DatingCafe – The singles portal with love in mind tested and compared
[Rating:80/100]
The large German dating portal Dating Cafe carried the slogan “We inspire your leisure time” and has been a test winner several times , including on the website Getestet.de (2013), at the German Institute for Service Quality (2012), at Stiftung Warentest (2011) as well as in the magazine tomorrow under the heading “Single Agencies 2000” and in “ComputerBild 2006 & 2007”.
DatingCafe was recently bought by the well-known ICONY network and integrated into the provider's online dating network.
Let's take a closer look at this dating site.
What is Dating Cafe about?
Dating Cafe is a large German singles exchange and personals website that offers a full service from singles events, customer service, columns, tips and advice to singles travel.
In total, Dating Cafe has over 750,000 members, of which more than two thirds of the profiles are really meaningful. Unfortunately – as is often the case with dating sites – dead files and inactive users are not automatically sorted out.
Homosexual singles have so far not been well represented on this dating site. The proportion of members who are active and have serious intentions is relatively high.
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What sets Dating Cafe apart?
This dating site specifically targets people with a high standard and style who are no longer in their 20s. Their membership structure is structured accordingly. According to the operator, the Dating Cafe team checks each profile by hand.
Many participants also identify themselves with an official photo ID. As a member, you are optimally protected from spammers and fraudsters.
As a woman, you receive far fewer annoying and usually raunchy messages from anonymous users. As a man, you are protected from fake news and professionally motivated inquiries. In the Dating Cafe you can expect mainly honest singles with love in mind. This significantly increases the likelihood of finding a permanent partner for a long-term relationship.
To make optimal use of the Dating Cafe offer, you should secure a premium membership. A fee is due for this, but it is quite fair compared to other dating sites and is quite appropriate considering the quality of the dating site. You also get decent discounts if you use it for several months.
There is also the option of a free trial week to put the portal through its paces yourself, risk-free.
Basic membership is free and unlimited.
Singles events and singles trips
Dating Cafe goes far beyond the offerings of a conventional singles exchange and, in addition to the community and personal ads, also offers numerous events and trips for singles in which non-members can also take part:
- Single trips, long-distance trips, city trips, active holidays, tours, ... (largest selection on the internet!)
- PowerDating, single parties, single pub crawls, ...
- Seminars & courses (single cooking, flirting courses, dance courses, ...)
Dating tips, advice and support
What is also commendable about the Dating Cafe is the fact that the registered singles are not left alone with their questions and problems. For questions such as “How do I present myself skillfully?”, “How do I increase my chances of success?”, “What do I have to pay attention to?”, “How do I convince when writing?”, “When is it time for the first real date ? as a user you can quickly find answers and help in the cafeteria.
The dating agency's editorial team is on hand to provide lots of tips on dating and falling in love. If you don't find a satisfactory answer here, you can still contact the team directly if you have any questions about the contact exchange.
Customer support & support
There is an FAQ section on the provider's website that provides many answers to common questions. If that is not sufficient, members and prospective members can contact customer support directly .
Experience has shown that you will then receive feedback in German , so that you will not have any problems with communication. Our experiences are very satisfactory and we can therefore give a good rating.
- FAQ section available on the website
- Customer service can be contacted by email (response within 24 hours)
- German-speaking employees in customer support
Free services:
- Registration
- Create a profile including question flirting and matching factor
- Upload photos (including verification)
- Have your profile picture verified
- Receive and reply to messages from premium members
- Send messages to premium members
- Search and filter functions (limited)
- View profile information (limited)
- Participation in photo flirting (limited)
- Favorites list (with limitation)
- Send smileys
- Use the “Like” function for interesting profiles
Paid services:
- Search and filter functions (without limitation)
- View profile information (without restrictions)
- Participation in the photo flirt (without restrictions) including displaying all interested parties
- ID check symbol on your own business card
- Surf anonymously
- Use video dating without restrictions
- Write unlimited messages to all members
- Receive messages from non-premium members
- Unlimited number of visitors and smileys displayed
- Favorites list (unlimited)
- Hide unwanted members
- Own profile cover photo
TOP:
- Basic functions to try out are free
- Overview “Who is online? / Who’s new?”
