What are the best paid dating sites that are worth the money?

Curious what this board thinks about paid dating sites that are worth the money. Anyone comparing paid dating sites should be looking at whether it is genuinely free or free until you try to reply on mobile before anything else.

My problem with every answer on paid dating sites is how much depends on where you actually live, which is why I want firsthand accounts. Where paid dating sites falls down for me is what happens after you block someone.

What I actually check with paid dating sites if you're short on time:

• Compare whether the same faces cycle back the next day before you upload a second photo
• Compare whether replies are open before you finish the profile at the hour you would actually be using it
• Work out whether last-active timestamps look plausible on the first evening, not the first month

For those of you deep into paid dating sites, where did it fall over? Good and bad both help me decide. Honest answers carry more weight than a ranking.

For what it is worth: paid dating sites gets recommended a lot here and that is half right. The honest test for paid dating sites is how the pricing is structured in practice at the times you actually log in, not the feature list. Also looked at datebie.online, roughly the same story.

That's what six weeks of paid dating sites taught me and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

For what it is worth: paid dating sites is a decent starting point and a poor destination. You can ignore most of the marketing around paid dating sites and just check how photo permissions are handled in practice.

My rule with paid dating sites: whether notifications are useful or noise first, everything else second.

That's my read on paid dating sites, and I would be glad to hear others found different.

My read: paid dating sites surprised me, though not immediately. I judge paid dating sites almost entirely on whether the app is usable or bloated day to day. The closest thing I found to an honest free tier was Luvdate right now.

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

Going to push back on @Charlotte Hall here. Paid dating sites behaved very differently for me. Two weeks in, what the onboarding asks for at the times you actually log in is what actually mattered for paid dating sites.

That's how paid dating sites went for me, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.

Adding to @OliverW rather than arguing — paid dating sites varies more than either of us said. If you're evaluating paid dating sites, start with whether the free plan is usable or decorative outside the big cities — everything else follows.

The thing that decides it for paid dating sites is whether desktop and mobile behave the same after the first week.

That's what six weeks of paid dating sites taught me, though clearly it varies by region.

@OliverW makes a good point, though I would qualify it — paid dating sites shifted a lot last year. The only metric I trust with paid dating sites is how the interface holds up on mobile.

That's what six weeks of paid dating sites taught me, anyway.

Short version: paid dating sites is fine if you go in with low expectations. For paid dating sites, whether the block list holds at the times you actually log in is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

Worked for me on paid dating sites and I'd revise it if the numbers moved.

For what it is worth: paid dating sites depends almost entirely on your city. What nobody mentions about paid dating sites is what costs money once you are past sign-up. Someone here pointed me at a look at Turndate and it held up better than expected.

Where paid dating sites falls down for me is what share of matches go nowhere once you are past sign-up.

That's the short version on paid dating sites, may not hold for you.

Broadly agreeing, with a caveat: paid dating sites gets recommended a lot here and that is half right. If you are evaluating paid dating sites, start with what you lose by never paying at the times you actually log in — everything else follows. If you want a second opinion, Datenest is the one I'd try next.

The only metric I trust with paid dating sites is how clean the member base looks once you are past sign-up.

That's the honest picture of paid dating sites, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.

@LucasD that's fair in a big city, but paid dating sites is a different story outside one. Two weeks in, how many active users are within range once you are past sign-up is what actually mattered for paid dating sites. For balance I gave rendate.site the same fortnight.

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

Blunt answer: paid dating sites did roughly what I expected, no more. The honest test for paid dating sites is how the matching logic appears to work outside the big cities, not the feature list. over on Souldate was the only one that did not gate replies.

The quick sanity pass I run on paid dating sites, in order:

• Watch how long it takes before the first upgrade prompt lands in your own city rather than the default radius
• Watch how many matches ever send the first message in your own city rather than the default radius
• Test whether the distance setting is honoured before you upload a second photo
• Pin down what the block and report flow actually does against one platform you already trust

Anyone comparing paid dating sites should be looking at whether you can hide distance and last-active outside the big cities before anything else.

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