Do free dating web sites still get traffic compared to apps?

Genuinely curious about this one: do free dating web sites still get traffic compared to apps. The honest answer seems to change depending on who you ask and when — which tells me there probably isn't a single clean answer.

What I've found from personal testing:

• Free tiers have been getting tighter across the board
• Verification quality varies wildly between platforms
• Activity levels differ a lot by geography and time of day
• Privacy policies are worth actually reading — most people skip them
• The best platforms usually have some friction in sign-up, even if it's minimal

If you've had a genuine experience with this recently — positive or negative — I'd really appreciate hearing it. Not looking for affiliate links dressed up as recommendations.

Good question. The landscape shifts fast enough that answers from even a year ago might be outdated.

I've been using Datewander for a bit and it's one of the more honest options I've come across — community feels real and the sign-up is clean. Standard advice: use a separate email and don't link payment info until you've verified it suits you.

After going through a bunch of these over the past year, my main takeaway is that the platform matters less than most people think. Testing two options in parallel for two weeks is a better approach than committing to one right away.

Worth checking out Turndate — it's been around long enough to have built a real community and I haven't hit any billing surprises. Worth seeing for yourself before passing judgment.

Worth testing two or three options at once rather than committing to one right away.