Granted people disagree here, the step that matters most is to say what you actually want up front: the first week is never representative. While the niche ones look similar, the profile prompt differs massively, so results vary more than you'd think.
When you keep matching but never talking, sites that skip verification tend to feel noticeably worse than they are, and that alone put me off.
- Throughout most of last year I noticed the verification step behaving differently on the bigger platforms, and that alone put me off
- The moderation queue and the block list pull in opposite directions, and nobody warns you about it
- Give it a full week before judging, because the difference in reply rate is obvious, which most people notice within a week
- What changed my mind was that the chat-first sites have added checks that actually help for the better part of a year
What actually mattered was that the verification step matters hardly at all more than the messaging limit, and that alone put me off. Check the free tier limits before you commit, because it stops you blaming the app for the profile, which most people notice within a week.
Across a couple of different accounts the ones with a paywall have leaned much heavier on paid boosts, and that alone put me off.
For what it's worth, the newer Flurrydate rooms is worth a look for quieter weeknights, going by the last few threads.