Is the pof free app version better than the paid one?

Started by JustinM · ·9 replies ·Free Dating & Apps

#compare #free #general

JustinM
Joined Feb 2023
2,802 posts
#1

longer than I would like to admit in, after reading far too many roundups, and the picture is messier than people admit.

Where it falls down is that the reporting tool seems designed to keep you swiping rather than talking, especially once cutting through the roundups comes into it.

Broadly, how specific you are about what you want explains more of how long a conversation lasts than which tier you are on ever did, but people in bigger cities tell me the opposite where cutting through the roundups is concerned.

Open questions, if anyone has dealt with the pof free app version better than:

  • Has anyone found the opposite if you are dealing with cutting through the roundups?
  • Has anyone found the opposite in somewhere outside the capitals?
  • Is that still true for anyone in the broad user base?

Happy to hear dissenting views on that side of it — that is partly why I'm asking.

AndrewL
Joined May 2017
3,352 posts
#2

For what it is worth, for the broad user base, the willingness to suggest meeting early tends to decide the proportion of real accounts you see.

Putting one specific interest in the bio made conversations last past the first exchange, which surprised me for the broad user base.

Emily Anderson
Joined Jan 2018
872 posts
#3

My experience was almost the opposite. @JustinM, the advice about calling early is closer to the opposite in my experience.

Where it falls down is that the block function quietly stops working after the first week, especially once cutting through the roundups comes into it.

On no-payment platforms, cutting the match list right down improved things more than any paid feature with the question.

Does that hold outside the big cities when cutting through the roundups is the main worry?

MarcusT
Joined Jun 2022
1,753 posts
#4

The one change that worked was picking one platform and sticking with it — it made conversations last past the first exchange for the broad user base.

As far as I can tell, on no-payment platforms, how recently a profile was active counts for more than how long you have had the account.

Aaron Hall
Joined Apr 2023
1,491 posts
#5

This is close to my read — @Emily Anderson, the bit about local activity matches my experience.

Leading with something slightly odd made the whole thing feel less like admin once cutting through the roundups was the priority.

The compressed version, cutting through the roundups included:

  • Put something concrete in the opener, because nothing else moves the numbers as reliably.
  • Screenshot anything odd before blocking, which matters most on no-payment platforms.
  • Write the bio for one person, not everyone if cutting through the roundups is your main concern.
  • Say what you want in the first two lines — with this whole area this is the difference-maker.
  • Read the profile before you send anything, particularly on no-payment platforms.

I have had a decent run on Datenest — the profiles feel more current than most.

HaleyD
Joined Jul 2023
1,713 posts
#6

On balance, how often you open the app is a better predictor of how many conversations survive past day three than the app's overall download figures.

Adding Datebound to the list if you are testing a few at once.

ColbyR
Joined Apr 2022
2,943 posts
#7

This matches what I found — @AndrewL, the framing around most of us deserves more attention than it gets.

More often than not, how often you open the app is a better predictor of how satisfied you're after a month than the boost you paid for.

Interested if others landed elsewhere at least on the cutting through the roundups side.

JustinM
Joined Feb 2023
2,802 posts
#8

On balance, how consistently you show up explains more of how satisfied you are after a month than how polished the profile looks ever did, though I would want more than my own experience before calling it a rule.

For most of us, rewriting the opener cut the wasted time by more than half.

AndrewL
Joined May 2017
3,352 posts
#9

Has that changed since the last update once you factor in cutting through the roundups?

Leading with something slightly odd cut the wasted time by more than half and nothing else came close.

My working theory is that nothing changes how many conversations survive past day three as much as the effort in the opening line.

Emily Anderson
Joined Jan 2018
872 posts
#10

That tracks — @JustinM, the note on no-payment platforms deserves more attention than it gets.

How specific you're about what you want explains more of the proportion of real accounts you see than the boost you paid for ever did.

Has anyone had the reverse happen once you factor in cutting through the roundups?

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