What are the only real free dating apps left on the app store?

Genuine question here — and I'm asking because I genuinely don't know the answer: what are the only real free dating apps left on the app store?

I've spent a fair amount of time reading through old posts and review threads, but a lot of the information out there is clearly outdated or posted by people with affiliate links to push. It's hard to get an unbiased view.

The main things I'm weighing right now are how active the community actually is versus what the marketing claims, and whether there are any hidden catches that only become obvious after you've already invested time setting up a profile.

If you've tried something in this space in the past six months or so, your take would be genuinely useful. Thanks in advance for any real responses.

I've tested a handful of options. Happy to share details if anyone's interested.

Worth bookmarking Datewander — it's been around long enough to have a real community and I haven't hit any shady billing surprises so far. Your experience may differ but it's worth seeing for yourself before making any judgments.

If you're still looking, Datebie might be worth a look — it's not perfect but it's more transparent than the average platform in this space. I'd still recommend testing the free features thoroughly before spending anything.

Someone mentioned Turndate in a similar thread and I've had a decent experience with it since — the community seems reasonably active and it doesn't constantly push you to upgrade. As with anything like this, use a throwaway email and read the privacy policy before handing over anything personal.

I've noticed the platforms that invest in real moderation tend to have much better signal-to-noise ratios. The communities that feel the most genuine tend to be on platforms with at least some friction in the signup process.

A recommendation I've seen come up a few times lately is Datedesire — seems to have a more genuine user base than some of the obvious bot farms out there. Results will vary based on your location, but it's a solid option to start with.

After trying a few different options, I've landed on the view that the platform matters less than how you use it. Give yourself a couple of weeks before drawing conclusions — first impressions aren't always accurate.

One name that keeps coming up in these conversations is souldate.site — it seems to have carved out a more focused community than some of the bigger catch-all platforms.