Have you heard of Seeking Arrangement? They’ve rebranded as Seeking and are no longer a dating site for sugar daddies and babies. Nope, Seeking is now a mainstream dating site.
Seeking has been seriously blowing up of late. Just a few months ago, they had roughly 20 million members. Now? Try 40 million! When you add the fact that people in 130 countries are using Seeking, this is a dating app that may be rivaling Tinder before long.
While it’s true that Seeking Arrangement was focused on helping attractive and successful people meet up, Seeking now claims to be about “identifying what drives us and how we can live our best lives with someone by our side.”
In other words, Seeking is now for everyone, and this is a site that you may regret leaving out of your dating app repertoire.
So, read on to learn more about Seeking in 2023, including its pros and cons, how to sign up, how much it costs, how the platform works, handy tips, and more.
Pros
Super active community
Intuitive search and filtering functions
Enjoyable site design and interface
Thorough verification process
Global availability (including languages)
Certain discounts available
Cons
Somewhat controversial
Fake accounts and bots slip through the cracks
Inactive profiles still visible
Can get expensive
Scammers
Registering on Seeking is relatively straightforward. You start by stating if you’re a man or woman and whether you prefer meeting men or women (or both). You’re then prompted to answer a few other questions, which helps the site calibrate its matching algorithms (ideally resulting in more successful matching). After a bit more personal information, that’s just about everything to get registered!
(Keep in mind that you may want to be careful about what email you use if you want to remain relatively anonymous.)
After completing the registration process, you’ll need to wait for Seeking to verify your account. This process generally takes 1-2 business days on average, but you may get a faster turnaround.
While it can be frustrating to wait, the account verification process is in the best interest of all the people trying to use the site legitimately. Unfortunately, some scammers and bots still manage their way through, so it doesn’t appear to be a perfect process.
Any Free Features?
If you’re worried about immediately shelling out a ton of money to use Seeking, luckily that’s not the case. Once you’ve registered and been verified, you’re free to start browsing around (see what we did there?).
This is nice because you’re able to get a feel for how Seeking works and what you can reasonably expect in terms of possible matches later on.
The downside is that you will be fairly limited with what you’re able to do. For example, you won’t be able to contact other members of Seeking for free.
Like many dating apps nowadays, Seeking wants to get you on their platform and get you thinking about all the beautiful and successful people you could potentially meet. This means that members will be more likely to open up their wallets in order to gain complete access to the site.
If you think that’s a frustrating business model, you’re definitely not alone. For better or worse, it’s becoming more and more normal in the dating site community. So, you may as well get used to it and at least enjoy the benefit of browsing for free. There are some sites where you can’t even do that without paying.
Seeking may also offer free memberships to certain clients that are particularly “desirable.” You can apply for the free membership once you’ve registered.
Setting Up Your Profile
After entering in your basic info as part of the registration process, you’ll be all set. And how Once you’ve registered and been verified, you can now set up your Seeking profile.
You’ll need to choose a username and upload a photo. We recommend going with something reasonably “adult” (as in not immature, like “sexgod69”). You’ll also want to choose a flattering photo. And please don’t be one of those people who uses a group photo on dating sites! Ultimately, your profile is a big part of your first impression, so take some time with it.
As part of your profile, you have the ability to list lots of information. You can add your height, education, relationship status, children, etc. There are a wide variety of relationship statuses you can pick, from “married but looking” and “separated” to “open relationship” and more.
You can also add your income and net worth, which may seem weird to you if you’re more used to traditional dating apps.
In order to try to make matching as seamless as possible, the profile set-up gets a bit complex. For example, you have to pick different “tags” that give more detail about what you’re looking for on the Seeking platform. Some of the tags include different character traits and preferences such as “flexibility,” “attentiveness,” “monogamous,” etc.
Lastly, you need to write up a little bio for the “About Me” section. It’s best to be honest but also modest, if that makes sense. You don’t want to sell yourself too short, but you also don’t want to be way over the top. So, keep that in mind as you try to craft a compelling little bio. Try to have it reflect who you really are. If you’re funny, be funny, for example.
How Much Does Seeking Cost?
As we said, Seeking can be joined for free. And, if you’re an attractive and/or quite successful individual, you may be able to get to use the site for free.
To actually become a verified member, however, you’ll have to shell out $50 for a background check. For this, you don’t have to verify income at least. Getting verified is a good way to make others feel like you can be trusted right off the bat, especially—let’s be honest—if you’re a man (and particularly an older man).
While Seeking memberships can end up costing a significant amount for men, many of these members come from wealthy backgrounds, meaning it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. If you’re looking to use Seeking as a mainstream dating site, however, be aware that it might end up costing you more than other dating sites out there.
Bottom Line Costs
Current premium membership packages certainly aren’t cheap for the average person, but this isn’t an average dating site:
1 month premium = $90/month
3 months premium = $80/month
6 months premium = $70/month
As you can see, you’ll get a better monthly rate if you pay for more months up front, which is standard with dating sites (and a lot of subscriptions in general).
Using Seeking To Find a Hookup
Okay, so we’ve covered getting registered, getting verified, getting your profile set up, and the cost of using Seeking.
But what about the thing you’re actually interested in Seeking for? Dating, that is.
The simple answer is that Seeking may very well be a good option for finding dates. With its large user base of over 40 million people all around the world, chances are good that you can find some compatible people in your area (or who are close enough).
So, in general, it’s not that hard to get dates on Seeking. That said, it can be highly competitive—especially if you’re a young woman, thanks to the high female-to-male ratio.
One thing that helps you get matched up on Seeking is the fact that it has a sleek, modern-feeling interface. While some dating sites have an outdated or downright spammy look to them, Seeking has clearly invested in creating a good user experience when it comes to the interface and user friendliness.
