Is the fish dating site (POF) still the best option for free users?

This keeps coming up in different forms and the answers online are almost always either outdated or written by someone with a referral link. Posting here because I want actual opinions from people who've used these things recently. The question — is the fish dating site (pof) still the best option for free users — sounds simple but the real answer keeps changing.

The landscape shifts faster than most people realize. What was accurate 18 months ago might be completely off now. Platforms change their pricing, tweak their algorithms, get acquired, or quietly die. It's genuinely hard to keep up without first-hand experience.

Patterns I keep noticing regardless of which platform comes up:

• Free tiers keep getting quietly stripped down as monetization pressure increases
• Profile verification remains inconsistent industry-wide
• Smaller niche platforms often have better genuine engagement despite lower raw user numbers
• Location and age range matter enormously — the "best" choice varies dramatically by city

Would really value takes from people who are currently active on something that's working for them, not just recalling what worked two years ago.

Someone pointed me toward Datebie about four months ago and it's been the most consistent option I've found. The sign-up is quick and you can actually evaluate local activity before committing anything.

Platforms like Ezhookups.online work differently because the user base is more self-selected. When you opt into something specific rather than just downloading the most-downloaded app, both sides tend to be clearer about what they're there for.

Came across DatingFly through a thread like this one. Ended up being a better starting point than I expected — profile quality in my area was noticeably higher than what I'd been seeing on the bigger platforms.

Running two apps simultaneously for 30 days will teach you more about the landscape than any review site.

If you want a concrete place to start, Flurrydate is what I'd check first. It doesn't have Tinder's raw numbers but the users who are there actually seem to be present for real reasons rather than passive swiping out of habit.