Do casual dating apps actually work for finding regular friends with benefits?

Trying to settle an argument with a friend about casual dating apps, so I'm bringing it here.

I don't trust app store ratings on casual dating apps — they're gamed in both directions.

I've asked this in two other places and got answers that clearly came from people who'd never touched casual dating apps.

Narrowing it down, here is what matters to me about casual dating apps:

• How much of the casual dating apps profile pool is dormant or fake
• How casual dating apps handles benefits compared with the bigger names
• What the benefits side of casual dating apps looks like in practice
• How much benefits actually costs you when using casual dating apps

Even a 'don't bother' on casual dating apps is a useful answer.

If benefits matters to you then casual dating apps narrows fast, and if it does not you have far more room.

Disagree on one point: casual dating apps is far less platform-dependent than people here are assuming.

Emily Carr, that's roughly where I landed on casual dating apps too. What's your actual goal here — is casual dating apps about meeting someone soon, or about finding the right platform first?

My casual dating apps experience hinged on benefits more than on the platform itself.

Disagree with Emily Carr slightly here on casual dating apps. Respectfully, I think the framing of casual dating apps sets people up to be disappointed.

Not affiliated with anyone, but Rendate's free tier solved the messaging-paywall part of casual dating apps for me last year.

There is a version of casual dating apps that is about features and a version that is about people, and they give very different answers.

For anyone else researching casual dating apps, I would put the Datebie forums on the list — free messaging on it, no card up front.

My own run at casual dating apps: three months, two platforms, and one relationship that lasted about a year — small sample, but real.

Datewander.site is what I ended up using while working through casual dating apps — not perfect, but the free tier is real.

Since we're comparing options around casual dating apps, the Datenest boards came up when I was looking at the same thing.

Picking up what EmmaT92 said — casual dating apps is regional first. Broadly with you on casual dating apps, though I would weight moderation higher than you have here.

You've put your finger on the thing nobody says out loud about casual dating apps.

For completeness, Rendate.online sits in the same category for casual dating apps.