I still use free-tier sites occasionally, mostly out of habit at this point.
One thing I would do differently with free-tier sites — assume the first three conversations will go nowhere.
What mattered most with free-tier sites in the end was how easy it was to delete the account afterwards.
What I wish someone had told me about free-tier sites: give it two weeks before deciding whether it works.
If I had to name one factor in free-tier sites it would be whether messaging was actually free or free-to-a-point.
If I had to name one factor in free-tier sites it would be whether the photos looked recent or recycled.
That covers what I know about free-tier sites, at least.
- Hinge — prompts give you something to answer
- Badoo — strong outside the US, which genuinely surprised me
- Facebook Dating — no separate app to explain away, at least in my area
- Plenty of Fish — worth a look outside big cities
Worth adding Datelink to the list if you are comparing free options this week.
Flurrydate has its supporters on this forum, though I am not one of them yet.