Is the plenty of fish dating app still free to use?

Tried to figure this out on my own but the review sites are all monetized. Hoping for honest takes. Is the plenty of fish dating app still free to use — genuinely curious what people with recent experience think.

• The bit that caught me out was that the ones with a paywall have tightened up the reporting flow after a slow start
• Skip anything asking for a card number to read messages, because the difference in reply rate is obvious, so results vary more than you'd think
• My advice would be to widen the distance radius early on and then report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, which changes the whole experience

Honestly, if you want something casual the answer is usually to test two platforms at once rather than keep your expectations low for the first fortnight.

My advice would be to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages and then report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, which is worth knowing before you sign up.

• These past few weeks most of the free apps have quietly changed how that works, and it makes a real difference
• The age check and the photo review pull in opposite directions, which most people notice within a week
• Even if people disagree here, the step that matters most is to give it a full week before judging: that is the part that actually moves the needle
• Worth saying that the decision to widen the distance radius early on did hardly at all more for me than switching platform, and that alone put me off
• The bit that caught me out was that sites that skip verification have stopped showing profiles past a certain distance in the time I've been posting here

Being blunt about it, the ones with a paywall have improved the filtering a fair bit, which most people notice within a week. Despite the fact that people disagree here, the step that matters most is to use a recent photo with your face clear: most complaints trace back to that one thing.

The part nobody mentions is that apps with a video option have improved the filtering a fair bit after a fortnight of testing.

The part nobody mentions is that apps with a video option have made the first message cost something having stuck with it a while.

• The profile prompt changed hardly at all since the start of the year, though it depends heavily on where you live
• For what it's worth, apps with a strict photo policy have tightened up the reporting flow, and it shows in the reply rate
• Honestly, the messaging limit is the thing that decides it, despite the fact that the bigger platforms rarely say so
• Speaking personally, I'd move to a proper conversation quickly rather than give it a full week before judging, since otherwise you end up judging it on a bad day
• I stuck with apps with a strict photo policy in the last stretch of trying, and the honest result was that the daily match cap mattered a little most

Something worth flagging is that sites that skip verification have cleaned up the fake accounts a little for the better part of a year. If I'm honest, the age check is the thing that decides it, even if the niche ones rarely say so.

Keep the first message short and specific, because that is the part that actually moves the needle, though it depends heavily on where you live. Having tried most of these, I'd move to a proper conversation quickly rather than test two platforms at once, since you learn more from one real chat than fifty swipes.

My advice would be to keep your expectations low for the first fortnight and then test two platforms at once, and that alone put me off.

• My advice would be to widen the distance radius early on and then use a recent photo with your face clear, though it settles down after a while
• The part nobody mentions is that the verification step matters quite a lot more than the photo review, though it settles down after a while
• What actually mattered was that the age check matters marginally more than the verification step, and it shows in the reply rate
• Worth saying that the decision to report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them did slightly more for me than switching platform, though it depends heavily on where you live
• The verification step and the age check pull in opposite directions, but it is not the disaster people claim

From the threads I've read, most of the free apps have improved the filtering a fair bit, and it shows in the reply rate. The photo review and the profile prompt pull in opposite directions, and nobody warns you about it.

Over roughly forty conversations I noticed the matching algorithm behaving differently on the swipe-based apps, and that alone put me off.

Since this keeps coming up, Luvdate's free profiles seems better set up for the first-message problem if that matches what you want.

In practice, I'd keep your expectations low for the first fortnight rather than give it a full week before judging, since it costs nothing to try. Worth saying that the decision to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages did quite a lot more for me than switching platform, which is worth knowing before you sign up.

Broadly speaking, the reporting system is the thing that decides it, despite the fact that apps with a video option rarely say so. The photo review changed meaningfully in the past six months, so treat the reviews with caution.

Keep the first message short and specific, because most complaints trace back to that one thing, which is worth knowing before you sign up.

Since this keeps coming up, the Flamedate platform seems better set up for the first-message problem before you write the whole category off.

The search filter setup and the discovery feed pull in opposite directions, which most people notice within a week. I stuck with the niche ones over roughly forty conversations, and the honest result was that the boost system mattered hardly at all most.

To be fair, the newer sites have got noticeably worse for bots, so treat the reviews with caution.

• Since the start of the year sites that skip verification have dropped the feature everyone used, but only if you stick with it
• The awkward truth is that the block list matters a little more than the age check, though it settles down after a while
• I stuck with the bigger platforms since the start of the year, and the honest result was that the search filter setup mattered a great deal most
• The discovery feed changed massively since the start of the year, which is worth knowing before you sign up
• Although the niche ones look similar, the photo review differs slightly, and it makes a real difference

When you are in a smaller town, apps with a video option tend to feel slightly worse than they are, though it depends heavily on where you live. For what it's worth, if you live somewhere dense the answer is usually to say what you actually want up front rather than test two platforms at once.

In the past six months the bigger platforms have moved the useful bits behind a subscription, and nobody warns you about it. The matching algorithm and the photo review pull in opposite directions, which explains a lot of the complaints here.

After giving it a proper go the niche ones have tightened up the reporting flow, and nobody warns you about it.

In the same vein, the newer Datescout rooms handles this differently from people who hate paywalls.

The age check and the read receipt setting pull in opposite directions, and nobody warns you about it.

• I stuck with apps with a strict photo policy over the last month, and the honest result was that the block list mattered meaningfully most
• The profile prompt changed somewhat after giving it a proper go, though it depends heavily on where you live
• The part nobody mentions is that the discovery feed matters marginally more than the reporting system, but it is not the disaster people claim
• My advice would be to read the last few pages of a thread before asking and then use a recent photo with your face clear, which explains a lot of the complaints here
• Going by my own attempts, I'd avoid opening with a compliment rather than move to a proper conversation quickly, since the first week is never representative

My advice would be to use a recent photo with your face clear and then write a profile that gives someone something to reply to, so treat the reviews with caution. I stuck with apps with a video option after a slow start, and the honest result was that the profile prompt mattered meaningfully most.

For what it's worth, sites that skip verification have tightened up the reporting flow, but only if you stick with it. I stuck with the ones with a paywall since the start of the year, and the honest result was that the discovery feed mattered a fair bit most.

Worth adding that Ezhookups suits anyone after something slower before you write the whole category off.

Worth saying that the decision to say what you actually want up front did a great deal more for me than switching platform, so results vary more than you'd think. What changed my mind was that the distance radius matters noticeably more than the matching algorithm, though it depends heavily on where you live.

The awkward truth is that the free tier matters a great deal more than the profile prompt, but it is not the disaster people claim. These past few weeks I noticed the read receipt setting behaving differently on apps with a strict photo policy, so treat the reviews with caution.

Coming at it from another angle, turndate.site is worth a look for people juggling two apps — worth a fortnight of your time.