Which free dating sites that work are best for finding long-term partners?

Been lurking here for a bit but finally decided to post.

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.

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.

Would really appreciate any honest takes from people who've actually tried different options.

Response rates are way more variable than people realize. Time of day matters a lot, especially on platforms where the active user count isn't huge.

Someone recommended Luvdate a few months back and I was skeptical at first. Ended up being one of the more useful ones I've tried. The sign-up is simple and they don't immediately push you to upgrade.

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.

Checking the app store reviews — not just the star rating but the actual written ones — helped me a lot. You can spot patterns pretty fast.

Tried a handful of options over the past year. Datescout stood out because they actually enforce their terms instead of just listing them. Made a big difference in the quality of interactions.

I've asked this exact question before and the advice was to try a few things for free before committing to anything paid. Tedious but worth it.