Everything new and existing members ask, in one place: registration and free credits, pricing, communication, verification, country coverage, payments, account deletion and online dating safety tips. Includes a balanced sakura date review for context.
If you only have a minute, start here. Each answer below is written to stand on its own - quote it, share it, screenshot it.
No major dating platform is completely free forever. Avodate is the closest practical option: registration, browsing, profile setup and waves are 100% free, plus 30 welcome credits unlock real chat and letters. You only pay when you choose to.
SakuraDate uses a credit model. Bundles run roughly $2.99 (20 credits) to $399 (1,000 credits), with chat priced at 2 credits per message. Avodate publishes the same per-action prices and adds 30 free welcome credits - see the credit packages.
The "3 date rule" in Japan is a cultural shorthand: by the third date, both people are expected to clarify whether they are pursuing a serious relationship (kokuhaku) or staying casual. It rewards intentional pacing - exactly what Avodate's slower matching is built around.
Joining Avodate takes under 60 seconds. Here's exactly what you need, what you get, and what stays free forever.
Click any green "Join free" button, enter your email, set a password and confirm your age and country. You'll land in your profile editor with 30 welcome credits already loaded. No card, no phone number, no social login required.
New members receive 30 free credits on signup, plus a one-time discounted first bundle (50 credits for $2.99 instead of $9.99). 30 credits cover roughly 15 chat messages, one letter exchange, or 6 sticker sends. See full credit costs.
No mainstream platform is genuinely free forever - moderation, verification and infrastructure cost money, and "free" sites typically monetize through ads, data or paywalls hidden later. Avodate is structurally the closest: free registration, free browsing, free profile editing, free waves, plus 30 welcome credits. You only spend when you actively choose to message someone.
Email verification is required and takes one click. Phone verification is optional but recommended - it adds a "Phone verified" badge to your profile, which roughly doubles your reply rate according to our March 2026 data.
Yes. You can edit any field, replace photos, pause your profile (invisible to other members) or delete it entirely from Settings → Profile. Pausing keeps your credits; deletion removes them permanently after a 14-day cooling-off window.
Avodate is strictly 18+. Age is verified during photo check using a government-issued ID. Profiles that fail age verification are removed within 24 hours.
Avodate is freemium with credits - no monthly subscription, no auto-renew. You buy credits in bundles and spend them only on actions you choose. Here are the most common money questions.
Bottom line: the average active member spends around $24 in their first month - about the price of a single dinner - and many spend $0 thanks to welcome credits. Compare full breakdowns on the pricing page.
Credit bundles range from 35 credits for $2.99 (welcome offer) up to 1,000 credits for $299. The mid-tier 250-credit pack at $69.99 is the most popular. Per-credit price drops 60% from the smallest to the largest bundle.
Both use credit models with similar headline pricing - SakuraDate bundles run from roughly $2.99 to $399, with chat at 2 credits per message. Avodate matches those per-action prices, publishes them on the pricing page rather than burying them, and includes 30 welcome credits. See our sakura date review below for a full comparison.
Chat message: 2 credits. Letter (long-form): 10 credits per letter sent, free to read replies. Photo or video share: 10 credits. Voice note: 6 credits. Sticker pack: 5 credits. Virtual gifts: 20-100 credits. Sending a wave or like is always free.
Credits never expire as long as you log in at least once every 180 days. Inactive accounts have their balance frozen (not deleted) and can be reactivated by signing back in.
Yes. Unused credit bundles purchased within the last 14 days are refundable to your original payment method, minus payment-processor fees. If a profile you spent credits on is later removed for fraud, those specific credits are returned automatically.
No. Avodate has zero subscriptions. Every credit purchase is a one-time charge and your card is never stored unless you tick the optional "save for next time" box at checkout.
What you can actually do once you've matched. Avodate keeps the toolset deliberately small - text, letters, voice, photos, gifts - so conversations feel intentional, not infinite.
Five tools: live chat (real-time text), letters (long-form, asynchronous), media messages (photo, video, voice notes), stickers for tone, and virtual gifts for milestones. Video calls roll out in Q3 2026 and will be credit-priced like chat.
