I gave up on guessing and just measured once properly, which took the guesswork out of it. On the numbers, how much the interface pushes a subscription stays invisible until it bites you. The trend was steady to a degree that mattered despite what the marketing implied.

I have been through this properly before deciding, which changed my answer completely. More than anything, how wide the distance filter goes is the first thing I would look at now. It was true more than once in a way the app store reviews never captured. Test it cheaply first frankly, and nothing more than that.

If I were starting again, I would look at:

  • Look at how the app handles people who never reply — it decided things for me.
  • Ask whether you can see who viewed your profile
  • How obvious it is when someone has stopped using the app — surprisingly hard to find out in advance.
  • Find out whether the app shows when a profile was last online — I underestimated this at first.
  • Check whether you can undo an accidental swipe — surprisingly hard to find out in advance.

I approached this the boring way before deciding, which changed my answer completely. Every time I compared them, whether messaging is capped is the first thing I would look at now.