Free Dating Sites Directory

There is a myriad of paid dating sites available online for singles to meet other singles for love or friendship. However in the last few years the rise of completely free dating websites have become perfectly viable alternatives to paid dating sites. This trend towards free dating first became apparent with the success of social networking sites such as My Space and Facebook.

While originally intended as a means for friends to link to friends it quickly became apparent that many people were using these social networks for dating as well. It makes perfect sense. In the real world singles are often introduced to other singles through their friends. In the online sphere the same effect also emerged. A friend of a friend is often the best social filter or vote for a potential mate.

While many people use social networks for dating there are also dedicated dating sites that act and function just like their paid counterparts with one simple exception, they are totally free. These free dating sites offset their operating costs with onsite advertising. Ironically often these ads are for their paid dating counterparts.

Benefits of Free Dating Sites
The most obvious benefit of free dating sites is that they are free. With paid sites charging upwards of $40 a month the savings are significant. The other often overlooked benefit of free dating sites is the fact that their membership base is often considerably larger than their paid counter parts. Because of their larger singles base you simply have a greater pool of singles to meet and potentially date.

Drawbacks of Free Dating Sites
As a general rule free dating sites often attract a clientele that is less motivated to use the services because they aren't paying a premium for the features. Often on free sites you will find a great deal of singles profiles that haven't logged in for considerable lengths of time. So while you have a larger pool of potential singles the number of active users of the service is considerably smaller than those on paid dating sites.

Free Dating Sites List
Below you can find the most popular free dating sites available online. All of these sites are entirely free and only require an active email address to join. Feel free to try them all out however use a free email account such as one from Gmail or Hotmail if you want to avoid receiving their correspondence to your main email address. I have included social networking sites in the list below as they are commonly used for dating.

Most Popular Free Dating Sites
Plenty Of Fish
OkCupid
MySpace
Facebook

I hope this guide was of use to you and you will try these free dating alternatives to paid dating. Good luck and happy dating!