Guardian Soulmates Review

Last Updated:

Guardian Soulmates is an online dating site owned and operated by the Guardian News and Media Ltd. The site is open to users 18+ but is especially popular with mature and single senior dating and is one of the best serious dating sites in the United Kingdom.

Guardian Soulmates is known for its UK mature dating that it won Daters’ Favourite Website in the 2014 UK Dating Awards. Every mature British woman and man who puts in the time can know that they are in good hands and have strong odds of meeting someone special.

Alternatives to Guardian Soulmates

Additionally, as a member of the Online Dating Association, Guardian Soulmates stands out above other mature singles dating sites for its commitment to providing a secure and quality experience as a soulmate dating site.

For anyone that will want a mature dating app, Guardian Soulmates also offers an easy-to-use app that is intended to give mature singles agency with their online dating lives, whether it is at home or on the go.

To see what we think of the site, read through our review and learn about the different memberships, costs, user-friendliness of the website, and more!

Our Summary

Guardian Soulmates offers a very basic yet authentic online dating service, working on the very reasonable premise that readers of the Guardian may be similar enough to connect with one another on a romantic level. The site provides a great platform for just that.

Readers of the Guardian will find Guardian Soulmates to be a very familiar place and will enjoy mingling with members who are likely to be on the same wavelength as they are. This makes for a more relaxed and potentially successful search for a partner online.

However, the problem with Guardian Soulmates is that even the most basic features to successfully enjoy online dating, such as sending and receiving messages, is locked behind the subscriber membership. If you want to really enjoy the site, you will have to upgrade.

Otherwise the site is solid for an online dating site, and if you don’t mind that it looks and feels like you’re browsing the Guardian’s news page, you will enjoy the prevalence of authentic users.

🆓 Free Profile Vs Paid Profile Review

The Guardian’s dating service offers up two different types of memberships, giving you a basic service with its free membership and a fully realized one with its paid membership. Here’s how they match up:

Free Membership

  • Complete your profile
  • Get top matches based on your profile
  • View potential Matches’ Profile
  • Ideal Matches based on your home location
  • Search for your soulmates by location, age and gender

Paid Membership

  • Complete your profile
  • Get top matches based on your profile
  • View potential Matches’ Profile
  • Ideal Matches based on your home location
  • Search for your soulmates by location, age and gender
  • Advanced search including lifestyle, beliefs and education
  • Send / reply to unlimited messages
  • Ideal Matches based on your selected location

💰 Types of Membership

There are two types of memberships at Guardian Soulmates, the free and the Subscriber membership. Most of the functions necessary to truly start online dating will require the Subscriber membership, so if you truly want to try dating here you will need to upgrade.

Premium Subscriber Monthly Plans

TimeMonthly PriceTotal
1 month£32.00£32.00
3 months£21.33£64.00
6 months£16.00£96.00

💡 How to Reduce Costs

The Free Membership and the 1-Month Subscription

When it comes to saving money on Guardian Soulmates, you will find that there really aren’t a lot of options for you to consider. Really, it boils down to one of two things: either stick to the free membership, or upgrade with a plan that you find affordable.

The free membership won’t give you access to some vital elements of online dating, including the ability to message other users you match with. This makes it difficult to use, but you can at least explore the site and get a feel for how it looks and operates.

Once you have done this and decide that the site is right for you, consider upgrading to the Subscriber membership to fully unlock the site’s dating potential. The 6-month Subscriber plan is the cheapest on a per-month cost, however, we recommend the 1-month plan.

This is because the 1-month plan is the cheapest overall plan to subscribe to, as well as the shortest. It provides you with a full month of testing the site out to its fullest to see if you can match with anyone or find a date.

If you are unable to match with anyone or find a date, then you it is better than losing more money and being locked into a membership for 3-6 months. Plus, after the month is finished, if you like it you can upgrade to a longer, cheaper plan.

📊 Membership Structure Review

How Many Guardian Soulmates Users are in the UK?

There are currently 17.8 million+ members in the United Kingdom currently using Guardian Soulmates for dating.

Guardian Soulmates’ Demographics of Love

The Guardian’s dating site, Guardian Soulmates, has a few interesting pieces of data concerning the demographics of its users. For example, there are a healthy mix of both men and women on the site and most of them regularly read the Guardian.

  • 40% of members are female
  • Most members are within the 40+ age range
  • 80% of members read the Guardian
  • 36% of all people on Guardian Soulmates are looking to match with a lifelong partner
  • 35% were introduced to the website by friends

✍️ Registration Process and Profile Creation Review

Registering for the Guardian’s dating website is quick to start up but can become as involved as you would like it to be. This means that you can quickly create an account and once that is done will have a lot of information that you can optionally fill in.

We recommend taking the time to fill in the data here, as profiles with more details just generally receive more attention from people and have better odds with online dating.

  1. Set the Parameters of Your Search

    To start your sign-up process, you will need to select your sex and the type of partner that you are looking for, such as a man looking for a woman. You will also be asked to provide an age range for your ideal partner.

  2. Your Details

    You will now be asked to provide your personal information, including your date of birth, a valid email address for verification, your location, and a username and password to be used on the site.

  3. Email Verification and Building Your Profile

    You will now have to verify your email before moving on to the next part of the registration. Once verified, you will have the option of providing your real name, give more details about who you are looking for, and writing a subheader to your profile.

  4. Write About Yourself

    In this portion of the registration, you can write a paragraph about yourself to let people know more about you. When you put a good amount of effort and detail into this, you will see the best dating results possible.