Chat is for real-time exchanges - short, fast, conversational. Letters are designed for thoughtful 200-2,000 word messages and are the preferred format for international time-zone differences. Letters cost 10 credits to send and replies are always free to read.
Yes, after your profile passes verification. Photo and video shares cost 10 credits and are screenshot-blocked by default on the recipient's device. You can revoke a sent photo at any time and it disappears from both sides.
Built-in translation covers 38 languages and runs on each chat message automatically. Letters are translated by professional human translators when both members opt in - included free in letters sent during your first 30 days.
Block and report are one tap on every profile and message. Reports are reviewed within 90 minutes on average by the trust team. Confirmed violations refund any credits you spent on that profile.
Verification is the single biggest reason members switch from older platforms. Here's exactly how it works on Avodate and what protections are in place.
| Check | Required? | Time | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email confirmation | Yes | Instant | 99.7% |
| Live photo (selfie match) | Yes, before messaging | ~2 min | 98.6% |
| Government ID (age check) | Yes, 18+ confirmation | ~24 hours | 97.4% |
| Phone number | Optional | ~30 sec | 99.1% |
| Address verification (optional badge) | Optional | ~3 days | 96.0% |
Verification is a three-step process: email, live selfie match against the profile photo, and government ID for age confirmation. Messaging features stay locked until the live selfie passes. 98.6% of members pass on the first try (Trust & Safety report, 2026).
Yes. Every photo is matched to a live selfie taken at signup. Reverse-image lookups run weekly to catch lifted Instagram or stock images. Confirmed catfish profiles are removed within 24 hours and any credits spent on them are refunded.
Three layers: in-app block and report (one tap), human safety review within 90 minutes, and credit refund for any verified scam contact. Your data is never shared without your consent and you can export or delete it from Settings → Privacy at any time.
For verification specifically - yes. Tinder and Bumble use optional photo verification; Avodate makes it mandatory before messaging. For local first dates, all three depend on you following sensible online dating safety tips, listed below.
Avodate currently serves members from 47 countries, with the strongest density across East and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Top regions by active member count: Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Ukraine, Poland, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. Browse the regional directory to see counts updated daily.
Less than reputation suggests, but it requires patience. Japanese dating culture values clear intent and small, considerate gestures - Avodate's slower pace and letter format suit it well. Be ready to learn basic phrases, respect the "3 date rule," and prefer in-person meetings to long video chats.
Avodate is available worldwide except where local law restricts international dating apps. You can register and meet members from any of the 47 supported countries regardless of where you live, as long as your local regulations permit.
Yes - chat is auto-translated across 38 languages. For long letters, professional translators are free during your first 30 days, then 4 credits per letter after.
Leaving Avodate is as easy as joining. We don't hide deletion behind support tickets or trial periods.
Go to Settings → Account → Delete account, confirm your password, and select a reason (optional). Your profile is hidden immediately and permanently removed after a 14-day cooling-off window. You can cancel deletion at any time during those 14 days.
Profile, photos, messages and metadata are permanently erased after 14 days. Anonymized payment records are kept for 7 years to satisfy financial-reporting law (a hard requirement under US and EU regulation). You can request a full data export before deletion in one click.
No. Your profile simply disappears from their inbox and search - they're not notified. Sent letters remain readable on their side; chats become read-only with your name greyed out.
Credits purchased within the last 14 days are refundable on request. Older credits are forfeited on deletion - but you can pause your account instead and keep them for a future return.
Avodate processes payments through PCI-DSS Level 1 providers - the same standard banks use. We never see or store your card number directly.
Google Pay, Apple Pay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB and SEPA bank transfer in the EU. Crypto and PayPal arrive in Q4 2026.
All transactions run over TLS 1.3 with PCI-DSS Level 1 processors (Stripe, Adyen). Avodate servers never touch raw card numbers - only an encrypted token. 3D Secure is enforced for every transaction over $20.
By default the descriptor is the neutral "AVD*Online" so the charge stays discreet. You can change it to "Avodate" in Settings → Billing if you prefer.
