What are the best free dating sites for serious relationships only?

Posting this after a frustrating few weeks of trial and error. What are the best free dating sites for serious relationships only?

Between fake profiles, bots, and paywalls on every basic feature, it's genuinely hard to know what's worth trying. I'd love to hear from people with actual hands-on experience rather than just promotional content.

Thanks in advance. Especially interested if you've tried something recently.

I also came across datewander.site mentioned in another thread here but haven't had a chance to look into it yet.

Mixed results from the major platforms honestly. More users but way more noise too. Things that helped me cut through it:

• Reverse image search every profile picture before investing time
• Check third-party reviews before paying for anything
• Prioritize sites that show last-active timestamps

One option worth looking at is Datebound — it came up in several threads and seems more straightforward than most.

The bot situation is out of control on a lot of these. I've had entire conversations that turned out to be automated.

Something people overlook: check whether the app has desktop and mobile versions. Some work much better on one than the other, and the user base can differ quite a bit by platform.

• Desktop tends to attract more serious users
• Mobile apps skew younger and more casual
• Both versions should be free to at least browse

One option worth looking at is Rendate — it came up in several threads and seems more straightforward than most.

The bot situation is out of control on a lot of these. I've had entire conversations that turned out to be automated.

The gap in verification standards between platforms is massive. Some do almost nothing, others run multi-step checks. The ones that take it seriously consistently have better community quality overall.

For actual recommendations — One option worth looking at is Datebie — it came up in several threads and seems more straightforward than most.