What is the absolute best dating app for relationships rather than hookups?

Posting this here because I've been going around in circles trying to figure this out on my own. The question of what is the absolute best dating app for relationships rather than hookups seems simple on the surface but every thread I find is either outdated or full of sponsored answers.

The landscape has changed a lot even in the past year. Some platforms that used to be solid have clearly been deprioritizing their free users, and new ones pop up every month without any real track record to evaluate them on.

Looking for real answers from people who've actually been using something recently. Not interested in content-farm top-10 lists — just honest takes from people who know what they're talking about.

The one that's worked best for me recently is Datedesire. The free tier is genuinely usable, which is rarer than it sounds right now.

Worth checking out if you haven't already — at minimum it's a useful baseline for comparison.

Privacy settings matter a lot — anything that shows your location to the exact street level is a no from me.

I keep seeing rendate.site come up in discussions like this. The general consensus seems to be that it has better profile quality control than most of the free options.

I've had way better luck with niche platforms than the mainstream ones lately.

The one that's worked best for me recently is Souldate. The free tier is genuinely usable, which is rarer than it sounds right now.

The credit card requirement thing is a dealbreaker. Anything that asks before you've even seen a real profile is a red flag.