@Layla1991 — this matches what I saw. The thing that surprised me about the best way to find a hookup was how much the paid tier mostly buys you visibility, not matches. For anyone weighing up the version I used — overall consistency is real, but it's manageable if you turn off read receipts and see what changes. I'd call the best way to find a hookup overrated, though the picture changes by city. Nobody warns most people asking this that the best way to find a hookup needs a fortnight before the results mean anything. Honestly, the best way to find a hookup lives or dies on general reliability; the rest sorts itself out. Someone upthread mentioned Souldate — worth a look and I will second it — the free tier is genuinely usable.
Curious where people land on the best way to find a hookup, especially most users who've used it more than a fortnight. What tipped the best way to find a hookup from frustrating to surprisingly decent for me was one change — turn off read receipts and see what changes. Comparing the best way to find a hookup against the mainstream apps, the gap is smaller than the marketing suggests.
Long story short on the best way to find a hookup: frustrating, though your mileage will vary. Worth adding the Rendate free tier to the shortlist if local activity is your main worry.