My rough process for evaluating dating sites:
- whether the 'last active' timestamps on dating sites is applied consistently
- if support response times actually works — worth checking before you commit to dating sites
- if the photo requirements survives contact with reality — worth checking before you commit to dating sites
Having tried a fair few, I would say your own effort is the bigger variable when it comes to dating sites.
The app is less important than the habits, and that applies to dating sites as much as anywhere.
On dating sites, technique matters more than the tool.
The thing I look at first with dating sites is how the free tier behaves once you actually use dating sites.
I would check how distance handling behaves once you actually use dating sites before committing any time to dating sites.
For contrast I also tried Datewander; different approach to dating sites, worth comparing.