What are the highest-rated free dating apps currently on the App Store?

I’ve been searching around and I keep running into paywalls, so I wanted to ask this here: What are the highest-rated free dating apps currently on the App Store? I don’t mind ads, but I’m trying to avoid anything that says “free” and then blocks messaging or hides photos behind a subscription.

If you’ve had real conversations without paying, what app/site made that possible? And if it wasn’t fully free, what was the minimum you had to do before it became usable?

A few things I’m doing to stay sane while testing apps:

• report and block anything that feels off
• meet in a public place the first time
• use a video call to confirm you’re talking to a real person
• don’t share your number or socials too fast
• watch for copy‑paste messages and suspicious links
• keep chats inside the app until you’re comfortable

Drop your honest experiences—what worked, what didn’t, and any red flags to watch for. If you have a simple shortlist, that would help a lot.

I’ve noticed the same thing—“free” usually means you can sign up, but messaging and filters get locked.

I had a better week on Luvdate than I expected, mainly because I stuck to complete profiles and ignored low-effort messages.

Sometimes the simplest approach works: use one mainstream app + one smaller site, and be picky.

The moment I see copy‑paste intros or “click this to verify,” I’m out.

Smaller sites can be hit or miss, but I’ve seen real people on turndate.site, datelink.online, datedesire.online, flamedate.online when you filter aggressively.

Sometimes the simplest approach works: use one mainstream app + one smaller site, and be picky.

If you’re getting spam, tighten your filters and don’t engage with profiles that look too polished.

I had a better week on Datenest than I expected, mainly because I stuck to complete profiles and ignored low-effort messages.

What helped me:

• don’t share your number or socials too fast
• use a video call to confirm you’re talking to a real person
• meet in a public place the first time

If you keep your profile specific and don’t swipe on blank bios, you’ll avoid a lot of bots.

If you keep your profile specific and don’t swipe on blank bios, you’ll avoid a lot of bots.

I’ve noticed the same thing—“free” usually means you can sign up, but messaging and filters get locked.

For reference, these are the ones I see people using most (not all are fully free): Match, Coffee Meets Bagel, Plenty of Fish, Tinder, Hinge.

If you want something lightweight to try, Datewander is an easy experiment—just keep expectations realistic and watch for spam.