How Dating Apps Make Money

by Lolly Page

The audience of dating apps is growing every day: more and more people are looking for a significant other online. Dating services are becoming safer and more reliable, but it is difficult to ensure their longevity without the monetization. In this article, we will analyze the strategy of Tinder that has resulted in a stable income.

How do apps like Tinder make money?

Tinder is considered the most expensive app, earning about $2,336,039 a day. The basic Tinder plan with limited features is free, but there is also a paid Tinder Plus subscription that expands the subscriber's capabilities and gives them access to other users. This plan brings in most of the revenue for the app.

How to Make Money With Free Apps on Android and iOS
Just think about it: Facebook, Instagram, Tinder, and other similar apps are free. And yet, none of the companies who make these apps scrounge around for money to live on. It’s the opposite – they earn millions and billions in hard currency. So how does it work?
The Internet ProtocolKay Lee

Tinder makes money with such options as:

  • Tinder Gold: a subscription gives access to Tinder Plus and allows the user to check how many likes they have received.
  • Boost: when subscribing to Boost, the profile gets the maximum number of views, which increases the likelihood of a match.
  • Super like: using this feature, you can put a super like instead of a regular like. If the interest is mutual, the other person will immediately receive a notification. A regular plan user gets one super like every day, and a paid user gets five.
  • Sponsored profiles: many companies have started partnering with the app to visualize the content.
The Ultimate Guide to How Tinder Algorithms Work
In this article, we will analyze the book by French journalist Judith Duportail “L’Amour sous algorithme” (Love Under Algorithm). In this book, the writer talks about her investigation in which she tried to find out how the application’s algorithms work.
The Internet ProtocolLolly Page

Tinder has adopted this model from Snapchat and modifies sponsored content or ads to make them resemble the user interface and look safer and more relevant. Whenever a user clicks on a sponsored profile, they immediately see a pop-up from the company that paid for it. Tinder clone services allow you to integrate chatbots into the apps specifically for such purposes.

How can similar dating apps make money?

If you want to launch your own dating app and are looking for monetization options, check out this list.

1. Paid subscriptions

Subscription is the foundational revenue generation strategy for dating apps. The registered user gets access to the services by paying for a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription plan. You can also limit the number of search results: users without a paid subscription will only see a limited number of people.

2. In-app purchases

You can integrate paid access to such content in the app: emoji, gifs, pictures, and so on. This is one of the easiest ways to make money from a dating app.

3. Ads

One of the most profitable options for obtaining maximum revenue. Users around the world spend a lot of time on dating apps, which is why various industries are targeting this audience when promoting dating products and services.

4. Passing gifts

If you plan to create a dating application, you can add several services to it for choosing and sending gifts. This will allow you to get the maximum revenue.

5. AdSense advertisements

They usually work through services that place small restrictions on content. Typically, these advertisements are placed in the app, provided they do not contain adult content. This is strictly controlled in the affiliate marketing scheme: the targeting is adjusted so that the ads do not contain prohibited information, as this is against the AdSense policy.