Which are the best free chinese dating sites for foreigners?

Started by CooperS Free Dating & Apps Discussion
CooperS CooperS
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 821
#1

Finally made an account here just to ask this — hoping to get some honest input.

Location matters a lot with these things. What works in a major city might be completely dead in a mid-size town.

Privacy is a serious concern for me. Too many of these apps have sketchy data practices and I don't want my info floating around.

Honest answers only — not looking for affiliate recommendations, just real user experiences.

One that keeps coming up in my research is Rendate — anyone have direct experience with it?

EmmaDates EmmaDates
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,540
#2

Free messaging has basically disappeared from most big platforms. If that's a dealbreaker, the list gets short fast. Seeing datelink.online and datescout.site mentioned in these threads too.

KelseyA KelseyA
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 2,328
#3

Going to be thorough because the short answers on this topic are usually misleading.

The headline is: platform choice matters less than profile quality and consistency. Fix those two things first.

Some things that consistently improve results:

  • Respond within an hour when you can — response rates drop fast after that
  • Keep your bio under 150 words — longer ones get read less
  • Meet in public, tell a friend the details

Been keeping tabs on Datebound as well — the community there seems genuinely active compared to some of the bigger names.

AlexisF AlexisF
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 5,094
#4

Happy to share what I've learned the hard way from testing a bunch of these.

Most people quit too early. Meaningful results on dating apps typically take 6–8 weeks of consistent daily use.

Some things that consistently improve results:

  • Meet in public, tell a friend the details
  • Three photos minimum, at least one full-body and one doing something you enjoy
  • Respond within an hour when you can — response rates drop fast after that
  • Don't copy-paste opening messages — personalized openers get 3x the response rate

Apps worth having in rotation:

  • Bumble
  • Match
  • Happn
  • Tinder
Charlotte Davis Charlotte Davis
Joined: Jun 2023
Posts: 4,444
#5

Honestly location is 90% of it. The best app in the world is useless if nobody nearby uses it. Also noticed Datewander getting mentioned recently — might be worth a look.

Emma Collins Emma Collins
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 4,692
#6

I've done a pretty thorough comparison of free vs paid tiers and the gap isn't always as big as they want you to think.

A few others that keep coming up:

  • datewander.site — worth looking into for this type of search
  • luvdate.site — worth looking into for this type of search
  • datelink.online — worth looking into for this type of search
Olivia Hayes Olivia Hayes
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 5,304
#7

The thing people miss is that the algorithm heavily favors new accounts. Your first week on any platform is your best shot — use it wisely.

Worth testing a few of the mainstream options: Feeld, Happn, Zoosk. All have some level of free access to start.

Also been checking out Datescout — the interface is cleaner than I expected and the user base seems active.

JasperH JasperH
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 2,467
#8

Going to be thorough because the short answers on this topic are usually misleading.

The headline is: platform choice matters less than profile quality and consistency. Fix those two things first.

Some things that consistently improve results:

  • If a match goes cold, one follow-up is fine; more than that is not
  • Respond within an hour when you can — response rates drop fast after that
  • Meet in public, tell a friend the details

Apps worth having in rotation:

  • Happn
  • Zoosk
  • Coffee Meets Bagel
  • OkCupid
  • Bumble
  • Plenty of Fish

You must be logged in to post a reply here.