I looked at this from a few angles across two cities, which is why I am comfortable saying this. If I had to pick one factor, how long a match stays open is easy to check and almost never checked. The gap was widest quite plainly on every account I set up. I would start there in the end, before changing anything else.

I kept notes the whole way through with a bit of patience, since nobody else seemed to have done it. More than anything, the ratio of active to dormant profiles matters more than the brand name.

I looked at what changed since last year before deciding, and it was worth the effort. What actually decided it was whether messaging is capped, which shapes the first fortnight more than anything. It held steady to a degree that mattered across two completely different areas. Worth a fortnight of your time in the end, before changing anything else.

The things that actually moved the needle for me:

  • Look at how it performs on a slow connection — it is easy to test and rarely advertised.
  • Worth confirming how much of your social graph it wants — this alone ruled a couple out for me.
  • Check how the app handles a report
  • How easily you can change your location — worth two minutes before you commit.
  • Whether you can undo an accidental swipe — I would treat this as a dealbreaker.

I spent longer on this than I meant to with a couple of accounts, and the conclusion was not what I wanted. Looking back, whether read status is shown consistently is the first thing I would look at now. It surfaced again more than once across two completely different areas. Your results will vary on balance, so treat this as a starting point.