Plenty of Fish alternative
Encounters vs Plenty of Fish: UK Dating, Sorted Your Way
Plenty of Fish is a long-running general app with every kind of single in one pool. Encounters.uk puts you among UK adults in a section built for what you both want, from no-strings fun to something serious.
Pick your crowd before you pick a date
Plenty of Fish has been matching singles for more than twenty years. Encounters.uk is younger and more focused, and that focus is the whole point.
POF began in Canada in 2003, became part of Match Group in 2015 and, by its own account, still includes dating, chatting and matching in its basic membership. It works as one general pool: everybody is in together, and each profile tells you what that person is after.
Encounters.uk, online since 2014, splits UK dating into four sections with their own members and their own sign-up. Casual Encounters is for adults who want fun with no strings, Single Encounters is for anyone ready for a relationship, Mature Encounters is for dating in your 40s, 50s and beyond, and Milf Encounters puts confident older women in touch with younger men who appreciate them. Pick the one that fits, and the question of what everyone wants is answered before you say hello.
Weighing up more than one app? Our dating site comparisons also set us beside Tinder and Badoo.
Spot the differences in seconds
| Encounters.uk | Plenty of Fish | |
|---|---|---|
| Online since | 2014 | 2003, in Canada |
| Who you meet | UK adults, in the section that fits what you want | Every kind of single, in one general pool |
| Messaging | Classic members send a set number a day and can reply to VIP members | Chatting is part of the basic membership, its site says |
| Finding people | Daily match suggestions, swiping and browsing, inside your chosen section | Meet Me swiping, search and Super Likes |
| Paid options | VIP and VIP Plus, from one week to twelve months | Upgrade subscriptions, tokens and boosts in the app |
| On your phone | Any browser, and you can add it to your home screen | iPhone and Android apps, plus the website |
| Minimum age | 18 | 18 |
Plenty of Fish shares an owner with Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, since all four belong to Match Group. Encounters.uk has no connection with any of them.
Plenty to do from the day you join
Both sites sell upgrades, but they package them differently. Plenty of Fish earns its money from extras: its UK App Store listing sells upgrade subscriptions by the week or the month, along with tokens and boosts. Prices change with the plan and the platform, so the app is where to see what they cost today.
Classic membership, which every Encounters.uk member starts with, covers far more than a profile. You can add photos, browse members, swipe, get daily match suggestions, post status updates and photos of your own, comment on other members’ posts and play the polls and quizzes. You can send a limited number of messages each day, and anything a VIP member sends you can be read and answered.
VIP lifts the message limit and adds advanced search filters for city, distance and what people are open to, members-only chat rooms, private group chats for up to 50 people, rewinds for the swipes you regret and a list of who likes you. VIP Plus adds exclusive matches, priority placement for your messages and likes, and a spot at the top of the match stack, with profile boosts and Super Match sold as add-ons. Plans run from one week to twelve months, and each one renews at the same price until you cancel, apart from the twelve-month plans, which don’t renew at all. The pricing page has every figure.
Your kind of people, close to home
Encounters.uk has over 1,200 members across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Three in four of them are 25 to 54. The biggest group is in Greater London, ahead of the West Midlands, Hampshire and West Yorkshire, then Essex, Lancashire, Devon and Nottinghamshire.
Each section has its own feel. Casual Encounters is the biggest, with over 900 members. In Single Encounters and Mature Encounters most members are women, and Milf Encounters is the newest of the four. To see who is near you, try our singles near me page or browse the city pages.
Matches built around what you want
Plenty of Fish gives you Meet Me: swipe left to pass and right if you’d like to know someone better, and a chat opens when the interest is mutual. A Super Like flags a profile that really stands out, and search lets you hunt for exactly the person you have in mind.
On Encounters.uk you can swipe too, right for yes and left for no, but the daily match suggestions do much of the work. They weigh age range, gender and distance, how recently someone was active, what they’re looking for, lifestyle choices such as drinking and smoking, shared interests and religion. Everything else is on our features page.
Stay private while you flirt
Plenty of Fish lets you set limits on first messages, so one- and two-word openers don’t reach you. Encounters.uk starts from what other members can and can’t see about you.
A username, not your name
Other members know you by the username you choose.
Your real name and email address never appear on your profile.
A town, not your address
Your location shows as your nearest town or city.
No street, no postcode and no live location.
Block whenever you like
Blocking someone stops them contacting you.
It takes a moment, and you don’t owe anyone an explanation.
Report from where you are
Report a profile or a message from inside the site.
Our safety advice covers meeting up, too.
There’s no app to install, either. Encounters.uk runs in your browser, so nothing sits on your home screen unless you decide to add it.
When Plenty of Fish may suit you better
Plenty of Fish makes sense if you want a dedicated app with its own notifications, if you’re happy browsing one general pool where people want all sorts of things, or if you’re dating outside the UK. Its Meet Me swiping and search are quick to pick up, and the name has been around since 2003.
Encounters.uk makes more sense if you live in the UK and want to say up front what you’re looking for, if you’d like a section full of people who want the same, and if you prefer the browser to yet another app on your phone. Nothing stops you trying both side by side and keeping whichever suits you.
Say hello in four easy steps
- Choose your section. Casual, Single, Mature or Milf: each has its own sign-up, and you can join more than one.
- Make your profile. Add a few photos and say what you’re looking for, in your own words.
- Open your daily matches. Swipe through, browse members near you and see who catches your eye.
- Send a message. Use the day’s Classic messages on the profiles that stand out, or reply to any VIP member who writes to you.
Plenty of Fish questions, answered
How is Plenty of Fish different from Encounters.uk?
Plenty of Fish puts every kind of single into one general pool, where you find people with Meet Me swiping, search and Super Likes, on its website or in its iPhone and Android apps. Encounters.uk is a UK site split into four sections, so you pick casual fun, a relationship, over-40s or Milf dating before you meet anyone, and your daily matches take in what each person wants. It runs in your browser, with nothing to install.
Who owns Plenty of Fish?
Match Group, which bought it in 2015 and also owns Tinder and Hinge. Plenty of Fish was founded in Canada in 2003. Encounters.uk is not connected with either company.
What is a good alternative to Plenty of Fish in the UK?
If you want to meet UK adults who have already said what they’re after, Encounters.uk is built for it. It has separate sections for casual fun, relationships, over-40s and Milf dating, each with its own members and each in your browser.
Can I keep my Plenty of Fish profile and join Encounters.uk?
Yes. They are separate services, so one makes no difference to the other. Sign up to the Encounters.uk section that suits you and see who is nearby.
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