The most annoying thing about most dating websites is that they try to trick you into joining free, often omitting or even hiding the fact that you have to pay to actually "meet" someone. This would not be so bad if there was an easy way to look at pricing without having to sign up. Too bad most of these websites don't tell you how much it costs until after you've already signed up - which really puts the whole endeavor on the wrong track doesn't it? If you start off with dishonesty, why should we trust you to find the "person of our dreams”? With that said, we did manager to get the prices of each online dating service, which you can see in the left column below the bullet points.

eHarmony was the online dating website that I sent my mom to. That's the kind of market they're going for. But after two months on the site she managed to meet three men, all of whom were nothing like what she was looking for. One was missing his front teeth, and another was unemployed and living with his parents at 40 - if that gives you any idea. At the price of $60 per month, we really expected higher quality matches. Verdict - FAIL.

Friendfinder is a bargain at the price, but many of the people on the site are not looking for long-term, serious relationships so it really all depends on what your online dating goals are. If you're looking for some fun people to hang out with, and the possibility of something more serious down the line, $8 is hard to beat and there are plenty of people on this website. Dating without pressure is my personal preference, and I found the matches on Friendfinder to be more laid back in their expectations. They weren't seeking "sexy encounters" like the Lavalife crowd, but they weren't in a hurry to get married like the eHarmony crowd either.

Perfectmatch is just as expensive as eHarmony, but with fewer matches. They seem to be going after the same market, which is probably how they justify the cost. If you're looking for someone to spend the rest of your life with, that $60 starts to seem like a bargain. But we did not find this website to be any "better" than Match.com when it came to finding matches interested in serious, long-term relationships so the cost isn't justified (see below).

Match.com has been around for a long time and is one of the most trusted brands in online dating. It seems to be the middle ground in terms of the type of people they market toward - i.e. not immediate marriage-seekers like eHarmony and Perfectmatch but not casual encounters like Lavalife. The price is also very reasonable at $16 per month. But for half the price you could find similar results on FriendFinder (and might make a few plutonic friends while you're at it), which all combines to make FriendFinder the Best Dating Website out of those found in this review.

LavaLife is runner-up when it comes to casual encounters (Friendfinder being a better bargain) and dating for the under-30 crowd. They do have other members seeking more permanent, serious relationships, but they seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Again, it all comes down to what you are looking for. We're not here to judge you - just the dating websites. :-)