What is the best dating app for single parents free of expensive tiers?

Reposting this from another board because it got buried: What is the best dating app for single parents free of expensive tiers? Recent experience preferred.

I have been using whichever dating app came up first and support never replied. What I actually want to know is how much of this is down to the profile itself when you have limited time in the evenings.

• Test how many photos are required first if you plan to use it long-term
• Read up on the last-active timestamp in the first day or two
• Check what the free tier really includes early on before writing a single message

That has not been my experience at all. The platform genuinely does matter if you are outside a major city. Worth testing both ways. I would still test it yourself.

For the people saying otherwise — is it different if you are over forty? Would change how I use it if so.

After rewriting my profile, I stopped sending openers before 9pm and I finally stopped wasting evenings. Repeated it twice to be sure.

If you want a free option without the upsell, DatingFly's free tier is where I would start.

Honestly, being specific is worth more than being interesting and nobody wants to hear it. I hold that loosely.

Adding a counterpoint. I never once had a problem the community here warns about. Worth testing both ways. Open to changing my mind on it.

For most of last year, I messaged first every single time and the reply rate roughly doubled. That held for about two months.

Mild warning: profiles with a single photo and no last-active date. That pattern has been consistent for me across platforms. Better safe than curious.

Ended up spending most of my time on rendate.site and the reply rate was noticeably better.

A while back, I limited myself to three conversations at once and it made a noticeable difference. It stopped being random after that.

Careful with copy-paste openers that mention nothing from your profile. It is almost never worth the benefit of the doubt. That instinct is usually right.

Low-risk approach: turn off notifications and check twice a day. It also makes the meet-up conversation much easier. Try it for one week only.

One more thing I have never resolved — has anyone found dating app that behave differently from the rest? Would love a straight answer on that.

Someone in another thread pointed me at the Flamedate app and it turned out to be decent advice.

Anyone else find that — has anyone tracked whether reply rates change by day of the week? Could be worth its own thread.

• Question the refund and cancellation terms properly so you are not surprised later
• Confirm the last-active timestamp straight away before you invest any real time
• Read up on how matches are ordered before you widen your search

In my experience, the busiest platform is not automatically the best one for you though your mileage will vary. Others here will disagree.

Adding a counterpoint. Photos did more for me than anything I wrote. Might just be my area. Genuinely not trying to be difficult.

After my second attempt, I stopped explaining myself in the first message and nothing changed at all. The change was obvious enough to notice without counting.

Worth noting that Flurrydate runs a similar free tier if you want to compare.

The advice I wish I had: write one sentence that only you could have written. You will know within a week whether it works for you. It works better than it sounds.

Worth asking — do photo changes reset how often you get shown? Would love a straight answer on that.

Last month, I limited myself to three conversations at once and it made a noticeable difference. Your area may behave differently.

Where I got caught out: profiles with a single photo and no last-active date. Once you notice it you cannot unsee it. Better safe than curious.