FriendFinder-x Review [2024] - Still Legit for Casual Dating?

What is FriendFinder-x & who is it best for?

FriendFinder-x (originally called Various, Inc) was founded in 1996 by Andrew Conru – this site is an OG! Sites I’ve reviewed in the past, like Alt.com and AdultFriendFinder, are also owned by the same company, so some of the features are going to look very similar.

FriendFinder-x has millions of members (some sites list it at 90 million or more) and says it’s “the world’s best casual dating site” which is a pretty big claim to have! It’s definitely an app for more casual dating and hooking up, so if you’re looking for a long-term relationship you’re not going to be in the best place for that.

So who is FriendFinder-x best for?

☑️Singles or couples looking for hookups and casual sex.

☑️Singles or couples looking to experiment with and explore their sexuality.

☑️People who are visually driven (explicit photos, videos) as opposed to just text-based or rated G photos.

Who is FriendFinder-x just not going to work out for?

✖️Singles looking for long-term relationships.

✖️People looking for a relatively cheap dating platform.

✖️People who aren’t comfortable viewing or sharing more x-rate type content.

How FriendFinder-x works

FriendFinder-x is very similar to other dating sites in this niche. How does FriendFinder-x work? First up, you sign up for a free account (more on this in a bit!) then get your profile picture added (and approved) with your profile filled out.

After that, you can explore a lot of features – you can do a manual search on your own for local hotties, look at who is online “nearby”, watch livestreams, or you can let their “Cupid” match do the work for you by setting up preferences for what you’re looking for!

You can also spend time browning the photos and videos members share, participate in the blog & groups, read erotic stories, or buy/give Bling to other members. Once you’re interested in someone, you can message them, send them a flirt, hotlist them, or tip them.

The tl;dr on FriendFinder x

Here are some notable things from when I was signing up and spending time on the app for this FriendFinder-x review:

✅Has photo verification

✅Has ConfirmID verification

✅Lets you livestream

✅Has both a paid membership and “paid credits” system

✅There is a pretty lively community

✅More focused on hookups than long-term relationships

✅No photo requirement when signing (which is both good and bad!)

🚫No mobile app. Sorry bbs.

Is FriendFinder-x free? Yes! There’s a freebie account you can use, although features are limited like most other dating sites. I’ll cover this in a bit!

How to delete FriendFinder-x account: This is pretty simple. Go to “my account” scroll alllll the way down, and click “close account.” You have to click “Please Delete My Account” as the bottom to confirm.

Is there a FriendFinder-x app?: There only seems to be a mobile version for web, but no dedicated iPhone or Android app.

Will my FriendFinder-x credits expire if I don’t use them?: Nope! They’ll be yours until you do.

What’s FriendFinder-x Bling?: Bling are virtual sticker type things that you can either upload to sell, or just purchase to display / send to others. Kinda like pins IRL!

What is a Friend-Finder-x.com guest account?: A guest account just means you can browse the members and site without being able to interact or publish anything yourself.

Is there a FriendFinder x app?

📲Sorry, there is no FriendFinder x app available.

FriendFinder-x doesn’t have an app, but it does have a mobile friendly web version of the site. So I could stillllll browse while on the go, but no way to get notifications like I would with an app.

Steps to register for FriendFinder-x

🐕 Middle of the road - will need a few minutes.

The sign up process for FriendFinder-X was middle of the road in terms of speed – wasn’t super short, but wasn’t full glass of wine worthy. Let’s get into it.

1. First, it asked me what my gender was (or us as a couple, if I was signing up with my non-existent partner!!). I could also add what I was looking for here, with options for “men” “women” “couples [man/women] and trans.

Worth noting here that it didn’t let me choose a couple who was of the same sex – man/man or woman/woman. 🤔

2. Now I enter my birthday, location and zip code.

3. And… we’re already at the part where I enter my email and create a username?! FriendFinder-x.com doesn’t give you any other options besides email, which is kinda nice. I picked a punny username, entered a PW, and hit next.

4. On the next step, it asked me for a lil’ more information like my sexual orientation, body type, race and marital status. I could bypass each of these by saying “prefer not to say” so if you’re not comfortable adding that info, this is great for you!

