Lavalife

Packages and Features

Lavalife offers only 1 package through which you can take advantage of all of the site's singles communities. If you wish to try it out you can also take advantage of the site's free trial which offers limited services.

Feature	Paid Membership	Free Trial
Create profile
Post photos
Search profiles
Send smiles
Instant messaging
Initiate email contact
Speed dating

Pricing

Lavalife's pricing is slightly lower than the cost of most other online dating sites. Considering that you can join 3 different communities for one monthly fee, this price is a relatively good value.

In addition to its standard package, Lavalife offers various 'extras' which can be purchased for an additional fee. These services include:

All subscriptions will be automatically renewed unless you specifically cancel your membership. Payments can be made with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners, JCB, Discover, PayPal or money order. Purchases can be made over the phone or online.

Membership Base

• Approximately 2 million members
• 15,000 new profiles are created each week
• Married people can join Lavalife
• Couples looking for intimate encounters can join together

How Lavalife Works

As compared with other dating sites, Lavalife offers the most avenues of communication, but a user-interface that is rather crowded, distracting and difficult to use. If you are interested in searching for a partner, you can do a search in various ways including newest members, who is online, local only, by interest and by ClickScore, which is Lavalife's effort to match users based on compatibility.

Example of a search done by ClickScore

There are also multiple ways to contact singles, such as instant messaging and emailing, as well as Speed Dating which is run regularly. Lavalife also hosts virtual parties through which singles can meet and chat online in a more personable and relaxed atmosphere. Unlike compatibility matching sites, Lavalife doesn't offer guided communication. Instead, you are free to say whatever you want to whoever catches your eye.

Lavalife is one of the few online dating sites that offer Speed Dating in which you can meet 10 singles in 30 minutes. You may only participate in Speed Dating if you have uploaded a profile picture.

I was disappointed to see that Lavalife does not clearly notify you when you receive a chat. As a result, many chat opportunities passed me by because I was not looking in the right place at the right time. Likewise, many people to whom I initiated chat did not respond instantly, likely because they did not see my chat right away.

Registration

The initial Lavalife registration form takes under 5 minutes to complete. It may take slightly longer if you wish to upload photos or videos. In addition, each section offers questions that are designed to help you find a suitable partner. If you want a relationship you can mention your values and what your idea of romance is. If you are looking for a date, you can mention what your friends call you, what you think is a fun date and what you like to talk about. If you are looking for an intimate relationship you can also add information about your sexual preferences, what turns you on and what types of sexual acts you are open to.

Customer Support

Lavalife offers help with purchasing and billing by phone between the hours of 9am and 11pm EST. However, when I called them at 4:23am EST, I did reach a representative who was able to answer my questions. Unfortunately, these agents are not able to answer any technical questions. Emailing Lavalife via their website is the only way to request customer service assistance. I contacted them at 3:26am EST on a Tuesday morning:

Customer Support Form

I received my first response at 1:57pm EST the same day. The email requested that I answer some security questions, which I did.

Automated Response

In response to my security information, I received an email from Lavalife at 2:37pm EST (the same day), referring me to the customer service section on their website.

Final Customer Support Response

It was both frustrating and disappointing that after 3 emails they did not provide me with a helpful or personal response.

Lavalife in the Media

mysanantonio.com
Yes, a 2010 Olympian Met His Wife Through Lavalife! Read Article

earthtimes.org
Lavalife Uncovers the Single Woman's Need for Adventure Read Article

theglobeandmail.com
New Ideas for a Great Valentine's Day Read Article

Summary

Positive Features

• Multiple online dating options
• Many members online throughout the day
• Virtual parties make it easy to meet multiple people at once
• Mobile dating availability

Negative Features

• Distracting user interface
• Difficult to notice when chats come in
• Many profiles don't have pictures
• ClickScore compatibility matching was ineffective
• Does not allow you to specifically search for gay singles