The Zoosk free trial is one of the great myths of online dating. It’s right up there with bisexual women who want threesomes and single guys who pay for their dates but don’t expect sex. Many people talk about it, Google it, and continue to believe in its existence — despite an overwhelming lack of evidence.

We want to set the record straight, at least when it comes to Zoosk, and let you know, definitively, that Zoosk doesn’t offer a free trial membership. Its free membership actually never expires. You can set up a Zoosk dating profile and browse for potential matches for a grand total of $0.

Zoosk has a paid membership as well — basically the exact opposite of a free trial — but it’s optional. We’ll get into the Zoosk cost breakdown in this mythbusting article.

A Basic Account Doesn’t Cost Anything and Doesn’t Expire

A Zoosk free membership is similar to a Zoosk free trial — except for the fact that the free membership never ends. All free members can stay free members on the dating site and app. There is no obligation to upgrade to a premium membership.

It takes less than five minutes to complete a Zoosk dating profile. You will need to confirm your identity by providing an email address, Facebook login, Twitter login, or phone number. You will also need to upload a photo that clearly shows your face. Only Zoosk profiles with photos will appear in search results and match recommendations.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5.0
  • Send messages to premium members for free
  • Over 3 million messages sent a day
  • Premium perks include photo verification and sending virtual gifts

Zoosk is a free dating site and app with over 40 million members around the world. There is no automatic activation fee. Upgrading to a premium subscription is 100% optional, and many Zoosk users choose to stick with the free membership. We go into more detail about how the online dating service works in our Zoosk review.

Free Features Include Profile Browsing & SmartPick Matches

Creating a Zoosk account is free. Uploading photos is free. Browsing local dating profiles is free. And, yes,  sending likes and some messages to Zoosk members is free.

Zoosk offers users a sneak peek at their inbox — no coupon code needed — and allows them to send a limited number of messages to certain members. Go to the Reply For Free tab to jump on free communication opportunities.

In addition to its chat features, Zoosk has a free matchmaking process that has proven successful. Zoosk allows its free members to swipe on profiles in the Carousel and conduct an advanced search of the database by age, location, appearance, and background. The more users interact with these features, the more the Zoosk algorithm learns about their dating preferences.

Screenshot of Zoosk SmartPicks

Zoosk uses behavioral matchmaking to predict romantic interest.

Finally, Zoosk assesses romantic compatibility and recommends SmartPicks based on the user’s like history. New users may have to browse the dating website or app for a week or so to provide enough information to strike up a smart match.

The Zoosk dating website is mobile-friendly, but using the app can be more convenient because you’ll receive notifications on your phone about new messages and can respond more quickly. The Zoosk app is free to download on the Google Play and App Store.

Zoosk gives its free members enough leeway to explore the local dating scene and meet someone new. You won’t have access to all messages and matches, but a free account can get the job done.

To Access More Features, Upgrade Your Membership

A Zoosk free membership will only get you so far in the online dating world. A free member can send likes, and even exchange a few messages, but they won’t have that many chatting options available for free. If you want to message local singles on Zoosk with no restrictions, then you’ll need to become a premium member.

The Zoosk premium membership can save you precious time by providing shortcuts to romance and flirting.

Zoosk has a variety of subscription options to help local singles meet new love interests without going over their monthly budget. Here’s a breakdown of how much Zoosk costs for a full membership:

  • One-month subscription: $29.95 per month (single payment of $29.95)
  • Three-month subscription: $19.98 per month (single payment of $59.95)
  • Six-month subscription: $13.35 per month (single payment of $79.99)
  • One-year subscription: $10.00 per month (single payment of $119.99)

Your Zoosk subscription will automatically renew unless you take action to cancel it. Go into your profile settings to turn off auto-renewal.

Getting a paid subscription isn’t the only way to upgrade your online experience. A Zoosk user can also use Zoosk coins to send virtual gifts and get extra premium features. A virtual gift is a gesture that makes Zoosk members stand out as truly interested in another person.

Many online daters hesitate to pay a subscription fee on a dating site or app because they have no guarantees that it will really work. But that’s why Zoosk has a free membership. Free members can test the features and explore potential matches without paying a cent. That way, they can feel confident in their decision to upgrade to a premium membership or remain free forever.

What is a Zoosk Free Trial?

A Zoosk free trial — if it existed, which it doesn’t — would be a temporary free membership that offered full access to the mobile app or site’s paid features. Meaning you could match, chat, and view your likes without having to pay anything. Oh, what a dating utopia that would be.

A long time ago, Zoosk actually did have a free trial offer that acted as a sneak peak for new members. But the days of the Zoosk trial are over. Even if the Google searches persist.

Modern online daters have no need of a Zoosk free trial because they have something better — a totally free membership that includes some free chat tools and has no expiration date.

Can I Get a Voucher for Zoosk?

Honestly, a Zoosk voucher code is unlikely to come into your hands. The voucher option is reserved for special circumstances and is given to a Zoosk member at the discretion of the customer service team. You can email the Zoosk team to try your luck and see if they have any discount codes or deals on hand. A Zoosk application for a voucher will likely need a pretty good reason to be successful though, so don’t hold your breath on that one.

Will a Zoosk Promo Code Work?

Yes, in theory. After all, Zoosk has a promo code option in its payment process on the dating site and dating app. It’s a little button underneath the credit card payment option. However, Zoosk coupon pages often feature a promo code that has expired or just doesn’t work. Don’t bank on a discount code or coupon hack working for you. Much like the Zoosk trial offer, such codes garner a lot of clicks but not a lot of actual deals.

