1. RSVP review: summary

RSVP Australia is able to attract new members every day as it has a strong reputation for bringing singles together. In fact, statistics suggest that 58% of couples who met on line were via RSVP, with 69% of Australian daters reportedly coming together through the site.

On the back of these figures, RSVP bases its claim to be Australia’s number one dating website as it knows what its members want in terms of matches, love and long term relationships.

Having carefully reviewed the feature of the site, finding out what we were really getting for free and what extra services we were getting for our subscription fees, our conclusions are as follows:

2. RSVP Practical Test

The registration process for the RSVP site is free—and users’ dating adventures really start as soon as this is finished—and all mainly thanks to the Easy Search function.

With this function, clients can refine their search results across a range of criteria including interests, lifestyle and members currently online and ready to chat; other fields include location, age, or even, quite interestingly, “deal-breakers”!

Naturally, RSVP can help members obtain better matches and more effective, tailored search results if sufficiently detailed partner criteria is included when members are filling out their profiles.

In addition, searches for singles with similar interests and lifestyles through the site’s extensive range of groups which include Arts and Culture aficionados, over 50s, single parents, and several more.

RSVP also allows members to save their favourite searches for faster future access.


Picture: Matches and search options on RSVP Australia

RSVP Australia: contact test

In order to get a better impression of the actual activity on RSVP we have conducted a contact test. In the end what matters most is the number of meaningful connections you can make. How many people are going to message you and how many people will reply to your messages?

We have created a male profile and started reaching out to women and flirting. During the test we have contacted 100 different women. We have sent out messages, kisses and so on. As a result we have received 25 positive responses, which is a very good success rate. It goes without saying that not all replies resulted in a date. This number was at around 20%.

3. Functions and profiles on RSVP

One of the key advantages of the RSVP dating service is the fact that, reportedly, over 1,200 new singles join every day. Obviously, this greatly increases users’ chances of finding that special person they are looking for.

RSVP has gone to great lengths to be creative and make the site interesting for users; such functions worthy of highlight in this review include:

Communication features

RSVP allows members to approach other singles using the platform in various ways:

By sending “Kisses”

As mentioned, it's free to join RSVP and send or reply to Kisses to others to show interest—the idea being that clients can send free Kisses to other members they like and find out if there is any mutual interest before going any further
 

By sending messages

On RSVP, it’s also free to reply to messages or chat sessions initiated by other members.

Obviously, prudent members will read other users profiles carefully before sending any messages, and try to make sure that they only reply to those members where the chance of a connection is high and they appear to have something in common.

Picture: Sending a kiss is always free

Knowing if messages have been read

Some members wish to be sure that their messages have been read and RSVP offers an option to check up on this.

Mobile Apps

RSVP offers a range of mobile options, enabling users to communicate, chat or set up dates whenever and wherever is best for them! The mobile site has recently been upgraded and now provides all the functionality of the standard site including contacting members, searching, updating profiles and managing RSViP subscriptions.

The App is suitable for both Android and iPhones.

Getting together
 

Through “singles events”

Specially created, unique singles events where member may well meet that someone special as there are new members and attendees at every event—all of whom with a similar approach to meeting other people.

The site allows members to view singles events in their own areas and provides notifications of upcoming events.

Annotation: During out test we did not attend any regional RSVP events, however this seems like a great opportunity to meet many RSVP singles at once.

Picture: Future events on RSVP

Via groups
With a number of key groups to choose from, RSVP members can be sure that they can find others with similar interests (of course, users can belong to more than one group):

Over 50s: and in the prime of life, this group is for those young at heart

Single parents: who are now back on the dating scene and looking for love. Great for meeting other single parents and sharing stories

Arts and Culture: for those who enjoy curling up with a good book or wandering around art galleries; or maybe looking for new live acts

Travellers: whether it be in Australia or overseas, long or short breaks, people in this group love to get away!

Travel with others: a variation on the above, but these are organised trips for people who want a holiday but don't want to go alone. These adventures are designed for members to meet new people and there are adverts for suggested destinations, age groups and duration of trips.

