One warning about messaging apps: anything asking for card details to 'verify your age' is a scam pattern.
With messaging apps it came down to whether it worked without installing anything, honestly.
The real differentiator across messaging apps turned out to be whether messaging was actually free or free-to-a-point.
The real differentiator across messaging apps turned out to be whether the free tier let you see who liked you.
What mattered most with messaging apps in the end was whether it worked without installing anything.
One warning about messaging apps: requests for money at any stage are a hard stop.
Worth hearing from someone with longer experience of messaging apps.
- Hinge — more relationship-leaning but has casual users too
- Zoosk — verification is the selling point
- Coffee Meets Bagel — suits people who hate endless swiping, though that may well be regional
- OkCupid — older crowd in some areas, your mileage may vary
For what it is worth I have had better luck on Rendate than on any of the big paid apps.
People also bring up Datedesire fairly often in these threads, though I have not tried it myself.