5. Now I get to enter something enticing that makes me stand out. It requires an “introduction title” which I’m assuming is similar to a headline, then an optional box to add more about me.

What’s awesome about this is if you get writer’s block on what to add (or are just sick of writing about yourself on all the dating sites like me), they have options for…

• Writing ideas
• Instant writer

The “writing ideas” gives you examples of interesting snippets that you can work with to add to your profiles.

(I particularly liked #4!)

The “Instant Writer” option is… you guessed it! An ad-libs style profile creator called “Instant Profile Writer” that pops up to help you get unstuck. It has a few options to choose from:

And here are some examples of what it gives for the “select to use this sentence” drop down:

If you’re curious, I’ve always been good at keeping a secret. Like, most friends don’t know I have this blog, but one does and she’s interested in writing here too. 👀

6. Aaaaand VOILA!! I’m finally at the end where I can activate my account.

One thing I thought was weird is it didn’t have me add any kind of profile picture during the sign up process. This is in stark contrast to dating sites like Sugardaddy.com which made me add six!!

FriendFinder-X.com main feed & interface

So after I registered, it dropped me onto the main feed. It’s basically like my own personal dating command station:

Here I was able to see and do a lot of things like,

• Manage my profile, including adding a photo (which I did shortly after grabbing this screenshot!), clicking in to update profile info, and adding a status that others can see. (Should mine say “brb filling my wine glass”??)
• See a high level view of my “interactions” like who viewed me, my messages, who hotlisted or flirted with me, and gifts & tips I’ve received.
• See “my favorites” like my friends, how many profiles I viewed, my hotlist, my top members, how many flirts I’ve sent, gifts & tips I’ve sent, and favorite photos/videos.
• See who is online, new matches, members near me, and VIPs.
• See which members are Gold members or VIP.
• Click into livestreams of other members (note the super NSFW stuff going on here so def be careful where you login!)
• The community sidebar which shows trending posts.
• Then the top nav where I could look deeper into community extras, live action what’s hot, my stuff, and search for other members.

Even though I chose both men and women when signing up, my feed was primarily men. 🤔After I spent time using my FriendFinder-x.com account, this shifted, but I thought that was kinda weird.

What are user profiles like on FriendFinder-x.com?

The profiles feel pretty similar to some other dating sites I’ve used, but that’s not a bad thing. There’s a lot to customize here!

Once I clicked in to update my profile, I could go into sections like “Basic Profile” “Profile Location” “Physical Information” “Personal Information” “Add/Manage Photos” “Personality Type” “Get Verified” “Get ConfirmID” and “My Kinks”

I can…

• Set up basic information, like who I’m looking for (which lets me pick men, women, couples with diff gender combinations, a group (?! three is already a crowd!), and trans.
• Update my introduction and “about me.” This gave me writing ideas like earlier in the sign up process!
• Add my “ideal person.” This also gave me writing ideas!
• Update my “profile location” to update my current location, change my “Cupid Location” for matching, add where I’m traveling to and what my hometown is.
• Add my personality type with an EXTENSIVE quiz!
• Add more photos and videos.

I went ahead and added a profile photo which went through a verification process.

Personality type

One last thing I wanted to add here is the option to fill out your personality type. Profiles let you choose from an extensive amount of info to help you better match with hotties.

Up above is a screenshot to show examples of what I could choose from!

Cupid preferences

In my profile area, I was also able to set up my Cupid preferences to help FriendFinder-x send me singles I’m compatible with! I was able to add preferences for,

• Who I’m looking for.
• Age range.
• Location.
• Race.
• Body type.
• Sexual orientation (including bi-curious!)
• Marital status.

Here’s a snapshot of those screens!

Profile visibility

🔎Default visibility is open to guests and search engines.

Remember how I mentioned guests can browse the listings on the site without registering? WELL, I’ve made it a habit to check this on all dating sites now to see if I can hide my profile from guests.

FriendFinder-x has an option to adjust your visibility in settings, but it defaults to “Yes, I would like to have my profile accessible by Guests and Search Engines.” so adjust accordingly!!

