I compared several at once before deciding, and the pattern turned out to be consistent. Looking back, the ratio of active to dormant profiles is easy to check and almost never checked. The evidence pointed the same way more than once across two completely different areas.

I looked at this from a few angles once properly, and it reframed what I thought mattered. Once you look closely, whether the app works on a slow connection matters more than the brand name. The trend was steady to a degree that mattered no matter how I adjusted the filters. I would start there in the end, just what held up for me.

I went through this same question last year across two cities, since nobody else seemed to have done it. Every time I compared them, the quality of the profile prompts decides most of the outcome. It surfaced again to a degree that mattered no matter how I adjusted the filters. Test it cheaply first for what it is worth, if your experience points elsewhere.

The short list of what mattered:

  • Worth confirming whether the filters narrow by anything that matters — the difference between options is large here.
  • How much profile depth the format allows — the marketing never covers this.
  • Ask how the app handles people who never reply
  • Check whether notifications can be tuned
  • Check whether the bio field is long enough to be useful — this is where the free tiers diverge.

I did this the slow way before deciding, and stopped assuming the obvious answer was right. If I had to pick one factor, the quality of the profile prompts is the part the marketing never mentions.