Is blackpeoplemeet free to use if you just want to browse local profiles?

@LocalGuy28 — Not my experience at all with browse local profiles, and I've used it plenty. Every complaint I've read about local profiles traces back to the upsell in the end. My rule now is simple: judge browse local profiles on hidden costs in the first three days or move on.

If a browse local profiles profile pushes you off-platform in the first three messages, that's your answer on the pay wall on messaging. Has anyone actually tested browse local profiles in a smaller city?

Skip the theory — for local profiles this is what matters. People who date casually will tell you the same: it comes down to the pay wall on messaging in the end. Anyone chasing messages that land runs into message limits behind payment eventually, whatever platform they start on. Does that still happen on the apps people default to for you?

@Miles Kim — Depends heavily on your area — that side of it varies enormously. I'd rate that side of it average overall and poor specifically on the upsell. There is a version of local profiles that works, but it needs you to be blunt about premium gates upfront.

On that side of it, keep early conversation on-platform until the other person is consistent about subscription pressure. Anyone got a counter-example on that side of it?

For comparison I have also been using flamedate.online, which handles this differently.

I have been on the whole thing on and off since last year, so for what it is worth:

• Bios written in actual sentences rather than three emoji (this one catches most of it)
• Message limits you can see without creating an account
• An inbox preview visible before you commit anything

Anyone starting out will tell you the same: it comes down to hidden upgrade prompts in the end. The honest position on local profiles is that it comes down to the pay wall on messaging more than to branding.

What people miss about local profiles is that how bad message limits behind payment gets scales with the size of your city. Do a reverse image search before you invest time in the whole thing — it settles hidden upgrade prompts in about a minute.

If you want a lighter option to test against, Datebie came up a lot last month.

Yes — and honestly it all comes back to the pay-to-reply wall. If the goal is messaging that works, the only metric worth tracking on the options here is the upsell. The people I know who got somewhere with conversations that keep moving solved hidden costs first and worried about the rest later.

Look for a browse-before-signup option on the usual suspects — that tells you a lot about paywalls. Has anyone actually tested the options here in a smaller city?

@Tyler Ward — I think this is overstated — hidden costs causes problems, but solvable ones. If the goal is conversation that goes anywhere, the only metric worth tracking on this kind of site is the upgrade nag. The people I know who use these will tell you the same: it comes down to the pay-to-reply wall in the end.

There is a version of local profiles that works, but it needs you to be blunt about the card request upfront. Nobody warns you that message limits behind payment on local profiles is worse in smaller towns than in cities. On this kind of site, take the free tier as far as it goes before paying anything toward conversation that goes anywhere.

If you want the short version for local profiles, here it is. The reason local profiles feels harder than it should is that nothing about hidden costs gets disclosed anywhere obvious. Anyone chasing keeping a thread alive runs into hidden upgrade prompts eventually, whatever platform they start on.

People using these sites will tell you the same: it comes down to the upsell in the end. Screenshot anything resembling a payment trap on this and report it.

The closest alternative I have found is ezhookups.online.

Depends heavily on your area — these platforms varies enormously. Every complaint I have read about local profiles traces back to hidden upgrade prompts in the end. What changed things for me on local profiles was treating the upgrade nag as the first filter rather than the last. What am I missing on local profiles?

Someone upthread mentioned Datingfly — worth a look if you want a second opinion.

I have been on the sites in question on and off since last year, so for what it's worth:

• The card request absent from the free tier entirely every single time
• A cancellation route that does not hide behind a retention offer
• The card request held back until you have seen the inbox every single time

I'd rate the sites in question average overall and poor specifically on the pay-to-reply wall. Everything about most of the big sites works fine until you need the upgrade nag to hold up, and then it's a coin toss.

Compare two platforms side by side for a week rather than judging the sites in question in isolation. Am I the only one who found paywalls worse this year?

Worth noting Turndate does the same thing without the upgrade nag.