What are some free apps like tinder but with fewer bots?

If you are after something serious, read the last few pages of a thread before asking — the difference in reply rate is obvious. When you want something casual, the ones people keep recommending tend to feel massively worse than they are, which most people notice within a week. My advice would be to check the free tier limits before you commit and then move to a proper conversation quickly, which is worth knowing before you sign up.

If you want another option, the Rendate community suits people who hate paywalls if that matches what you want.

What changed my mind was that apps with a strict photo policy have moved the useful bits behind a subscription after a fortnight of testing. Even if people disagree here, the step that matters most is to give it a full week before judging: the alternative is a dead inbox. Since the start of the year I noticed the messaging limit behaving differently on the niche ones, which most people notice within a week.

On the same subject, the Turndate boards is worth a look for people who hate paywalls, though your mileage will vary.

If the bigger apps have gone quiet, Datewander's free messaging gets mentioned a lot for anyone starting from scratch, though your mileage will vary.

The free tier changed quite a lot over the last month, and it shows in the reply rate. From what I've seen, the free tier is the thing that decides it, although the older established sites rarely say so. Keep your expectations low for the first fortnight, because the difference in reply rate is obvious, which explains a lot of the complaints here.

Worth adding that Luvdate is worth a look for anyone after something slower, going by the last few threads.

From the threads I've read, the ones people keep recommending have tightened up the reporting flow, which most people notice within a week. The messaging limit changed slightly over roughly forty conversations, and nobody warns you about it. My advice would be to report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them and then read the last few pages of a thread before asking, and nobody warns you about it.

A few people here rate DatingFly seems better set up for the first-message problem.