When you think of Jewish online dating services, the most popular and famous one is jdate. Who does not know at least one person who met their match on this site? Jdate has even made itself known in Hollywood, where the name and service appeared on the HBO series Entourage, when one of the characters (Turtle) claimed to have met a girl on jdate. So what is jdate and what does jdate have to offer?
jdate has thousands of members from all over the world. When you go on to the site, you will find at least 5,000 members logged on at the same time. At the peak hours, the number of members logged on reaches close to 10,000 members. You can anonymously take a look at profiles for free, just to see who is on the site. You can select to view people based on area, sex, religious level, age, etc. Be aware, not all members allow guests (or non-members) to view their picture(s).

You can post your own profile for free. The profile can take awhile to complete, since it consists of 5 pages. Personal essays to write consists of your own personal description, characteristics of whom you are looking for, ideal first date, and what you’ve learned from past relationships. Jdate simplifies the rest of the profile by asking you to check off characteristics about yourself (height, religious level, kosher level, etc.), social preferences (music preferences, pet preferences, hang out preferences, etc.), and characteristics of whom you are looking to meet (age, religious level, education level, etc.). You are allowed to post up to 4 pictures, if you would like, and you can choose to allow only members (and not guests) to view them.

You are only allowed to tease (a one sentence “hello”) other members (only 30) for free. If you want to email other members, read messages that other members send you via email, or participate in chat (groups or IM), then you must pay for the preferred membership, which recently rose in price to $35 a month (there are additional 3 and 6 month plans that save you a little money). Jdate will also email you, based on your preference, 5-6 matches based on your preferences. You can choose to have the email sent to you daily, once or twice a week, or not at all. Jdate also informs all members of upcoming social events like parties or plays that all members are invited to go to in selected cities.

So the big question you must be asking yourself right now is should I sign up and become a member? My answer would be yes, with caution. From what I have been told from past successful jdaters is that jdate has changed since it first went online (and not only in price). It has become a little bit harder to meet that perfect match. But that does not mean you should give up hope. Check out the site and post a profile. I would recommend trying the preferred membership for a month in which you see a number of members that you would like to contact. You can cancel your preferred membership at any time and your profile still remains on the site. This means that you can be selective with when you want to be an active member. And by no means should you just wait to be contacted by other members. Email and tease away. Take advantage of all of the aspects of a preferred membership. And who knows, maybe you’ll just find that special someone!

This review was written by a shayna meidel.