Match vs eharmony: where the two relationship apps split

Free accounts and who can message

The Match help center says "All of our free members are now able to chat with every match." A free member can also create a profile, rate up to 50 recommended profiles a day, join virtual or in-person events. Paid tiers add unlimited introductions and message read receipts, and the top tier adds Anti-Ghosting. These help center pages are archived copies dated between July 2025 and October 2026, so tier contents may have changed.

eharmony's Basic membership has no time limit. According to the US terms, a Basic member can take the quiz, fill in a profile, view the Discover list and member profiles, send and receive Likes and a first message, and see who visited the profile. Photos of other members are generally blurred. Premium members send and read unlimited messages, up to the number of matches their plan allows: all matches on Premium UNLIMITED, a monthly allowance on the others. The size of that allowance per plan is not stated in the pages checked.

Match leaves chat open to every match at no charge, and eharmony ties full messaging to Premium. Video chat and voice messages are not confirmed for Match. For eharmony, the UK terms and community guidelines refer to a video chat feature that no US page or store listing describes.

Compatibility quiz or daily recommendations

eharmony starts from the quiz. Its answers go into a personality profile, and the algorithm shows partner recommendations with a compatibility score. Members send Likes or Smiles, and a mutual Like is a Match.

Match chooses recommendations every day from compatibility and shared details, and members rate a Recommended stack of profiles yes or no. A Dating Intention filter and a Core Values feature show shared goals and values, and a Super Like gives a profile priority placement. Match lets members state an intention on the profile, where eharmony derives the profile from quiz answers.

Both aim at relationships. eharmony's US terms call it "a Service for single people seeking romantic relationships". Match's App Store listing uses the line "Real Singles, Serious Intentions" and says members are "here to find something meaningful", and its text adds "or just want to meet quality singles near you" without describing casual dating. eharmony's UK sign-up form has a "Casual" choice next to "Serious"; no US source describes casual dating as part of the service. Neither positions itself for hookups in the pages checked, and our hookup app picks sorts the apps that do.

Match vs eharmony prices in the US and UK

On the US App Store, the lowest listed Match price is USD 19.99, on an item named Match with no billing period stated. In the same US App Store listing, Basic and Standard are USD 44.99 for 1 month and Bundle is USD 129.99 for 6 months. The item names do not line up with the Bronze, Silver, Platinum and Diamond tiers in the help center, which lists packages of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. No UK row is recorded for Match.

Prices as listed in the store on November 5, 2026. They change by country, platform, account and promotion.

On the US App Store, eharmony lists an item named eHarmony Basic from USD 59.99 and Premium light from USD 179.99. The UK App Store lists eHarmony Basic from GBP 44.99, Premium plus from GBP 149.99 and Premium light from GBP 189.99. No row states a billing period or which Premium term (6, 12 or 24 months) a price belongs to, and neither country has a Premium UNLIMITED row. The terms call Basic membership free, and the listing does not explain the paid items named eHarmony Basic. Prices on eharmony's own website were not confirmed.

Prices as listed in the store on November 5, 2026. They change by country, platform, account and promotion.

On the US App Store, the lowest listed Match price (USD 19.99) is below the lowest listed eharmony price (USD 59.99). Neither row states a period, so they may cover different lengths of membership. Google Play and web prices are not covered. Longer lists are on Match pricing and eharmony pricing.

Search filters and profile visibility

Match gives free members custom search filters. Premium adds Advanced filters: Platinum lets members apply them for dating preferences, and Diamond adds filtering by dating intent on Discover. Private Mode is a separate paid add-on that will "display your profile only to individuals you have communicated with"; the detail comes from a help center copy dated August 2, 2025.

eharmony does not use the word incognito. Its Data & Settings page has a Profile Visibility slider, and hiding the profile is offered as an alternative to deleting the account. The pages checked do not say whether the slider needs a paid plan. Other apps with these tools are on the incognito mode and advanced filters pages.

Verification and safety tools

eharmony describes an optional SMS verification that gives a profile an "SMS Verified" badge, the only public badge the pages checked describe. Age checks run through face-scan age estimation or a government ID, a profile must be at least 50% complete, and members can report and block (the control is called "remove contact"). eharmony says its Trust and Safety team is available 7 days a week, which is a company statement.

Match's App Store listing names Verified Profiles and says every profile goes through checks, which is also a company claim. The help center has articles titled Photo Verification and Self Verify FAQ that could not be read, so how verification works and whether it is optional is not confirmed. Safe Message Filters combine automated tools with trained reviewers, and members can block and report from any profile or message window. More is in apps with profile verification and scams on dating apps.

What each privacy page says about your data

eHarmony, Inc. is the controller named in the US privacy policy, last revised July 14, 2026. It collects name, email, date of birth, dating preferences, photos, quiz answers, device ID, IP address and zip codes as location data. Sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ethnicity and political views are treated as sensitive and used only to provide the service.

For Match, the source is a help center article on sensitive data (archived copy dated October 15, 2026), because the full privacy policy page could not be read. Members can choose to share details such as sexual orientation, religion and political opinions, and public-profile details are visible to other members. Match Group may use some of it, for example to show offers for its other services, unless the member turns that off under Privacy Preferences. The data controller, retention periods and advertising partners are not confirmed. See our privacy guide for the wider picture.

Cancelling and deleting an account

Match says to turn off auto-renewal: through the Subscriptions screen of the iPhone App Store for an Apple subscription, or from Manage Subscription on the desktop site for others. Private Mode is deactivated separately, and there are no subscription pauses. Deletion is permanent and can be done in the app or on the website.

eharmony's terms say cancelling stops automatic renewal and the subscription runs to the end of the paid term, with no refund for unused days. Deleting works on the website only, not in the apps, and a member with an active subscription must contact Customer Care to begin. Steps for both are in subscription cancellation guide and deleting a dating app account.

Platforms, ages and the store check

Both apps are iPhone-only in the App Store and also run on Android (10M+ downloads each on Google Play) and on the web. Store ratings match: 18+ in the App Store and Mature 17+ in Google Play. Match's help center says "You must be 18 or older" and asks for members who are "single or separated from your spouse". eharmony's US terms require members to be at least 18 and "single or (if legally married) separated".

In the store check of 45 App Store storefronts, eharmony was listed in 23, the UK among them, and was not found in 22, including New Zealand, South Africa, India, Japan and Singapore. Match was listed in 15 and was not found in the UK or in 29 other storefronts. That is a check of the iPhone App Store, not a list of where either service can be used, and no official supported-country list is confirmed for either.

Which one fits whom

Match fits a reader who wants to chat with every match without paying and to state a dating intention and values on the profile. The Match review covers the rest.

eharmony fits a reader who wants matching built on a quiz and a compatibility score, an optional SMS Verified badge and a UK App Store listing with price rows. Its own page is the eharmony review.

If neither suits, Match alternatives and eharmony alternatives sort other apps by need, and dating app comparisons lists more pairs, Tinder vs Match among them.