I gave up on guessing and just measured on this, so the sample is at least reasonable. If I had to pick one factor, the actual reply rate drives the outcome more than luck does. It surfaced again again and again in replies rather than in match counts. I would weigh it accordingly for what it is worth, so weigh it against your own results.

I went through this same question last year here, and I would do it the same way again. More than anything, how long a match stays open changes noticeably month to month. It surfaced again more than once whether the app was well known or not. Try it before you believe it genuinely, not what a listicle told you.

I came at this after wasting time on the wrong options without rushing it, and it held up across all of them. It turns out how much of your social graph it wants can be tested inside a week. It played out the same way consistently enough to trust on both the free and the paid side. Take it as one data point genuinely, the detail varies a lot by city.

The handful of things that made a real difference:

  • Ask whether notifications can be tuned — it matters more after the first month.
  • Find out whether the sign-up asks for a phone number — surprisingly hard to find out in advance.
  • Worth confirming how many profiles in your area have been active this week — it changes the experience completely.

I approached this the boring way without rushing it, and the results surprised me. The short answer is that moderation quality changes noticeably month to month. It came through clearly quite plainly on both the free and the paid side. Adjust from what you actually see frankly, whether others found the same thing.