free users can only create a profile and browse through the user database; all other services of the platform are to be paid for, and the price is way higher than average in this market. The service operates on a subscription basis, and a monthly plan comes at a sky-rocketing $59.99. Of course, we all understand that Jewish dating world has a limited pool of options and the demand is high, but the price could be a bit lower — especially if compared to other platforms’ fees, which come at approximately $20 per month.

On JDate, however, the lowest monthly cost you can get is $29.99 ( if you subscribe for six full months with a single payment of $179.94). There is also an in-between, three-month subscription plan that comes at $44.99/month and is billed in a single payment of $134.97.

Users can pay over mobile phones, PayPal, and of course, a credit card.

So, what do premium members get for their money’s worth? Truth be told, JDate does offer its premium members a bit more in-built features than most other sites. In particular, paid users can:

• Access all photos available on the website
• Contact any users they like
• Send premium messages to free users (this way, even a free member will be able to view and respond to their message)
• Read message receipts
• See who viewed their profiles
• See who liked their profiles
• Browse the site anonymously
• Hide their online status

It’s true that many of these services, like message receipts, anonymous modes, and premium messages, are not included in standard subscription plans by most other dating platforms out there. Most dating apps charge their clients a smaller fee for a chance to communicate with other users and offer such extra perks at an additional cost. JDate, however, offers everything in bulk — and at a way higher price. Here, of course, a legit question arises — how much do you need those extra features and why you’re supposed to pay for them within a standard subscription plan? JDate is bold enough to decide for its users, and this is another drawback of the service — in our opinion, the site should give its customers more freedom and more payment flexibility.

Unique features JDate offers

On top of the standard perks discussed above, JDate offers a set of unique features that help the service stand out from most other dating apps. Here they are:

LookBook

This feature informs users if they’ve mutually liked each other’s accounts. There are no restrictions on how many profiles you like — LookBook will highlight all of your mutual matches.

Kibitz Corner

This feature offers a list of daily questions users can answer. Their answers show up in a news feed, and they see their matches’ answers as well.

Secret Admirer

Users can not only like other members’ profiles to see if that person reciprocates, but also make use of a ‘secret admirer’ feature. It offers to bookmark profiles the site offers via its match-matchmaking system. A heart means ‘yes,’ a wavy line suspends the match for later review, and an ‘ex’ means no.

JLife

This one is essentially an internal blog with dating tips and suggestions — not only when it comes to online dating but related to dating in general. If you would like to boost your chances of a successful real-time meeting, read through these tips now and then.

JDate events

The platform facilitates not only online communication but also on-site one. It regularly creates events for its members, so if you are looking for an opportunity to express yourself in real-life and see if any of your matches click in an off-line mode, this is a perfect opportunity to network.