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What are the real dating sites free for both men and women?

Started by EmmaC Category: Free Dating & Apps freedating 7 replies
EmmaC avatar
EmmaCOP
Joined 2018
Posts: 579
#1

Couldn't find a satisfying answer anywhere else, so figured the people here would know.

The paywall situation with dating apps is getting genuinely frustrating. You sign up, things look promising, you try to do anything useful and then you're hit with a subscription screen. I want to know what's actually functional for free versus what's just leading you to a sales pitch.

Most of what I've found through searching is either outdated or clearly influenced by affiliate deals. Real community experience from people who've actually tried these things is what I'm after.

Appreciate any honest answers. Happy to give more specifics about my situation if it helps.

PaigeS avatar
PaigeS
Joined 2019
Posts: 24
#2

I went through a pretty exhaustive testing phase with these last year. Turndate stood out because the interface was clean and you could actually do meaningful browsing without hitting a paywall immediately. Still recommend checking current community reviews before committing though, since these sites change quickly.

EllaW avatar
EllaW
Joined 2019
Posts: 805
#3

Honestly the answer is just try two or three simultaneously and see what gets actual responses.

Vincent Shaw avatar
Vincent Shaw
Joined 2021
Posts: 339
#4

I went through a pretty exhaustive testing phase with these last year. Datenest stood out because the interface was clean and you could actually do meaningful browsing without hitting a paywall immediately. Still recommend checking current community reviews before committing though, since these sites change quickly.

Evelyn Cross avatar
Evelyn Cross
Joined 2020
Posts: 630
#5
Went through this pretty thoroughly so hopefully this saves someone time. First thing: any site that requires a credit card just to browse profiles is worth avoiding until you've confirmed it has real users near you. Second: the chat system matters a lot — some platforms make you pay per message which gets expensive fast. From discussions in communities like this, flamedate.online gets solid marks as a genuinely free option with decent moderation. But honestly the best single piece of advice I can give is to check what's currently active in your area before investing time in a full profile. Use forums like this one for current intel rather than year-old blog posts.
Caleb avatar
Caleb
Joined 2023
Posts: 781
#6

I went through a pretty exhaustive testing phase with these last year. Datebie stood out because the interface was clean and you could actually do meaningful browsing without hitting a paywall immediately. Still recommend checking current community reviews before committing though, since these sites change quickly.

Gloria Hayes avatar
Gloria Hayes
Joined 2021
Posts: 334
#7
Spent a good chunk of time researching this and here's what I came away with after testing several options:
  • Tinder still has the largest user base but free features are very limited now
  • Bumble gives women control which filters out a lot of the nonsense
  • Hinge has smarter prompts that lead to more meaningful conversations
  • OkCupid has the best compatibility matching on a free tier
  • Facebook Dating is consistently underrated and genuinely free
Beyond those mainstream ones, niche sites can work surprisingly well depending on your demographic. The key variable is always whether there are real users in your specific location.

Also souldate.site has come up in several recent discussions here as worth trying — particularly for people outside the big cities.

Rebecca avatar
Rebecca
Joined 2020
Posts: 632
#8

My general approach is to run two or three apps simultaneously for the first couple weeks in any new market. That way you can actually compare response rates rather than going deep on one and wondering if you picked the wrong one.

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