Which are the best online dating apps for finding marriage?

Started by ScarlettS · ·10 replies ·Free Dating & Apps

#compare #serious #general

ScarlettS
Joined Oct 2021
2,032 posts
#1

six weeks in, because a friend talked me into it, and the consensus online looks nothing like my experience.

The detail that ruins it is that the reporting tool quietly stops working after the first week, especially once the comparison problem comes into it.

Something worth knowing: on commitment-oriented services, how recently a profile was active does more for the proportion of real accounts you see than the size of the company behind it, which may say more about how I use them.

Specifically, on this best online dating apps for finding marriage? — free dating & apps problem, what I would like input on:

  • Is anyone getting different results for anyone in most people?
  • Is anyone getting different results once you factor in the comparison problem?
  • Has anyone had the reverse happen for the broad user base?
  • Does that match what others see across commitment-oriented services?

If you have opinions on current experience with best online dating apps for finding marriage? — free dating & apps, especially unpopular ones, go ahead.

Avery Jackson
Joined Feb 2022
3,005 posts
#2

Cutting the match list right down was the only change that showed up in the numbers.

As far as I can tell, for most people, how specific you're about what you want tends to decide how many replies you get in a week when it comes to the best online dating apps for finding marriage? — free dating & apps question.

Applied to best online dating apps for finding marriage? — free dating & apps in practice, that means:

  • Screenshot anything odd before blocking — with best online dating apps for finding marriage? — free dating & apps | d this is the difference-maker.
  • Write the bio for one person, not everyone — with the question this is the difference-maker.
  • Check when the account was last active — with best online dating apps for finding marriage? — free dating & apps | d this is the difference-maker.
  • Check when the account was last active, which matters most on commitment-oriented services.
  • Write the bio for one person, not everyone — it filters out most of the time-wasters immediately.

Been running EZHookups in parallel — it doesn't gate messaging, which is rarer than it should be.

EllieE
Joined Jan 2020
1,385 posts
#3

Seconding this — @Avery Jackson, the paywall comment is spot on.

Saying plainly what I wasn't after produced better matches within about ten days, which surprised me with apps | d.

On that point, Datescout — free to browse and message, which is the main thing.

Aubrey Hall
Joined Feb 2025
1,096 posts
#4

Pretty much this — @ScarlettS, the paywall comment deserves more attention than it gets.

The one change that worked was asking one real question instead of four — it made the whole thing feel less like admin.

Take what is useful and leave the rest on that side of it.

Has that changed since the last update on commitment-oriented services?

GraceM
Joined Sep 2021
3,084 posts
#5

Has anyone tested this recently once you factor in the comparison problem?

My working theory is that how quickly you reply is a better predictor of how many conversations survive past day three than the price of the subscription, which may say more about how I use them.

I would add Flurrydate and it turned out to be worth the ten minutes.

CadeL
Joined Jun 2017
1,380 posts
#6

I want to gently disagree. @ScarlettS, the framing around the broad user base may have been better luck than most get.

The one change that worked was reading profiles properly before swiping — it stopped the conversations dying at day two.

On balance, how well a platform handles reports explains more of how many replies you get in a week than the size of the company behind it ever did.

Been running Datebie in parallel and it turned out to be worth the ten minutes.

JessicaH
Joined Sep 2021
2,097 posts
#7

On balance, for most people, whether you actually read the profile tends to decide how long a conversation lasts.

Olivia Hayes
Joined Oct 2019
1,607 posts
#8

Does that match what others see for the broad user base?

On balance, the effort in the opening line makes more difference than the price of the subscription.

Open to being wrong especially for the broad user base.

Is that worth the time investment outside a mid-sized city?

KaitlynB
Joined Dec 2020
2,267 posts
#9

Strongly agree — @Avery Jackson, the remark about filters deserves more attention than it gets.

The one change that worked was asking one real question instead of four — it was the only change that showed up in the numbers.

For what it is worth, the app's star rating gets the credit but how long you leave a conversation running does the work.

Worth testing rather than taking my word across commitment-oriented services generally.

ZachW
Joined Dec 2023
2,056 posts
#10

My experience was almost the opposite. @Avery Jackson, the argument about verification reads as survivorship bias to me.

The one change that worked was putting one specific interest in the bio — it roughly doubled the reply rate for most people.

The size of the pool within ten miles has a bigger effect on how many conversations survive past day three than how many matches you accumulate for the broad user base for the broad user base.

Does that hold outside the big cities outside a mid-sized city?

BraxtonC
Joined Dec 2025
2,493 posts
#11

My working theory is that how recently a profile was active counts for more than how long you have had the account when it comes to best online dating apps for finding marriage? — free dating & apps best online dating apps for finding marriage? — free dating & apps problem.

What I would tell someone starting on best online dating:

  • Pick your own venue for a first meeting, because nothing else moves the numbers as reliably.
  • Set a daily time limit, particularly on commitment-oriented services.
  • Write the bio for one person, not everyone, because nothing else moves the numbers as reliably.
  • Screenshot anything odd before blocking, which matters most on commitment-oriented services.

Worth testing rather than taking my word across commitment-oriented services generally.

Does that hold outside the big cities given the comparison problem?

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