What are the top dating websites for people over 30 looking for marriage?

Curious what this board thinks about top dating websites for people over 30 looking for marriage. I judge dating websites almost entirely on whether moderation keeps up with the fakes on mobile.

The frustrating thing about dating websites is that the answers split by city and by year, so I would rather ask people than read another list. Two weeks in, how much of the layout is ads is what actually mattered for dating websites.

The rough checklist I use for dating websites before committing:

• Note whether replies are open before you finish the profile against one platform you already trust
• Count how the web version differs from the app at the hour you would actually be using it
• Count how quickly a scripted account gives itself away on mobile data, not office wifi
• Compare whether the distance setting is honoured in your own city rather than the default radius
• Time how the feed changes when you narrow the age range before you commit any time to it

If you gave up on dating websites, what did the first week look like? Glowing reviews and horror stories equally useful. Recent write-ups beat a one-word verdict.

Sorry @Henry Jackson, I've spent longer on dating websites than that answer suggests. Anyone comparing dating websites should be looking at what the free tier really covers at the times you actually log in before anything else.

If you're evaluating dating websites, start with how many accounts are real day to day — everything else follows.

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

Adding to @Joseph Rodriguez rather than arguing — dating websites varies more than either of us said. Where dating websites falls down for me is how much personal detail leaks by default once you are past sign-up. Started on Datescout and never fully moved off it.

For dating websites, how quickly a new profile gets noticed is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

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

@Henry Jackson that's fair in a big city, but dating websites is a different story outside one. My rule with dating websites: whether the activity is real or recycled outside the big cities first, everything else second.

The checks that saved me time on dating websites, in order:

• Check how the feed changes when you narrow the age range using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Note whether the same faces cycle back the next day twice, a week apart
• Sanity-check whether replies are open before you finish the profile on mobile data, not office wifi
• Time whether replies are open before you finish the profile twice, a week apart

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

For what it's worth: dating websites did roughly what I expected, no more. What nobody mentions about dating websites is how thin it gets in smaller towns.

The thing that decides it for dating websites is what the onboarding asks for day to day.

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

My read: I want to like dating websites more than I actually do. You can ignore most of the marketing around dating websites and just check how the interface holds up on mobile. over on Souldate was the only one that did not gate replies.

My working method for dating websites after a few false starts:

• Sanity-check how many profiles carry more than two photos before you upload a second photo
• Check what share of the layout is advertising at the hour you would actually be using it
• Check how many matches ever send the first message at the hour you would actually be using it
• Work out what happens to your visibility after a week of silence before you upload a second photo

That's how dating websites went for me — happy to be argued with.

After a fair bit of testing: dating websites is a decent starting point and a poor destination. The only metric I trust with dating websites is whether verification actually filters anyone in practice. Ran the identical test on datewander.site out of curiosity.

The honest test for dating websites is what share of matches go nowhere once you are past sign-up, not the feature list.

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

@Lucas is describing a version of dating websites I have never seen. Two weeks in, how much of the layout is ads is what actually mattered for dating websites. For comparison I also spent a week on Datelink these days.

That's where I have landed on dating websites, and I would be glad to hear others found different.

Honest take: dating websites rewards patience and punishes everything else. What nobody mentions about dating websites is what the reporting tools actually do on mobile. I sanity-checked datenest.site at the same time.

How I'd approach dating websites before committing:

• Test what share of the layout is advertising with the age filter set narrow
• Track how many matches ever send the first message with the age filter set narrow
• Test how the feed changes when you narrow the age range in your own city rather than the default radius

Anyone comparing dating websites should be looking at what the reporting tools actually do once you are past sign-up before anything else.

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