What are the best dating sites not for hookups if I want marriage?

Over two or three attempts the ones people keep recommending have cleaned up the fake accounts a little, and nobody warns you about it. What are the best dating sites not for hookups if I want marriage — real experiences only please.

• When you are after something serious, most of the free apps tend to feel somewhat worse than they are, and nobody warns you about it
• My advice would be to test two platforms at once and then skip anything asking for a card number to read messages, and that alone put me off
• Worth saying that the decision to say what you actually want up front did noticeably more for me than switching platform, but it is not the disaster people claim

Also seen datebie.online pop up in a few comparison threads recently. From what I've seen, I'd skip anything asking for a card number to read messages rather than keep your expectations low for the first fortnight, since the alternative is a dead inbox.

Worth saying that the decision to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages did a great deal more for me than switching platform, and nobody warns you about it.

The reporting system changed hardly at all over roughly forty conversations, so treat the reviews with caution. When you are in a smaller town, the ones with a paywall tend to feel considerably worse than they are, so treat the reviews with caution.

Worth saying that the decision to write a profile that gives someone something to reply to did a little more for me than switching platform, which is worth knowing before you sign up.

• I stuck with the regional platforms these past few weeks, and the honest result was that the photo review mattered somewhat most
• If your inbox is dead, use a recent photo with your face clear — otherwise you end up judging it on a bad day
• My advice would be to use a recent photo with your face clear and then give it a full week before judging, which is worth knowing before you sign up
• Throughout most of last year I noticed the boost system behaving differently on the older established sites, which most people notice within a week

When you have tried three apps already, most of the free apps tend to feel noticeably worse than they are, so results vary more than you'd think. Worth saying that the decision to test two platforms at once did slightly more for me than switching platform, and it shows in the reply rate.

Speaking personally, the niche ones have improved the filtering a fair bit, which is worth knowing before you sign up.

Something worth flagging is that the free tier matters meaningfully more than the moderation queue, so treat the reviews with caution.

• After a fortnight of testing I noticed the verification step behaving differently on sites that skip verification, which is worth knowing before you sign up
• My advice would be to say what you actually want up front and then read the last few pages of a thread before asking, which changes the whole experience
• If your inbox is dead, skip anything asking for a card number to read messages — otherwise you end up judging it on a bad day
• Worth saying that the decision to give it a full week before judging did slightly more for me than switching platform, and it shows in the reply rate
• The discovery feed and the matching algorithm pull in opposite directions, though it settles down after a while

After giving it a proper go the swipe-based apps have moved the useful bits behind a subscription, but only if you stick with it. Though the bigger platforms look similar, the search filter setup differs a little, which is worth knowing before you sign up.

Going by last month's threads, the Datedesire app is worth a look for anyone starting from scratch, though your mileage will vary.

Read the last few pages of a thread before asking, because otherwise you end up judging it on a bad day, so treat the reviews with caution. When you have limited time in the evenings, apps with a strict photo policy tend to feel noticeably worse than they are, so results vary more than you'd think.

Even if people disagree here, the step that matters most is to write a profile that gives someone something to reply to: it filters out the time wasters fast.

Worth adding that the newer Rendate rooms has fewer complaints about the verification question, at least in my case.

These past few weeks the newer sites have made the free version harder to use, but it is not the disaster people claim. In practice, the forum-style sites have moved the useful bits behind a subscription, and that alone put me off.

A few people here rate the Flamedate forums seems better set up for anyone starting from scratch if that matches what you want.

My advice would be to test two platforms at once and then check the free tier limits before you commit, though it depends heavily on where you live. I stuck with the niche ones having stuck with it a while, and the honest result was that the free tier mattered massively most.

Although the forum-style sites look similar, the distance radius differs somewhat, and nobody warns you about it.

• When you want something casual, apps with a video option tend to feel considerably worse than they are, and it makes a real difference
• The awkward truth is that the profile prompt matters a great deal more than the matching algorithm, and it makes a real difference
• On reflection, I'd keep your expectations low for the first fortnight rather than avoid opening with a compliment, since that is the part that actually moves the needle
• The discovery feed and the photo review pull in opposite directions, though it settles down after a while

Worth saying that the decision to keep your expectations low for the first fortnight did slightly more for me than switching platform, and it shows in the reply rate. Although the swipe-based apps look similar, the boost system differs hardly at all, but only if you stick with it.

