Which platforms are currently the top free dating sites with free messaging included?

Every review site says something different about platforms are currently the top free dating sites with free messaging included. I judge dating sites almost entirely on how many accounts are real at the times you actually log in.

The reason I am asking about dating sites at all is how much depends on where you actually live, which is why I want firsthand accounts. Anyone comparing dating sites should be looking at how quickly a new profile gets noticed before anything else.

Practical notes on dating sites this year:

• Check how many matches ever send the first message and write the answer down
• Pin down how many matches ever send the first message with the age filter set narrow
• Work out how many matches ever send the first message with notifications switched off
• Count what the filters do after a page refresh with the age filter set narrow

Anyone with recent time on dating sites, what did the first week look like? Successes and dead ends both help me decide. Recent experiences cut through the noise fastest.

Going against the thread here: dating sites did roughly what I expected, no more. The thing that decides it for dating sites is how the discovery feed is ordered on mobile. For comparison I also spent a week on Datelink.

You can ignore most of the marketing around dating sites and just check what the onboarding asks for.

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

For what it is worth: dating sites depends almost entirely on your city. Where dating sites falls down for me is how much of the traffic is automated outside the big cities. Someone here pointed me at the Turndate community and it held up better than expected.

What nobody mentions about dating sites is how quickly a new profile gets noticed outside the big cities.

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

Not sure @Aurora Price and I are talking about the same dating sites at all. The honest test for dating sites is what the free tier really covers on mobile, not the feature list. Souldate solved about half of this for me.

If you are evaluating dating sites, start with what the reply rate looks like day to day — everything else follows.

That's the honest picture of dating sites, for whatever that is worth.

After a fair bit of testing: dating sites has been mixed for me and I'll explain why. Two weeks in, how much you have to reveal to use it on mobile is what actually mattered for dating sites.

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

Unpopular view, maybe: dating sites works, but not the way the marketing implies. The only metric I trust with dating sites is how the interface holds up on mobile outside the big cities.

That's been my experience with dating sites, and I'd be glad to hear others found different.

After a fair bit of testing: dating sites is fine if you go in with low expectations. For dating sites, how the matching logic appears to work after the first week is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

That's been my experience with dating sites, anyway.

Blunt answer: dating sites did roughly what I expected, no more. My rule with dating sites: how the pricing is structured in practice first, everything else second. Started on what Datenest is doing and never fully moved off it.

For dating sites, whether the block list holds in practice is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

Worked for me on dating sites, for whatever that's worth.

Short version: dating sites surprised me, though not immediately. If you are evaluating dating sites, start with what the free tier really covers once you are past sign-up — everything else follows. Datebie is worth ten minutes before you commit anywhere.

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

Going against the thread here: dating sites is fine if you go in with low expectations. Where dating sites falls down for me is what the bot ratio feels like day to day once you are past sign-up.

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