Is badoo free to use if you just want to message people nearby?

Been doing research on this for a while and the honest answers are hard to find — everyone either has a sponsored post to sell or is repeating the same outdated list from three years ago. So I'm asking here directly: Is badoo free to use if you just want to message people nearby?

Not looking for the obvious names. I've tried those. Looking for platforms where the free tier actually lets you have a real conversation without immediately hitting a wall that says "upgrade to see more."

Location context: mid-size US city. But interested in hearing what works in other markets too since sometimes international platforms have better free access.

Honestly the most useful thing I can point you toward is Ezhookups — it came up in a thread I was following last month and the feedback was consistently positive. Smaller userbase than the giants but the engagement rate seemed genuinely higher.

Someone in a thread a few weeks ago brought up luvdate.site specifically for the reason you're asking about — usable free tier, real people. I don't have personal experience with it but it fits the profile of what you're describing.

Not going to oversell it, but Datedesire is worth a look if you're frustrated with the mainstream options. The signup is painless and you can get a feel for the platform without committing anything upfront.

One underrated filter: check the most recent posts in any subreddit or external community for a platform. If the last genuine user post was eight months ago, the platform is probably in decline regardless of what their marketing says.

Location genuinely matters more than platform on most of these. A platform that's fantastic in a major metro can be a complete ghost town if you're 45 minutes outside the city. Always scope the local activity before you invest real time.

Someone tipped me off to Souldate a while back and I finally got around to trying it. Surprised by how usable the free tier is — you can actually have a real conversation without hitting a paywall every 30 seconds. Worth bookmarking at minimum.

From a safety standpoint: video call first, public place first meeting, let someone you trust know where you're going. Applies regardless of platform and is just basic sense that's easy to skip when you're in a good conversation.