    You will also be able to fill in information about your values, lifestyle, interests (books, movies, music, etc.), appearance, and your education and career.

  5. Uploading Your Profile Picture

    Finally, you can upload a profile picture of yourself. You will find it very difficult to start online dating without some sort of profile picture, so in your best interest use a profile picture that shows your best side.

📱 User Friendliness Review

Registration

Guardian Soulmates offers the best of both worlds when it comes to registering to the site, giving you a quick sign-up for the initial registration, and the option to later add more information.

Navigation

The website is simple to navigate and has a few features for you to explore. However, it does feel like you are browsing the Guardian’s news site, which felt strange when looking for online dating. If this doesn’t bother you though, you should find it to be user-friendly.

Profile

There’s a lot that you can add to your own information, which means there’s also a lot of stuff you can read up on from other users. This is great for getting to know someone before you start chatting them up.

Guardian Soulmates Dating App

The Guardian Soulmates dating app functions identically to the website, so you can expect the familiar if you decide to use the app or even both.

Registration

Registering for Guardian Soulmates is just as simple as signing up on the website.

Navigation

The app is a little sleeker when it comes to general user-friendliness and navigating from different areas to others. This is an improvement over the website, although nothing is drastically different here.

✉️ Contacting Users with Guardian Soulmates Chat

You will only be allowed to send and receive messages if you subscribe to the Subscriber membership at Guardian Soulmates.

  1. Once you are a Subscriber member, browse through the selection of people you match with
  2. You will see ‘Message’ below the profile picture of each match
  3. Click on ‘Message’ to be taken their profile where you will see a text box
  4. Write your message out in the text box
  5. Click ‘Send’ to send your message and start your chat

👍 Pros and Cons 👎

✔️ What we like

  • Almost all accounts are real
  • Detailed information for every member
  • See who joined in the last week and month
  • Caters to users who also read the Guardian, meaning people will likely have similar tastes

❌ What we don’t like

  • You are very limited in what you can do without a subscription
  • The look and design of the site is too similar to the Guardian’s news site
  • Response time from members was slow
  • The website’s features are basic compared to other online dating sites

Most Popular Choice
9.9
eharmony
  • #1 trusted dating app in the UK
  • For serious, long-term relationships
  • Free registration
9.7
Flirthits
  • Perfect for: People looking to flirt and starts things off in a fun way
  • Find someone in your neighbourhood
  • Chat with like-minded singles straight away
9.4
SingleSlavic
  • The place to find like-minded people who are looking for meaningful relationships
  • Great search function
  • Immediate support from professional team
9.1
Ulla
  • Ignite romance right in your vicinity
  • Enjoy exact matching thanks to accurate filters;
  • And explore many more benefits that will help you find love!
8.7
Pukbo
  • Welcome Offer for new members
  • Unique VIP Content for premium members
  • Maximum payment security (Google Pay, Apple Pay etc.)
8.4
MatureDating

 

  • Experienced singles looking for good relationships
  • Excellent atmosphere to get closer easily
  • Online chatting with attractive people
8.0
Singles Meets
  • Large User Base: Connect with thousands of singles across the UK.
  • Easy Navigation: User-friendly interface for hassle-free browsing.
  • Quick Matches: Find compatible matches in no time.
7.7
FlirtsNearby
  • Localized Connections: connect with singles in the UK
  • Tailored Matching Algorithm: increasing the likelihood of meaningful connections
  • User-Friendly Interface: making the process of finding matches effortless
7.3
Only-Flirts
  • Easy and convenient interface
  • Perfect for casual dating & hookups
  • Plenty of members for you to have fun with
6.8
Elite Singles
  • Over 13 million active users on the site 
  • Intelligent matchmaking based on background and interests
  • 85% of members have a professional background 
6.5
CupiDates
  • Large database of Asian and European singles in the UK
  • Full control of your profile to set your desired privacy settings
  • Attend virtual events to meet even more members
6.2
MyFunDate
 
  • Free, fast and easy registration
  • Real girls from 180 countries
  • Highly engaged and active community
6.1
Ashley Madison
  • Best for open-minded looking for “no strings attached” fun
  • Free membership
  • 54 million users 
6.0
DateYourGirl
  • Meet attractive Asian, European, & Latino singles
  • Quick and free signup 
  • Casual or serious online dating

🙋 FAQs

How do I cancel my Guardian Soulmates subscription?

Just go to “Your Subscription” status and select Stop ongoing payments to stop any further payments being taken. On the date your next payment would have been due, your subscription will end, and you will lose access to subscriber benefits and access to messages.

What happens when you block someone on Guardian Soulmates?

‘Block’ will stop someone from appearing on all pages of the site, including search results, matches, ‘Soulmates who like you’ and ‘Views’. Messages from a person that you have blocked will not be delivered to you.

How do I report someone?

If you are in a situation where you will need to contact the Guardian Soulmates’ to report someone, you will need to contact their support team through their Report Abuse contact form. To report someone, do the following:

1. Sign in to Guardian Soulmates dating
2. Go to the Report Abuse page located at https://soulmates.theguardian.com/report-abuse
3. Select the option that says “I want to report another user for inappropriate behaviour”
4. Guardian Soulmates will investigate the account for suspicious activity
5. At their sole discretion, they may warn, suspend or delete any member’s profile where allegations of inappropriate behaviour have been reported

ℹ️ Company Info

Guardian Soulmates is owned and operated by Guardian News & Media Limited and has been in operation since 2004. The website focuses on connecting like-minded individuals with one another, as most members are also followers of the Guardian newspaper.

More Reviews