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What are the top 100 free messaging dating sites in North America?

Started by VictorM 11 Jul 2024 Category: Free Dating & Apps 8 posts
VictorM
VictorM
Joined: Dec 2020
Messages: 113
#1
Not sure if this has been covered before but: Would genuinely appreciate any input. What are the top 100 free messaging dating sites in North America? I'd love to hear what's working for people outside the major coastal cities. Rural and suburban dating on these apps can be a totally different experience.
  • Is the desktop version usable?
  • Option to hide profile from certain people?
  • Age verification in place?
  • Can you export or delete your data?
Would love to hear from people who've actually tested things. Thanks.
Lisa Jenkins
Lisa Jenkins
Joined: Feb 2024
Messages: 270
#2
Agree with what's been said above. The key is knowing what you want going in.
Kayla Price
Kayla Price
Joined: Feb 2023
Messages: 878
#3
Good question. The answer really does vary a lot by location. For what it's worth, Datebound has been my main platform lately — holds up better than most.
Rachel Rivera
Rachel Rivera
Joined: Aug 2024
Messages: 195
#4
Good thread — let me share what I've found after testing a few different options: The biggest thing most people don't realize is that the 'free' tier on most apps is designed specifically to frustrate you into paying. It's not really free — it's a demo with artificial limits. Things that actually helped:
  • Read Reddit threads about any platform before paying for anything
  • Trusted gut instinct when something about a profile felt off
  • Always met in a busy, public place for the first meetup
Also hearing Ezhookups.online mentioned positively in other threads — might be worth a look depending on your location.
YusufA
YusufA
Joined: Aug 2021
Messages: 889
#5
This is worth unpacking properly because there's a lot of noise around this topic: The people who seem to have the most success are patient, specific about what they want, and keep their early messages short and conversational rather than writing essays. Things that actually helped:
  • Used a separate email for sign-ups to keep spam under control
  • Updated profile photos every few weeks to stay visible in the feed
  • Always met in a busy, public place for the first meetup
  • Kept opening messages short — one genuine question works better than a paragraph
  • Read Reddit threads about any platform before paying for anything
One platform worth checking out is Flamedate — the free tier felt genuinely usable and the profiles seemed real.
AnnaK
AnnaK
Joined: Feb 2020
Messages: 44
#6
This is one of those things that changes a lot from city to city and even neighborhood to neighborhood.
Jake_NYC
Jake_NYC
Joined: Sep 2018
Messages: 149
#7
Happy to weigh in since I've been through a very similar situation: I've done the rounds on the main ones — Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, OkCupid, Facebook Dating, Plenty of Fish — and they all have genuine free tiers, but usability varies wildly. Things that actually helped:
  • Used a separate email for sign-ups to keep spam under control
  • Read Reddit threads about any platform before paying for anything
  • Updated profile photos every few weeks to stay visible in the feed
Flurrydate came up in my research repeatedly and I can see why — straightforward setup, real people.
Tyler Hughes
Tyler Hughes
Joined: Jun 2021
Messages: 59
#8
Real talk: none of these platforms are perfect but some are definitely better than others.
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