The thing nobody says about best free dating sites with free messaging features is that the answer changes by region.
My experience with dating sites shifted completely once I paid attention to the paywall question. The conversion from match to conversation matters more for dating sites than any feature list.
My experience with dating sites shifted completely once I paid attention to what people get out of it. What decided it for me with dating sites were how far the free tier really goes.
Two people can have opposite results with dating sites purely because of what it actually costs. If you try best free dating sites with free messaging features, give it longer than you think you need.