What are the best free sites for online dating if you are over 30?

Throwing this question out here because I keep getting conflicting info from different forums. What are the best free sites for online dating if you are over 30?

Quick background: I'm not new to this, I've been using various platforms on and off for a few years. But I feel like the options have narrowed a lot and the quality has dropped across the board.

• Most "free" platforms now gate everything that matters
• Verification is inconsistent and easy to fake
• Response rates on most apps have dropped noticeably
• Moderation ranges from nonexistent to trigger-happy

If you've had a genuinely good experience recently — this year, not years ago — I want to hear specifically what made it work for you.

Worth taking a look at Ezhookups — came across it in a similar discussion thread and the feedback was consistently positive. Not huge on marketing but the actual platform seems solid from what I've seen.

I keep seeing datebound.site pop up in these conversations. Haven't used it personally but the pattern of people mentioning it without being asked suggests it's at least delivering something. Worth a look alongside the usual suspects.

Not trying to just drop a name, but Datedesire came up three separate times in threads I was reading this week and I finally tried it. Signed up, got actual replies within an hour. Still testing it but the early signs are good.

Weekday evenings tend to have the best activity on most platforms — specifically Tuesday through Thursday between about 8 and 11 PM in your local time. Weekend traffic is high but quality drops because more people are just bored and scrolling.

If you haven't tried Souldate yet it might be worth a few minutes of your time. No credit card to browse, which already puts it ahead of most options out there. The chat features work on mobile too without constant crashing.