Dating apps

eHarmony review (2026): a contract, not a habit, by the numbers

By Matthew Firth, founder of NexSpark · Oct 30, 2026 · 9 min read

eHarmony sells a contract, not a habit: the cheapest of the ten plans on its US App Store page costs $59.99, there isn’t a single month among them, and its parent company reports dating and video revenue down 27% in the first half of 2026. That doesn’t make it a bad product. It makes it a different bet from a swipe app, because you’re asked to commit before you know how it will go. Most eHarmony reviews spend their words on the quiz. This one reads the price list, the terms and the parent company’s own reports, and then tells you who the product actually suits.

A disclosure first. I founded NexSpark, a matchmaking platform that scores compatibility with AI and has a person review every introduction, so I’m competing for some of the same singles eHarmony is. I checked each figure below on October 30, 2026, named where it came from, and said so plainly where I couldn’t confirm something. Opinions are labeled as opinions, and where eHarmony does something well, I’ve said that too.

eHarmony by the numbers, checked October 30, 2026

Read the first four rows as a pair of opinions about two different moments. The App Store is the product when it’s working, and a 4.1 from nearly fifty thousand people is respectable. Trustpilot is what people write when they’re at the payment screen or the cancellation screen, and 53% of eHarmony’s reviews there are one star. The BBB sits oddly between the two: eHarmony is accredited and rated A+, and it also has 418 complaints from the past year alone. The last four rows are the thesis, and they get their own section below.

What eHarmony actually costs in 2026

eHarmony’s own cost page doesn’t print a price. It says membership terms and prices sit on a Subscription page you reach after you log in. So the only numbers I’ll stand behind are ones I can point at. On October 30, 2026, at about 9:30 am Eastern, eHarmony’s US App Store page listed these in-app purchase items:

• Items labeled eHarmony Basic: $59.99, $119.99, $129.99, $139.99 and $179.99
• Items labeled PREMIUM light: $179.99, $219.99, $249.99 (listed twice) and $349.99

Ten items, a floor of $59.99 and a ceiling of $349.99, nearly six times as much. Apple doesn’t label plan lengths or tiers, and it uses the word Basic for items even though eHarmony’s Basic membership is the free one, so I can’t tell you which item is which. What I can tell you is that no item is a one-month price, and I won’t invent a per-month figure by guessing at the mapping. eHarmony’s terms, revised July 10, 2026, say Premium light, Premium plus and Premium UNLIMITED are sold in 6, 12 and 24 month terms. Premium plus and UNLIMITED don’t appear by name in Apple’s list at all.

eHarmony’s pages also disagree with each other. The cost page says Premium comes in 3, 6 and 12 month memberships, while the terms and the help center say 6, 12 and 24. The App Store description explains the thinking: eHarmony says shorter plans don’t give you enough time to get to know your matches, which is why Premium runs for months. That’s a defensible view of dating. It’s also the reason there’s no cheap month to try.

What you get free, per eHarmony’s cost page: unlimited matches and limited messaging. What Premium adds: unlimited messaging, every member’s photos and a personality profile written for you. The terms also mention paid virtual goods, such as Match Unlocks, for Basic members. The quiz comes first either way. eHarmony’s help center says retaking it takes about 20 minutes and calls the current version “shorter,” and I couldn’t find a question count on any eHarmony page, so I won’t repeat the one you’ve probably heard. Each match gets a compatibility score from 60 to 140. I didn’t walk the signup flow to the paywall, so I can’t say in what order the quiz and the price screen appear. For how this compares with the rest of the category, see our 2026 dating app price guide.

Canceling eHarmony, renewals and refunds

This is the part the Trustpilot reviews are really about, so here’s what the terms say. They were last revised on July 10, 2026, and I read them on October 30. Premium plans renew automatically for consecutive 12 month terms, or for another length if you agreed one at purchase, and you have to cancel at least 24 hours before the current term ends. You cancel under Data & Settings, then Manage profile, then Amend Subscription. Canceling doesn’t end the plan early: it runs to the end of the paid term, with no refund for unused days.

Installment plans are the sharp edge. If you pay in parts, such as the three-part pay the terms mention, canceling doesn’t cancel what you owe. Your card keeps being charged until the full contract amount is paid. A BBB complaint dated October 21, 2026, shows how that lands: eHarmony’s reply said the customer had bought an installment plan, that it couldn’t cancel it, and that auto-renewal had been switched off. The customer called the terms confusing. eHarmony refunded the subscription the next day, which tells you the outcome isn’t fixed, but you shouldn’t count on it.

