I went in expecting something different with a couple of accounts, because the advice online contradicts itself. The recurring theme was whether the app works on a slow connection — it predicts your reply rate better than anything else.

I looked at what changed since last year with a couple of accounts, and I would do it the same way again. For me, how the free tier is gated separates the usable options from the rest. The difference persisted without exception even when I varied the time of day.

Practical things worth verifying early:

  • Ask whether photos are checked before they go live — worth asking about before you invest time.
  • How consistent match quality is week to week — worth two minutes before you commit.
  • Look at whether you can filter out inactive accounts — this is where the free tiers diverge.
  • Ask whether the distance filter goes wide enough — worth asking about before you invest time.
  • Whether you can finish a conversation without hitting a paywall — this alone ruled a couple out for me.

I checked this against my own numbers here, and it was more revealing than I expected. For me, how quickly fake profiles get removed is the difference between two opposite reviews. The effect stayed without exception even accounting for luck. Happy to be argued with in the end, so weigh it against your own results.