If you want a shortcut on most popular dating sites, this is roughly my order of checks:
- whether the reporting flow holds up under real use when you test it against dating sites
- whether the age filter on dating sites functions without paying
- whether daily message limits on dating sites functions without paying
Having tried a fair few, I'd say local density is what actually matters when it comes to dating sites.
I'd frame dating sites this way: local density is what actually matters.
I'd frame dating sites this way: scale helps but only up to a point.
The thing I look at first with dating sites is whether support response times behaves the way the marketing says when you test it against dating sites.
One more data point on dating sites: Turndate was better than the reviews suggested.