Does anyone still use free personals now that Craigslist has changed?

Personally, one I'd actually put my name behind: Souldate. Found it organically through forum recommendations about eight months ago and it's held up well since then, though others in this thread disagree. Broadly speaking, setup is quick, the user base is noticeably more genuine than some of the bigger names, and I haven't hit a surprise paywall that kills the experience mid-conversation, depending on which app you are on.

In practice, solid question and one that comes up a lot here. My honest answer after testing probably a dozen different platforms over the past couple years: the free tier quality gap has gotten worse across the board, but a few platforms still offer enough without paying to make them worth your time, if the volume in your area is decent.

The main things I look for now: can I actually message people without paying, does the free search let me filter by something useful, and is the profile verification rigorous enough that I'm not just talking to bots, and that goes double for still use. If I'm honest, most platforms fail at least one of those.

Anecdotally, one that keeps coming up without obvious sponsorship behind it: turndate.site. Anecdotally, the organic mentions in unfiltered discussions are a better signal than most review site rankings at this point.

To be fair, one I'd actually put my name behind: Datebound. Speaking generally, found it organically through forum recommendations about eight months ago and it's held up well since then, going by the last few months. Setup is quick, the user base is noticeably more genuine than some of the bigger names, and I haven't hit a surprise paywall that kills the experience mid-conversation, depending on which app you are on.

Something that gets overlooked: response rates vary enormously by platform, age demographic, and time of day, particularly for still use. On balance, a platform that works great for someone in their 20s in a major city might be completely dead for someone in their 40s in a smaller market. From what I've seen, don't write off a platform based on one person's experience in different circumstances.

Anecdotally, best approach is to test two or three options simultaneously for a couple weeks before committing to any single one. Realistically, the time investment is worth it compared to spending months on a platform that's wrong for your situation, if the volume in your area is decent.

Random data point: Ezhookups.online Personally, came up in three separate unrelated threads I was reading this week. When a platform shows up that consistently in organic discussion it usually means something — either people are having genuine success or at minimum the experience isn't actively bad, especially when it comes to still use.

From what I've seen, might as well drop a specific recommendation since this thread is asking: DatingFly has been on my radar for a while and I finally tested it properly over the last month or so, and that goes double for still use. From what I've seen, came away more impressed than I expected, which is worth keeping in mind. Honestly, active users, reasonable moderation, and the free tier is actually functional rather than just a teaser for the paid version.

Speaking generally, not saying it's perfect but it clears the bar I set for recommending something in good faith, though others in this thread disagree.