Ourtime Alternative: Free Over-50s Dating on 4Match

Ourtime alternative: what actually changes when you switch?

Looking for an Ourtime alternative? Ourtime is a dating site open only to people over 50, with its own local activities, moderated profiles and paid memberships. 4Match works the other way round: one platform for different audiences, where you set the age range yourself, matching runs in both directions and messaging costs nothing.

Ourtime builds everything around a single life stage. Search starts at 50, the profiles, recommendations and activities are aimed at that group, and the site is part of the meetic network, which also lets you show your profile to over-50s on other services running on the same platform.

4Match does not fence 50+ dating off into a separate site. Different age groups and audiences sit side by side, and the filters decide who you actually see. Want men between 58 and 66 within half an hour of where you live, who share one or two of your interests? That is a search setting, not a different website. Two-way matching then checks whether you fit each other's preferences, not just whether the other person fits yours.

What Ourtime does well for over-50s daters

Before comparing alternatives, it is worth being clear about where Ourtime is strong. Several of its features follow directly from the decision to serve one age group only.

One audience, no age guessing

On Ourtime you know roughly who you are among before you start. Registration is for over-50s, the minimum search age is 50, and the tone of the site follows from that. If you never want to date outside that group, the restriction does the filtering for you.

On 4Match that same restriction is yours to set. You can search for 50-plus, 60-plus or senior singles, but you can also widen or narrow the band whenever your view of it changes.

Ourtime runs its own activities

Ourtime organises local activities where members meet in person, which takes some of the pressure off the one-to-one first date. Meeting half a dozen people over an afternoon is a different experience from meeting one stranger for coffee.

4Match has no centrally run events programme of that kind. Instead, members post their own activities and other members respond — a gallery visit, a walk, a market, an evening at a local gig. The initiative sits with the members rather than with the platform.

Moderation, support and extended visibility

Every profile picture and profile description on Ourtime is moderated, profiles can be reported and blocked, and a Customer Care team handles questions. Members can also opt in to having their profile shown on other local services run on the same platform under different brand names, which widens the pool of people who can find them.

4Match checks profiles manually and uses filters to flag suspicious communication, for example when someone pushes quickly to move the conversation to an outside channel. Neither approach removes the risks of online dating.

Ourtime vs 4Match: the differences that matter

Comparing the two is less about feature counts than about where control sits. Ourtime packages a 50+ community with organised extras behind paid memberships. 4Match hands the controls to the member and charges nothing for contact.

Element	Ourtime	4Match
Positioning	Dating site exclusively for singles over 50	Broad platform; you select 50+, 60+ or senior singles with filters
Activities	Local activities organised by Ourtime itself	Activities posted by members, open to responses from others
Cost	Paid memberships with automatic renewal	Free; no subscription needed for the dating features
Messaging	Depends on your membership and who you are writing to	Free messaging through the chat
Search	Gender, age range from 50, location and interests	Self-chosen age range, location, personal characteristics and interests
Suggestions	A daily personalised selection by email and push notification	Two-way matching: both sets of preferences have to line up
Profile checks	Every photo and description moderated; report and block tools	Manual profile checks plus filters that flag suspicious communication

A free Ourtime alternative: what you can do without paying

People searching for a free Ourtime alternative are usually comparing two business models rather than two interfaces. Ourtime lets you register, build a profile and look around at no cost, and its own FAQ answers the question of whether the site is really free — unlimited contact and several extras sit behind a paid membership, and those memberships renew automatically unless you switch that off.

4Match has no such step. Creating a profile, searching and sending messages are free, and there is no plan to choose before you can reply to someone who writes to you. That is why "free" fits better here than "cheaper": the dating features are not a paid tier.

Would you rather treat 50+ as a search setting than as the door you have to walk through?

On 4Match you decide the age band, the region and the characteristics you search on, then message the people whose preferences match yours in both directions — without a subscription.

What does Ourtime cost?

Ourtime does not publish a price list on its public pages, so the honest answer to the Ourtime cost question is: it depends. The amount follows from the membership you pick, how long it runs and where you buy it — on the website, through the App Store or through Google Play. In-app purchases are charged by Apple or Google, which also affects how you later manage the subscription.

Checked in October 2026. Ourtime can change prices, offers and membership types at any time, so always check the current offer on the site before you subscribe rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere.

Because 4Match asks for no subscription at all, there is no equivalent calculation to make: you do not have to work out which plan you need before you can talk to someone.

Two-way matching: both sides of the preference

Searching by yourself has an obvious blind spot. A profile can tick every box on your list while you fall outside the other person's age range or region entirely, and you only find that out after writing.

