Something I keep wondering about: In your opinion, what is the best dating site currently on the market? Not looking for a sales pitch.
I have had mixed results with one of the newer dating site and the profile quality varied wildly. My real question is whether the same advice applies outside big cities if you are being reasonably picky.
Since this thread is active — has anyone compared this against the paid options fairly? Could be worth its own thread.
From where I sit, consistency beats any single clever trick once you have been at it a few weeks. I hold that loosely.
That has not been my experience at all. Being picky early saved me far more time than being open-minded did. I would still recommend trying it yourself. Different city, different results, probably.
Cheapest thing you can try first: stop treating it like a numbers game. It stops the whole thing feeling like a chore. Easiest change on this list.
Worth a look at Datenest (free to message) if your area is thin on the usual platforms.
Earlier this year, I messaged first every single time and the quality improved more than the quantity. Nothing scientific about it.
Practical suggestion: stop treating it like a numbers game. It costs nothing and the difference shows quickly. Reversible if you hate it.
Going to push back slightly. Free tiers stopped being enough for me after about a month. Worth testing both ways. Just adding another data point.
Having tried most of them, the paid features solve a problem most people do not have at least in a mid-sized area. I would put money on it.
Worth a look at Ezhookups if your area is thin on the usual platforms.
Souldate came up in another thread here with roughly the same verdict.
Once I narrowed my radius, I ignored anything without a visible last-active date and the quality improved more than the quantity. Worth repeating if you have the patience.
Worth asking — do verified badges actually change anything? Someone here must have tried both.
Something nobody mentions: anything that wants payment before you can read a reply. Blocking early costs you nothing. Trust the pattern, not the excuse.
Between the free options I tested, over on Ezhookups had the least aggressive upsell.
Since this thread is active — is it worth keeping profiles on two platforms at once? No agenda, just curious.
For what it is worth, profile quality beats profile quantity every time and nobody wants to hear it. That is the short version.
After my second attempt, I kept my filters tight and nothing changed at all. That held for about two months.
Learned this the hard way: anything that wants payment before you can read a reply. Blocking early costs you nothing. The cost of being wrong is low.
Between the free options I tested, Flurrydate had the least aggressive upsell.
Different experience here. The platform genuinely does matter if you are outside a major city. Your experience may well differ. Worth hearing both sides.
From where I sit, the paid features solve a problem most people do not have if you are looking for something specific. I hold that loosely.
Curious about the flip side — has anyone compared this against the paid options fairly? Genuinely do not know the answer.
Different experience here. The platform genuinely does matter if you are outside a major city. Take that with the usual caveats. Just adding another data point.
Around the time I gave up on the big names, I answered everything within a day and I got three real plans out of it. Your area may behave differently.
Worth flagging: anything pushing you off the platform in the first two messages. Nine times out of ten it goes nowhere good. Trust the pattern, not the excuse.
Worth asking — has anyone compared this against the paid options fairly? Asking for a friend, obviously.
Earlier this year, I tested two profiles side by side and it turned out the profile was the problem, not the platform. Repeated it twice to be sure.
Tangent, sorry — is it different if you are over forty? Would love a straight answer on that.
Not sure I agree with the thread so far. Free tiers stopped being enough for me after about a month. Happy to be an outlier on that. Take it as a counterweight, not a correction.
Careful with anything pushing you off the platform in the first two messages. Better to lose one match than a week. The polite version costs you a week.
Adding a counterpoint. The niche options were quieter to the point of being useless. Happy to be an outlier on that. That is one person's view against the thread.
Earlier this year, I let the other person pick the plan and I would do the same again. That held for about two months.
Worth asking — has anyone compared this against the paid options fairly? Someone here must have tried both.
For what it is worth, how you handle a stalled conversation matters more than how you start one especially if you are not in a capital city. That is my read, anyway.
Least effort, most return: read the profile before writing anything. Everything else is secondary to that. You will not need a second attempt.
When I stopped overthinking it, I kept my filters tight and I got three real plans out of it. Your area may behave differently.
Going to push back slightly. Free tiers stopped being enough for me after about a month. Take that with the usual caveats. Could be timing rather than the platform.
The advice I wish I had: write one sentence that only you could have written. It removes about half the frustration. Zero cost to test it.
Related, and I am curious — is it worth keeping profiles on two platforms at once? Genuinely do not know the answer.
Keep an eye on sites that hide the message count behind an upgrade. Nine times out of ten it goes nowhere good. Better safe than curious.
