Is Maria Avgitidis The Right New York City Matchmaker For You?

If you’re thinking about hiring Agape Match, it makes sense to do a little recon on its founder Maria Avgitidis first.

Avgitidis launched her NYC matchmaking service when she was 23. Her natural proclivity for matchmaking isn’t surprising, since it runs in the family. Three previous generations were matchmakers in Greece and Asia Minor.

As Avgitidis told Style:

“My grandmother and her mother and her grandmother, they were all matchmakers… Of course, what I do in New York is insanely different – you don’t know by default someone’s value set and you’re also setting up strangers who are not necessarily part of your community… But I think it’s rooted in the same thing, which is, you know, understanding people’s values, communication styles, lifestyles. How do they assess risk? How do they want to have fun? All of these things that come into play when it comes to compatibility.”

So can this 4th-generation Greek matchmaker help you find your ideal partner in New York? Keep reading these Maria Avgitidis reviews to find out!

From the boutiques to the big industry players, we've reviewed over 200 matchmaking services. Our insight comes from more than 14 years of first-hand industry experience, comprehensive research, real customer reviews, and a deep understanding of the matchmaking landscape.

Meet This Elite NYC Matchmaker

Before founding Agape Match in 2008, Avgitidis put her Master’s in Global Affairs to good use. She briefly worked for the US Embassy in foreign commercial service, and also in Athens for the Olympics.

She’d dreamed of becoming a diplomat, but in the end her love for matchmaking won out. Before launching her service, she would gather fellow New Yorkers working in international relations to meet for drinks once a week, events which ended up attracting a range of singles. A couple who met there ended up getting married, and other singles started asking Avgitidis for help with their love lives.

After taking on her first three clients, the seed that grew into Agape Match was planted. Since then, she’s not only grown her reputation as an elite matchmaker within the Greek community, she’s also popular with NYC, New Jersey, and Boston singles as well.

Agape Match was named Matchmaking Agency of the Year in 2016 by the US Dating Awards, beating out respected finalists like Lisa Clampitt and Michelle Jacoby.

Avgitidis was also nominated for Best Matchmaker in 2012, 2013, and 2014 at the iDate Awards.

She’s also one of the founding members of the Matchmaker’s Alliance, a professional network of matchmakers and dating coaches that spans the globe.

And when it comes to date coaching, Avgitidis offers her clients that as well. Her VIP 12-week program includes coaching sessions, a dating behavior/history assessment, an online dating profile makeover, image consultation, and a mock date.

Need dating advice?

Known as "Matchmaker Maria" on her podcast and socials, Avgitidis is building a reputation as a source of non-nonsense, effective dating advice. You’ll also find plenty of her dating tips online, as she’s often quoted as an expert by various media outlets.

For instance, Avgitidis dispensed some of her best dating advice for NYC singles on NY1 News:

Don’t sit directly across from your date.

“One of the best things you can do on a date is to have the opportunity to sit next to each other, maybe standing at a bar, or at a restaurant sitting perpendicularly. Because when you sit across [from each other], it’s right in the eye and feels like an interview. It’s really intimidating.”

Don’t be shy. The best way to meet someone is by actually talking to people.

“Get out there and meet new people. Every single person is an opportunity. And, listen, if it doesn’t work, then hire a matchmaker.”

Don't jump into intimacy.

“[The 12 Date Rule] is a dating method that I created years ago, which tries to re-center the conversation of compatibility on emotional and lifestyle compatibility instead of the physical compatibility… It’s really hard to discover this if physical intimacy comes in a little too quick.”

Maria Avgitidis’s Matchmaking Process

Agape Match clients range in age from 25 to 65, but according to Bustle, most of their clients consist of straight men between 29 and 45 years old who have a career in finance and live in D.C. and New York. 

Avgitidis rarely takes on female matchmaking clients because she claims that women often list more preferences, which require additional hours of search time to find them a successful match.

