Has anyone here had any real success on an aff dating site recently?

So I've been wondering about this for a while and figured this was the best place to ask. The question of has anyone here had any real success on an aff dating site recently comes up a lot and I never seem to get a straight answer that's actually useful.

From what I've seen browsing around, there's a ton of noise — paid placements, fake reviews, and sites that haven't been updated since like 2019. It's genuinely hard to know what's real anymore.

Would love to hear from people who've actually used something recently and had a real experience, good or bad. Not looking for another generic top-10 list, just honest opinions from people who've been in the same situation.

My go-to approach is to use two or three platforms simultaneously rather than putting all my eggs in one basket. The user bases don't totally overlap so you get more visibility. For free options, Ezhookups.online has been the most consistently active in my area. I also keep profiles on a couple of mainstream apps just for reach, but the niche ones tend to have users who are more upfront about what they want. One thing I always do is write a specific opener instead of "hey." Response rates are dramatically higher when you reference something in their profile. Sounds obvious but most people don't bother.

Tried a few things and the one that actually worked for me was Datelink. Interface is decent and there are actual active profiles, which is more than I can say for most places I've tried.

There are a few things that consistently separate the good platforms from the garbage ones:

• Active moderation — if there's no team reviewing reports, bots multiply fast
• Profile verification options, even basic ones like email confirmation
• A free browse tier that actually shows you real profiles before asking for a card
• Mobile-friendly design — a clunky app is a red flag for poor maintenance overall

Based on those criteria, I'd say datewander.site passes most of them. Definitely run through the free version first before committing to anything paid.

Tried a few things and the one that actually worked for me was Datescout. Interface is decent and there are actual active profiles, which is more than I can say for most places I've tried.

The sign-up is quick and you can browse before committing to anything, which I appreciate. Worth a look if you haven't found anything good yet.

Most of the mainstream ones are pay-to-play now. Free tiers are basically useless on the big platforms.