It is difficult to classify a genre like social networking. Although, apparently, all dating sites are about social networking at some level, some sites (e.g., MySpace.com) allow users to interact with friends, and provide access to music and games. This enables users to chat with their friends, besides finding compatible mates. Also, social networking sites, by and large, do not charge anything. According to research analysts, this is sure to give traditional online dating sites a run for their money. Free online dating services help people meet their dream mate through the use of the Internet. SocialGrid (a decentralized social networking community that uses Internet search engines like Google and Yahoo) and SearchYourLove (offers internal messaging service) are two popular free online dating service providers.

By becoming a member of one of these sites, it is possible to extend the users social network by searching the Net for people with similar interests, goals, desirable traits, and characteristics. The service providers let their members do this for free. The catch, however, is that most services will be free until they reach a certain size; after that they start charging for their services. Once they start charging, the membership growth slows down, and thereafter these services have to advertise to acquire new members in order to survive. The longer a company can hold out without charging membership fees, the larger its membership base will be, which in turn results in an increase in the number of quality matches.

Free dating sites usually mean free to join or free to register. However, the user is charged for services such as contacting a member, using a detailed search, or searching outside the social network. A dating service that is just launched may offer everything for free until it reaches a few thousand or million members; that is when it starts charging. However, there are some online dating service sites also that remain free always. With such sites, the users can join for free, contact a member for free, use detailed searches for free, and search the entire membership base for free. Some sites also publish materials containing web dating, relationship and flirting tips, and advice on how to behave in different situations.