Helpfully, the site shows the % of male and females and number of members of these sub-groups.

Picture: Join different thematic groups on RSVP

Compatibility test

Developed by leading Australian psychologists the personality survey enables you to discover more about yourself and what you are really looking in a partner. It is not mandatory to take this test on RSVP, however it might be very helpful when trying to find the perfect match.

This survey is unique to RSVP, and enables members to see why they've been matched and how they compare across four key personality dimensions. Users can view their compatibility with other members, including what they can expect from a relationship with a person of that personality type.

A sample Compatibility Report example is provided on the site for reference.

Introductions and Successes

RSVP actively promotes its members and its successes with ever changing photos of members on its home page and lists of its current top 100 men and top 100 women.

In addition, RSVP make it known that it’s keen to hear members’ stories and will feature true-life success stories on the site.

RSVP advocates the sharing of such stories on the basis that they hear every day from Australian singles who have found love and happiness and want to share their success stories with others. Reportedly, 33% of Australian singles who used RSVP found a long term relationship and 20% married or found a life partner.

4. RSVP Customer Friendliness

Dating Advice Tips and Advice

RSVP provides a very useful a section full of articles, pragmatic dating advice and tips of do’s and don’ts. Included in this are advice on safety and security

Picture: An extensive advice section on RSVP Australia

Website usability
The registration for the RSVP site is straightforward and the site easy to familiarise with, as the functions are all easy to understand and use.

In fact, the site offers some of the most innovative services currently available in the dating sector.

Help
A comprehensive list of help topics in the help centre is accessed through a search function.

RSVP allows two options for membership cessation

If you wish to terminate your RSVP subscription, there are two options you should consider:

a) You terminate your membership forever
b) You just take a break

For users, terminating their profile is permanent and all information related to their profile and communications with other members will be lost from the site.

An alternative solution is for members to “Take a break” which means they won't appear in searches and other singles cannot contact them but, conveniently, they don’t lose any of their history—useful if they wish to resurrect their profile.

Also, with “Take a break”, members cannot contact any other members and the validity of the expiry of any Stamp books or RSViP subscriptions is not extended.

Whatever you decide to do, it can easily be done online.

5. RSVP: Value for Money

Generally it is free to sign up with RSVP. You can even reply to messages and chats that have been initiated by other members at no cost.  

Pay as you go

If you want to initiate conversations yourself, you need to buy stamps (RSVPs currency).  It’s possible to choose from a selection of Stamp books (some books with only 3 Stamps) and start communicating with other singles who appear to meet the right dating criteria—either via personal messages or chatting.

The cost of contacting one other single is one Stamp and this allows each member to enjoy unlimited contact with that person for 30 days. A variety of

Stamp book options can be purchased to suit individual needs.

• 3 stamps: $ 45 (15 $ per stamp)
• 6 stamps: $ 70 (11,66 $ per stamp)
• 12 stamps: $ 90 (7,50 $ per stamp)
• 24 stamps: $ 120 (5 $ per stamp)

Beyond of the "pay as you go" option there are two different upgrade options which help you to stand out from the crowd (RSVP priority) or give you more control of your privacy on the platform (RSVP private)

RSViP priority

If you want to increase your chances on RSVP it is suggested to upgrade to the RSViP priority package. The RSViP priority package gives members the opportunity to appear at the top of search results with highlighted profiles. This package is available in 1m, 3m and 12 months subscriptions.

Subscription fees for RSViP priority as follows:

• 12 months: $ 6.65 per month
• 6 months: $ 9,98 per month
• 3 months: $ 11,63 per month
• 1 month: $ 14,90

RSViP private

The RSViP private options allows users to control their visibility by choosing who may see their profiles. This can be segmented as required so that, for example, only other members can view a users profile or just ideal prospective partners or even only those to whom access is granted.

This package is also available in 1m, 3m and 12 months subscriptions.

Prices for the RSViP Private subscription are slightly higher:

• 12 months: $ 9,99 per month
• 6 months: $ 15,81 per month
• 3 months: $  21,63 per month
• 1 month: $ 29,90