- Video Chat
- Certified authenticity image
- User-friendly layout & design
- Clear search results
- Search function with filter options
- Successful matching principle with question flirting
- few fakes, good moderation of member profiles
- Fotoflirt creates a Tinder moment for quick contact initiation
- Informative blog with tips and advice about the dating market
- Transparency and authenticity of the operators, also in terms of security and data protection
FLOP:
- No standalone web app for on the go
- Limited functionality of the basic membership
- Premium membership automatically renews
- Question flirting a bit complex
Costs and prices:
Basic functions (some with restrictions) are free with the basic membership. In order to be able to use the full range of functions with all contact options, an upgrade to a premium membership is necessary.
A monthly fee is then due, which depends on the period selected:
- 1 month: 29.90 euros / month
- 6 months: 16.90 euros / month
- 12 months: 11.90 euros / month
Payment options:
To pay the fees for the premium membership, you can use various secure methods, such as PayPal, credit card, bank transfer or direct debit. If you want to get started as quickly as possible, PayPal is the best option.
If you want to cancel as a basic or premium member, you can do so at any time, but you should allow for a notice period of 14 days. After termination, you can still use the premium functions until the end of the term.
- Credit card (MasterCard, VISA)
- Transfer
- Direct debit
- Paypal
Contract and termination:
If you would like to terminate the premium membership, you should terminate the premium contract in writing. If you do not cancel in a timely manner, your membership will automatically be extended for the booked period. Regardless of the term, a 14-day notice period applies.
You should terminate the subscription in writing (by letter, fax, email) or directly in the member area (under “Account Management”).
Please do not forget to always provide your user name and email address when canceling in writing.
To delete your entire user account including profile and all data, click on your user name and go to the “Settings” menu item. At the very bottom of this section you will find the “Delete User” option. Click on the link “here”.
Please note that this process cannot be reversed and all of your data will be deleted.
Conclusion
It is not without reason that the Dating Cafe contact exchange has repeatedly been the test winner in various tests and studies on the online dating market.
She stood out from the crowd thanks to her exceptional quality and constant striving for exemplary customer orientation as well as transparency and fairness.
Unfortunately, these unique selling points have been put into perspective by the takeover into the ICONY network. We now only see the integrated singles exchange in the upper middle range in the market for general contact exchanges.
Overall impression | [Rating:80/100] | |
Number of registered members | [Rating:70/100] | |
> 750,000 members (total) | ||
Activity/authenticity of members | [Rating:75/100] | |
few fakes, authentic members with serious intentions, still quite manageable activity in rural areas | ||
privacy | [Rating:90/100] | |
Compliance with German security and data protection standards | ||
Member checking | [Rating:90/100] | |
Editorial control | ||
Women's quota | [Rating:75/100] | |
about 45% women | ||
Search filter | [Rating:85/100] | |
Search with filter options and clear search results | ||
Costs & Fees | [Rating:80/100] | |
Free basic membership with limited functionality, fair pricing model | ||
Features & Functionalities | [Rating:85/100] | |
Extensive profiles, search functions, question flirt with matching factor, video chat, photo flirt, blog with tips and advice | ||
Usability & operation | [Rating:85/100] | |
User-friendly and easy to use, unfortunately no mobile app | ||
Free services | [Rating:70/100] | |
Basic functions with restrictions for free | ||
Customer Service & Support | [Rating:80/100] | |
Online, via email | ||
Feedback members | [Rating:80/100] | |
5
Christmas promotion 2015 at DatingCafé
To ensure that singles and those who want to flirt have something from the world of online dating in the run-up to Christmas, DatingCafe.de has a special offer:
All members who register in the Dating Cafe by Christmas Eve will receive a free day of premium membership and can therefore get an overview of all the advantages and functions at their leisure.
Directly to DatingCafé.de
The platform is not bad, but don't forget to cancel the automatic renewal.
It is one of those website where you can't opt off the auto renewal.
New prices on DatingCafe.de (from January 1st, 2015):
3 Monte Premium Membership = €74.70 (24.90 per month)
6 Monte Premium Membership = €113.40 (18.90 per month)
12 Monte Premium Membership = €178.80 (14.90 per month )
24 Monte Premium membership = €237.60 (9.90 per month)
The 1 month product without automatic extension is no longer available for the time being.
Trial week: The trial week, in which participants can test the Dating Cafe for free for a week, is still available.
Very quick to get to know each other, hardly any or no fakes, easy navigation on the site, the site is very clear. I haven't heard that there are fakes running around in the Dating Cafe, as is the case in other dating communities.