Would appreciate real experience on if you are a cougar looking for young male, not affiliate copy. For companions platforms in particular, what decides it is the share of verified profiles, not the size of the database. Companions platforms is where I would start, since nothing improves until you keep the conversation on-platform until you have met.
The companions case is instructive — it is worth checking the gap between sign-ups and active users before you look at raw member count. It is worth separating out men using these platforms here, because with companions flags, the platform pushes notifications that lead nowhere, which is why the free tier feels dead after a week.
Companions is the clearest case of it — the number of live users is the number worth watching, not the app store rating. The honest advice is to screenshot the pricing page in case it changes, on the evidence I've — and that goes double for if you're a cougar looking for young male. Would especially like to hear from anyone who changed their mind on companions.