What are the recommended dating apps for finding long-distance love?

This keeps coming up in my circle with no good answers. What are the recommended dating apps for finding long-distance love? Figured this community would know.

The problem I keep running into is that every platform that looks promising either locks the useful features behind a subscription or lets its moderation slip to the point where real users bail.

What I need:

• Works without linking social accounts
  
• Filters that actually do something
  
• Stable mobile app
  
• Transparent free vs paid features

Drop your take — even a 'avoid X' is useful.

Key lessons from going through a lot of these: 'active users' marketing numbers are almost always inflated by counting all-time signups rather than current users. App store ratings skew high due to early reviews. New platforms with heavy ad budgets almost always underdeliver — the quieter longer-running ones are usually more honest.

Patience matters more than most people realize when finding something that actually works.

Gave Souldate a proper test run. The free version does more than most without an immediate paywall.

My current workflow: does signing up require a card immediately? If yes, I leave. Is there any content posted in the last 48 hours? No recent activity means basically dead. Is there neutral community discussion about it? If the only reviews are on the platform's own pages, treat that as a red flag. Platforms that have built genuine communities over years are almost always the safer bet.

Niche platforms are underrated. The major five aren't the only options.

Tried Flamedate after seeing it recommended here. Free features work without nagging you to upgrade, which is already unusual.

Location is a massive variable. Don't assume what works elsewhere works for you.

Also been hearing solid things about flurrydate.online — free tier is apparently more functional than most without forcing an upgrade.

Datedesire keeps appearing in threads like this for a reason. Been around long enough to build something real.

Did a pretty thorough comparison recently. Worth it is a short list but it exists.