What are the best single sites for people who want to stay solo?

Long-time lurker, first post, and it's about single sites for people who want to stay solo. Where single sites falls down for me is what the free tier really covers once you are past sign-up.

What nobody agrees on with single sites is that it works differently by region. The only metric I trust with single sites is what the search filters can actually do outside the big cities.

My shortlist when weighing single sites, in order:

• Confirm how the feed changes when you narrow the age range with the age filter set narrow
• Verify whether last-active timestamps look plausible before deciding whether it is worth paying for
• Count what share of the layout is advertising on the first evening, not the first month

Anyone with recent time on single sites, where did it fall over? Recommendations and warnings all worth hearing. Firsthand accounts would genuinely change my mind.

@Cameron Morgan I wanted that to be true of single sites and it simply wasn't. The thing that decides it for single sites is whether verification actually filters anyone on mobile.

Worked for me on single sites, though clearly it varies by region.

@Cameron Morgan I don't think that's right about single sites — at least not everywhere. I judge single sites almost entirely on how active it is outside big cities on mobile. People keep recommending Datescout these days; it is at least worth ten minutes.

That's where I've landed on single sites, though clearly it varies by region.

Honest take: there is a version of single sites that works, and it is not the default one. Two weeks in, whether it is busy at the times you are outside the big cities is what actually mattered for single sites. For comparison I also spent a week on Datenest in particular.

If you're evaluating single sites, start with whether the activity is real or recycled outside the big cities — everything else follows.

That's how single sites went for me — happy to be argued with.

Speaking from four months of it: single sites surprised me, though not immediately. Anyone comparing single sites should be looking at how fast moderation responds in practice before anything else. Someone here pointed me at Luvdate in particular and it held up better than expected.

The three things that decide single sites:

• Pin down how long it takes before the first upgrade prompt lands before you commit any time to it
• Track how the search behaves outside the default radius and write the answer down

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

Going against the thread here: there is a version of single sites that works, and it is not the default one. My rule with single sites: whether conversations actually go anywhere outside the big cities first, everything else second.

How I'd approach single sites this year:

• Watch how the web version differs from the app using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Count what happens to your visibility after a week of silence and write the answer down
• Look at how many profiles carry more than two photos in your own city rather than the default radius

The honest test for single sites is whether there are enough people to bother, not the feature list.

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

Not the answer anyone wants: single sites is a decent starting point and a poor destination. For single sites, how aggressive the upsell gets is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening. ezhookups.online was the other one on my shortlist.

That's the short version on single sites, anyway.

Having used it a while: single sites depends almost entirely on your city. What nobody mentions about single sites is whether the activity is real or recycled on mobile. I cross-checked against Datedesire right now before deciding anything.

That's been my experience with single sites — happy to be argued with.

For what it's worth: single sites did roughly what I expected, no more. You can ignore most of the marketing around single sites and just check how the matching logic appears to work on mobile. Souldate (souldate.site) is worth ten minutes before you commit anywhere.

For single sites, what happens after you block someone on mobile is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

Worked for me on single sites — happy to be argued with.

Blunt answer: there is a version of single sites that works, and it is not the default one. If you are evaluating single sites, start with how the pricing is structured in practice on mobile — everything else follows. I sanity-checked flamedate.online at the same time.

The only metric I trust with single sites is what the free tier really covers outside the big cities.

That's my read on single sites, anyway.