Here's How Much the Best Dating Apps Cost, Which Ones Are Free — and Whether You Should Pay for 'Premium' Access
It is peak "cuffing season," the time of year when all folks want to do is cuddle up with a significant other and watch Netflix. For those who are still single, the hunt is on.
In fact, what's supposedly the most popular dating day of the year is coming up this weekend. January 5, 2020, is being heralded as "Dating Sunday."
Executives at dating apps such as Match, Zoosk, and Bumble anticipate huge spikes in their app’s usage on the first Sunday of January every year. Some think the "Dating Sunday" phenomenon happens because there singles have only six weeks until Valentine’s Day, while others consider the New Year — and the whole idea of turning over a new leaf and starting the year fresh — as a factor.
Zoosk's CMO, Luciana Telles, said in a statement to CNET, “It's the first weekend after New Year's Eve, which means that people have not only set themselves New Year's resolutions, they've had a few days to think about how to put them into practice.”
If your New Year's resolution is to find true love (however you might define the term), there are plenty of ways to meet people in the digital age. But in some cases you'll need to first pay up to make those romantic connections.
While many online dating sites and apps are free, some cost money to sign up, or offer paid premiums that allow for added bonuses and services. Is it worth paying extra for premium services on dating apps? Well, some think it may be worth it to get that extra boost to your profile, while others are more than happy getting their free swipes.
Either way, here’s how much the biggest dating apps cost, and which dating apps are free:
Tinder
Free or Tinder Plus for $9.99/month if you’re under 30, $19.99/month if you’re over 30
Tinder helped popularized dating apps and started the swiping phenomenon. For free, Tinder offers the standard swipe left or right and message your matches. But, with the paid access to Tinder Plus you get unlimited likes; Rewind, which lets you change your mind if you swiped left ( no) on a person; Passport, which lets you swipe on users located anywhere in the world; profile Boosts once a month; and the ability to Super Like up to five people a day.
Tinder Gold
Tinder Plus fee, plus an additional $4.99/month
Tinder Gold includes all of the Plus features and you’ll see who has already swiped right (yes) on you.
Bumble
Free or Bumble Boost for $24.99/ month
Bumble is the dating app where women have to make the first move in heterosexual relationships. When two people of opposite sex match on Bumble, the woman has to message first. The free Bumble version is similar to Tinder and offers swipes and messaging. When you pay for the extra Bumble Boost access, users can see those who’ve swiped right on them, and it also extends matches an extra 24 hours, and offers the ability to rematch with expired connections.
OkCupid
Free or A-list for $9.99/month
OkCupid focuses on responses rather than photos hoping to get users to make more meaningful connections. Free OKCupid users can see mutual likes and send messages on either the OkCupid app or desktop site. In the paid OKCupid A-list service, there are no ads, users have the ability to see if they’ve already been liked, you can search and filter with more options, and receive read receipts on your messages.
Grindr
Free or Grindr Xtra fo $11.99/month
Grindr is the largest dating app for the LGBTQ community. For free, Grindr offers geo-located profiles with the ability to swipe and message in order to meet up. With premium access, Grindr users are offered an ad-free experience, they can view up to 600 profiles, offered additional filters when searching for matches, access to different Grindr Tribes, unlimited Blocks and Favorites, and they can receive read receipts.
eHarmony
3-day free trial, then 1-month plan for $59.95 or 3-month plan for $29.95/month
eHarmony was one of the original online dating platforms and is focused on finding long-term love connections. Fill out an extensive questionnaire and eHarmony does the swiping for you. It will also send you matches based on your responses.
Match
7-day free trial, then 1-month plan for $40.99, up to 12-month plan for $19.99/month
Profiles on Match can get really in-depth, which allows for deeper connections. Like eHarmony, Match does the work for you after you’ve filled out your photos and descriptions, the algorithm will find users matches.