Plenty of Fish (POF) built its reputation on being one of the most genuinely free dating sites around, letting people message freely long before "swipe to match" became the norm. Years on, and now part of a larger dating company, is POF still free? Mostly yes — here is what you get without paying and where Premium comes in.
Is Plenty of Fish Still Free in 2026?
Yes. POF remains free for the essentials: you can create a profile with several photos, use search filters to find people by age, location, and other criteria, browse profiles, and use its "Meet Me" quick-browse feature. Its long-standing appeal is open messaging without a paywall — the trade-off is that the free experience is supported by ads.
Can You Message on POF Without Paying?
Yes, and this is POF's biggest advantage over match-gated apps. Unlike Tinder or Bumble, where both people must like each other before they can talk, POF lets free members message any profile directly. Some richer in-chat features — such as voice messages, voice calls, and sending photos inside a chat — become available once a conversation is established, but starting a conversation does not cost anything.
What Does POF Premium Add?
POF Premium is aimed at people who want to remove friction and see more. It typically adds:
- Ad-free browsing
- Seeing who liked your profile
- Uploading more profile photos
- Extra visibility and search perks
As with any dating app, the exact price depends on the term length, your region, and current promotions, so check the POF site or app for the current figure.
POF vs a Completely Free Dating Site
POF is one of the more free-friendly mainstream apps, but it still funds itself with ads and reserves some features for paying members. A completely free platform like iwillfindyou.love keeps the whole core experience free: unlimited messaging, matching, and real-time chat with no credit card, and no charge to see who is interested in you. Sensible daily limits guard against spam rather than nudging you to upgrade.
If you are comparing "free" dating sites, the key question is what stays free beyond sign-up. POF lets you message freely with ads; a fully free site removes the ads-and-upgrade layer entirely. You can see how truly free messaging works in our guide to free dating sites with unlimited messaging, read the details in our Help Centre, or just try it for free.