4Match checks the preferences in both directions:

Does person B fit what person A is looking for?
Does person A, at the same time, fit what person B is looking for?

It does not replace browsing. You can still work through profiles and adjust filters whenever you like. The matching simply trims a long list of theoretically possible profiles down to the ones where interest is plausible on both sides.

Over-50s dating without a separate 50+ site

A dating site for over 50s does not have to be closed to everyone else. That distinction matters most when age is important to you but is not the only thing that is.

On 4Match you can search on:

a minimum and maximum age you set yourself;
gender and location;
personal characteristics;
interests and preferences;
other traits that matter for your search.

4Match also runs separate landing pages for different audiences, which brings in singles from various age groups, regions, backgrounds and lifestyles. Inside the platform you then narrow things down yourself. On Ourtime the selection starts with the concept of the community; on 4Match it starts with your search settings.

Ourtime reviews: what comes up repeatedly

Anyone reading Ourtime reviews will find ratings that differ sharply from one review platform to the next, which is reason enough not to lean on a single overall score. Recurring themes in critical reviews include confusion around ending a membership and automatic renewal, recommendations that feel too far away, and the cost of paid extras. Other members rate the site and the app positively. Reviews are personal experiences, not evidence that every user will run into the same thing.

Cancelling an Ourtime subscription

According to Ourtime's own UK help pages, you stop automatic renewal under your account settings, through Manage Subscription. The cancellation window has limits at both ends: not immediately after purchase, and no later than shortly before the renewal date. A membership bought through the App Store or Google Play has to be managed in that store instead.

If what you really want is not to have a subscription to manage, the comparison is short: 4Match does not use one.

Which approach suits you?

An alternative to Ourtime makes sense when you want to reach the same age group without being tied to the same way of dating.

Ourtime is the stronger fit if you value a site built entirely around life after 50, with organised activities, moderated profiles, a support team and apps for iPhone and Android.

4Match leans on self-service. You decide the age range, the region and the characteristics; messaging needs no subscription; matching looks at both sides. The social side works differently too: members post on the Timeline, respond and like, and whoever posts decides who can see it. Activities come from members rather than from a programme. Profile visitors follow a mutual rule — switch the feature off and you no longer see who visited you, and you no longer show up as a visitor elsewhere either.

So the choice is not really about age.

It is about whether you want a guided 50+ environment with memberships and organised extras, or a broader platform where you filter, match and make contact for free.

Ourtime alternative FAQs

Is Ourtime free?

You can try Ourtime for free by registering, creating a profile and looking at other profiles. Unlimited contact and several extra features sit behind a paid membership, and Ourtime's own FAQ covers the question. On 4Match, creating a profile, searching and sending messages are free.

How much does Ourtime cost?

Ourtime does not show a fixed price on its public pages. What you pay depends on the membership, its length and whether you buy through the site, the App Store or Google Play, and offers change. Check the current price before subscribing. 4Match works without a subscription.

Who is Ourtime for?

Ourtime is for singles over 50 and builds its profiles, recommendations and activities around that group; searches start at 50. 4Match is not a 50+ site, but its age filters let you search specifically for over-50s, over-60s or senior singles.

Does Ourtime organise events?

Yes. Ourtime runs its own local activities where members meet in person, which is one of its clearest strengths. On 4Match, activities are posted by members themselves rather than organised centrally by the platform.

How do I cancel my Ourtime membership?

Ourtime's UK help pages point you to your account settings and Manage Subscription to stop automatic renewal, within the cancellation window it sets. Memberships bought through Apple or Google are managed in those stores. 4Match needs no subscription, so there is nothing to cancel.

Is there a free alternative to Ourtime?

4Match is free for the dating features: profile, search and messaging. The trade-off is that it is not a dedicated 50+ community with organised activities, so you use filters to define your own age group instead.

Can I use 4Match if I only want to meet people over 50?

Yes. Set your minimum and maximum age, add location and the characteristics that matter to you, and you will only see profiles inside that range. Two-way matching then checks whether you fall inside the other person's preferences as well.

The short version

An Ourtime alternative is worth comparing on more than audience. Ourtime offers a clearly defined over-50s community with its own activities, moderated profiles, mobile apps and paid memberships — attractive if you want an environment built entirely around this stage of life.

4Match approaches 50+ dating from the other end. Everyone shares one platform, and age, location, interests and characteristics are what you use to carve out your own group inside it. Messaging is free, matching runs in two directions, and profile visitors follow a mutual privacy rule.

Ourtime versus 4Match therefore comes down to two ways of dating online: a guided 50+ community with organised extras, or a broader platform where you decide who you want to find and make contact without a subscription.