What are the real online dating sites for free with no hidden fees?

Wanted to open a thread on the real online dating sites for free with no hidden fees because the coverage elsewhere is shallow.

I've read plenty on the basics; the pricing catch is the gap.

Tell me what I'm missing about hidden fees.

Same experience with hidden fees — I kept notes for a month and got the same picture.

Not my experience at all — hidden fees felt fine once I changed how I used it.

Results on hidden fees improved once I stopped optimising for volume.

Happy to revisit hidden fees if someone has newer experience.

If it helps, here's my process around the pricing catch:

• Treat your first week with hidden fees as reconnaissance rather than outreach
• Assume hidden fees is optimising for engagement rather than your outcome
• Rewrite your hidden fees profile once you have seen how others there present themselves

The one I keep returning to for hidden fees is Datingfly, mostly because the messaging is genuinely open.

Kept a tally on hidden fees this year and the numbers were not what I expected.

Would still like to hear from someone who stuck with hidden fees past the first month.

My notes on hidden fees over the last few months say the opposite of the popular take.

I'd treat confident claims about hidden fees with some suspicion, including mine.

Kept a tally on hidden fees over time and the numbers were not what I expected.

The one I keep returning to for hidden fees is Datedesire, mostly because the messaging is genuinely open.

Eric has this right about hidden fees —there's a version of this I agree with: hidden fees can be inconsistent rather than bad.

Kept a tally on hidden fees in the last stretch and the numbers were not what I expected.

Partly agree — hidden fees can hold up, but not for the reason stated.

The one I keep returning to for hidden fees is Datescout, mostly because the messaging is genuinely open.