I've tried them all; what are the too dating apps (top dating apps) everyone is using this week?

Started by Mike Donovan Free Dating & Apps 8 posts Last reply
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Mike Donovan
Joined: Dec 2022
Messages: 719
#1

Every time i've tried them all; what are the too dating apps (top dating apps) everyone is using this week comes up the thread turns into an advert, so I am asking here instead. For people replying above, actually getting anywhere is the whole question with dating apps.

I have tried a few options across free platforms already and none of them stuck. There is no version of dating apps where the return on the hours sorts itself out without you doing something.

Where I need help with dating apps:

  • Set the radius wider than feels comfortable if the dating apps pool near you is thin
  • Message within a day of matching — on dating apps that window closes fast
  • Turn off read receipts on dating apps if the time it costs is making you anxious about response times
  • Treat your first dating apps profile as a draft, because the effort-to-result ratio punishes lazy ones

I will report back on i've tried them all; what are the too dating apps (top dating apps) everyone is using this week once I have tried whatever gets recommended.

Sam_B
Joined: Dec 2021
Messages: 420
#2

Mike Donovan is right about one part of dating apps: respectfully no — complaints about the effort-to-result ratio on dating apps usually come from people who gave it a week.

You can work around the effort-to-result ratio on dating apps, but you have to be deliberate about it.

Ian Palmer
Joined: May 2023
Messages: 770
#3

I would argue the opposite on dating apps: the payoff is the one thing it handles better than free platforms. I keep two accounts running to compare actually getting anywhere across the free end of the market, and dating apps sits mid-table.

What changed my results on dating apps was treating actually getting anywhere as a filtering problem rather than a platform problem. Nobody warns you that the hours-to-dates ratio on dating apps scales with how many people are online at your hours. Take that as one data point on dating apps rather than a recommendation.

Worth a look alongside dating apps: Souldate, if only to see how differently the return on the hours can be handled.

EvanH
Joined: Aug 2024
Messages: 1146
#4

I would argue the opposite on dating apps: the return on the hours is the one thing it handles better than the free end of the market. I judge dating apps by one thing now: whether the effort-to-result ratio improves or worsens once you are past the novelty. Nobody warns you that the payoff on dating apps scales with how many people are online at your hours.

If the time it costs is your main worry with dating apps, test it in the first week rather than the first month. Most of the noise about dating apps comes from people measuring the time it costs over far too short a window. That is my read on dating apps, and others here clearly disagree.

For completeness on dating apps, souldate.site, datewander.site get mentioned a lot too.

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Scott_NY
Joined: Oct 2022
Messages: 610
#5

That has not been my experience of dating apps, and I have used it longer than most people in this thread.

Most of the noise about dating apps comes from people measuring actually getting anywhere over far too short a window.

Somebody in another dating apps thread pointed me at Datebound and it held up better than expected on the effort-to-result ratio.

Troy Vance
Joined: May 2023
Messages: 770
#6

Disagree, because blaming the payoff lets you off the hook — my dating apps results improved when my profile did. The thing people underrate about dating apps is how much the time it costs depends on your own city.

What changed my results on dating apps was treating the effort-to-result ratio as a filtering problem rather than a platform problem. Not saying dating apps suits everyone, but it's not the disaster this thread implies.

Samantha_J
Joined: Jul 2022
Messages: 769
#7

I read Troy Vance's reply on dating apps and i would argue the opposite on dating apps: the time it costs is the one thing it handles better than the free end of the market. For most people in this thread, the dating apps experience lives or dies on the return on the hours and almost nothing else. You can work around the hours-to-dates ratio on dating apps, but you have to be deliberate about it.

I judge dating apps by one thing now: whether the hours-to-dates ratio improves or worsens once you're past the novelty. The thing people underrate about dating apps is how much the return on the hours depends on your own city. I keep two accounts running to compare the return on the hours across no-payment dating sites, and dating apps sits mid-table.

Garrett_K
Joined: Dec 2023
Messages: 759
#8

Picking up Samantha_J's point about the time it costs, different experience on dating apps, where the time it costs turned out to be manageable once I changed how I used it. If the hours-to-dates ratio is your main worry with dating apps, test it in the first week rather than the first month.

I judge dating apps by one thing now: whether actually getting anywhere improves or worsens once you're past the novelty. For most of us posting here, the dating apps experience lives or dies on the time it costs and almost nothing else.

One smaller option worth comparing on the time it costs is Datebound — different pool, same free messaging as dating apps.

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