How to search for FriendFinder x members

You can find people to connect with on FriendFinder-x in various ways:

• Use the available search features (which are pretty extensive!)
• Use advanced search features
• Setup “Cupid” preferences
• Search by kink
• “Hot or Not” game with thumbs up and thumbs down (thumbs up goes to my hotlist!)

The basic search has:

• Who you’re looking for (ie, man, woman, couple – which now has 2 of the same gender!!
• Who that person is seeking.
• Age range

Then you can get into the advanced search which has a TON of filters!!

Here you can search by preferences like:

• Eye color.
• If they wear glasses or contacts.
• Hair color.
• Hair length.
• How they swing.
• If they smoke/drink/do drugs (hi! I’m a wine drinker.)

Overall, there’s a lot of different ways to find a potential match or hookup on FriendFinder-x.com. I’m a big fan of “put people in front of me!!” so I liked the Hot or Not game as well as the main feed for browsing members nearby.

Is FriendFinder x free?

✅Yes, free account features are available, but limited

Yes! There’s a free account available with okay features, which we’ll get into in a bit. There doesn’t appear to be a free trial for any of the paid accounts though. If you want to browse as a guest without signing up, you can do that also but you won’t be able to interact with members at all.

FriendFinder-x free vs. paid accounts

Let’s delve into the differences between what I could do with the free account (it’s a bit of a tease) vs. the paid features.

FriendFinder-x free features

Soooo as I mentioned before, there are a lot of free features, but some of the most meaningful ones aren’t free to use. Which was disappointing! I was about to browse a lot of things on here but when it came to hitting up some potential matches, that was difficult.

Here’s what you can do on FriendFinder-x.com for free:

• Create a profile and add pictures/videos.
• Use basic search.
• View limited profiles.
• Play the ‘Hot or Not’ game!
• Send likes to member photos/videos.
• Join groups & blogs if that’s your thing.
• Use the chat rooms.
• Participate in contests with comments and likes.
• Watch live webcams.

What’s missing here? If you want to actually message and interact with members, you’re going to have to upgrade to the paid membership! So what’s that look like?

Paid FriendFinder-x features: Gold membership

💰$14.95/month to $27.95/month

💰Higher cost than most if you want to do a 1 month or 3 month subscription.

There’s no difference in the Gold membership tiers other than getting a discount for a longer commitment. The FriendFinder-x Gold pricing is,

• 1 month for $27.95
• 3 months for $23.95/month ($71.85 billed quarterly)
• 12 months for $14.95 ($179.40 billed annually)

Here’s what can be done with a paid Gold membership:

• Content filter preferences: Quick! Turn off the NSFW to save your eyes.
• Advanced search: This allows you to dig deeper and search by physical attributes, marital status, etc.
• Unlimited messaging: Paid memberships are able to send unlimited messages to anyone.
• View full profiles: This includes all photos and videos.
• Flirts: Get your flirt on! You can do this with the paid account.
• Friend requests: In case you want to live out your Myspace or Facebook days, you can send friend requests to get on someone’s radar.
• Profile boost: Appear at the top of the search results.
• See who visited your profile. 🔍
• Access to Sex Academy!
• Free members cannotcontact you (more on that in the next section!)
• Priority customer support.

The biggest benefit here for ME was being able to actually chat with members and see full profiles! It’s such a tease to just be able to browse and check out the app without being able to connect with others.

Enhanced Plan & Standard Contacts

💰From $24.95 to $35.85

There’s also the ability to enhance your plan with “Standard Contacts” for 1 month at $24.95 or 3 months at $35.85.

This FriendFinder x add-on allows anyone with a free account to contact you. If you just have the Gold membership, only paying members can reach out to you. Kind of confusing right?? I feel like if you’re paying for an account, the higher tier should block out free users, not the cheaper one.

Anyway, I wanted everyone to be able to contact me first (free or paid) I’d have to spend just about $53 dollars for one month!

FriendFinder-x credits

💰Packages range from $3 to $10

FriendFinder-x credit packages can be purchased as one-time bundles, not monthly! Hooray for minor commitments. The pricing for credit packages are,

• $3 for 200 points
• $6 for 500 points
• $10 for 1,000 points

FriendFinderx credits allow you to,

• Send tips and/or virtual gifts to members you’re interested in.
• Bid on members and become their top fans.
• Enjoy live broadcasting.

