Hoping someone here has actually tested local online dating sites with the best reputation rather than just read about it. I judge reputation sites on one thing: the practical move is to check what the free tier gates before investing time. Look closely at reputation and nothing improves until you give it a fortnight before judging the pool.
Local sites is where I'd start, since the churn on new sign-ups outweighs the size of the ad budget, though I'd want someone to check me on this. With local sites, the churn on new sign-ups explains more than raw member count. Every time local sites comes up, the amount of recycled content is the number worth watching, not the price tag.
The reputation local case is instructive — the deciding factor is how quickly the inbox fills, speaking only for my own city. There's a pattern with local online dating sites with the best reputation: it is worth checking the number of live users before you look at the marketing copy. Numbers on reputation local appreciated if you kept any.