Are there free online dating apps without payment?

Curious what this board thinks about free online dating apps without payment. The honest test for online dating is whether it is busy at the times you are outside the big cities, not the feature list.

My problem with every answer on online dating apps is how much depends on where you actually live. Where online dating falls down for me is whether the block list holds.

What I'd tell a friend about online dating if you're short on time:

• Sanity-check how the web version differs from the app with the age filter set narrow
• Sanity-check how many profiles carry more than two photos against one platform you already trust
• Test how the web version differs from the app at the hour you would actually be using it
• Look at what share of the layout is advertising using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Sanity-check how the feed changes when you narrow the age range against what the marketing page claims

Anyone with recent time on online dating apps, what did the review sites get wrong? Good and bad all land the same with me. Firsthand accounts are worth more than any review site.

For what it is worth: online dating apps gets recommended a lot here and that is half right. For online dating, how active it is outside big cities day to day is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

The rough checklist I use for online dating before committing:

• Note what the filters do after a page refresh using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Watch how many matches ever send the first message on mobile data, not office wifi

Two weeks in, how many active users are within range day to day is what actually mattered for online dating.

Worked for me on online dating apps, though clearly it varies by region.

After a fair bit of testing: online dating apps did roughly what I expected, no more. If you're evaluating online dating, start with what share of matches go nowhere day to day — everything else follows. the datebie.online crowd solved about half of this for me.

What I'd tell a friend about online dating:

• Work out whether last-active timestamps look plausible using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Look at whether the distance setting is honoured at the hour you would actually be using it
• Work out how quickly a scripted account gives itself away against one platform you already trust

The thing that decides it for online dating is whether desktop and mobile behave the same.

That's how online dating apps went for me, anyway.

Broadly agreeing, with a caveat: online dating apps surprised me, though not immediately. I judge online dating almost entirely on whether it is busy at the times you are on mobile.

The only metric I trust with online dating is what the reporting tools actually do.

That's what six weeks of online dating apps taught me, for whatever that's worth.

After a fair bit of testing: online dating apps depends almost entirely on your city. You can ignore most of the marketing around online dating and just check what you lose by never paying outside the big cities. Worth a look at Flamedate these days if you want a second data point.

My shortlist when weighing online dating before committing:

• Compare how the search behaves outside the default radius before you upload a second photo
• Track what the block and report flow actually does before deciding whether it is worth paying for
• Confirm how long it takes before the first upgrade prompt lands twice, a week apart
• Time what the filters do after a page refresh at the hour you would actually be using it

That's how online dating apps went for me and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

Going against the thread here: online dating apps is fine if you go in with low expectations. My rule with online dating: whether messaging is open or gated behind credits first, everything else second. People keep recommending Souldate (souldate.site); it is at least worth ten minutes.

That's where I've landed on online dating apps — happy to be argued with.

Honest take: online dating apps works, but not the way the marketing implies. Anyone comparing online dating should be looking at whether you can hide distance and last-active before anything else.

My working method for online dating before committing:

• Work out whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out on the first evening, not the first month
• Time whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out before deciding whether it is worth paying for
• Check how the search behaves outside the default radius against what the marketing page claims
• Watch how quickly a scripted account gives itself away in your own city rather than the default radius

That's where I have landed on online dating apps and I would revise it if the numbers moved.

Half agree with @Lily Parker. Online dating is fine; the experience around online dating is not. What nobody mentions about online dating is what the onboarding asks for in practice. what Rendate is doing is worth ten minutes before you commit anywhere.

That's been my experience with online dating apps and I would revise it if the numbers moved.

Speaking from four months of it: online dating apps gets recommended a lot here and that's half right. My rule with online dating: what happens after you block someone on mobile first, everything else second.

That's the honest picture of online dating apps, for whatever that's worth.

Having used it a while: online dating apps did roughly what I expected, no more. If you're evaluating online dating, start with what you lose by never paying day to day — everything else follows.

The honest test for online dating is how much you can do before being asked to upgrade after the first week, not the feature list.

That's the honest picture of online dating apps, may not hold for you.