Soulmates Review: Pros & Cons - All Service Features

As people are becoming busier and busier each day, there is little time left for arranging your love life. That is why online dating destinations have gained such popularity over the last years. Thanks to these services, finding a match has never been easier. While there are thousands of dating sites and apps out there, only a few of them are worth your attention. The Guardian Soulmates is one of the dating locales where matchmaking is well-organized and profound.

A huge number of happy couples have discovered each other through Soulmates since its launch. Users can meet their matches face to face or through the different occasions for singles that are being facilitated continually. These occasions range from speed dating to sexual classes. The site has won 2014 Daters’ Favorite Website in the UK Dating Awards. It has also joined the Online Dating Association.

Browsing full profiles and galleries
Unlimited communication
Searching tools
Getting top 10 matches every week
Matching tools

Reputation And History of Soulmates

The history of Guardian Soulmates started in 2004. The service is now controlled by The Guardian. Most of its users are regular readers of the magazine as well. There are more than 160,000 newspapers delivered, which helps to target new people that might join the dating site. There are 500,000 avid users inside the UK with roughly 15,000 new individuals joining on a month to month basis. The site is devoted to helping like-minded singles find durable and genuine connections.

Since its creation, the service has effectively set up a large number of couples. On the off chance, you need to try things out from the outset, and you are permitted to peruse through the profiles before registering. Overall, the site caters to people from all walks of life, including seniors, single parents, gays, and lesbians or Catholics for Dating.

Website, App, Interface, Registration

The main version has a look and gives a feeling to uphold the brand. It has a unique text style and structure characteristic for The Guardian. The site looks smooth and expert and seems to be made just right to its target audience. The pastel hues are entirely matching and aren’t glaring to the eyes. Strangely, the primary presentation page is loaded up with new members of Soulmates. You can see separate tabs for the individuals who joined the service only this week or this month. A similar page has segments where you can see your matches, likes, and perspectives.

Other than that, there are searching tools and messages. These are the main capacities of Soulmates. It’s truly straightforward since there are no exceptional highlights advertised. In spite of the fact that there are just a couple of capacities to be utilized on Soulmates, exploring through them is a treat. The menu spreads out flawlessly and can be utilized by anybody—from the 18 to 85-year-olds who supposedly use the site as well.

The app is free to download for both Android and iOS users. All functions offered in the desktop version are available here as well. However, the app has limited access for some countries, but the service is already working on that.

As for the registration process, it is not mandatory if you want to look round first. Easy yet profound, it perfectly fits the overall concept of the site.

Registering an account is optional if you want to get the feel of the site first. You are free to tour around as a guest. Although if you want to join the community, the signup process is a must. The registration is quick, but more time consuming compared to a classic dating destination. You need to provide eight facts to get started. You signup info includes:

Keep in mind that your profile needs to be more than 50% complete before you can continue using the site. The details mentioned above make 20% of your profile. After that, you can add more personal info and upload a few photos. Although you can explore the site with basic info, a fully completed profile will give you better chances of meeting someone. The great thing is that the service is LGBT-inclusive; thus, you can choose the corresponding option like “Man looking for a man”, etc.

Are The Accounts Real Here?

Whereas registration is quite strict, there is no email verification required. Naturally, this gives some place to maneuver for fake profiles. Soulmates makes sure to catch and ban them before they can harm anyone. By the way, the site is completely open about the number of genuine members, so it doesn’t include “dead souls” into a monthly report. Anyway, make sure to take precaution measures to fight off scammers and fakes. You don’t hand out your personal details to strangers in real life, do you? The same goes for dating sites.

Overall, the quality of the profiles is impressive. Most are quite detailed and can be viewed for free.

User profile covers physique, relationship status, children, requirements, etc. Two fields let you describe yourself: “in your own words” and “who you’re looking for.”

Website and Mobile Version

The desktop version is designed almost perfectly. The layout is simple and well-organized, which makes navigation a breeze. As for the mobile version, the service offers a mobile-responsive app. The application is a solid option for people who are always in a hurry. It includes a similar shading palette as the web variant for a smoother transition. It additionally incorporates the entirety of the capacities that users are acquainted with by using its main version. It offers mostly an ad-free experience as the greater part of the advertisements, assuming any, are flawlessly incorporated as pop-ups or sidebars. Generally speaking, the portable application is a perfect choice for clients who don’t have a lot of access to their personal computers.

Special Features

Boasting a wide range of free and premium features, Soulmates also includes some unique adds-on. For example, the “At a glance” tab allows you to check your compatibility with a specific user. It states whether you fit the bill regarding their preferred height, education, area, parental status and perspectives, age range, etc.

Also, the “Blog” section deserves kudos, as it is basically a stand-alone blog with countless articles. They feature events, news, tips, dating locations, and other helpful information. If you have a few spare hours, make sure to check this section.

Partner Search

The site is available only to 18+ members and open to any kind of preferences, including LGBT, mature single, or single parents. It is particularly famous for mature and single senior dating and is a standout amongst other dating locales in the United Kingdom.

With over 80% of the population being the readers of The Guardian, you are likely to locate a match. This can help to establish a connection with potential matches. In case you’re searching for no-strings-attached relationships, you’d better go somewhere else. Hence, the intentions of members are more serious than on a regular dating site. You’re bound to locate an appropriate match with Guardian Soulmates. To do any matchmaking or searching, your profile must be more than 50% complete. This also ensures the effectiveness of the searching system. Besides, you are given a well-curated list of matches, albeit limited.

How Does Soulmates Work?

