Is there a dating app without payment that is actually popular?

Started by MorganP · ·5 replies ·Free Dating & Apps

#compare #free #general

MorganP
Joined Apr 2017
2,015 posts
#1

the last couple of months in, because a friend talked me into it, and most of what I had read didn't hold up.

What wore me down was that the distance filter exists mainly to push you toward an upgrade.

In practice, whether an account has been verified explains more of how many replies you get in a week than how many matches you accumulate ever did, which might just be anyone starting out for people in the middle of the pack.

The parts of this a dating app without payment that is actually popular? — free dating & problem I cannot resolve on my own:

  • Does that hold outside the big cities across zero-cost platforms?
  • Is that still true for anyone starting out?
  • Does that hold outside the big cities when filtering the noise is the main worry?
  • Has anyone got numbers rather than impressions if you are dealing with filtering the noise?
  • Has that changed since the last update for anyone starting out?

Interested in what is actually working on a dating app right now.

Liam Jones
Joined Oct 2025
1,766 posts
#2

On balance, the size of the pool within ten miles does more for the odds of a second date than the number of prompts you filled in for people in the middle of the pack.

On that point, EZHookups if you're building a shortlist.

Curious what others found where filtering the noise is concerned.

Has anyone tested this recently across zero-cost platforms?

DakotaN
Joined Jul 2018
1,680 posts
#3

More often than not, on zero-cost platforms, how quickly you reply counts for more than the boost you paid for, although the platforms change constantly.

DominicA
Joined Sep 2020
1,775 posts
#4

I read it the other way. @Liam Jones, the profile-quality point produced nothing on my end.

The pattern I keep seeing is that how recently a profile was active is a better predictor of how many replies you get in a week than the price of the subscription for people in the middle of the pack.

Adding Datenest to the pile — no paywall on the basics.

Olivia Hayes
Joined Oct 2019
1,607 posts
#5

Can confirm — @MorganP, the timing observation is the one I'd emphasise.

In practice, for anyone starting out, how specific you're about what you want tends to decide how long a conversation lasts.

Has anyone compared the two directly for anyone in anyone starting out?

ZoeOnline
Joined May 2022
2,645 posts
#6

Has that changed since the last update if you're dealing with filtering the noise?

The part nobody warns you about is that for people in the middle of the pack, the discovery feed throttles how many people can actually see you.

Things I wish someone had said about free dating &:

  • Give a platform three weeks before judging it — it filters out most of the time-wasters immediately.
  • Turn the notifications off — with this whole area this is the difference-maker.
  • Screenshot anything odd before blocking, particularly on zero-cost platforms.

Is there a way to check before signing up for anyone starting out?

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