If you bought through Apple or Google, you cancel in your Apple ID or Google Play subscriptions, and any refund comes from them. Residents of a list of states that includes California, New York, Illinois and Ohio can cancel without penalty until midnight of the third business day after buying. That right is written into the terms, and notice can be sent by email or mail. Checked October 30, 2026.

How eHarmony works, and what changed in 2026

You answer the Compatibility Quiz, build a profile that has to be at least 50% complete, and get a Discover list of members with a compatibility score attached. You can like and send a first message for free; trading messages is a Premium feature. It’s the opposite of a swipe deck, and for the right person that’s the whole appeal.

Four dated things happened this year, all visible on eHarmony’s own pages or in its parent’s filings:

• The terms were revised on July 10, 2026. The renewal and installment language above is the current version.
• The iPhone app reached version 10.95 on October 22, 2026. The release notes say only that it includes bug fixes and quality improvements.
• Two research releases came out. One on April 13, 2026, on love after 40, and one on May 27, 2026, on singles dating more intentionally.
• The parent is restructuring ParshipMeet Group. The 2025 annual report, published March 25, 2026, says management is streamlining the business and focusing the product on people over 40.

I found no dated 2026 price change or headline feature launch announced by eHarmony. If one exists and isn’t on its newsroom, it isn’t something I can cite.

A contract, not a habit, by the numbers

A swipe app earns by making each month feel worth renewing. eHarmony asks for the commitment up front, and then its parent reports on how that’s going. ProSiebenSat.1 doesn’t report eHarmony alone. It reports a Dating & Video segment that, per its Q1 2026 statement, includes Parship, eharmony, LOVOO, MeetMe and Skout. With that caveat, here’s the run.

Sources: ProSiebenSat.1 Annual Report 2025, Quarterly Statement for the first quarter of 2026, and Q2 2026 results presentation of August 6, 2026. The parent’s explanation, in the Q2 materials, is “consumer restraint in Germany and the US” plus a highly competitive market seen globally. Full-year adjusted EBITDA for the segment fell 15% to EUR 50 million.

I can’t prove the contract model is behind any of that, and ProSiebenSat.1 doesn’t say so. Part of the drop is the video apps, not eHarmony. Here’s the opinion, labeled as one: when buyers are cautious, a product that asks for six months or more of commitment before you’ve met anyone has a harder sell than one you can try for a month and quit. Two other facts matter to a buyer. In its 2025 impairment test, the eHarmony business unit’s estimated value came out EUR 109 million above its carrying amount, so the parent didn’t write it down; the year’s EUR 137 million of goodwill impairments in the segment were booked against the video business. And management says the aim is to build ParshipMeet’s value and realize it at the appropriate time, with General Atlantic, the former minority owner, entitled to up to EUR 50 million of any sale. I found no announced sale process, and a subscription you buy today runs under whoever owns the company next.

The ratings gap, and what it’s really measuring

A 4.1 on the App Store, a 3.2 on Google Play and a 2.9 on Trustpilot look like three opinions of three products. They’re three views of one. Trustpilot’s own topic summary, generated from recent reviews, flags unexpected long-term commitments under subscription, an expensive and poor-value feel under price, and unexpected charges under payment. Those match the terms almost point for point. The BBB’s latest reviews, on the day I checked, included a customer who said they were put on a one-year subscription without a clear explanation and another who tried to cancel an hour after joining and was told the month was already billed.

Fairness cuts the other way too. Trustpilot’s page notes that eHarmony hasn’t recently invited customers to review it, and 28% of reviewers there give five stars, so the people who like it say so. The practical reading: if you read the terms before paying, you’re unlikely to be surprised. Screenshot the plan length and renewal date at checkout, and put the renewal on your calendar the day you buy.

Who eHarmony is genuinely good for

• Relationship-minded daters over 40. eHarmony’s parent now names that group as the core audience, and the app’s whole design, from the quiz to the slower pace, fits people who’d rather read a profile than swipe past it. Our guide to dating in your 40s and 50s covers the wider picture.
• People who like structure. A score for every match and a written personality profile give you something to react to, which some people find calmer than guessing.
• Anyone who’s sure and has the budget. If you know you’ll commit to months of searching, a contract is just a price.

Where it fits less well: people who want to try a paid tier for a month, since no one-month price is listed; anyone who dislikes auto-renewal or installment obligations; and anyone who expects the quiz to do the matching for them. A compatibility score is a hypothesis about two people. It isn’t a result, and our piece on what a compatibility test can and can’t tell you explains why.

