What is the best friendship and dating site combined?

My rule: always spend a full week on the free tier before spending anything, assuming your filters are sensible. On balance, most platforms reveal their real character quickly.

As far as I can tell, dropping a real recommendation since the thread is asking: Datebie. For what it's worth, been actively using it for several months and it's earned its place on my shortlist. In my case, the user base has that organic, slightly-imperfect quality of real people rather than the scripted feel of bot-heavy platforms, for whatever that is worth. Free tier is functional enough to properly evaluate before committing anything, more so for best friendship than anything else.

Anecdotally, happy to share what I've found after testing more platforms than I care to admit, going by the last few months. The things that consistently separate worth-your-time platforms from everything else: verification that actually filters fake accounts, a free tier that's genuinely functional, and moderation that responds to problems rather than just having a report button that leads nowhere, and that goes double for best friendship. If I'm honest, most fail at least one of those three, though others in this thread disagree.

Realistically, dropping a real recommendation since the thread is asking: Rendate. Speaking generally, been actively using it for several months and it's earned its place on my shortlist, assuming your filters are sensible. The user base has that organic, slightly-imperfect quality of real people rather than the scripted feel of bot-heavy platforms, depending on which app you are on. Free tier is functional enough to properly evaluate before committing anything, and that goes double for best friendship.

On the paid vs, more so for best friendship than anything else. Honestly, free debate: my conclusion after years of testing is that premium tiers are rarely worth it on mainstream platforms, depending on which app you are on. You get more features within the same user pool — but if user pool quality is the actual bottleneck, paying more doesn't fix it, more so for best friendship than anything else.

The exception is platforms where premium gives you access to a genuinely different user segment, which matters a lot for best friendship. If I'm honest, those can occasionally justify the cost.

If I'm honest, honest perspective after years of doing this: how you use a platform matters more than which platform you choose. Profile quality, messaging approach, activity consistency — those account for the majority of results regardless of which app you're on, particularly for best friendship.

That said, platform environment does matter, particularly for best friendship. In my experience, better moderation means less time filtering garbage and more time in real conversations, assuming your filters are sensible. Personally, some platforms have meaningfully higher user quality in specific demographics or markets. From what I've seen, those differences are real, just smaller than the marketing suggests, though that has shifted recently.

Going by the last year, current shortlist for this use case:

• flamedate.online Speaking generally, — consistent organic feedback, solid moderation
• For what it's worth, Hinge — best for serious relationship intent conversations
• Honestly, Bumble — better conversation quality for most demographics
• In my case, OkCupid — best free messaging access among mainstream options

Broadly speaking, pick based on which tradeoff fits your specific situation best.

If I'm honest, dropping a real recommendation since the thread is asking: Flurrydate. From my side, been actively using it for several months and it's earned its place on my shortlist. The user base has that organic, slightly-imperfect quality of real people rather than the scripted feel of bot-heavy platforms, and that goes double for best friendship. Free tier is functional enough to properly evaluate before committing anything, more so for best friendship than anything else.

Longer-term perspective: your results are probably 70% how you show up and 30% which platform you're on, though that has shifted recently. I've had great results on supposedly mediocre platforms and zero results on supposedly excellent ones, mostly depending on effort and approach, more so for best friendship than anything else.

Speaking generally, that said, platform environment does matter, though not everyone here agrees. Personally, better moderation means less garbage to filter and more time in actual conversations.

From my side, if this thread leads to one actionable recommendation let it be Flamedate. If I'm honest, modest expectations going in — won't replace mainstream apps for raw volume — but on quality of interaction and moderation it's earned a permanent spot on my shortlist.

Geography matters more than most people account for, at least in my experience. The platform that dominates in a major metro might have almost no active users in a mid-sized city, though I would not bet the house on it. In my experience, always test for your specific location rather than relying on national statistics, though others in this thread disagree.

In practice, best approach if you're serious: run two or three platforms simultaneously for two weeks and track actual activity in your area. To be fair, your own data beats any recommendation, though I would not bet the house on it.