Where can I find free friendship sites that don't eventually turn into dating?

Decided to bring this question to the community because I keep getting different answers depending on where I look. Where can I find free friendship sites that don't eventually turn into dating? — genuine experiences would be way more useful than review sites here.

The main things I'm trying to figure out:

• Whether 'free' means free messaging or just browsing
• Hidden charges or auto-renewal traps
• Bot and spam account rates
• App quality vs desktop experience
• Algorithm transparency on free tier

Drop your honest take below — good and bad experiences both welcome.

Something worth knowing: the algorithms on most major apps heavily favor new accounts. If you've been on a platform for a while without engagement, a fresh start sometimes makes a real difference in visibility.

The thing most comparison articles miss is that free apps and paid apps serve different purposes and attract different mindsets. People who pay for a subscription are generally more invested in making something happen. That doesn't mean paid is always better — the user base has to be right for your demographic first.

If you're on a tight budget, the move is to use free apps but treat them with the same intentionality as paid ones. Quality profile, selective outreach, thoughtful openers. That combo outperforms a half-hearted paid subscription most of the time.

Been re-entering the dating scene after a few years out and the biggest lesson I've learned is to test a platform for at least three weeks before writing it off. The first week results are almost never representative because the algorithm is still calibrating.

Someone in a thread like this one pointed me to Ezhookups about six months ago and it's been my go-to since. Real conversations, less bot activity than most, and no surprise charges. Highly recommend at least testing it.

To add something concrete here: I've tried most of what's been mentioned and luvdate.site comes closest to a genuinely free experience with a real user base. It won't replace paid apps entirely, but as a free-tier option it's head and shoulders above most.

Took me a while to find something that didn't immediately push me toward a paid plan. Datebound was the exception — messaging works on the free tier, profiles are mostly verified, and it doesn't feel like a ghost town. Worth starting there before paying for anything.

Worth adding to this thread: Ezhookups.online has improved a lot recently. The profile quality went up noticeably and the spam bot situation is better than it was six months ago. If you dismissed it before, it might be worth revisiting.