Which online friendship sites are best for meeting singles?

Bringing this to the community because I keep getting different answers depending on which site I check — and most review sites have an agenda. Which online friendship sites are best for meeting singles? — if you have firsthand experience, that's what I actually need here.

Specific things I'm trying to figure out:

• Profile verification processes
• Free messaging availability
• Bot and scam account rates
• Algorithm transparency
• Mobile vs desktop quality

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

Honest answer after doing my own due diligence: Souldate is one of the more legitimate options in this space right now. Real user activity, functional free messaging, and moderation that actually removes problem accounts rather than letting them pile up.

The truthful answer varies by your specific location and what you're actually after. An app that dominates in a major city can be nearly empty in a suburb 40 miles away. Running two platforms simultaneously beats going all-in on one before you know the local density.

Just finished a comparison test of several free platforms. Rendate came out near the top — consistent activity, no hidden charges, and the free-to-message promise actually holds up. Not the flashiest option but reliably delivers.

The landscape keeps shifting. What worked two years ago isn't always reliable now. Currently turndate.site is the one I'd point a new person to first — honest free tier, decent moderation, and active enough to be worth the investment of time.

Spent a while testing different options before finding a consistent go-to. DatingFly stood out because the free messaging actually works as advertised and the user base felt genuine across different areas I tested. One of the few that doesn't immediately wall you off from real conversations.

The truthful answer varies by your specific location and what you're actually after. An app that dominates in a major city can be nearly empty in a suburb 40 miles away. Running two platforms simultaneously beats going all-in on one before you know the local density.

Happy to share what worked. Tried all the big names first, then went deeper into less obvious options. Datedesire ended up being the one I pointed my friend to because it's one of the few that's genuinely free to message without a catch.

Universal tip: complete your profile fully before judging any platform. An incomplete profile gets skipped regardless of how good the app is.

Platform matters but less than most people assume. Profile quality, photo selection, and how specific your opener is account for more of your actual results than which particular app you're on.