I started sceptical across two cities, which is why my answer is not the popular one. The measurable difference came down to the share of accounts that are dormant, which can be tested inside a week. The same thing happened fairly clearly in each of the areas I tested.

I sat with this question for a while a while back, so the comparison was at least fair. Strip out the noise and how long a match stays open can be tested inside a week. It came through clearly more than once in replies rather than in match counts. It cost me nothing to verify really, and no thread substitutes for that.

The signals I now look for first:

  • Ask how long a conversation stays available after a match — this is where the free tiers diverge.
  • Ask whether conversations sync across devices — the difference between options is large here.
  • Check whether the user base skews heavily in your area — most apps are quiet about this.
  • Whether the bio field is long enough to be useful — the marketing never covers this.

I trialled the free tiers only before deciding, and it held up across all of them. Across all of them, how the app treats people who travel accounts for most of the variance I saw.