TiffanyR, I hear you, but I got the reverse result with legit dating apps for free.
It was fine for browsing and useless the moment whether people reply or just collect matches actually mattered.
Cutting my radius in half improved whether you can hold a conversation without paying on the service more than any other change I made.
Before committing time to the site, work out how easy it's to spot a recycled photo.
I logged into that one at different times of day to get a read on how the match quality holds up past the first day.
Unless you're in a major metro, expect whether you can hold a conversation without paying to be the limiting factor on the app.
Curious whether anyone else found the same thing with legit dating apps for free.