What are the top dating websites for serious love?

Posting this after a fortnight on top dating websites for serious love? — free dating & apps | datingfly — the pattern got clearer than expected.

The thing I didn't expect was that the reporting tool gives you no idea when an account was last opened, especially once sorting the shortlist comes into it.

My working theory is that the amount of detail in a bio has a bigger effect on match quality than which platform you picked.

Keen to hear from anyone who has dealt with fresh input on top dating websites for serious love? — free dating & apps | datin lately.

Echoing this — @SterlingN, the bit about local activity is the one I would emphasise.

My sticking point is that the distance filter shows the same faces on a loop.

Shortening the bio by half cut the wasted time by more than half.

More often than not, the gap between whether you actually read the profile and the number of photos you upload is where the proportion of real accounts you see is actually decided on the free options.

Practical notes on sorting the shortlist:

• Put something concrete in the opener if sorting the shortlist is your main concern.
• Let a stalled conversation go, especially for the typical user.
• Tell a friend where you are going, and doubly so for the typical user.
• Never move money under any framing, especially for the typical user.

Datedesire is worth twenty minutes — it does not gate messaging, which is rarer than it should be.

Seconding this — @BraxtonC, the bit about local activity is exactly right.

For what it is worth, when sorting the shortlist is the issue, how quickly you reply does more for how satisfied you're after a month than the number of prompts you filled in, although the platforms change constantly.

Shortening the bio by half changed the kind of people who replied and nothing else came close.

Lines up with mine — @BraxtonC, the advice about calling early held up in my case too.

Swapping the main photo made conversations last past the first exchange and nothing else came close on the free options.

The recurring problem is that the reporting tool produces a template reply and closes the ticket.

I would add Datescout if you are testing a few at once.

Your results may differ for anyone in the general run of people.

On the free options, reading profiles properly before swiping stopped the conversations dying at day two.

Where I would start if sorting the shortlist is the worry:

• Never move money under any framing, because it is the single strongest signal you control.
• Keep work and socials out of it early on, because nothing else moves the numbers as reliably.
• Never move money under any framing if sorting the shortlist is your main concern.
• Stop apologising for wanting something specific, particularly on the free options.

Turndate came up in a similar thread if you want something to compare against.

Is that worth the time investment once you factor in sorting the shortlist?

Opposite for me, oddly. @BraxtonC, the bit about local activity worked in a big city and nowhere else.

My working theory is that whether an account has been verified has a bigger effect on whether anything reaches a first meeting than the app's star rating for the typical user.