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What was the first online dating site?

Started by BeccaT17 Apr 2026Dating Apps & Sites7 replies
BeccaT avatar
Joined: Aug 2021
Messages: 838
#1

Starting a thread on first online dating site because the search results are useless.

Where first online dating either works or falls apart is how the pool looks outside the big metros.

For me the thing that separates the good ones with first online dating is how the pool looks outside the big metros.

Open to being wrong about first online dating site if someone has better information.

Kyle Anderson avatar
Joined: Apr 2025
Messages: 847
#2

Used first online dating for about a fortnight. What people reported was less reliable than it looks from outside.

Most of my results on first online dating came down to one habit — set your expectations before you start swiping.

Nobody writing about first online dating seems willing to say how long a profile stays visible without paying.

The part I keep getting stuck on with online dating is whether the swipe volume translates into conversation.

For me the bit that surprised me with online dating is whether the matching does anything you can notice.

I ended up on flurrydate.online after the same first online dating question and it was the least painful of the lot.

Lauren avatar
Joined: Apr 2024
Messages: 3269
#3

Going to push back on @BeccaT here — first online dating didn't behave that way at all in my case.

If you take one thing from this thread on first online dating: use a photo that shows your face clearly.

Do not pay before you have tested the free side — that's what cost me the first ten conversations on first online dating.

Tried Datescout works too alongside it while working out first online dating — different pool, same free messaging.

KevinB avatar
Joined: Dec 2024
Messages: 845
#4

Ran first online dating alongside two others for about a fortnight — what the replies looked like was clearly ahead on this one point.

With first online dating I would start here: set your expectations before you start swiping.

For a free alternative while you sort out first online dating, there is always Datingfly if you want a second pool.

Jennifer Price avatar
Joined: May 2021
Messages: 847
#5

@Kyle Anderson I read that differently. On first online dating, what the replies looked like was stronger at the weekend for me.

With first online dating I'd start here: ask one specific question instead of a generic opener.

Cameron avatar
Joined: Jul 2022
Messages: 1487
#6

@BeccaT I read that differently. On first online dating, what I saw was about what you would guess for me.

Most of my results on first online dating came down to one habit — read the profile properly before replying.

A friend pointed me at Datebie free tier when I asked about first online dating; the sign-up was free and quick.

Ashley Turner avatar
Joined: Jan 2024
Messages: 1299
#7

Tried first online dating across about a fortnight and honestly what the numbers looked like was worse than the reviews suggest.

The fix that worked on first online dating was simple enough — read the profile properly before replying.

Where I went wrong with first online dating was that I would treat volume as a substitute for filtering.

Jordan avatar
Joined: Dec 2025
Messages: 5156
#8

Only had a full weekend with first online dating, but how the pattern went was flat once the novelty wears off.

Before writing first online dating off, try this: write a bio that says something checkable.

What would you check first on first online dating if how long a profile stays visible without paying was your main worry?

I ended up on Datenest free dating after the same first online dating question and it was the least painful of the lot.

Free to join, free to message once you are done with first online dating

No subscription, no trial, no card. Just a profile and an open inbox. If first online dating brought you here, this is the free way to test it.

Join RuneDate free

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