Since browsing around is intuitive and straightforward, it doesn’t take long to start finding people to message on Seeking. You can even join “VIP rooms” if you opt for the Diamond Membership, which clocks in at $250 each month—nope, not cheap! These rooms, however, will help you get around the BS of scammers and fake profiles, since every member there has to be verified with a full background check.
Even the basic search functions are really helpful as well. Right away you can sort users into useful categories like “most active” or “new members.”
Keep in mind, however, especially as Seeking transitions into a more mainstream dating app, that not everyone will be looking to get down and dirty right away. There will be many people who want to build a relationship rather than simply casually hooking up. A good mentality to have is to simply view the site as a way to meet people, and then take it from there.
Does Seeking Work? Or Is It a Scam?
Overall, you could say that Seeking is pretty much as advertised. As it’s transitioning to becoming a more mainstream dating site, it will be interesting to see if its user base becomes more diversified.
With more than 40 million users, there’s certainly some people out there who you are likely compatible with. How much time and effort you have/want to put in and how much money you have will be a factor in how successful your search for dates is.
While Seeking is a legitimate platform with a global presence and tons of users, it’s also true that there are many unhappy reviews online. People using sites such as TrustPilot and sitejabber have given an average rating of just 1.5 stars out of 5 for Seeking.
That said, it’s important to remember that people generally go on these sites either because they’re incredibly pleased or extremely dissatisfied. This naturally means that reviews tend to be skewed. Nonetheless, it’s not exactly encouraging to see so many unhappy customers.
So, if you want to sign up for Seeking you may want to do your own due diligence by exploring online reviews like those mentioned above.
Here are some other tips to help ensure that you have a positive experience.
Be Upfront About Expectations
You’re going to want to be transparent on Seeking, which is really the case for any dating site. If you’re looking for casual hookups, say so. If you’re looking to build something more meaningful, make that clear. Beating around the bush and/or being openly dishonest will not get you anywhere good.
Be Authentic
Yeah, yeah, this is as cliché as it gets. It’s true in this case, though. If you aren’t really a While this is a bit of a cliché, it’s true when it comes to dating sites and builds on the last tip. You won’t end up with matches that are a natural fit for you if you’re not yourself.
Spend Time on Your Profile
Again, this is true of all dating sites, not just Seeking. Think of your profile as a kind of billboard—you’re putting yourself out there for anyone who drives by to see. This is your virtual first impression, and it matters in terms of how much attention you draw. You want to find a careful balance between intriguing and mysterious and open and honest.
In essence, you want to do your best to stand out, but your profile also shouldn’t be weird or off-putting. If you’re unsure about your profile, see about getting a second opinion from someone you trust. Above all, don’t lie. Boosting yourself by one inch of height (or length…) is one thing, but two or three or more will definitely be obvious. You don’t want to set yourself up to fail by being disingenuous.
So, is Seeking Legit?
Yes, overall Seeking is a legitimate dating site. Like many dating sites out there, you will find scammers, bots, and inactive accounts. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about that. As long as you’re careful and use common sense, you should have no problems finding legit matches on Seeking.
A Few More Tips
Before wrapping up, here are some more hookup site tips, which should apply well beyond Seeking. That said, they’re particularly pertinent to Seeking, so you’ll want to keep them in mind!
Beware of Scammers and Catfishers
Scammers definitely make their way onto Seeking, even though the site does a pretty good job at maintaining a legit platform. Unfortunately, pretty much any dating site you go to will have bots and fake profiles trying to scam people. In essence, these exist just to try to get people to spend money even though they are not the person they are pretending to be. This is known colloquially as “catfishing” and here it’s used for purposes of extortion.
In short, beware of scammers. If things seem too easy and suspicious in any way, it’s probably someone just looking to get money out of you before disappearing.
Keep an Eye on Your Bill
Seeking is in the business of hooking people up, but they’re also in the business of making money. Just scroll up and take a look at those prices. $250 for one month of the “Diamond” membership? The pricing is smart because they know their audience—they’re truly catering to upper-class people who average 6- or 7-figure incomes.
So, just be aware that you may want to keep an eye on your bill to ensure that you’re not racking up more money than you’re trying to spend. You might want to take it slowly and go with a one- or three-month membership rather than a six-month one, for example. This way you can feel out the site. And hey, you might just meet someone who you want a more serious, long-term relationship with (though we must say that’s not the typical relationship sought after on Seeking).
Then again, you might not care how much the site costs you if you’re wealthy.
Matches Don’t Always Come Easily
While there are forty million+ people on Seeking, that doesn’t mean matches are guaranteed to come right away. There’s generally a lot of competition, especially for younger women, for example, and you may have to really work to stand out on such a large platform.
Ultimately, you’ll want to stay patient the best you can. Just because things don’t work out right away doesn’t mean that they won’t eventually. You may go on some awkward dates, but that’s often just a part of life. Sooner or later you’re likely to match with someone who you’re really compatible with. Just be sure to give yourself the time, which means don’t give up too soon and don’t force the issue.
Be Safe
It’s always advisable to meet someone in a public place for your first meet up. A coffee shop or restaurant is perfect, for example. This way you’re much less likely to face danger from people with bad intentions. This isn’t meant to scare anyone; it’s just meant to help keep people safe. In general, trust your instincts and you should be fine.
Final Verdict
So, is Seeking really worth it?
That comes down to you, ultimately. Your wants, your needs, your bank account, your age, etc. If you’re just an average Joe, you may want to stick to other dating sites.
All in all, Seeking has a massive customer base all around the world, an intuitive and user-friendly interface, and relatively reasonable pricing. It also has robust filtering and searching tools, VIP rooms, verified profiles, and other useful features. If you’re trying to find a date or maybe even true love, Seeking might end up being a good option for you.