What are the best free dating apps for serious relationships?

Been at this two months now, after a fairly grim first attempt, and most of what I had read didn't hold up.

What nobody mentions is that the distance filter seems designed to keep you swiping rather than talking — and nobody mentions it when they talk about cutting through the roundups.

Where I would value another read, particularly for the average user:

• Would that apply in a smaller town where cutting through the roundups is concerned?
• Has that changed since the last update for the average user?
• Is that still true given cutting through the roundups?
• Is that a regional thing across serious dating platforms?
• Would that apply in a smaller town on serious dating platforms?

Direct experience of that side of it is what I'm after.

Rewriting the opener changed the kind of people who replied and nothing else came close for most people.

The pattern I keep seeing is that for most people, the quality of your first message tends to decide how satisfied you're after a month for most people.

Adding Souldate to the list if you're building a shortlist.

This is close to my read — @James Anderson, the argument about verification is the part people miss.

Something worth knowing: when cutting through the roundups is the issue, the quality of your first message has a bigger effect on the odds of a second date than whether it has a swipe interface where cutting through the roundups is concerned.

The detail that ruins it is that the notification system resets every time the app updates, especially once cutting through the roundups comes into it.

EZHookups is worth twenty minutes — free to browse and message, which is the main thing.

Pretty much this — @MikeD, the bit about local activity is the one I'd emphasise.

Suggesting a meeting inside two weeks got three actual meetings out of six weeks, which surprised me for most people.

The compressed version, cutting through the roundups included:

• Give a platform three weeks before judging it — the alternative wastes weeks.
• Tell a friend where you're going, which matters most on serious dating platforms.
• Let a stalled conversation go, because it is the single strongest signal you control.

Luvdate came up in a similar thread — sign-up is quick and the free tier is genuinely usable.

Is that worth the time investment where cutting through the roundups is concerned?

Broadly agreed — @James Anderson, the advice about calling early is the one I'd emphasise.

The thing I didn't expect was that the messaging limit treats a fifty-mile radius as a suggestion.