eHarmony: The Original But Still The Best? Can eHarmony still keep up with modern NZ dating apps?

Unlike some other dating websites on the New Zealand market, upon signing up to eHarmony, users will firstly be asked to complete a detailed compatibility quiz before they can proceed in completing their profiles.

This compatibility quiz is otherwise known as the 29 Dimensions of Compatibility Quiz and this is the foundation of the site’s relationship-building approach.

As the Compatibility Quiz is so lengthy at nearly 100 questions, it serves as a good way to discourage users who are not interested in finding a serious relationship online. This also means that it is much more likely that those users who do make their way through the Compatibility Quiz are as serious and committed to finding love online as you are.

eHarmony boasts that every 14 minutes someone finds love on eHarmony , with the gender proportion being roughly 47% female, with 53% male. The majority of the members are between 25-40 years old from all over the world, educated with a stable lifestyle.

There are 3 price packages users can access on eHarmony. These packages are called Light, Plus, and Extra, and these are either for a 6 month, 12 month or 24 month membership duration.

As mentioned above, users will first be met with a Compatibility Quiz before they can create the rest of their profile. Once you’ve created your profile, eHarmony automatically matches you with users whose compatibility – based on their answers to the 29 Dimensions of Compatibility Quiz – most matches yours.

There is no search feature. Users are instead able to communicate with the users they’re most compatible with, which is something people have found a little restrictive.

Once you have found a match you’re interested in, the main method of communication is via messages. However, this feature is only available to premium members who have signed up to either the Light, Plus, or Extra packages.

Members who are only using the free option will still be able to communicate with others with either a smile or 5 favorite site generated questions, which the user they’ve matched with can choose to answer or not.

On eHarmony, users are not able to see those who are online or are currently active at any given time. Instead, users will only be able to see the list of people eHarmony has matched you up with.

If that day’s matches doesn’t do anything for you, you have to wait until the next day when eHarmony gives you new matches. But if you are premium member, you get a chance to meet people outside what the site has chosen for your compatibility match.

There is a basic search filter that allows users to search through their matches based on age and location, but again, this is only a search of your matches and not all eHarmony users in general.

On clicking your first match, the first thing you’ll notice is the extremely detailed and thorough compatibility graph, showing you what you and your match have in common in terms of Personality, Habits, and Interests.

You will likely be matched with someone with a high compatibility score, which is determined by eHarmony using the answers you give for your 29 Dimensions of Compatibility Quiz.

What’s measured between your and your match include responses to personality traits, characteristics, your every day organizational skills, etc.

Underneath, you’ll see a series of bar charts showing how you match up in terms of how empathetic you both are, how you match intellectually, and how you match in terms of your masculine and feminine aspects.

Under the About tab, you will be able to check out your match’s general information, such as their height, education, and whether they smoke or not. You’ll also see thins like the ways they think their friends would describe them, and what a perfect day looks like to them.

At the bottom of their profile, you can see your match’s hobbies, such as how they like to spend their free time, or what sports they most enjoy playing.

Similar to other dating websites, you are not able to access your match’s photos without first signing up to one of eHarmony’s 3 premium membership packages, which will be discussed further below.

As well as not being able to view your match’s photos, you are not able to send a message to them directly after, either. You are able to send a smile emoji or an ‘icebreaker,’ which are a series of 5 pairs of pictures.

You’ll be asked to choose your favourite from each pair, and when your match receives the same pairs of pictures, they will select their favorites and you will then be able to see the similar pictures you both chose.

The icebreaker is a generally fun feature and is a handy way of seeing if you want to go further and send a direct message.

Compared to other dating apps like as Match.com and Tinder, eHarmony’s very thorough 29 Dimensions of Compatibility Quiz allows for a more guided and structured approach to matching you with potential partners.

While sites like Tinder, and to a lesser extent Match.com, are very reliant on pictures and images, eHarmony’s in depth personality test will guide you to more success in finding a long-term, serious relationship.

As discussed above, eHarmony has 3 membership levels, which are Premium Light, Premium Plus or Premium Extra.

Premium Light for 6 months costs around 55 NZD per month. The Premium Plus membership for 12 months costs around 40 NZD per month, and the Premium Extra for 24 months costs 30 NZD per month. So, the longer time commitment you choose, the less you will have to pay each month.

It is wise to opt for one of the membership packages instead of just using the free service, as you are allowed access to features you wouldn’t be able to with the free option. These services include unlimited messaging, being able to view unlimited photos, regular updated matches, and an ability to see who has viewed your profile.

However, you should take into account that there are not many users from New Zealand who use eHarmony, as there is no dedicated page for New Zealanders. There are other dating sites in New Zealand that are much more popular than eHarmony.

Should you decide to give eHarmony a try and if you then feel eHarmony isn’t for you, however, you can easily cancel your subscription. You simply log into your eHarmony account, click on your profile picture, select account settings, then the Billing option. After doing this, scroll down to the Subscription Status, then select Cancel My Subscription.  

A good idea for succeeding on eHarmony is to be as open and willing to share information about yourself as you can be. eHarmony’s profile page gives you lots of opportunities to say what your best attributes are, what your ideal first date would look like, and what you have a passion for, among many other things. By saying more about yourself, it will give your matches a better picture of who you are.

Also, being honest on your 29 Dimensions of Compatibility Quiz is another good piece of advice, as it will allow you to connect with potential matches who are truly compatible with you as a person.

And, of course, try to select clear, well-lit pictures of yourself so that users can get an idea of what the person behind the profile looks like.