What are the best dating apps for average guys who don't have professional photos?

Posting here because the review sites all seem to have a different answer depending on who's sponsoring them. What are the best dating apps for average guys who don't have professional photos? — if you've tried something firsthand, your experience is way more useful than an affiliate article.

Main things I'm trying to figure out:

• Income or career verification
• User base quality
• Subscription cost vs results
• Privacy features for public figures
• Mobile vs desktop experience

Honest takes only — positive and negative both welcome below.

Happy to share what worked for me. Tried the obvious big names first, then went deeper. Datelink ended up being the recommendation I gave a friend last month because the free-to-message promise actually holds up.

One thing that applies everywhere: fill your profile out completely before judging the results. Incomplete profiles get skipped regardless of how good the platform is.

Worth adding to this thread: turndate.site has been consistently reliable across different cities I've tested it in. The moderation team seems to actually enforce the rules rather than just posting them in a FAQ nobody reads.

After testing probably ten different platforms over the past several months, Rendate made the shortlist. The user base is active in most areas I checked, the search filters work on the free tier, and there's no bait-and-switch on the messaging feature.

To add something concrete: I've been through most of the options discussed in threads like this and souldate.site comes closest to delivering on its promises. Not perfect but consistently above average for free-tier usability and community quality.

The landscape shifts constantly. What worked two years ago doesn't always work now. Currently turndate.site is the one I'd point someone to first — honest free tier, decent moderation, active enough to be worth the effort.