Being a traditional dating service, Guardian Soulmates allows you to add your profile to the pool of other users that have already joined the community. Once your profile is more than 50% complete, you can browse profiles using different filters and search types. Although there isn’t searching tools galore, those present are enough to set you up with a perfect partner. The site also implements an automated matchmaking system that operates based on your preferences. You can browse through matches that might interest you. Overall, this is an active community of daters, and it has a nice balance between the atmosphere of manual matchmaking sites and automated algorithms.

Searching Options and Filters at Soulmates

Once you have completed your profiles, you can make use of search options and tools. There aren’t tons of them, yet all are effective and simple to use. First, you automatically get the suggested locals who might be a good match for you. To narrow this type of search, you can specify by setting gender, age range, location, and whether a user has a photo. As for the filters, there are “the basics” ( for basic searching) like gender/age/location and more advanced ones like preferences, views, etc. that are used for advanced searching.

Additionally, you can save your search by using a yellow bar (above your search results) with a link to “Save this search”. Mind that you can save up to ten searches.

Generally, there are two main searching options – “Find a soulmate” and “Your matches”. These criteria are used to create a list of compatible partners for the latter. The list depends on two-way coordination, considering the significance of each preference to you and your match. You can pick the significance of each preference by utilizing the slider tool.

“Recently joined Soulmates” is another tab where you can browse profiles that are divided into categories:

you liked,
liked you,
are online,
viewed your profile,
you’ve hidden,
you’ve blocked.

Communication Methods

The main thing you need to know about communication on Soulmates is that it is for premium users only. As a free member, you can “like” someone to show your interest or browse soulmates who might also appeal to you through the suggestion tab.

Liking is the only communication option that’s free on the service. The other two you can use are blocking and reporting. So, there is not much to enjoy unless you’re reporting someone for abusive behavior or suspicious activity. Although, the site makes up for poor (strictly premium) communication options by offering you the flexible search feature.

If you have purchased a premium subscription, you can send the first message. The site advises that it’s good to show that you’ve read a user profile, and you’re interested in what they say there. You can see if they have read your message by looking at the message itself. Be sure not to share contact details in the first message. If someone likes you, you can like them back. In this case, they will be notified via email.

Soulmates Alternatives

Unlike the name implies, Soulmates has more of a dating website structure. It may not be as encompassing as other destinations when it comes to matchmaking, but it’s just your run-of-the-mill online dating service. However, the site is unrivaled when it comes to the quality of the user base and the meaningfulness of connections. Its closest competitor – Match.com lags in the authenticity of profiles and the overall atmosphere. As most of the Soulmates users are the Guardian target audience, they are well-read, well-traveled, and well-versed in the most beautiful things in life. Besides, the platform welcomes any kind of sexual orientation, educational background, and financial status.

Membership Price and Payment Method

The platform comes across as a premium niche dating website. It provides high-quality services; that is why you’d expect it to be a paid dating platform. However, initially, it is free to register and have a look around to get the idea of the site. Most features are paid, so you won’t be able to communicate or interact with users except for “likes”. The App and Website prices are slightly different, and you can have a one-week trial via the app. Premium Subscriber payment plan includes 1, 3 and 6-month subscriptions that are different in prices, with the 6-month Subscriber plan being the cheapest on a per-month cost. You can pay by credit card or mobile phone balance.

Free Membership Features

Free services include:

Registering an account
Browsing profiles
Viewing profile photos
Adding users to the Likes list

Premium Membership Features

Browsing full profiles and galleries
Unlimited communication
Searching tools
Getting top 10 matches every week
Matching tools

How Much Is Dating on Soulmates?

In comparison to other dating apps and chat room spaces, Soulmates is more on the expensive side. Initially, it is free to join the community. However, you’ll have to pay for almost everything else. If you download an app, you can snap a one-week trial period. Here’s an overview of the prices (all prices are in British pounds).

Duration	Costs	Total
1 Month	32.00 GBP / Month	32.00 GBP
3 Months	21.33 GBP / Month	64.00 GBP
6 Months	16.00 GBP / Month	96.00 GBP

Is Soulmates Really Safe?

The site abides by Terms of Use and Privacy policy. Focusing on dating safety as the core of user experience, Soulmates is committed to providing a safe and secure dating service. As the service is a founder member of the Online Dating, they are the best at ensuring your safety and privacy. There is also a Date Safe Guide available that covers tips on safe online dating.

Technical Side of Protection

To ensure your safety, the site automatically collects information from you by using cookies or similar technologies. Your personal and budgetary data is protected by using industry-standard security procedures, which incorporate Secure Socket Layers (SSL) and encryption. Thus, your personal info can’t be blocked, perused, or modified.

Customer Support

If you have any questions regarding the service or your account, you can look it up in the “Help” section. All you need to do is to fill in an inquiry form. However, make sure you browse through the “FAQ” section first.

Conclusion

Soulmates abides by the indistinguishable standards from The Guardian, planning to proceed with its tasks with no business or political interference. The site is committed to helping you locate your ideal accomplice. With a big and hospitable community, the site is open to any kind of singles, including LGBT, single parent, mature, or professional dating.

Also, if you are after dating venues, Soulmates gives an incredible scope of café reviews and recommendations on where to take your online match on your first date. Its special privacy and moderation approaches make messaging and meeting potential partners simple, secure, and tranquil. In case you’re new to web-based dating, you might need to investigate the “Blog” section for incredible tips. You’ll discover how to remain safe on the web, make your profile stand out, and even get assistance with what to wear on a date. Despite being on the expensive side, the platform totally makes up for it by offering top-notch matchmaking tools. Overall, Guardian Soulmates is a perfect dating destination if you are on the lookout for grounded and long-term relationships or meaningful connections.