If you are too embarrassed to use online dating sites, RentAFriend.com is here to make you feel ashamed no more. Capitalizing on the free and easily attainable notion of friendship, the site garners about 100,000 hits a month since its launch six months ago. Profiles are generated depending on your location, and any “friend” you choose to hire is paid on an hourly basis, ranging anywhere from $10 to $150.

Though the hourly payment system is strikingly similar to certain other professions, RentAFriend.com insists that all relationships are strictly platonic, and “NOT a dating website, and NOT an Escort agency.” Individuals found through the site are meant to solely provide company and good conversation while you go shopping, attend parties, or grab dinner.

By typing in your ZIP code, one can find a list of all available friends in the area. For now, it appears to be open to North American residents only. Just like any other matchmaking website, you must sign up and pay the membership fee to contact and book friends. More than just companionship, some can teach you a new language, dispense advice, or even introduce you to more potential friends (who may or may not be on the payroll) after a negotiation in hourly rate. When all is said and done, a friend could get quite costly. If you're that socially awkward that you can't make friends without help, consider getting a cat instead.