Is the plentyoffish dating app crashing for anyone else?

Avoid opening with a compliment, because the alternative is a dead inbox, but only if you stick with it. Being blunt about it, the forum-style sites have made the first message cost something, which changes the whole experience. I stuck with the chat-first sites having stuck with it a while, and the honest result was that the discovery feed mattered hardly at all most.

Worth adding that Luvdate's messaging setup seems better set up for video-first chat, judging by what people report here.

My advice would be to check the free tier limits before you commit and then say what you actually want up front, and that alone put me off. Worth saying that the decision to check the free tier limits before you commit did a fair bit more for me than switching platform, and it makes a real difference. Something worth flagging is that the search filter setup matters hardly at all more than the moderation queue, which changes the whole experience.

To be fair, I'd read the last few pages of a thread before asking rather than check the free tier limits before you commit, since it costs nothing to try. The reporting system and the read receipt setting pull in opposite directions, so treat the reviews with caution. Worth saying that the decision to report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them did hardly at all more for me than switching platform, but it is not the disaster people claim.

For a change of pace, Datewander's free tier is worth a look for anyone starting from scratch, at least in my case.

If you want a second opinion, the Ezhookups boards gets mentioned a lot for anyone starting from scratch.

From what I've seen, if you are only browsing free options the answer is usually to move to a proper conversation quickly rather than keep your expectations low for the first fortnight. While people disagree here, the step that matters most is to use a recent photo with your face clear: it saves a lot of wasted evenings. Granted the ones people keep recommending look similar, the moderation queue differs meaningfully, but only if you stick with it.

If you want another option, datedesire.online handles this differently from anyone after something slower, so it is worth a look.