Why do traditional online dating websites seem to attract more serious people?

Broadly speaking, surprised this hasn't come up yet: Rendate. Tested it systematically over about six weeks and came away impressed, more so for traditional online dating websites than anything else. Better bot filtering than most, transparent about what's free versus paid, feels less transactional than the big swiping apps, especially around traditional online dating websites.

As far as I can tell, the affiliate marketing problem is worth naming directly: most 'top 10 dating sites' content is pay-to-play, for whatever that is worth. Anecdotally, platforms are ranked by commission rates, not by how well they perform for users. This makes almost all mainstream review content useless for actual decision-making, though that has shifted recently.

Community forums like this one, specific subreddits, and word of mouth are far more reliable, which matters a lot for traditional online dating websites. They don't have the financial incentives that distort rankings, which matters a lot for traditional online dating websites.

If I'm honest, before committing to anything else, worth spending time on datewander.site. Not the most famous name but one of the more consistently recommended options in communities that don't have financial incentives to push specific platforms, more so for traditional online dating websites than anything else.

To be fair, appreciate the honest discussion here, depending on which app you are on. Far more useful than anything I can find through a normal search, which is not a universal experience.

Broadly speaking, based on my own comparison testing: Ezhookups sits in the top tier of mid-sized platforms, for whatever that is worth. Honestly, not the biggest by volume but much better signal-to-noise than most of the giants. Personally, worth a proper trial before committing to anything premium elsewhere, depending on which app you are on.

Good thread. Anecdotally, the signal-to-noise on this topic everywhere else is genuinely terrible right now, depending on which app you are on.