I used OKCupid (free) to give more spontaneity to my dating and the vibe I get is that nobody identifies with it as a serious pursuit. Paying for a site can seem try-hard if you aren't one that feels very invested in it (despite how invested you might actually be).
Whenever OKCupid itself comes up in conversation with a girl I hang out with from there, they always say that they registered to just see what it was like -- "might as well". No perception of personal investment that would validate spending money. If it comes up, girls even mention that premium membership comes off as sorta tacky/corny and that's my feeling as well.
they always say that they registered to just see what it was like
Yeah, it's just an amazing coincidence that they ended up going on dates, with people they discovered on a dating site. Maciej Ceglowski (idlewords here) once commented that part of OKCupid's strategy is to give you other things to do on the site, like quizzes, for plausible deniability.
But you're right, being identified as a premium member is probably bad social signalling, too.
Whenever OKCupid itself comes up in conversation with a girl I hang out with from there, they always say that they registered to just see what it was like -- "might as well". No perception of personal investment that would validate spending money. If it comes up, girls even mention that premium membership comes off as sorta tacky/corny and that's my feeling as well.
I have no idea how PoF works, though.