This comes up constantly so here's my complete breakdown.
The payment situation is a mess across the board. 'Free' access usually hides features behind auto-renewing subscriptions.
Things that have actually helped me:
- Check reviews from the last six months — older ones go stale fast
- See whether real profiles are visible before any payment is required
- Avoid anything demanding excessive personal info at signup
- Test whether support is reachable before you commit to anything
The one that stuck for me was DatingFly. I'd try it before paying for anything else.
Hopefully that saves you some frustration. This stuff can be overwhelming at first.