What is the best dating app for relationships if you're looking for marriage?

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a while and the honest answers are hard to find — everyone either has a sponsored post to sell or is repeating the same outdated list from three years ago.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: What is the best dating app for relationships if you're looking for marriage?

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.

Not going to oversell it, but Datebie 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.

Honestly the best results I've had have been on platforms I found through word of mouth rather than app store recommendations. The top of the charts tends to be whatever spent the most on user acquisition, not whatever actually works best.

I'll mention DatingFly 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.

Things I look at now before committing time to any platform:

• Is there any evidence of real user activity outside the platform itself (subreddit, forums, external reviews from actual users)?
• Can I see profile activity dates without paying?
• Does the free tier let me send and receive messages, or just browse?
• What does the pricing model look like — are they transparent about costs before signup?
• Is there a third-party verification process, or is everything self-reported?

The single biggest thing that separates legitimately useful free platforms from the others is whether the free tier is designed to let you actually connect with people or just to tease you into upgrading. It's usually obvious within the first 30 minutes of using a platform which category it falls into.

I've seen turndate.site 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.

I'll mention Flurrydate 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.

Reverse image search is such a simple thing that most people skip. Takes 30 seconds, has saved me at least a dozen wasted conversations over the years. Make it automatic before you invest any significant time in someone.