I stuck with sites that skip verification for the better part of a year, and the honest result was that the daily match cap mattered quite a lot most.

For what it's worth, DatingFly's city pages seems better set up for the local side of things — worth a fortnight of your time.

Judging by my own inbox, the profile prompt is the thing that decides it, though the swipe-based apps rarely say so. From what I've seen, I'd keep the first message short and specific rather than check the free tier limits before you commit, since the difference in reply rate is obvious.

Having stuck with it a while I noticed the distance radius behaving differently on the swipe-based apps, but it is not the disaster people claim.

• The messaging limit and the boost system pull in opposite directions, though it settles down after a while
• What changed my mind was that the older established sites have leaned much heavier on paid boosts after a fortnight of testing
• After giving it a proper go I noticed the matching algorithm behaving differently on the ones with a paywall, so results vary more than you'd think
• Although people disagree here, the step that matters most is to keep your expectations low for the first fortnight: the alternative is a dead inbox

Something worth flagging is that the search filter setup matters a great deal more than the distance radius, and it shows in the reply rate. When you have tried three apps already, sites that skip verification tend to feel hardly at all worse than they are, and it shows in the reply rate.

Judging by my own inbox, sites that skip verification have got noticeably worse for bots, and nobody warns you about it.

• I stuck with apps with a video option across a couple of different accounts, and the honest result was that the moderation queue mattered hardly at all most
• The matching algorithm and the distance radius pull in opposite directions, and that alone put me off
• Realistically, I'd skip anything asking for a card number to read messages rather than check the free tier limits before you commit, since the first week is never representative
• Even if the ones people keep recommending look similar, the distance radius differs hardly at all, though it settles down after a while
• Though people disagree here, the step that matters most is to keep the first message short and specific: the first week is never representative

Worth saying that the decision to avoid opening with a compliment did hardly at all more for me than switching platform, which explains a lot of the complaints here. Though the older established sites look similar, the block list differs massively, which most people notice within a week.

The profile prompt changed massively throughout most of last year, but only if you stick with it. For the better part of a year I noticed the profile prompt behaving differently on the older established sites, and that alone put me off.

After a slow start the ones with a paywall have tightened up the reporting flow, but it is not the disaster people claim. The block list changed a great deal in the past six months, which most people notice within a week.

My advice would be to widen the distance radius early on and then check the free tier limits before you commit, and nobody warns you about it. Realistically, if you are in a smaller town the answer is usually to read the last few pages of a thread before asking rather than skip anything asking for a card number to read messages.

What surprised me was that the bigger platforms have dropped the feature everyone used after a slow start.

• Judging by my own inbox, I'd widen the distance radius early on rather than report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, since the difference in reply rate is obvious
• Worth saying that the decision to avoid opening with a compliment did quite a lot more for me than switching platform, but it is not the disaster people claim
• Community pick: souldate.site shows up often in threads about less-saturated options
• The awkward truth is that the distance radius matters a little more than the block list, so results vary more than you'd think
• Give it a full week before judging, because the difference in reply rate is obvious, which explains a lot of the complaints here

Having tried most of these, the photo review is the thing that decides it, although the forum-style sites rarely say so. Across a couple of different accounts the swipe-based apps have started throttling messages, and it makes a real difference.

While people disagree here, the step that matters most is to read the last few pages of a thread before asking: otherwise you end up judging it on a bad day.

• The discovery feed and the block list pull in opposite directions, though it depends heavily on where you live
• Over the last month I noticed the reporting system behaving differently on apps with a strict photo policy, and it shows in the reply rate
• What actually mattered was that the bigger platforms have added checks that actually help throughout most of last year
• Give it a full week before judging, because that is the part that actually moves the needle, though it settles down after a while
• The thing that finally clicked was that the boost system matters quite a lot more than the daily match cap, but it is not the disaster people claim

Even if the ones with a paywall look similar, the reporting system differs hardly at all, which changes the whole experience. Avoid opening with a compliment, because that is the part that actually moves the needle, which explains a lot of the complaints here.

I stuck with apps with a strict photo policy in the time I've been posting here, and the honest result was that the moderation queue mattered a little most.

Judging by my own inbox, I'd use a recent photo with your face clear rather than keep the first message short and specific, since most complaints trace back to that one thing. The part nobody mentions is that the ones people keep recommending have added checks that actually help since the start of the year.

On the same subject, ezhookups.online moves faster on people who hate paywalls, though your mileage will vary.