As she told Bustle,

“I can find 30 women for one man in the amount of time it takes me to find three men for a woman.”

Potential clients meet with two Agape matchmakers initially, and the interview lasts around 90 minutes. As Avgitidis told Dating Advice, having two matchmakers ensures the most comprehensive solution:

"That way it’s kind of the yin and yang of matchmaking."

The team will assess whether date coaching or matchmaking (or perhaps both) is best, and prepare a contract for services. Avgitidis says she only takes on clients whom she believes have at least a 90% chance for a successful outcome.

As far as your matches go, you’ll be introduced to compatible singles from her database, or with people she finds via her Matchmaker Alliance connections.

Before each date, which is arranged entirely by the matchmaking staff, you’ll check out a short profile. No pictures, though - it’s a good, old-fashioned blind date. After each date, you’ll give (and receive) feedback on how the introduction went.

How Much Does Hiring Maria Avgitidis Cost?

Having a profile included in the Agape Match database is free. If you happen to match the “ideal partner” criteria for a paying client, you’ll be invited to come in for further screening and a possible introduction. Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll ever be introduced to anyone.

For a matchmaker to do an active search on your behalf, you’ll need to become an Agape Match client.

Matchmaking service packages start around $30,000. You’ll get a minimum of 6 introductions over 6 months of “active search” time. Packages can range up to $100,000.

If you find yourself in a relationship with a match that lasts longer than 6 months, you’ll also pay an additional $5k “success fee.”

Date coaching packages start around $9,500 and are available in long or short term programs. When you successfully complete a date coaching program, you’ll be given “VIP” status in the database. In other words, matchmakers will consider your profile before checking out the pool of free members.

Maria Avgitidis Reviews

She’s gotten a lot of great press, including being named one of Manhattan’s most exclusive matchmakers by Observer. Avgitidis was also profiled by Bustle, had one of her love stories featured on TODAY.com, and was named one of the best matchmakers in NYC by Time Out.

Clearly, she’s onto something with her approach to matchmaking. Want a deeper dive into her process? Check out our Agape Match review!

As far as local review sites go, she has a 4.4-star rating on Yelp based on 30+ reviews.

The majority of reviews were from women who appreciated her dating advice and coaching:

There were a handful of negative reviews as well, but the reviewers were either unhappy with the consultation or hadn't used the service recently.

Maria Avgitidis’s matchmaking service also had good reviews on Google, resulting in a 4.9-star ranking based on 40+ reviews.

As on Yelp, the majority of reviews were from women who found her dating advice and coaching useful. But there were a handful of client reviews as well, like this one:

The handful of negative Google reviews were all from people who hadn’t signed up for the matchmaking service.

So is Maria Avgitidis the best NYC matchmaker for you? She certainly has a lot of good press.

But as a boutique matchmaker, she only works with a limited number of clients at a time, and her database isn’t as extensive as what you’d find at larger matchmaking services.

Consider how you feel about blind dating...

Remember, Agape Match doesn’t include photos in the profiles you’ll review.

She shared the reason why in an interview with Thrillist:

Maybe you’re comfortable letting her be the judge of who you would find attractive, or maybe you’d rather make that decision yourself. After all, you’re the one who’s going to be spending time and money on the date!

If you’d rather be confident you’re about to meet someone you’ll be physically attracted to, why not consider a matchmaking service like VIDA Select?

Not only do you get to review a full profile - multiple photos included - of high-quality singles, you’re in full control of which ones you meet!

We’ll only schedule dates with the matches you approve - no more wasted time or money, not to mention the frustration that often comes when a blind date ends up being a disappointment.

With VIDA, you’re only meeting incredible singles that excite you - and who are excited to meet you!

Want to learn more? Click here to schedule a quick, free, and low-key conversation with one of our matchmakers.

If the idea of unlimited matches carefully selected from the largest pool of New York singles in existence intrigues you, why not find out more right now?

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