Plenty of Fish vs Fling
Plenty of Fish (7.3/10) comes out ahead of Fling (6.2/10) overall, mainly on the biggest, busiest crowd. Go Plenty of Fish if you want the biggest, busiest crowd; pick Fling if discretion and safety matters more to you.
Our pick 
Plenty of Fish
7.3/ 10
Safety
6.2
Value
7.8
Crowd
8.2
Ease
7.4
The generous old-timer, 7.3/10 (safety 6.2, value 7.8, members 8.2, ease 7.4; weighted safety 30%, value 30%, members 20%, ease 20%). POF wins on the one thing that matters most to a lot of people: a huge pool you can actually message for free, no paywall, no match required. It loses points for a dated, ad-heavy experience and a real bot-and-scam problem you have to filter yourself. We earn no commission on this one, it's listed purely on merit. Ride the free tier, vet everyone hard, watch for anyone pushing you to WhatsApp, and you've got serious dating value for nothing.
- +Genuinely free messaging, you can write to anyone with no match and no paywall, which almost no rival allows
- +One of the biggest pools in dating after 20+ years, skewing older and more everyday than the swipe apps
- +Free tier is properly usable end-to-end; many users land dates without ever paying
Fling
6.2/ 10
Safety
5.8
Value
6.4
Crowd
6.6
Ease
6.0
A mid-tier pick, not a top one, 6.2/10 (safety 5.8, value 6.4, members 6.6, ease 6.0). Fling is real, explicit, and can work for a US user who's willing to filter out the fakes, but the documented bot-message and upsell behaviour drags it below the cleaner options. Join free, message recently-active local profiles, and only go Gold once you've confirmed there are real people on the other end.
- +Free to join and browse, so you can scope out the local crowd before paying, and women use most of it free
- +Genuinely explicit and direct, no pretending it's anything but casual, which saves everyone time
- +Solid US pool after nearly 20 years online, busiest in bigger American cities
Side-by-side comparison
| Plenty of Fish | Fling | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 7.3✓ | 6.2 |
| Safety | 6.2✓ | 5.8 |
| Value | 7.8✓ | 6.4 |
| Crowd | 8.2✓ | 6.6 |
| Ease | 7.4✓ | 6.0 |
| Free to join | Yes | Yes |
| Online since | 2003 | 2006 |
| Best for | Free messaging, big pool, casual + dating | Explicit, no-pretense casual hookups in the US |
Which should you pick?
Plenty of Fish
Pick Plenty of Fish if the biggest, busiest crowd is your priority.
Fling
Pick Fling if discretion and safety matters more to you.
Plenty of Fish vs Fling, common questions
Is Plenty of Fish better than Fling?
Overall, Plenty of Fish comes out ahead (7.3 vs 6.2). But "better" depends on what you want, the table above breaks it down dimension by dimension.
Which is safer and more discreet?
Plenty of Fish, scoring 6.2 on safety versus 5.8.
Which is better value for money?
Plenty of Fish, 7.8 on value versus 6.4.
Which has the bigger crowd?
Plenty of Fish, scoring 8.2 on crowd size and activity versus 6.6.
Affiliate links, placement is never for sale.