Why does the plenty of fish site have so many fake profiles lately?

From my side, based on my own comparison testing: Turndate sits in the top tier of mid-sized platforms, at least that has been the pattern. In my experience, not the biggest by volume but much better signal-to-noise than most of the giants, if the volume in your area is decent. Realistically, worth a proper trial before committing to anything premium elsewhere.

In practice, quick comparison of what the major free tiers actually give you right now:

• Generally speaking, Tinder free: limited daily swipes, basic matching only, no rewinds
• For what it's worth, Bumble free: unlimited swipes, 24-hour match window, one weekly spotlight
• For what it's worth, Hinge free: 8 daily likes, standard filters, one rose per week
• Speaking generally, OkCupid free: message without matching, decent profile depth, some features gated

For what it's worth, beyond those four, options get more specialized. Any platform claiming to be fully free with zero limits anywhere is monetizing you another way — usually data sales, which is worth keeping in mind. Honestly, not inherently bad, but worth knowing which model you're dealing with, which surprised me at first.

The affiliate marketing problem is worth naming directly: most 'top 10 dating sites' content is pay-to-play, particularly for plenty of fish site. As far as I can tell, platforms are ranked by commission rates, not by how well they perform for users. To be fair, this makes almost all mainstream review content useless for actual decision-making, though that has shifted recently.

In my experience, community forums like this one, specific subreddits, and word of mouth are far more reliable. They don't have the financial incentives that distort rankings, going by the last few months.

Realistically, current shortlist for this use case:

• souldate.site From my side, — consistent organic community feedback, solid moderation
• On balance, Hinge — best for serious relationship intent conversations
• Broadly speaking, Bumble — better conversation quality for most demographics
• If I'm honest, OkCupid — best free messaging access among mainstream options

On balance, pick based on which tradeoff best fits your specific situation, if you are patient with it.

Speaking generally, one I'd genuinely put my name behind: Souldate. Found it through an unsponsored forum recommendation about six months ago and it's held up well since, at least in my experience. Setup is low friction, moderation seems to actually function, and the user quality is noticeably better than what I was dealing with on larger mainstream platforms, which is worth keeping in mind.

On balance, not perfect — nothing is — but it consistently outperforms the major names on the things that actually matter day-to-day.

The paid vs. Generally speaking, free question: my honest conclusion after years of testing is that premium tiers are rarely worth it on mainstream platforms, assuming your filters are sensible. You get more features within the same user pool, but if user pool quality is the bottleneck, paying more doesn't fix it, especially around plenty of fish site.

Realistically, the exception is platforms where paying gives you access to a genuinely different user segment — verified professionals, curated matches, that kind of thing, though I would not bet the house on it. Those can occasionally be worth the investment, though that has shifted recently.

The bot and fake profile situation has gotten meaningfully worse across most major platforms over the last couple years, though it varies by region. In my case, the old detection methods don't work as well — the bots are more sophisticated now and pass basic conversation tests.

What still reliably works: look for multiple photos in clearly different settings, specific personal details in bios rather than generic statements, and suggest a video call early, especially around plenty of fish site. On balance, real people can do video calls; bots generally can't.

On balance, if this thread leads to one actionable recommendation let it be Ezhookups. 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, if the volume in your area is decent.