Independent Dating Site Reviews and Relationship Research

Marriage Science is an independent dating and relationship research website. We open paid accounts on the platforms we review, and our statistics come from primary datasets such as US Census microdata rather than from other people's articles. No brand pays for a place in our rankings.

Dating Site Reviews
Studies
Prenup Reviews
Relationship Advice

Our Coverage

What We Cover

Every review, guide and report follows our published editorial policy.How We Review

Latest Research

Our Latest Studies

Data-led reports on dating, marriage, and relationships, built from primary sources and updated as the numbers change.

Christian Marriage Statistics (2026): Weekly Churchgoers 74% Married, Nonreligious 45%

William Carter -
Weekly churchgoers aged 25 to 54 are 74% married, against 45% of adults with no religion. Barna's claim that Christians divorce as often as everyone else depends on counting never-married adults.

Average Age of Losing Virginity (2026): 40+ Data Points From CDC Survey Data

William Carter -
Our analysis of CDC National Survey of Family Growth data puts the typical age of first sex at 17 for women and men. Where the widely repeated 17.4 figure came from, and whether young adults are waiting longer.

How Long Does Sex Last (2026): Stopwatch Studies Put the Median at 5.4 Minutes

William Carter -
Stopwatch studies of 500 couples put the median at 5.4 minutes from penetration to ejaculation. What sex therapists call adequate, what couples estimate and want, and where the two-minute idea came from.

What Percentage of the Population Is Gay (2026): 50+ Data Points by State, Age, and Generation

William Carter -
About 9% of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ+, and our analysis of CDC data gives lesbian, gay and bisexual shares for the 32 states that asked in 2024. Where the 10% figure came from, and why estimates range from 5.5% to 12%.

Father Custody Statistics: What the Data Shows, and What Nobody Measures

William Carter -
The United States collects no national custody statistics. The figure everyone quotes is a 2018 survey of lawyers, the Census Bureau publishes three different answers to the same question, and the fatherless-homes numbers cite agencies that never produced them.

Gray Divorce Statistics: 40% of Divorces Now Happen After 50

William Carter -
Four in ten Americans who divorced in 2024 were 50 or older, yet on one consistent Census measure the gray divorce rate has not risen since 2008. State rates, marriage length, poverty after divorce, and the doubling, empty nest and AARP claims traced.

Ashley Madison Data Breach: What the 2015 Hack Exposed, in Numbers

William Carter -
The 2015 Ashley Madison breach, traced to regulators and the court record: 36 million accounts, emails never verified, and only 2,522 settlement claims.

Marriage Counseling Success Rate: The 70% Claim, and What Five-Year Data Shows

Emily Richardson -
The 70% to 75% success rate quoted almost everywhere traces to a 1999 meta-analysis of four trials, three of them run by the founders of the therapy being tested. The longest follow-up found half of seriously distressed couples clearly improved five years later and about a quarter separated.

See All Statistics Reports

how we rate dating sites

How We Review Dating Sites and Apps

Every dating site and app on Marriage Science goes through a structured, multi-step review process before we publish a single rating. We create real profiles, test matching algorithms, audit safety and privacy features, document every pricing tier and hidden upsell, and cross-reference our findings with thousands of real user reviews from app stores, Reddit, and Trustpilot.

This hands-on testing, combined with regular re-checks throughout the year, means our reviews are not just detailed – they reflect how each platform actually performs right now. When we recommend a dating site, it is because we have used it ourselves and would recommend it to a friend.

See Our Top-Rated Best Dating Sites

From Our Testing Desk

Our Highest-Rated Dating Sites

“I have personally tested more than fifty dating services, and no single site is best for everyone. What matters is matching the platform to what you actually want from it. We re-test our top picks through the year, so these scores reflect how each site performs right now.”

Sarah Whitemoore
Dating Expert, Marriage Science

eharmony logo
★★★★★★★★★★4.8/5

See Our Review

AdultFriendFinder logo
★★★★★★★★★★4.8/5

See Our Review

Tinder logo
★★★★★★★★★★4.6/5

See Our Review

CheekyCrush logo
★★★★★★★★★★3.8/5

See Our Review

Our Standards

Why Readers Trust Marriage Science

We rank platforms on what they did during testing. Affiliate commissions play no part in a score.

Coverage does not stop at dating apps. We also test AI companion apps, review online prenup services and couples therapy platforms, and publish original statistics reports. Every review carries the date we last checked it.

01

Paid Accounts

We buy every subscription we review. No press access, and no accounts set up for us by the operator.

02

Primary Data

Our statistics come from US Census microdata, CDC records and peer-reviewed research, cited to the dataset.

03

The Real Price

We rebuild what a platform costs per month, including the upsells that only appear once you have paid.

04

No Paid Placements

No brand can buy a ranking or a score. Some links earn us a commission, and that changes neither.

Latest

New on Marriage Science

The five most recent reports and reviews.

Relationship

Double Standards in Relationships: Signs, Examples, and What to Do

Emily Richardson -
A double standard is a rule one partner is held to and the other is not. Where they show up, what the research says, and how to raise one.

See All Relationship Guides

romantic couple marriagescience

AI Companion Apps We Have Tested

We open paid accounts on AI girlfriend apps, check the refund terms, and work out who operates each service before we rate it.

See Our AI Girlfriend Reviews