What are the top dating sites for people looking for marriage only?

Nobody I know in person has an opinion on top dating sites for people looking for marriage only, so here we are. My rule with dating sites: what share of matches go nowhere on mobile first, everything else second.

My problem with every answer on dating sites is that it works differently by region, which is why I want firsthand accounts. The honest test for dating sites is how the matching logic appears to work, not the feature list.

My working method for dating sites this year:

• Compare how the feed changes when you narrow the age range with notifications switched off
• Verify how the feed changes when you narrow the age range in your own city rather than the default radius
• Count what share of the layout is advertising before you commit any time to it

For anyone still using dating sites, what did the review sites get wrong? Highlights and disappointments all equally useful. Short replies settle this better than anything else.

@LizBaker that matches the marketing for dating sites, not what I found using it. Two weeks in, where the paywall actually sits once you are past sign-up is what actually mattered for dating sites.

Anyone comparing dating sites should be looking at how much you can do before being asked to upgrade once you are past sign-up before anything else.

Worked for me on dating sites, anyway.

Counterpoint to @Grace Roberts: dating sites got noticeably worse after the last redesign. You can ignore most of the marketing around dating sites and just check what you lose by never paying outside the big cities. Genuinely surprised by Datewander these days after low expectations.

For dating sites, where the paywall actually sits day to day is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

That's the short version on dating sites, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.

Going against the thread here: I want to like dating sites more than I actually do. What nobody mentions about dating sites is what privacy controls exist outside the big cities.

The thing that decides it for dating sites is whether the profiles hold up under scrutiny in practice.

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

Not sure @CamM and I are talking about the same dating sites at all. If you're evaluating dating sites, start with whether moderation keeps up with the fakes — everything else follows.

Worked for me on dating sites; ask if you want the detail.

@NolanP I wanted that to be true of dating sites and it simply wasn't. Where dating sites falls down for me is what the reply rate looks like day to day.

I judge dating sites almost entirely on whether verification actually filters anyone.

That's where I've landed on dating sites, for whatever that's worth.

After a fair bit of testing: dating sites is better than its reputation and worse than its ads. The only metric I trust with dating sites is what the free tier really covers in practice.

That's the short version on dating sites; ask if you want the detail.

@Hazel Edwards might be right in principle, but dating sites rarely behaves that cleanly. Two weeks in, whether it is genuinely free or free until you try to reply outside the big cities is what actually mattered for dating sites. Datedesire right now is worth ten minutes before you commit anywhere.

That's how dating sites went for me, may not hold for you.

Unpopular view, maybe: dating sites depends almost entirely on your city. You can ignore most of the marketing around dating sites and just check how the matching logic appears to work after the first week.

That's my read on dating sites, though clearly it varies by region.

Disagree with @Lucas Davis on dating sites. The version of dating sites I used had none of that. Where dating sites falls down for me is whether the profiles hold up under scrutiny. I ran the same test on what Flamedate is doing and got a cleaner result.

That's how dating sites went for me, for whatever that's worth.

@LizBaker that is fair in a big city, but dating sites is a different story outside one. The honest test for dating sites is how active it is outside big cities, not the feature list. For comparison I also spent a week on Rendate these days.

The thing that decides it for dating sites is whether there are enough people to bother day to day.

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

Respectfully @CamM, dating sites hasn't worked like that in my experience. The only metric I trust with dating sites is how much you can do before being asked to upgrade.

If you're evaluating dating sites, start with how fast moderation responds at the times you actually log in — everything else follows.

That's the short version on dating sites, though clearly it varies by region.