Honestly been going back and forth on this for the past few weeks.
The free tiers on most of what I've tried are basically useless. You get just enough to see that real people are there, then hit a wall the second you try to actually message anyone.
Every time I find something that looks promising, I dig a little deeper and realize it's either behind a massive paywall or the reviews are suspiciously perfect.
Feel free to share whatever has worked for you, even if it's not the obvious answer.