If you can manage to find a valid coupon code, you could get anywhere from 10% to 50% off your Zoosk purchase, so it’s worth a cursory browse for a special offer on trustworthy coupon sites like RetailMeNot and DealSpotr.

In my experience, Zoosk will also offer sitewide deals or email a discount code to users periodically. Popular dating months like January and February historically have the best deals. These special offers tend to expire within a few days, usually over a weekend. Keep an eye on Zoosk’s Twitter feed or become a free member and check your email’s junk folder to make sure an awesome deal doesn’t slip past you.

How Long Can I Remain a Free Member on Zoosk?

Forever. Zoosk allows free members to stay free indefinitely, and it will only delete or deactivate a dating profile if the member requests deactivation or breaks the community rules or photo guidelines. Free members do not have to provide credit card information and will not be subject to automatic payments for a subscription. The online dating site and app are free to use with no hidden fees.

Do Other Dating Sites Offer a Free Trial?

In the early days of online dating (we’re talking 1990s and 2000s), it was pretty common to see online dating sites offering a free trial to new users. The eharmony free trial originally lasted two weeks and gave eharmony members the ability to send and receive messages. After the two weeks were up, the user would need a premium membership to continue to their conversations.

The eharmony dating site has long since replaced its free trial with a free membership. This old-school dating platform still keeps its messages under lock and key, but it offers icebreaker quizzes, winks, and free greetings to help spark romances.

Category Rating
★★★★★ 4.7/5.0
  • Over 2 million people have found love here
  • Users can filter their match recommendations by age or city
  • Compatibility Quiz identifies common interests, lifestyles, and goals

I know a free trial on a dating website or app sounds tempting — but it’s not the way most platforms operate these days.

As time went by, dating companies began to see that the free trial wasn’t working. It gave singles an incentive to exchange contact information right away in their online messages, sending the vibe of feverish desperation rather than honest matchmaking.

One by one, popular dating platforms have moved away from the free trial in favor of a free basic membership. As a premium dating site, Elite Singles still offers some free samples and perks, but it doesn’t put a time limit on users.

Which Dating Sites Have Free Messaging?

Totally free dating sites

are hard to find because it’s typically not a profitable strategy to give away all the goods for nothing. Dating sites and apps are businesses at the end of the day, and they’ve got to make a buck somehow. Some dating platforms can only support free messaging because they crowd the page with advertisements. Others have to implement a lot of online security and verification processes to keep fake profiles and spam messages to a minimum.

We consider OkCupid to be among the best dating sites with free messaging. No discount coupons needed. The dating service uses a mutual matching system to ensure members are genuinely interested in one another.

OkCupid provides free communication and compatibility ratings for all basic members. Its smart matchmaking system is responsible for pairing 91 million couples every year.

Category Rating
★★★★ 4.1/5.0
  • Free, unlimited communication for everyone
  • Singles can swipe or search for a compatible date
  • Over 91 million connections every year

OkCupid has an A-List subscription package available to members who want more bang for the buck (literally). A-List members receive priority in swiping lists, receive read receipts in their messages, and can send unlimited likes. You do not need to upgrade to this premium membership to send or receive private messages.

Another premium feature on OkCupid is Incognito Mode, which means OkCupid members can only view your dating profile if you like or message them first.

Is Zoosk Worth It?

Zoosk has been in the online dating industry since 2007, and it supports one of the largest singles networks in the world. However, not every Zoosk user is active or able to send messages, so that can be frustrating if you’re in a hurry to have a chat and set up a date in real life.

According to the company’s stats, Zoosk members send 1.6 million messages per month, and the app has been downloaded over 10 million times. Messaging and downloads do not speak to online dating success though. And the success rate statistics are not so favorable to Zoosk.

Photo of a Zoosk couple

California couple Aimee and Almon met on Zoosk and got married.

In 2019, only 56,019 Zoosk users in the U.S. reported in their membership exit survey that they had found love on the dating site or app.

I know 56,000 success stories may sound like a lot. But if you put that in the context of the millions of messages sent every month, you’ll see that many a Zoosk user is slipping through the cracks and not finding what they’re looking for. Based on this evidence, our dating experts conclude that Zoosk works better as a casual chat line than it does as a serious matchmaker.

Zoosk has gotten mixed reviews from online daters. Some report finding true love on the dating site, while others weren’t so lucky and say it’s not worth paying a subscription fee.

If you’re looking for a distraction or an ego boost, the Zoosk dating site and app can provide plenty of match and chat options. It’s a fun, low-cost, and stress-free way to meet new people. It’s not incredibly efficient at sparking real-life romances though. Singles who are serious about finding a potential partner may have better luck on more proven dating sites for relationships.

Join Zoosk & Meet Local Singles for Free

You don’t need a Zoosk coupon code, a Zoosk coin, or a Zoosk free trial to have a great time on the dating website and mobile app. Zoosk supplies an abundance of free features to keep online daters occupied and help them find a good match.

A Zoosk profile costs nothing, so a trial offer is not necessary to enjoy time on the online dating platform.

Instead of clinging to fantasies of a free trial, online daters should take advantage of the awesome deals that already exist online. A free membership on Zoosk offers enough perks to start your online dating journey on a positive note. You can create a Zoosk account or download the mobile app with no obligation to enroll in a subscription. In fact, most singles use the Zoosk platform for weeks, months, or even years wtihout paying for any of the premium features. Let the truth set you free.

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