OkCupid Review – Does It Really Work?

Scrolling through your matches is like hanging out at a funky bar in a college town. You’ll see everything from artsy, edgy & creative to attractive, ambitious young professionals.

You’ll find a ton of interesting women, especially if you live in an area with a large user pool. But will OkCupid really work for you? Keep reading to find out what OkCupid has to offer, and what other people “in the know” have to say about it.

Pros And Cons Of OkCupid

What Other People Are Saying

On SiteJabber, the majority of reviewers gave OkCupid a 5-star rating. The posted reviews ranged from the usual complaints that plague any free dating site like “Tired of the scammers and fake people” to glowing praise like “Found the love of my life!”

The bloggers over at The Dating Gurus gave OkCupid a solid A rating, sharing our opinion that it’s one of the best free sites out there. AskMen agreed, calling it an “industry leader in online dating.”

Price Tag & Features

OkCupid is a fully functioning free dating site – you can create a profile, read/send messages, and search for matches without paying a dime.

There are two premium membership levels available – “A-List Basic” and “A-List Premium”.

A-List Basic includes:

A-List Premium includes all of the A-List Basic features plus:

This article will help you determine if upgrading is worth the investment for a guy in your particular situation, but here’s a quick overview:

Consider A-List Premium if:

• You’re in your early 20s to early 30s.
• You’re in a more populated area.
• You’re serious about starting a relationship.

Consider A-List Basic if:

• You’re budget conscious, but you want to boost your response rate with features like seeing who “likes” you.
• You’re in a more populated area.

Don’t bother upgrading if:

• You’re in a remote location with a smaller dating pool.
• You don’t check your online dating accounts very often.

For tips and tricks on using all those extra features to meet more attractive women, go here.

Setting Up An Account

Getting starting on OkCupid is incredibly easy. First you choose your sexual orientation from 12 options, including straight, gay, demisexual, pansexual, and questioning.

Choosing your gender is equally inclusive, with 22 options ranging from woman or man to androgynous, genderqueer, intersex, transgender, etc.

Next up is your birthdate, country, zip code, email, username and password – and then boom, you’re a member.

She’s certain to notice your username, as it’s displayed prominently in her search results and inbox. Names have power, and in online dating it’s no different.

A strong username like “LeaderOfThePack” will help her form a good impression, while a lame one like “LonelyGuy” could torpedo your chances with her. We’ve got 18 examples of usernames that work for OkCupid to get you started in the right direction.

You have the option to skip uploading your photo and writing your profile in lieu of going straight to browsing profiles, but that’s a mistake. Women typically want to see what you look like and learn a bit about you before returning your message, and she’s definitely not going to reach out to Mr. Anonymous on her own.

Photos are arguably the most important piece of your OkCupid profile, so choose a range of 3-7 where you look equally attractive. It’s almost impossible to look equally good in 8+ photos. It only takes one bad photo to turn her off. At the same time, using at least 3 is important because it’s hard to look like a well-rounded, interesting guy in just 1 or 2 pictures.

For essential advice on choosing an attention getting photo lineup for OkCupid, check out our Ultimate Guide To Online Dating.

OkCupid’s profiles are a bit different than what you’ll find on sites like Match.com and POF. Your profile is broken into a series of sections, starting with a short “About Me” paragraph.

This first section should instantly capture her curiosity and make her want to know more about you. Highlighting a few alpha male traits is sure-fire way to boost your attractiveness. If she likes what she sees, she’ll keep reading. Go here for 5 examples irresistible OkCupid profiles.

Before completing the other sections of your profile, you’re prompted to answer 10 questions that will help the algorithm calculate your matches. The yes/no questions range from “Are you a morning person?” to “Do you like scary movies?”

After answering the 10 questions, you have the opportunity to fill in the other profile sections:

Remember, when she’s reading these sections she’s going to imagine what it’s like to spend time with you so describe yourself and your hobbies in an interesting way.

Instead of a boring list of adjectives or nouns like “I’m adventurous, funny, and ambitious, and I like skiing and travel” tell her a story that illustrates those qualities. Showing rather than telling is way more attractive.

Once your profile is done, you’ll have the opportunity to “like” 3 women, which will help OkCupid’s algorithm match you with the type of women you’re interested in.

Answering the additional “match questions” is worth your time, because the more you answer, the higher your match score with other compatible users can be.

Resist the urge to check the “any of the above” box – that basically takes your answer out of the equation.

To set your search criteria, click on the  icon. Some of the criteria are only available to A-List members, but free members can screen for traits like height, ethnicity, religion, relationship goals, “vices” (i.e. drinking and smoking), education, kids, and pets.

You’ll also notice a field for “search by interest” under the “MORE” category, which allows you to enter a hobby you’d like to share with a woman. When it comes to sending copy and paste messages to intriguing women, this search function is your new best friend.

For instance, let’s say you want your potential matches to enjoy skiing as much as you do. Simple enter “skiing” into the search field, and the resulting matches are a gold mine of women who also like to ski.

Send any woman who catches your eye a message like this:

Once you’ve got a message written for any hobbies you’d like to share with potential matches, you can save a ton of time with the “search by interest” filter. For even more tips on how to unleash the magic of copy & paste messages, check out this article.

The Fastest Way To Meet Women On OkCupid

OkCupid is a great place to meet high quality women, but as with anything worth doing it takes time to do it right. Crafting a compelling profile, choosing attractive photos, writing messages she’ll want to respond to – these things take practice.

If you want to skip the whole “trial and error” stage and jump straight to the dates with amazing women, consider hiring a virtual dating assistant. We’ve been finding high quality women for guys just like you since 2009, and you don’t have to do any of the work!

All you do is show up for the dates. Intrigued? Click here to find out how to meet the woman of your dreams!