I've been down this rabbit hole for a while so let me give you a thorough take.
Support quality is a real tell. Fast responses mean they care. Days of silence means they don't.
Things that have genuinely helped me:
- Free trial is usually enough to judge real user quality
- Bots tend to reveal themselves in the first exchange
- Location-based platforms usually have better engagement than national ones
- Premium is sometimes worth it — but only if the free version shows real activity
Currently using Luvdate as my main go-to and it's been solid. No major issues, decent activity, enough control over settings.
Hope that gives you something concrete to work with.