Smooch.com Review

Smooch is a free online dating site that offers a way for singles to connect in their local area, which would appear to be primarily focused on the United Kingdom.

It is a very bare bones site that doesn’t have a lot to offer. This isn’t due to a minimalist design; the technology powering Smooch is shockingly outdated. Here is a more in depth look at what Smooch has to offer.

First Impressions

It isn’t that Smooch is minimal, its that the web template they are using is low budget and out of date. They can keep the site free because it is littered with ads; fortunately these are just basic AdSense ads so they don’t create a lot of resource drain or disturbance.

There are some positives to it being so low tech and out of date –

• It will be able to work on most devices, you may just have to scroll around a bit
• The ads aren’t popping up, they are fed through in the side bars
• There is no learning curve to using it as there is nothing surprising about placement, layout or features.

As you register, which is a standard and easy process, you will also start to notice something about Smooch – there are real people on it. Perhaps one of the most stand-out points in this site’s favor is that it seems to be geared equally towards men and women. The age range looks to be in the mid 20s range, but there is a little higher and lower age ranges represented to.

It should be mentioned that this site is also geared towards heterosexuals only. It won’t turn you away if you are looking for the same gender, but you just aren’t going to find that here. Another thing that supports the perception that this is a good free dating site to use is its Alexa score.

Smooch scores 202,706 in the US, but is ranked 1,796 in the UK and has a global score of 46,199. In the past six months, it has climbed in its ranking by over 7,431 places. While the UK is heavily represented in the profiles, there is also a good representation of international profiles too. It has also dropped in its bounce rate and the average fewer sticks around to at least look at 4 pages a day.

Features

Smooch isn’t just simple and no frills – it is completely outdated. The dating site template it is using is offering features that were all the rage in the 90s, but aren’t that big of a deal now. You can email, IM and even rate profiles on the site, but don’t expect that you are going to get much in assistance with finding matches.

The search results for profile matching are based on little more than standard filters. You can also pay to access some extra features on the site, but even a little money doesn’t open magic doors. You pay to be able to contact someone more in-depth. You can IM and message, but to have unlimited communication or to exchange pictures via the messaging system you have to pay.

Price and membership

Smooch is completely free – sort-of. It is completely free but if you want the bells and whistles – or to be able to contact someone or see who has contacted you – you will have to start paying. You can upgrade your account or buy individual services. It is hard to find a solid price list, which is oddly also the main complaint of its users. Even after having signed up for a paid membership, there is a lack of clarity about what is going to be charged and how to cancel the membership.

Conclusion

Smooch is outdated, but it does seem to have real people on the site. Unfortunately, the balance seems to be tipping recently towards fake profiles. Combine that with a less than clear payment terms and agreement and there have been more complaints about this site recently. It can function as a real dating site; it can also function as an escort site and a nice place to set yourself up as an easy target for a scam. What is apparent is that no one is really vested in the future of Smooch, which means you shouldn’t be either.