Plenty of Fish review 2026: a veteran app with new safety tools and a pricier ladder

Plenty of Fish launched in 2003, long before swiping became a verb. Match Group’s latest annual report now files it under “Evergreen” brands, alongside Match.com and OkCupid, and credits it with broad appeal across several countries. The app has passed 50 million downloads on Google Play, according to its UK listing.

Evergreen is a kind word for old. What is interesting about POF in 2026 is not its age but how much it has changed: a three-tier subscription ladder, a biometric “Face Check” that compares your face against other accounts, and a safety toolbox that is more extensive than many younger rivals offer.

Our Plenty of Fish verdict

Plenty of Fish scores 7.9. It earns points for scale, a free tier that still allows matching and messaging, and a safety toolkit that covers verification, date sharing and crisis support in one place. Caps on first messages are a thoughtful touch in an app with a reputation for unsolicited one-word openers.

It loses points for price and complexity. Seeing who liked you is a middle-tier feature, the top tier is expensive, and the UK App Store lists a one-month subscription at £29.99. Face Check is a genuine anti-fraud step, but its data retention will not suit everyone. In our assessment, POF works best for people who want a large, mainstream pool and are happy to use it free or at the entry tier.

How Plenty of Fish works

POF’s homepage promises to let you “date, chat and match for free” and choose how you connect, including “a good-old-fashioned DM”. In practice, there are two routes to a conversation.

Meet Me is the swiping screen. If you both tap yes, you become a Mutual Match and can message directly.

First Contacts let you message someone you have seen but not matched with. According to the First Contacts help page, you need a profile photo to send one, and once your daily allowance runs out you can buy more individually or upgrade to POF Prestige, which offers them without limit. The app store listings add that POF puts a limit on first messages, which the company says discourages very short intros.

The Google Play listing also mentions dating games and live streams under “Plenty of Fish Live!”, which sit alongside the core dating features.

How POF decides who you see

POF’s recommendations page is refreshingly direct. Three factors drive the feed: your activity, since being online or recently active gives you a boost; your stated preferences and your likes and dislikes; and paid options, as “subscriptions and boosts help your profile stand out”. Few apps say so plainly that paying improves visibility.

Profiles and matching on POF

Profiles include photos, a bio and a range of personal details. The richer fields, such as children status and lifestyle habits, are part of POF Plus, which also raises the photo limit to 16. Free members can still filter searches, like profiles in Meet Me and message Mutual Matches.

One small but welcome feature is the NDP badge, which stands for “No Dick Pics”. It lets members show on their profile that unsolicited explicit images are unwelcome, and can be switched on or off in Edit profile. It is a blunt label, but it addresses a real problem with unusual candour.

Plenty of Fish pricing: Plus, Premium and Prestige

POF’s membership tiers page sets out a three-step ladder, each tier including everything below it.

Free: search filters, liking in Meet Me, and seeing and messaging Mutual Matches.

POF Plus: – Extended profile details – Unlimited likes – Early access to new members – Up to 16 profile photos – No ads

POF Premium: – A single view of everyone who has liked you – Read receipts on messages

POF Prestige: – Unlimited First Contacts – Unlimited priority likes – Unlimited messages, with your messages seen first – A distinct, more upscale in-app design

What POF costs in the UK

POF does not publish tier prices on its help pages. On the UK App Store, checked on 19 October 2026, the listed purchases included a one-week subscription at £19.99, a one-month subscription at £29.99, three “Upgrade” items at £19.99, £29.99 and £39.99, a single Boost at £3.99, and tokens at £1.99 for one, £8.99 for five and £17.99 for ten. Apple does not say which purchase maps to which tier, and offers vary, but the range makes clear that POF’s paid tiers are not cheap.

Which POF tier is worth it?

For most people, the free version or POF Plus. Plus removes ads and lifts the like limit, which addresses the two biggest irritations. Premium is worth considering if you get plenty of likes and want to see them all at once. Prestige is for heavy users who want to message beyond their daily allowance, and at those prices it should be a short-term purchase rather than a habit.

There is a quieter cost to staying free. Because POF says activity and paid options both shape recommendations, a non-paying member who logs in once a week will be shown to fewer people than a subscriber who is online daily. The practical answer is not necessarily to pay, but to be active in short, regular bursts, complete the profile fully, and verify with a selfie so the people who do see you have a reason to trust you. If you do upgrade, buy the shortest plan first and set a reminder to cancel; the help centre’s guidance on turning off renewal differs depending on whether you paid through Apple, Google Play or PayPal.

