Is EliteSingles NZ really the best site for smart and educated singles in New Zealand?
75%
(75/100 points)
Intelligent and thoughtful matchmakingsays Ben
EliteSingles has among its members the more professional, slightly older corner of the dating market. Its main target demographic are unattached, prosperous professionals who are somewhat advanced in their careers – thus the appeal to slightly older users, 30+ (no youngsters) – and who want to find potential partners who have also attained the same level of success and position in their careers.
This article will bring you the lowdown on how EliteSingles succeeds as a dating app. On how successful it is in fulfilling its promises, such as being a site which offers truly compatible connections, and on how successful it is as a website in general.
We will dive into what you can expect upon signing up, other users’ experiences of using the site in New Zealand, and fill you in on some pros and cons of EliteSingles, along with some Frequently Asked Questions.
Table of contents
- EliteSingles in comparison
- EliteSingles Pros
- EliteSingles Cons
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True love? Can you really fall in love using EliteSingles?
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Waiting in vain? How quickly do you come into contact with other NZ EliteSingles members?
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EliteSingles: Profiles and Features
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Is EliteSingles value for money?
- The ranking in comparison
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Advice for greater success on EliteSingles NZ
- FAQ about EliteSingles
- User ratings and user feedback
EliteSingles in comparison
Intelligent and thoughtful matchmaking
If you’re looking to find someone on your wavelength, EliteSingles is the dating service for you! With a detailed personality questionnaire and profile builder, being matched with someone who has similar qualities, values, and professional achievements is almost a guarantee.
EliteSingles Pros
- The detailed personality test makes it highly likely you will be matched with someone similar
- EliteSingles has within its site a range of good safety measures.
- Relationship experts offer video tutorials and blogs offering advice as to how users can optimize their EliteSingles experience.
EliteSingles Cons
- You can only message other users and/or see their profile pictures when you sign up to one of the Membership Packages. The free options do not offer these features.
- Some users report that Customer Care are not very responsive and generally poor in helping out with any issues
True love? Can you really fall in love using EliteSingles?
EliteSingles is very user-friendly. The way the site suggests compatibility between users looking for love is by using an extensive profile builder and a personality test. Based on the results of the test, as well as other information about themselves that the user has inputted, such as age, place they live and job, EliteSingles will then match this user with between 3-10 potential dates on a daily basis.
EliteSingles claim that the site matches up to 2000 couples every month. Their detailed and lengthy personality test and profile builder ensures that the perfect match is made between EliteSingles users, so the chances of finding somebody you click with is improved greatly. They have also generally good reviews from current and former users. The test carried out by our editorial team also showed that EliteSingles is a very well functioning dating site with an excellent matching system.
EliteSingles is free to use, but users must pay a 3 months’, 6 months’ or 12 months’ fee to use special features such as communicating with other users. The fees are reasonable enough for each category and will be explored further below, but they would be affordable for most young and middle aged professionals, who are EliteSingles target market.
Waiting in vain? How quickly do you come into contact with other NZ EliteSingles members?
On signing up for EliteSingles, users will be met by a series of what seem like generic questions, such as what they’re looking for in a partner in terms of first date etiquette, or how important a potential partner’s sense of spirituality is to them. Users will also be presented with a group of four pictures.
For example: you may be shown a very messy workstation, a cluttered workstation, a neat workstation and an extremely tidy and minimalist workstation. You will then be asked to select which workstation best resembles your own.
These questions and picture tests may appear random, but they are designed to help EliteSingles establish what sort of personality type the user is, and then match that user to a potential partner whose own personality type best suits them.
The way EliteSingles do this is by using the Five Factor Model theory. The Five Factor Model theory is a test carried out that measures a person’s five personality factors, which are called OCEAN. OCEAN stands for Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism.
So while the entire profile-build for a new user can take from half an hour up to 45 minutes, the user is guaranteed that with such a detailed personality test and general assessment, they will have much greater success in landing a match that they will click with. Every user will receive compatible matches on a daily basis. These matches are based on each user’s personality test answers, where they live and their general partner preferences.
EliteSingles: Profiles and Features
The first thing that may catch your eye when you click into your first ‘partner suggestion,’ is the cute little ‘Matching Score’ feature that is placed in the upper right hand corner of your match’s profile picture.
Upon clicking the Matching Score feature, you’ll be brought through to your match’s profile, where their OCEAN, or Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism, will be displayed in the form of sliding scales – for example, the scale going from ‘easy-going’ to ‘disciplined’ for Conscientiousness.
It is easy to click back and forth, from your own profile to your match’s, to see how well you and your match’s sliding scales sync up.
The second thing you might notice is that your match’s profile picture is blurred. When you click on it, you’ll be brought through to the EliteSingles Membership Packages, which are listed as either a 3 months, 6 months or 12 months membership duration.
