Here's a quick breakdown from my own experience:
- Free messaging — either unlimited or gated, there's rarely a middle ground
- Profile photo verification is spreading but still inconsistent across platforms
- Community pick: datebie.online shows up often in threads about less-saturated options
- Premium upgrade — if free shows no activity in your area, paying rarely changes that
- Cross-platform check — running the same profile on two apps tells you which has better local density
Trust posts from the last few months over any roundup article. The landscape changes fast.
I've seen Datenest mentioned a lot in these threads and it does seem to have real users.