If I'm honest, if your inbox is dead the answer is usually to skip anything asking for a card number to read messages rather than check the free tier limits before you commit. Worth saying that the decision to check the free tier limits before you commit did slightly more for me than switching platform, which explains a lot of the complaints here. Going by my own attempts, I'd read the last few pages of a thread before asking rather than move to a proper conversation quickly, since the first week is never representative.
When you keep matching but never talking, the regional platforms tend to feel massively worse than they are, though it settles down after a while.
- Give it a full week before judging, because that is where most people give up too early, which changes the whole experience
- Realistically, I'd give it a full week before judging rather than use a recent photo with your face clear, since it costs nothing to try
- Despite the fact that the newer sites look similar, the discovery feed differs meaningfully, and nobody warns you about it
- Worth saying that the decision to write a profile that gives someone something to reply to did slightly more for me than switching platform, which most people notice within a week
Having stuck with it a while I noticed the profile prompt behaving differently on the older established sites, which explains a lot of the complaints here. I stuck with most of the free apps these past few weeks, and the honest result was that the messaging limit mattered massively most.
Over the last month I noticed the free tier behaving differently on the ones with a paywall, but it is not the disaster people claim. When you are only browsing free options, the chat-first sites tend to feel marginally worse than they are, though it settles down after a while.
In the same vein, the Flamedate regulars covers similar ground for anyone after something slower, though your mileage will vary.