So, to establish any sort of meaningful back and forth with a user on EliteSingles, you have to sign up to one of the Membership Packages, ranging from $ 29.95 to $59.95.
Elsewhere, your match’s profile will appear set out and very easy to navigate. Their height, religion, whether they want to have children or not and education among other things are featured at the top. Below that lie your match’s favourite activities, likes and dislikes, what they look for in a relationship, and what they are passionate about.
Compared to other dating apps, such as Tinder and Plenty of Fish, EliteSingles’ in-depth and probing profile tests, combined with their multitude of questions both about yourself and what you’re looking for in a partner, make for a more involved and engaging online dating experience.
While Tinder is very image led, and Plenty of Fish just covers the most basic of questions and interests, EliteSingles combination of tried and tested personality tests and detailed profile building ensures that your experience on this dating site will lead to more compatible matches and a potentially meaningful partnership.
The users of EliteSingles would appear to be in the more professional demographic, such as doctors; lawyers; engineers etc. For example, the website claims that 80% of its users are college graduates, while over 90% are over the age of 30.
Is EliteSingles value for money?
As mentioned above, EliteSingles ranges from a free membership option to 29.95 NZD per month for 12 months, all the way up to 59.95 NZD per month for 3 months membership, with membership for 6 months priced at 34.95 NZD per month.
The major differences between the free versus paying options are that you are greatly limited when it comes to accessibility going the free option route. You can’t view your match’s pictures with the free option, nor can you send them any messages, being limited to only sending a smile instead. However, after signing up to the Membership Packages, you can do both these things and more!
When you break it down, it appears the 6 months Membership Package would cost you the equivalent of $1.16 per day, while the 3 months Membership Package comes in at $2 per day, and the 12 month membership costs $1 per day.
Going for the 12 months membership may be the best value for money. Judging by the depth and detail of EliteSingles profiles and personality tests, it’s best that the new user takes the time exploring all the features and benefits the site has to offer.
Cancelling your subscription is easy, and the EliteSingles website walks you through the process. It’s as simple as accessing your account details, going to your Membership settings, and selecting ‘Cancel’. If you are experiencing any problems cancelling your membership, or you want to query a refund, EliteSingles are open to being contacted at any time through the usual channels.
The ranking in comparison
Advice for greater success on EliteSingles NZ
One of the major success markers is standing out. By standing out, both in your profile pictures and the content of your profile, such as your likes and dislikes and what your passions are, you will ensure other users take notice of you.
It is also helpful (though by no means essential) that you have some form of higher education or vocational training. 85% of EliteSingles users are highly educated, with most either having achieved some level of degree or are currently studying to attain a degree.
Another good piece of advice is for users to be honest on their personality tests so that they are given partner suggestions with users who they will have a genuine connection with. By filling out the personality test honestly, EliteSingles will be better able to build a more authentic character profile for yourself, enabling other users to see you as you really are.
Our recommendations
- High success rate: 41%
- Easy to use: Focus on what's important
- Balanced women/men ratio of 49% to 51%
- No fake profiles were discovered during the test
- Matching algorithms suggest suitable partners based on the psychological test
- Profile photos can be unlocked individually
- The detailed personality test makes it highly likely you will be matched with someone similar
- EliteSingles has within its site a range of good safety measures.
- Relationship experts offer video tutorials and blogs offering advice as to how users can optimize their EliteSingles experience.
- Relatively free dating site
- Additional safety features: audio messaging, photo filter bans
- Anti-harassment measures
- A good number of active users in NZ
- Chemistry assessment tests
- Requires upfront declaration of intentions and expectations on profile
User ratings and user feedback
Comments
The name of the site promises more than it is. I have only seen a few active Elite Singles members here in New Zealand. I first invested 30 minutes to register. The psycho test is interesting. I had a few interesting matches. But after that, I didn't get the feeling that anyone here is seriously ready to date. Just my opinion.
On these dating sites there are only women for whom a man is never good enough. These academic women want a perfect man who doesn't exist. The only site I feel comfortable on is okcupid. There are only normal people there. But these academic and elite sites are the worst.
Here are a few tips on how it worked quite well for me. 1. Fill out your profile as completely as possible. Make an effort and describe yourself in detail. Not that you have to reveal too much about yourself, but enough that someone can get an exact idea of you. 2. Take realistic photos! I've heard so often that someone took exaggeratedly beautiful pictures and shot themselves out on the date. Honestly, what's the point if you do get a date, but then the woman leaves directly on the date because you don't look like the pictures. You could have saved yourself the time. For 3. Write to as many interesting women as possible. When it comes to online dating, women get tons of messages every day. No matter how charming you are, your message can simply get lost. So write lots of messages to different women and increase your chances. But please write individual messages that have a personal reference! In my experience, these 3 points are probably the most important ones for getting a date. I wish you success!