When you’re finally ready to get serious about finding a long-term partner, you’ve got quite a few options. Troll the bars, beg your friends to set you up, hope to bump into someone at the grocery store, or start applying to be on the next season of Love Island.
If none of those sounds great, we get it. In reality, your two most promising options to find love are either joining a dating app or hiring a top professional matchmaker. But figuring out which one is the right fit for you isn’t always easy.
Today, we’re going to help you compare the pros and cons of dating apps vs matchmakers, to better understand which is the best fit for you.
The Answer Upfront
In case you’re just looking for some professional advice, we wanted to give you our answer upfront. You might expect that as a matchmaking company, we’re going to shout from the rooftops that every single person on planet earth should use a matchmaker.
In reality, that’s not actually the case. It all depends on you, what you’re looking for, and what works best for you. Here’s who we think each is best for.
Who a Professional Matchmaker is Best For
- Someone serious about finding someone special and wants the best opportunities to make that happen.
- Someone who cares about results, but might have a lot going on where they don’t have a lot of extra free time to spend trolling dating apps.
- You don’t have to be rich to use a professional matchmaker (a common misconception). That said, you do have to be okay with investing some money into your romantic future.
- You don’t have to “have it all together” or know exactly what you want to use a professional matchmaker. That said, you do need to at least be fairly certain you’re looking for a real relationship because matchmaking isn’t ideal for casual dating.
- If you are someone who prefers privacy without the need for public profiles that sometimes invite unwanted attention..
If this is you, we highly recommend checking out what reviews say about Three Day Rule and why we’re consistently regarded as the best and most trustworthy matchmaking service.
Or even better, schedule a completely free consultation call to get your questions answered now by a real matchmaker.
Who Dating Apps are Best For
- If you’re interested in casual dating, a dating app is probably going to be the better fit for you.
- If you don’t have a lot going on where you have a considerable amount of time every day to sort through profiles, send messages, and try and create connections.
- If budget is really tight where you don’t have any extra money to spend on your romantic future, dating apps may be a better fit as there are some free options.
If this sounds like a better fit, you’ll want to read this article about the best dating apps for more information.
Comparing Professional Matchmakers and Dating apps
Still on the fence? Want to dive deeper? We totally get it. In reality, this is an important decision to make, so it’s important to be educated. Let’s look at the comparison, pros, and cons of these two options based on the most important factors.
The Cost of Matchmakers vs. Dating Apps
One of the biggest differences between a professional matchmaker and dating apps is cost. But, the problem is that most people don’t make a proper comparative assessment here.
Let’s get into it. If you only look at the sticker price of both options, professional matchmakers are going to seem more expensive upfront. Where dating apps are going to cost you a few hundred dollars, professional matchmakers are going to cost you a few thousand.
Does this mean matchmakers are more expensive? Not so fast. There’s a lot more to look at here.
First, you have to look at what you’re getting. While the goal of these two options is the same, the experience and level of service you receive is not. With a dating app, you need to factor in the cost of your time. You have to create your profile. You have to search through matches. You have to figure out what you’re looking for. You have to start the conversations. You have to set up your dates. You have to deal with the catfish, fake accounts, bots, and scammers.
While you probably already knew this, you have to factor in the fact that your time has a value to it. The opportunity cost of spending 10-20+ hours a week using dating apps should mean something to you.
The more you value your time, the more expensive dating apps get.
On the other hand, professional matchmakers handle all of the work for you. Yes, you pay more for this service, but you are unlocking a ton of free time.
Second, you have to factor in the cost of bad dates. When you go on bad dates, they not only cost you money, but they cost you a lot of time, energy and mental wellbeing. Again, this has a value.
Now, we believe you can find good dates through dating apps, but something has to be said for the benefit of hiring a professional who understands what you’re looking for (even when you might not).
When you start to factor all of these things together, you can see that a snap judgement that dating apps are cheaper just may not be correct.
How the Process is Different
As we’ve already alluded to, the process of finding someone is wildly different with a dating app vs. a matchmaking service.
With a dating app, the pro is that you have full control over the process. The con is that you are also responsible for the entire process. If you have a lot of free time to commit to the process and think you’re pretty good at picking out winners, this might be a good fit.
With a matchmaker, the pro is that you are hiring a professional who is responsible for the entire process.
You do still have significant control over who you meet and who you go out with, but you aren’t in the proverbial trenches like you are with a dating app.
For many, this ends up being a big pro of matchmakers, but worth mentioning in case you’re someone who wants to have a tight grip on every step of the process.
How to Choose if a Matchmaker or Dating App is Right for You
Ultimately, the decision of whether a matchmaker or dating app is right for you depends on you. To help, here are the four questions we’d recommend asking yourself.
- Am I looking for a serious relationship or something casual?
- Do I have a lot of free time I can dedicate to dating apps, or do I have a lot going on where someone taking that responsibility off my plate would help?
- Have I historically done a good job of picking winning partners, or would the help of a professional possibly be a nice change for me?
- How important is finding someone special to me?
Depending on your answers to these questions, you should be able to quickly figure out which option is best for you. If dating apps feel right, go for it! Make sure to find one that works for you. If matchmaking sounds a lot better, finding a matchmaker near you is easier than you think.
If you want to ask some questions to help you decide which is right for you, we’d invite you to schedule a completely free (and no pressure) consultation call with one of our matchmakers here at Three Day Rule!
Here’s the link to book a time.