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The best dating sites for single parents (and the ones you should stay away from)

Say hello to the best dating sites for single parents.

 

Marisa Losciale

IRL

Posted on Mar 15, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 4:59 pm CDT

Finding a decent single parent dating site shouldn’t be difficult, but you’d be surprised. This may be the era of online dating, but apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and The League all have faults. One is the fact that there seem to be more people swiping for hookups than long-term relationships, and another being that popular apps like these don’t provide a place (other than your mini-bio) for you to describe your family situation–which only makes finding a serious partner even more work.

Some companies have started to tackle this issue with single parent dating sites. But not all of them are worth your while, so to help you sort it all out we’ve listed a few of the best dating sites for single parents (as well as some of the ones you should definitely steer clear of). Don’t mind us while we play matchmaker!

The best dating sites for single parents (and the ones you should avoid)

1) eHarmony.com

Since its launch 2000, eHarmony has continued to top lists of the best dating sites for single parents. Founded by a former marriage counselor and clinical psychologist, eHarmony practically forefronted compatibility testing. After sifting through years of data on what makes a long-term relationship successful, eHarmony introduced its patented Compatibility Matching System which uses your responses to a specific series of questions (I.E. Do you have kids? Are you religious? Are you good at building romance in a relationship? etc.) to match you with someone who meets your criteria. The test is regularly updated to ensure quality matching, and if you feel like you need a bit of coaching to get back into the game, eHarmony even offers dating advice to all of its members through its blog eHarmony Advice. 

Joining eHarmony is free but in order to access all the site’s benefits, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid subscription. Standard subscriptions allow you to see who’s viewed your profile, unlimited messages and photos, and access to more matches. The Premium plan includes all of that plus the ability to browse anonymously, see when people read your messages and get featured with Spotlight. 

Membership payment options (payable by credit or debit card):

Standard Subscription rates

Premium Subscription rates

Visit eHarmony


2) Match.com

Match.com has been another leading single parent dating site since its debut in 1995. Instead of running capability tests, Match requires its worldwide users to express themselves in free writing sections and by selecting partner preferences. Profiles can also include up to 26 photos, but the site’s most notable feature by far is its heightened level of privacy, which allows members to message each other anonymously while keeping all names and contact information confidential until you decide to share it with another member. 

Joining Match.com is free, but a premium subscription gains you access to all the site’s perks. As a paid Standard member, you’ll be able to chat with local singles, send and receive messages, see who’s viewed you, attend live events and more. Premium members even get notifications when someone reads your email, one profile review per year, and monthly boosts. Plus, for a limited time, all Match.com memberships are up to 67% off–so if you’re looking to try it out, there’s never been a better time! 

Membership payment options (payable by credit or debit card):

Standard Subscription rates

Premium Subscription rates

Visit Match.com


3) SingleParentMeet.com

Instead of searching online for a single parent dating site, try using SingleParentMeet.com, which is dedicated to matching single moms and dads. 

Joining is free but in order to read and reply to messages and chat with members, you’ll need to upgrade to a Premium membership. But if you’re looking for customer service or advice to accompany you on your dating journey, reviewers claim you won’t find any of that here. 

Membership payment options (payable by PayPal, credit or debit card):

*All newly upgraded users are also charged a one-time processing fee of $3.99 

Visit SingleParentMeet.com


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4) EliteSingles.com

EliteSingles.com has one of the cleanest interfaces of all single parent dating sites. It’s intended to help users find long-term relationships, not just flings–which is why it developed the 5 Factor Personality Questionnaire for its users to take prior to registering. This quick quiz uses your answers to match you with other users that offer compatible responses. 

If you’re looking to hear from reviewers, SiteJabber users had mixed things to say about this service. It worked for some, while others say the service doesn’t screen profiles well enough–leading to incompatible matches and lots of fake profiles. So is it worth the risk? We’ll leave that up to you to decide.  

Membership payment options (payable by credit or debit card):

Visit EliteSingles.com


5) SingleParentLove.com

SingleParentLove.com markets itself as the single moms and dads dating site, but according to reviewers, it could stand to be improved. Users say that even though it has all the features one would need from a dating site, it doesn’t do anything to expand upon them. So unlike eHarmony and Match.com, you won’t find any dating advice or in-person meetups. And unless you upgrade to a paid account, prepare for the ads!

That said, for a limited time the site is offering all new users a three-month free trial of Premium–so it may be worth your while just for that!

Membership payment options (payable by credit or debit card):

Visit SingleParentLove.com


6) JustSingleParents.com

We can’t discuss the best dating sites for single parents without mentioning JustSingleParents.com since it’s listed in a few “Top 10 Best Dating Sites” guides. Users say that the site’s interface is not only pretty and professional but easy to use, too. JustSingleParents.com allows paid members to search with advanced filters (like age, location, whether or not the profile has photos, etc.), message/chat, “wink,” and favorite as many users as they’d like, and even get a free daily astrology reading.  But unlike other sites like eHarmony, there is no compatibility testing, so you’ll have to figure that out the old fashioned way–by actually talking to people. 

Membership payment options (payable by credit or debit card):

Visit JustSingleParents.com


 

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7) SingleParentMatch.com

This particular single parent dating site doesn’t have many reviews, but the ones it does have are all complaints about its cost. So we went ahead and made an account ourselves to see what it was about, and from what we can tell, reviewers were right. There aren’t as many active members online as there are on other sites, and to use any of the filtered search options (as well as to message, flirt, and view pics) you’ll need to pay. So as free-to-join sites come, this one offers limited accessibility and doesn’t prove to be worth its premium price. 

Membership payment options (payable by credit or debit card):

Visit SingleParentMatch.com


8) SingleParentPassions.com

Talk about a terrible single parent dating site! If you haven’t visited SingleParentPassions.com, that’s probably a good thing. It’s not worth getting into specifics, but this site is little more than a scam. Even though it’s completely free to join, prepare to be bombarded with ads and fake profiles. So unless you have all the time in the world, you should skip this site. 

Visit SingleParentPassions.com


9) OnlySingleParents.com

Another single parent dating site to avoid is OnlySingleParents.com. At first, we were surprised there were absolutely no reviews to be found about the service (not even a bad mention on a sketchy review page!). But after we tried to sign up, it became clear why–once you’re redirected from the registration page to a “confirmation page,” all communications stop. You’ll never receive a confirmation email (or access to the site), but you’ll probably end up on a million spam email lists for the rest of your life. 

Visit OnlySingleParents.com

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*First Published: Mar 15, 2019, 11:50 am CDT