SakuraDate Review: Details, Price & Features
Best for international dating, serious relationships, meeting Asian women
Girls age
Mostly 34
Girls online
More than 2400
Registration
Free
Pricing
From $2.99
What is Sakura Date? At first, it seems it’s just another site for Asians and Westerners, but once you start using it, you realize that this platform definitely stands out.
Does it stand out in a good way or in a bad way? Keep reading this SakuraDate review, and you’ll see what our experience was, learn more about all the pros and cons of using the site, and be able to make a 100% informed decision whether to join or not to join the community.
First impression
There were more things that we loved than we hated about the site. SakuraDate has its distinctive features, and we listed ones that describe and even determine the experience most members are likely to have on the platform below:
- SakuraDate.com is a niche dating site. Still, it’s quite versatile, so you can use it as a regular dating site or customize its algorithm to meet Asian brides only.
- SakuraDate has nearly 500K monthly visits, and though it’s smaller than mainstream dating platforms, it’s quite big for a niche website.
- Most features except for features letting you communicate with others directly in real time are free.
- You can see who you are going to meet before you pay, and 30 free credits may be granted to every newcomer.
- A few first conversations let you understand that most people are still interested in serious, long-term relationships.
- There are a few alternative types of search features, all free to use.
- Online messenger and the Letters service are the main communication features, and both work well enough.
- The community is active, and people seem to be genuinely interested in finding a partner on SakuraDate.
These are the key things that we’ve noticed during a few days after we’ve joined the community. However, we spent 3 more weeks on the platform, so if you are seeking for a deeper analysis, there’s no need to search for other SakuraDate.com reviews. We describe all the important processes in a lot of detail below.
Registration process
Everyone who’s going to join the SakuraDate community can do it quickly and easily. A user only needs to find the registration form (which will be at the top of the main page no matter if you are using a mobile or a desktop version of the site) and share the following:
- Name (doesn’t have to be your real name, nickname will also work)
- Gender
- Password
- Date of birth
Then, you’ll need to confirm that you’re over 18 years old and agree to all the terms and policies. After that, you’ll be able to see the Tutorial and get some really useful tips on how to use the site correctly or skip that step and access the full version of the platform.
Note that the registration process may take even less time if you sign up via your Google account.
Tips on creating a profile on SakuraDate
- Improving a profile is a member’s responsibility, and they’ll need to make some effort voluntarily to stand out from the competition on SakuraDate.
- Go to your My Profile to see how you can create a really competitive profile.
- Add 5+ photos of yourself wearing different outfits in different locations—that increases the reply rate significantly.
- Specify your city and country and other important details like occupation, religion, and habits—these are the most popular search criteria.
- Write the About Myself and the Dating Preferences descriptions really thoughtfully, and try to use them to narrow the search to people with similar values and goals only.
The process of finding and connecting with potential partners
Each site has a system that works a certain way, so a user needs to take certain steps included in a common algorithm in order to meet someone on the site. Each of the stages is really important, so we decided to analyze them and the customization opportunities that a member has.
1. Search features: The process of finding your best matches
What we liked about the site was the approach to searching for matches. There are a few alternative types of search features, all free to use, so basically, you can test every one of them and choose the tool that seems to work best for you.
At the moment, the options are as follows:
- Browsing through profiles on the Search page. This page is actually the first page you see when you join the community. There’ll be profiles of members you might like so you can start browsing them right away. You’ll also be able to sort profiles by age and online status. Also, if you’re looking for a specific user, you’ll be able to search by name or ID.
- Applying Detailed Filter. On the same page, there’s the Detailed Filter button, and we’d definitely recommend clicking on it if you have specific search criteria that your dream partner is supposed to match. There are 18 filters to use, including marital status, job, religion, habits, etc.
- The Like feature. It’s basically good old swiping. The only difference between SakuraDate and mainstream apps is that on SakuraDate, you don’t have to wait until you match with someone. You can contact anyone from the Like page or from their personal profile.
Also, when you browse the profile of someone you like, you’ll also see similar profiles at the bottom of one’s private page, which also helps optimize the search process.
2. Making contact: Finding out if the interest is mutual
There are some basic communication features that a member can use just to see if another member is also interested in a conversation. From our experience, we know that the Say Hello messages work better than favoriting someone or sending a like (these may be rather helpful, too).
Basically, these are the first message templates like “What are you up to?” “How is your day going”, just a wink, and so forth. Still, we must also admit that the custom messages with some information from a member’s profile still work better than even Say Hello messages.
3. Main features: Enjoying actual communication
Let’s say two members exchanged likes, and one of them sent a standard Say Hello message. What’s next? At this stage, members usually make a choice between live chat and Letters (note this is not a final choice or something, you can switch at any time).
Both work well enough—we didn’t notice any bugs, lags, or inconveniences. The difference is in the type of communication. If you choose instant messaging, you’ll communicate in real time and pay for the time spent chatting with another member. In the case of Letters, you’ll send a long email of up to 3,000 characters each. Note that you’ll be able to attach audio and video messages regardless of the communication feature you choose. There are also custom stickers and emojis that may make messaging more fun and engaging.
Cost of using
So, there are no monthly plans—only credits that you can buy and spend on direct communication with others. At the moment, the costs are as follows
- $2.99 for 35 credits for all new members, and after the 1st purchase it will cost $12.99 for the same of coins
- $19 for 50 credits
- $33 for 100 credits
- $75 for 250 credits
- $100 for 400 credits
- $200 for 1,000 credits
Note that all new members can also get a bonus — 20 free credits for setting up an account and 10 more for verifying their email addresses.
Free & paid services
So, the actual SakuraDate price will depend on three things — the costs of credits, the costs of features, and your choice of features, respectively. But what exactly do you pay for on the site? Let’s take a look at the lists of free and paid features.
Free features
- Profile creation and upgrade
- All types of search features
- Access to profiles, photos, bios, etc
- Adding members to your Favorites
- Access to FAQ and SakuraDate tutorial
Paid features
- Say Hello messages — 2 credits for a message sent to someone you’ve never contacted previously
- Live chat — 2 credits per minute
- Winks in live chat — 2 credits
- Stickers in chat — 5 credits
- Sending a Letter — 10 credits per Letter
- Sending an audio message — 15 credits
- Sending a video message — 25 credits
So, these are the main costs. What we appreciated is that we didn’t face a SakuraDate scam or something—prices are transparent, and you can see reminders of the exact costs next to nearly every button or window on the site.
Pros & cons
Pros
- The growing community of people seeking partners in Asian or Western countries
- Active members, high reply rates
- 90% of profiles are really detailed
- No hidden costs, transparent policies
- Special features like audio & video messaging
Cons
- No way to contact someone for free
- No app (the mobile version of the site works great though)
- No support live chat
User feedback from other sites
Summary
So, is Sakura Date legit? Yes, it is. Moreover, it’s a quite versatile site that still would work best for Asian singles—Japanese brides, women from Thailand or the Philippines, Chinese singles, etc. and Westerners who expect to find a long-term partner on this particular continent.
Remember it’s a premium website where, despite the availability of multiple free features, you’ll need to pay to communicate. That’s why we’d recommend joining the site—it’s free, claiming your welcome bonus, and testing both free and premium features. That’s how you’ll be able to draw your own conclusions and will definitely make the right choice.
As an older man, I've found this site to be quite user-friendly and respectful. The women I've met don't just ghost you; they inform you if they won't be around. That's a nice touch. However, I've come across a few profiles where the photos seemed overly edited. It's not a huge issue, but it does make you wonder about the authenticity sometimes. On the whole, the positives outweigh this minor gripe, and I've enjoyed my time here.