Is Plenty of Fish safe? Verification and safety tools

POF’s safety offer is the strongest part of this review, and also the most demanding of your data.

Selfie verification and Face Check

POF has two layers. Standard selfie verification lets members earn a profile badge and request that others verify too. The newer Face Check goes further. Members record a short video selfie; POF says the scan estimates age, checks profile photos, helps reduce fraud and checks that no other profile is using the same likeness. Completing it, with a clear solo face photo that matches, earns a Photo Verified badge.

POF describes Face Check as required, with rollout phased “where local regulations permit”, so it may not yet apply in every country. Changing your profile location to a region where it is required can trigger it.

The data handling is worth reading in full:

• The video selfie is checked for liveness and then deleted.
• A “FaceMap” of facial geometry and a “FaceVector” number are created and kept for the life of the account, then deleted within 30 days of closure unless legal or safety obligations apply.
• Two audit images, the result and the age estimate are kept for 90 days after closure, or a year if you are banned.
• Data is stored on Match Group Americas servers on AWS and may be shared with Match Group affiliates for safety purposes where the law permits.
• Where Face Check is required, the only way to delete your verification data is to delete your account.

This is a trade-off. Duplicate-likeness checks make it much harder for scammers to reuse stolen photos across accounts, which protects everyone. In return, POF holds a biometric template for as long as you are a member. Readers who are uncomfortable with that should know it before they sign up.

Safety Toolbox, Share My Date and Crisis Text Line

The Safety Toolbox gathers POF’s tools in one dashboard, reachable from your profile, another member’s profile or a conversation. It includes selfie verification, reporting and blocking, Share My Date and access to Crisis Text Line for members who are feeling distressed.

Share My Date is particularly well designed. From a conversation, you tap the calendar icon, add the details of your date and send a link to a friend or relative. The page expires seven days after the date, your match is not notified, and you can view your own date history for 90 days.

Privacy labels

The UK App Store labels, supplied by the developer, list usage data as data used to track you. Data linked to you includes purchases, financial information, location, contact information, user content, sensitive information and diagnostics. On Google Play, POF says data is encrypted in transit and that users can request deletion, while some data may be shared with third parties.

What users say about POF

As of 19 October 2026, POF held 4.1 from about 275,000 ratings on the UK App Store and 3.3 from roughly 1.6 million reviews on Google Play in the UK. As with most Match Group apps, Android reviewers are noticeably harsher, and a recurring theme is the cost of seeing who has liked you.

Who Plenty of Fish suits, and who should skip it

It suits people who want a large, mainstream pool and are open to anything from casual dating to something serious. It suits users who will stay on the free tier or Plus, and who value safety features like Share My Date and verification badges.

It also suits those who are tired of unsolicited one-liners. Message caps and the NDP badge give members more control than many rivals offer.

Skip it if you dislike paying for visibility; POF says openly that subscriptions boost your profile. Skip it if you are uneasy about biometric data being kept for the life of your account. And if you want a curated, relationship-first experience, Hinge or eharmony will serve you better.

Plenty of Fish alternatives

For a compatibility-led app in the same Match Group family, see our OkCupid review. Our Hinge review covers the relationship-focused app that tops our rankings, and our Tinder review explains the swipe-first original. Queer women and non-binary daters should read our HER review. Our best dating apps guide ranks all ten.

Frequently asked questions

Is Plenty of Fish free?

Yes. Free members can filter searches, like profiles in Meet Me, and see and message Mutual Matches. Paid tiers add unlimited likes, the list of who liked you and unlimited First Contacts.

What is the difference between POF Plus, Premium and Prestige?

Plus adds extended profile details, unlimited likes, 16 photos and no ads. Premium adds the full list of who liked you and read receipts. Prestige adds unlimited First Contacts, priority likes and messages seen first.

What is POF Face Check?

Face Check is a video-selfie biometric scan that estimates age, checks liveness and photos, and makes sure no other account uses your likeness. It earns a Photo Verified badge and is being rolled out where local regulations permit.

Who owns Plenty of Fish?

Plenty of Fish is owned by Match Group, which also owns Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and HER. Match’s annual report lists it among its Evergreen brands and says it launched in 2003.

Is Plenty of Fish safe?

POF offers selfie verification, Face Check, Share My Date, reporting and blocking, and access to Crisis Text Line through its Safety Toolbox. As on any app, meet in public and never send money.