The honest verdict

I’d give eHarmony three out of five. For the right person, a relationship-minded adult over 40 who’s ready to commit to a plan, it’s a serious product with a clear idea of what it’s doing, and a 4.1 from nearly fifty thousand people isn’t an accident. What holds it back is the structure around the product. You can’t buy a month, the pages that describe the plans contradict each other, installment plans survive cancellation, and the complaint volume says plenty of people found that out after paying. The parent’s reports say the category is under pressure, and nothing I found says that pressure has changed how eHarmony sells. Read the terms before you pay, pick the shortest plan on offer, and treat the first renewal date as a deadline.

A different way to end the search

If the contract is what puts you off, there’s a model priced the other way. At NexSpark you answer a set of questions once, the AI scores compatibility in both directions, and a person reviews every introduction before you see it. There’s no feed and nothing to swipe. The matching rules are published, and so is the price: $599 per person, paid once when you choose to connect, refundable until the connection opens, and waived during our launch period. We get paid when you find someone, not for how long you keep a plan.

Frequently asked questions

How much does eHarmony cost per month in 2026?
eHarmony does not publish a monthly price. Basic is free to join, and Premium is sold as a contract: eHarmony's terms, revised July 10, 2026, list Premium light, Premium plus and Premium UNLIMITED in 6, 12 and 24 month terms. On October 30, 2026, the US App Store listed ten eHarmony subscription items from $59.99 to $349.99, and none of them was a single month.

Is eHarmony worth it in 2026?
For a serious relationship, especially if you're over 40, eHarmony is still one of the few mainstream apps built around a compatibility quiz and a score for every match, and it holds a 4.1 out of 5 App Store rating from 49,589 people as of October 30, 2026. Whether it's worth the money depends on whether you're comfortable committing to a plan of months before you know how it will go. Go in knowing Trustpilot scores it 2.9 out of 5 and the BBB lists 1,688 complaints in three years, and its latest ones include billing and renewal disputes.

How do I cancel eHarmony, and do I get a refund?
Per eHarmony's terms (revised July 10, 2026), you cancel under Data and Settings, then Manage profile, then Amend Subscription, and the plan ends when the paid term ends with no refund for unused days. Canceling stops auto-renewal, which otherwise rolls into consecutive 12 month terms unless you agreed a different length. If you bought on an installment plan, canceling does not end your obligation to pay the full contract amount. Apple and Google purchases are canceled and refunded through Apple or Google. Residents of a list of states that includes California and New York can cancel until midnight of the third business day.

What does eHarmony's parent company report about its dating business?
eHarmony belongs to ParshipMeet Group, which ProSiebenSat.1 has owned outright since May 15, 2025. ProSiebenSat.1 reports it in a Dating and Video segment that also includes Parship, LOVOO, MeetMe and Skout, and does not break out eHarmony alone. That segment's external revenue was EUR 285 million in 2025, down 24%, and EUR 114 million in the first half of 2026 against EUR 155 million a year earlier, down 27%. ProSiebenSat.1 blames consumer restraint in Germany and the US and a highly competitive market.

Why is eHarmony's Trustpilot rating 2.9 when the App Store says 4.1?
eHarmony scored 2.9 out of 5 from 4,465 Trustpilot reviews on October 30, 2026, with 53% of reviews at one star and 28% at five, against 4.1 out of 5 on the App Store and 3.2 on Google Play. The store rating reflects how the product feels once you're using it. Trustpilot and the BBB capture what happens at the payment and cancellation stage, where reviewers describe unexpected long-term commitments, charges they didn't expect and a subscription that feels expensive for what it delivers.

What changed on eHarmony in 2026?
Four dated items, all from eHarmony's own pages or its parent's filings: the terms and conditions were revised on July 10, 2026; the iPhone app reached version 10.95 on October 22, 2026; eHarmony published research releases on April 13 and May 27, 2026; and ProSiebenSat.1's 2025 annual report, published March 25, 2026, describes a restructuring of ParshipMeet Group around a core audience of people over 40. I found no dated 2026 price change or new headline feature announced by eHarmony.

How this was checked. Ratings, review counts and complaint counts were read directly from the App Store, Google Play, Trustpilot and BBB pages on October 30, 2026. Price items are the in-app purchases Apple listed on eHarmony’s US App Store page the same morning. Terms language is from eharmony.com/termsandconditions, revised July 10, 2026. Financial figures are ProSiebenSat.1’s own, from its Annual Report 2025, Q1 2026 statement and Q2 2026 results presentation; the segment includes brands besides eHarmony, and eHarmony isn’t reported separately. I couldn’t confirm eHarmony’s quiz question count or the order of its signup screens. We re-check this page when we update it; the date in the heading above is the last check.