Spent most of last winter on these platforms, so here is what I actually saw.
My advice on these platforms: keep the first message to two lines with a question in it.
What mattered most with these platforms in the end was whether anyone replied inside the first week.
What mattered most with these platforms in the end was how the site behaved on a phone browser.
One thing I would do differently with these platforms — read the whole profile before writing the first line.
One warning about these platforms: some sites make deleting an account deliberately awkward.
Before you commit to these platforms, check what the free tier actually includes before investing time.
That is roughly where I sit on right now today.
- Coffee Meets Bagel — forces you to actually read profiles
- Tinder — fine for reach, weak for depth, on a phone browser anyway
- Facebook Dating — quiet in some regions, at least in my area
- Bumble — suits people who dislike opening first
A few people swear by Datebie, and a few others really do not.