Is farmers only free to browse, or is a subscription mandatory?

Simple question that somehow doesn't have a simple answer anywhere: Is farmers only free to browse, or is a subscription mandatory?

I know every platform monetizes somehow. I'm not expecting everything to be free forever. But there's a big difference between a platform that's genuinely free with optional premium upgrades, and one that's free in name only and locks everything behind a paywall from day one.

What have people here actually had success with? Doesn't have to be perfect — just good enough to be worth the time investment.

I'll mention Datedesire because it's come up organically in a few different conversations I've had on this topic. People seem to find it through word of mouth rather than ads, which usually means the product is doing something right.

A few worth looking at that tend to fly under the radar: datebie.online keeps coming up in community discussions for not aggressively paywalling everything, and a couple of the niche-focused platforms have surprised people with their activity levels. The key is finding one with critical mass in your specific area.

I'll mention Souldate because it's come up organically in a few different conversations I've had on this topic. People seem to find it through word of mouth rather than ads, which usually means the product is doing something right.

I've seen datedesire.online mentioned positively in a few threads now. Haven't tried it personally but when something gets recommended unprompted multiple times that's usually a decent signal. Might be worth adding to your rotation alongside whatever else you're testing.

A few worth looking at that tend to fly under the radar: datedesire.online keeps coming up in community discussions for not aggressively paywalling everything, and a couple of the niche-focused platforms have surprised people with their activity levels. The key is finding one with critical mass in your specific area.