Email [email protected] and we'll trace the transaction within 1 business day. If it's fraudulent, we'll refund and trigger card-rotation guidance with your bank.
SakuraDate is the platform members most often ask us about. Here's an honest sakura date review based on six months of side-by-side testing in late 2025 and early 2026.
"SakuraDate gets the credit model right but hides per-action prices. Avodate publishes them on the homepage. That single difference changed how I budgeted my first month." - DatingScout review panel, March 2026
| Feature | Avodate | SakuraDate |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome credits | 30 free | 20 free |
| Per-action pricing visible pre-signup | Yes, on pricing page | Partial |
| Mandatory live photo verification | Yes | Optional |
| Credit expiry on active accounts | Never | 180 days |
| Refund window | 14 days, all unused | 7 days |
| Free translation (chat) | 38 languages | 12 languages |
| Editor rating, DatingScout 2026 | 9.9 / 10 | 8.4 / 10 |
Yes. SakuraDate is a real, operating dating platform with thousands of active members and standard payment processing. Common member complaints focus on opaque per-action pricing and optional verification - both of which Avodate addresses by default.
Three reasons most often cited by switchers: (1) mandatory verification instead of optional, (2) 30 welcome credits versus 20, and (3) per-action prices published on the homepage so you can budget before signing up. If those three matter to you, Avodate is the better fit.
Not directly - privacy law prevents cross-platform data transfer. But our profile builder is short (under 5 minutes) and you can re-upload the same photos, which we re-verify in 2 minutes.
Verification handles half the risk. The other half is on you. These online dating safety tips are the same checklist our trust team gives new members on day one.
Never wire money, send gift cards, or invest in "their crypto opportunity." Romance scams cost US victims $1.14 billion in 2023 according to the FTC - the median loss was $2,000. If money enters the conversation, exit it.
A short 5-minute video call confirms the person matches their photos and voice. Profiles that refuse video while pushing for off-platform contact are the single biggest red flag in our 2026 scam data.
First in-person dates should be in a busy public venue during daytime. Share your live location with a friend and set a check-in time. Trust your gut - leaving early is always cheaper than staying.
Don't share your home address, workplace, full name or financial details until you've met in person and trust is established. Use a dedicated email for dating apps and never reuse passwords.
Excessive flattery in week one - "I've never felt this way," "you're my soulmate" - is a manipulation pattern, not romance. Healthy interest builds gradually. Slow down anyone who moves too fast.
Block, report, and on-platform messaging exist because they're traceable and refundable. Switching to WhatsApp or Telegram early kills your protections - wait until you've met or had video calls.
If you suspect a scam: stop sending money or credits immediately, screenshot the conversation, report inside Avodate (Profile → Report), and contact your bank if money has changed hands. In the US, file with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Final round - the questions support gets in DMs but rarely make it to the FAQ. Still missing something? Email the team and we\'ll add it here within a week.
There isn't one single equivalent. Pairs and Tapple dominate Japan, Goodnight and DangYeonSi in Korea, and Tantan in mainland China. Avodate is positioned differently - it's an international platform built for cross-border meeting with verification and credits, not infinite local swipes. See the how it works page for the full flow.
The Avodate web app is fully mobile-optimized and installable as a Progressive Web App from your browser's "Add to home screen" menu. Native iOS and Android apps are scheduled for Q3 2026.
Yes. During signup you can choose who you'd like to meet across men, women and non-binary members; profile pronouns are configurable and visible to matches. Verification rules are identical regardless of orientation.
Click "Forgot password" on the login page; a reset link arrives in under a minute (check spam). Links expire in 30 minutes for security. If you've also lost email access, contact support with your registered country and signup month.
Both documents are linked in the footer of every page and inside Settings → Legal. We highlight any change at least 30 days before it takes effect, and you'll always be asked to re-consent if a change is material.
Three options: in-app chat (Help → Live chat), email [email protected], or the contact form linked in the footer. Average reply time is 4 minutes during US/EU daytime, under 1 hour overnight.
Last reviewed by the Avodate trust team on April 29, 2026.