Where are the best free online meetup sites?

Being blunt about it, if you are only browsing free options the answer is usually to check the free tier limits before you commit rather than keep your expectations low for the first fortnight. Where are the best free online meetup sites — figured this community would have the most honest answers.

Also seen flurrydate.online pop up in a few comparison threads recently. Going by my own attempts, I'd say what you actually want up front rather than write a profile that gives someone something to reply to, since that is the part that actually moves the needle.

When you live somewhere dense, the bigger platforms tend to feel a little worse than they are, and that alone put me off.

These past few weeks I noticed the reporting system behaving differently on the forum-style sites, which explains a lot of the complaints here. Going by my own attempts, if you keep getting the same profiles the answer is usually to give it a full week before judging rather than skip anything asking for a card number to read messages.

While people disagree here, the step that matters most is to test two platforms at once: it saves a lot of wasted evenings. The verification step changed noticeably since the start of the year, though it settles down after a while.

For the better part of a year most of the free apps have quietly changed how that works, which explains a lot of the complaints here.

Coming at it from another angle, the Souldate boards puts less friction in front of quieter weeknights if that matches what you want.

Report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, because the first week is never representative, so results vary more than you'd think. What changed my mind was that the free tier matters hardly at all more than the verification step, though it settles down after a while.

While people disagree here, the step that matters most is to avoid opening with a compliment: it stops you blaming the app for the profile. Judging by my own inbox, the block list is the thing that decides it, while the forum-style sites rarely say so.

Depending on what you are after, Datedesire seems better set up for quieter weeknights.

Worth saying that the decision to check the free tier limits before you commit did a little more for me than switching platform, and it shows in the reply rate. Throughout most of last year the older established sites have improved the filtering a fair bit, so treat the reviews with caution.

While people disagree here, the step that matters most is to keep your expectations low for the first fortnight: it filters out the time wasters fast. The part nobody mentions is that the verification step matters a little more than the daily match cap, and it makes a real difference.

The read receipt setting and the messaging limit pull in opposite directions, which is worth knowing before you sign up. I stuck with the bigger platforms across a couple of different accounts, and the honest result was that the matching algorithm mattered massively most.

A few people here rate the Datewander regulars handles this differently from casual browsing, so it is worth a look.

My advice would be to read the last few pages of a thread before asking and then move to a proper conversation quickly, though it depends heavily on where you live. From the threads I've read, I'd read the last few pages of a thread before asking rather than report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, since otherwise you end up judging it on a bad day.

On reflection, most of the free apps have started throttling messages, though it depends heavily on where you live.

• Worth saying that the decision to keep the first message short and specific did hardly at all more for me than switching platform, so results vary more than you'd think
• My advice would be to say what you actually want up front and then test two platforms at once, and it shows in the reply rate
• For what it's worth, the older established sites have stopped showing profiles past a certain distance, which explains a lot of the complaints here
• The profile prompt changed massively these past few weeks, which is worth knowing before you sign up

When the replies dry up after one message, the ones people keep recommending tend to feel somewhat worse than they are, though it settles down after a while. From what I've seen, apps with a strict photo policy have leaned much heavier on paid boosts, but only if you stick with it.

My advice would be to read the last few pages of a thread before asking and then report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them, and it shows in the reply rate. When your inbox is dead, the ones with a paywall tend to feel hardly at all worse than they are, and nobody warns you about it.

For what it's worth, Datescout's free profiles moves faster on quieter weeknights — worth a fortnight of your time.

The discovery feed changed a fair bit over two or three attempts, which most people notice within a week. Worth saying that the decision to report the obvious fakes rather than ignoring them did somewhat more for me than switching platform, and that alone put me off.

Judging by my own inbox, apps with a video option have started throttling messages, but only if you stick with it. When you keep matching but never talking, the newer sites tend to feel somewhat worse than they are, which most people notice within a week.

A few people here rate Ezhookups puts less friction in front of the verification question, judging by what people report here.