Are these credits worth it? If you want to interact with members and get their attention outside of just sending a message, yes!

Is FriendFinder-x legit?

☑️Yes – FriendFinder-x.com is legit to use

FriendFinder-x surprised me with its legitimacy. Even though it’s an OG in the space, dating apps for hookups tend to have a good amount of fake profiles so I went into this pretty carefully. The bulk of the FriendFinder-x reviews I checked out before signing up said they were pretty good at moderating spam profiles, and I found this to be true!

Within a few days, I got a number of messages (7! And I hadn’t even flirted with anyone yet) and 12+ people who viewed my profile. Of those, all messages were unique, showed they looked at my profile, and didn’t appear to be bots or fake profiles. Of course, this might be diff if you’re a guy because it’s more common to have fake women profiles on hookup sites!

As far as reporting users, if you’re uncomfortable or someone is trying to scam you, there’s a “Block” button on every profile, and you can “Report Abuse” as well.

Also, FriendFinder-x uses secure payment platforms, and doesn’t have a history of being hacked or fraudulent activity that I could find! So is FriendFinder-x legit? I’d say so.

What sets FriendFinder-x app apart?

Ooo! This is a tough question because it does have a lot of features that it’s sister sites have (and other apps in the casual dating space as well). If I had to pick what sets it apart, it would be:

• The focus on security and moderating profiles! Way less spam here.
• The ability to have rated-x photos and videos, if you want to.
• Content filtering if you DON’T want it in your feed, lol!
• It’s an OG in the space and has been around since 1996!!
• It has a Sex Academy to help members be better in bed. I’m here for it.
• Name of the founder is known.
• The groups and chat rooms are very active compared to other dating sites.
• The “Instant Profile Writer” and “Writing Ideas.”

Pros and cons of FriendFinder-x.com

It can’t be all praise right?! After spending a few weeks on FriendFinder-x and getting to know the platform, here’s what I really liked, and what I thought could have been better (or didn’t care for):

☑️What I liked about FriendFinder-x

Here’s what I loved about FriendFinder-x:

• There’s a credit based system if you just want to flirt a lil’ and attract some attention.
• There’s a variety of other features to explore like Sex Academy, blogs, magazines, bling, etc.
• This dating site has been around quite some time, so it feels secure.
• Profile verification and ConfirmID.
• Pretty detailed profiles to get to know members.
• Moderate to low fake profiles – I barely came across any!!
• Really active compared to other casual dating sites I’ve tried.
• The profile writing helps with the instant profile writer and writing ideas!

✖️What I didn’t like about FriendFinder-x

As much as I enjoy using FriendFinder-x, there are def some cons I discovered:

• There was a lot of the same stuff as other sites (erotic stories, magazines, etc)
• The cost of paid accounts were much higher than other dating apps!
• Your profile visibility defaults to “visible” for guests and search engines.
• Gold members can’t have free members contact them unless adding an additional package on top of it.
• Free accounts were fairly basic.
• NSFW content. I like some left to the imagination (or at least, my inbox!)
• Very cluttered interface.

Final thoughts for FriendFinder x review

Okay so, I was really torn on this one. FriendFinder-x is super active compared to other dating sites I’ve been on and there’s a wide variety of members to choose from!! I had legit messages within the first few days and profile views – something that was hit or miss with the smaller niche dating sites, and even some sugar dating sites.

There’s a lot going on here as a member, so if you’re looking for a dating platform that’s simple with only the necessary features to connect with other singles, you may find this overwhelming!

While I enjoyed exploring the features for my FriendFinder-x review, the monthly cost was much higher than other sites. The annual was too high as a one-time cost imo, especially while deciding if I wanted to stick around and try out everything it had to offer, so 1 month or 3 months will probably be the sweet spot here. I definitely feel the site is legit – I’ve been enjoying the members that have slid in my private messages and browsing the groups. All in all, it was worth it!

Btw, here are some other casual dating sites I’ve reviewed if you’re interested!

• HUD review
• #Open review
• Fling review
• Tinder review
• Heated Affairs review
• OutPersonals review

Visit FriendFinder-X