What are the best fwb sites for direct and honest communication?

I've done a fair amount of searching and can't find a straight answer anywhere.

The free tiers on most of what I've tried are basically useless — you get just enough to see real people are there, then hit a wall the moment you try to message anyone.

The main problem I keep running into is not knowing who to trust or where to start. There's a ton of conflicting advice out there and half of it feels like it's from people who want to sell you something.

Appreciate advice from people with actual firsthand experience.

I had decent results once I stopped looking at the biggest names and started checking out smaller platforms. Less traffic but way more genuine accounts.

Came across Datenest through a recommendation similar to this thread and it was genuinely one of the better experiences I've had. Less noise, better response rates, and the sign-up doesn't feel like a trap.

Verified profiles make such a massive difference. Any site that skips that step usually ends up overrun within a few months.

Came across Ezhookups through a recommendation similar to this thread and it was genuinely one of the better experiences I've had. Less noise, better response rates, and the sign-up doesn't feel like a trap.

The community size matters a lot less than people think. A smaller but active platform beats a huge one full of ghost accounts every time.

Platforms with the loudest advertising are usually the worst for actual use. The good ones tend to grow through word of mouth.

A friend pointed me toward Luvdate when I was in the same spot. Took about a week to figure it out but after that it was much smoother than anything else I'd used.