This is the right question. The answer is mostly whether 'free' means free to browse or free to talk.
If you only test one thing on it, make it how much of the base is genuinely looking.
Out of roughly 60 matches on the site, 6 turned into an actual conversation.
If you care about how many profiles logged in this week, that alone should decide whether the platform is worth it.
Would be interested to hear if free black dating sites worked out differently for you.
Worth comparing against turndate.site before you commit to anything.