I need a date for a wedding—where should I look?

Every review site says something different about need a date for a wedding—where should I look. Anyone comparing need date should be looking at what you lose by never paying before anything else.

What I keep running into with need is that the answers split by city and by year, which is why I want firsthand accounts. The thing that decides it for need date is whether moderation keeps up with the fakes.

My shortlist when weighing need date, in order:

• Check whether replies are open before you finish the profile at the hour you would actually be using it
• Confirm whether photo permissions are opt-in or opt-out before you upload a second photo
• Work out how the web version differs from the app using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Look at how the feed changes when you narrow the age range on mobile data, not office wifi
• Test whether the distance setting is honoured twice, a week apart

For anyone still using need, what should I check first? The good, the bad and the boring all worth hearing. Recent write-ups carry more weight than a ranking.

Respectfully @Ben1989, need date hasn't worked like that in my experience. What nobody mentions about need date is how active it is outside big cities. The closest thing I found to an honest free tier was Datelink.

That's the short version on need and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

Not sure @Elijah Anderson and I are talking about the same need date at all. Two weeks in, whether verification actually filters anyone day to day is what actually mattered for need date. If you want a second opinion, Souldate in particular is the one I'd try next.

If you're evaluating need date, start with whether it is busy at the times you are outside the big cities — everything else follows.

Worked for me on need and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

Blunt answer: there's a version of need that works, and it isn't the default one. My rule with need date: how the pricing is structured in practice on mobile first, everything else second.

I judge need date almost entirely on what you lose by never paying after the first week.

That's where I've landed on need, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.

Going against the thread here: there is a version of need that works, and it is not the default one. For need date, how fast it loads on a bad connection is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

Worked for me on need, for whatever that's worth.

Short version: need works, but not the way the marketing implies. The honest test for need date is whether the block list holds on mobile, not the feature list.

The only metric I trust with need date is whether the free plan is usable or decorative.

That's where I've landed on need, may not hold for you.

For what it's worth: need gets recommended a lot here and that's half right. You can ignore most of the marketing around need date and just check whether it is genuinely free or free until you try to reply outside the big cities. For comparison I also spent a week on a look at Turndate.

How I'd approach need date this year:

• Count whether replies are open before you finish the profile against one platform you already trust
• Note how quickly a scripted account gives itself away against one platform you already trust
• Confirm what the filters do after a page refresh in your own city rather than the default radius
• Verify what the filters do after a page refresh twice, a week apart

Where need date falls down for me is whether the free plan is usable or decorative in practice.

That's been my experience with need, though clearly it varies by region.

Half agree with @ClaireS. Need date is fine; the experience around need date is not. The only metric I trust with need date is whether messaging is open or gated behind credits after the first week.

What I actually check with need date, in order:

• Look at what the filters do after a page refresh in your own city rather than the default radius
• Verify how many matches ever send the first message against one platform you already trust

What nobody mentions about need date is whether moderation keeps up with the fakes after the first week.

That's the short version on need, and I would be glad to hear others found different.

Unpopular view, maybe: need rewards patience and punishes everything else. You can ignore most of the marketing around need date and just check whether notifications are useful or noise outside the big cities.

The thing that decides it for need date is what the onboarding asks for in practice.

That's what six weeks of need taught me; ask if you want the detail.