How To Develop A Dating App Like Tinder?

Last Updated on January 21, 2022

Modern technology has changed people’s lives in a lot of great ways. It made everything accessible to them with just a click of a button, and it is not just they can book a taxi while sitting at the comfort of their homes but also allow people to find dates while not going out. The popular dating apps come as a boon for shy or introverted people or those who don’t like going out too much. These apps ensure that being introverted or not being very outgoing won’t affect the chances of finding a good match. 

The ease and comfort coming with these online dating apps are why more and more people today are going online to find a partner. These chats and dating apps are becoming more and more popular with each passing day, and if you are someone looking to build your Tinder-like app, then this blog can be helpful for you. 

Dating Mobile App Market Size & Statistics

Some market research stated that more than 27% of committed relationships are starting via the internet today. Around 40 million people are using dating apps and websites worldwide, while the yearly revenue of all the dating apps is about $2 billion. Presently enjoying the spot of the numero uno dating app, Tinder has more than 50 million users around the globe, whereas 60 percent of it comes from the United States. Tinder’s total worth at the moment is approximately $1.6 billion. 

The global online dating application market is estimated to reach USD 11.03 billion by 2028, rising at a CAGR of 5.6 percent from 2021 to 2028.

Grand View Research, Inc

So with the market of dating market constantly growing, there lies a great business opportunity for those wanting to create a dating app, and the timing is just right. It is a good idea to look up to the success attained by Tinder. So, let’s first start by understanding Tinder, what it is and how it works. 

Tinder Mobile App An Overview

This online dating app matches the couples based on their physical attraction. It alerts its users to other Tinder app users falling within a specified age range & gender and who are within a specified distance of their location. It allows lets them know whether they share any mutual friends. If a user likes a person’s profile, they can show interest, and if there is no interest, the user will never know. When both users are interested, they can engage via messaging function that offers a private chat thread to interact and get to know one another better. 

To start using Tinder, install it from App Store or Google Play, available for free for Android and iOS users. Earlier, a Facebook account was required for signup; however, post the Cambridge Analytica scandal, now Tinder allows the option to make an account with just using a phone number. However, creating an account by just using a phone number prevents the users from using some app features, like uploading pictures directly from Facebook and showing mutual friends or Likes with another Tinder user.

How To Use Tinder?

It is a simple app-to-use, as it requires simply installing by setting up an account or logging in from the Facebook profile. Then mention the age range and gender of people you would like to meet and how far you are willing to travel to meet them. Then Tinder finds people who match that criterion, and it then places cards on the user screen showing a large picture of that matched person. They can tap on that picture to view a short description that the user has written and more photos. Below that picture, a heart icon and a cross are present. The user can tap the heart when likes the other user of tap cross if they don’t. Or swipe right when they want them or left when they don’t; when a user likes someone who also appreciates that user, Tinder tells that a match has been made and opens a simple messaging functionality. 

As a Tinder user, everyone is required to fill their profile. Also, some information Tinder pulls from the users’ Facebook profiles, such as their education and job; however, one can choose what to display and write a short bio of themselves. They must select a few pictures to be uploaded on the app; however, they can also pull these from the Facebook account or their phone’s image library. Tinder also offers Smart Photos features, which, when users activate, will constantly assess how favorably people responded to each photo on their profile. Then it automatically orders to get the most popular image to appear first, leaving no guesswork for which picture looks best. Users can also choose to link their Tinder to Instagram and Spotify. The Instagram app will show the most recent Instagram pictures on the profile, whereas Spotify shows some staple songs. 

Useful Tinder App Statistics

In 2012, the Tinder app was founded in Hatch Labs, a startup incubator run by InterActive Corp. The match-making app algorithm was designed by Sean Rad (former CEO & Chairman) and Justin Mateen (former CMO). Initially, Tinder was trialed in a series of USA college campuses, and then it was launched fully to attain great success making 350 million swipes per day by late 2013, which is 4000/second. By the end of 2014, it reached one billion swipes per day. Until 2015 it was a free app. However, it introduced a premium subscription model that year with additional features, like Tinder Plus. Later in 2017, it went to the third level with Tinder Gold, where even one-off in-app purchases could be made. Since then, Tinder has grown more extensive in the modern dating arena. Despite massive competition from Badoo in Europe and Bumble in the USA, the app remains the most popular dating app. 

Some Statistics Show:

• It has 75 million monthly active users, among which 7.8 million come from the USA. 
• The USA is the most significant contributor at 43 percent, and the UK holds the second spot at 8 percent. The app’s monthly subscribers remain 6.2 million. 
• It was Tinder that was accounted for 59 percent of Match Group’s 2020 revenue. 
• Tinder has been installed more than 400 million times.
• The app is available in 190 countries and more than 40 languages. 
• As per Tinder, there are 1.5 million app users are going on dates each week
• Active users of Tinder login to their accounts on an average four times a day

Top Competitors To Dating Mobile App Tinder

1. Bumble

2. OkCupid

3. Match.com

4. Plenty Of Fish (POF)

5. Badoo

6. Grindr

7. Facebook Dating

How Does Tinder Mobile App Make Money? 

The popular dating app makes its money through these features, such as:

1. Tinder Gold

Here, the users get the features of Tinder Plus and the new likes, allowing users to check the number of likes received by them. This functionality’s cost differs from age, location, time, Services, and several other parameters where it might range between $15 to $83.99. 

2. Boost

Here, Tinder offers its users to subscribe to Tinder Boost to get their maximum profile chances for views & matches. 

3. Super-like

Using this feature, any Tinder app user can super like another user by directly notifying them in case they’re interested. Usually, the free app user receives one super like daily, whereas the subscribed user can receive 5 Super Likes in a day. Here, the users can even subscribe/purchase packages ranging from 5 to 25 by paying an additional $5 to $20. 

4. Sponsored Profiles

Most app providers or corporate businesses collaborate with the app to visualize the app content. And here, Tinder has adopted this model from Snapchat, where it modifies sponsored content or advertisement that resembles the user interface, making it appear more relevant and secure. As the user clicks on the sponsored profile

5. Tinder Premium

Tinder charges a fee to offer each of these functionalities, hence making a lot of money from its users. So, this was the business model used by Tinder; now, let’s focus on the monetization models used by the other dating app.

Monetization Opportunities Offered By Tinder-Like Dating Apps

Here we have mentioned some of the monetization models that dating apps like Tinder can use, they can be:

1. Advertisement

This is among the most profitable ways to earn money for dating apps, generating profit and revenue. With users worldwide using dating apps, they are spending a reasonable amount of time on these apps, and this way, constantly news users and existing users are viewing the advertisements. Several industries are focusing on targeting this audience for their brand promotion or advertising the services related to the dating services, such as food items, beverages, florists, greeting cards, etc. Even cafes and restaurants can promote their businesses on these apps as once someone finds a date, they will be looking for lovely places to visit. Hence, dating apps can offer an excellent advertising boost to many related businesses. 

2. Premium Subscriptions

This is a basic revenue strategy for dating apps where the users can use services offered by the apps by paying for monthly, quarterly or annual subscriptions. In the subscription, the basic services can be offered like chatting features, and then in the premium model, features like video chatting or unlimited swipes can be included. The number of search results can also be limited, where the free members can see only limited results, whereas paid members can view all the results.   

3. eCommerce Integrations

This can be one great model that dating apps can use to add multiple services to select or send gifts via the app. It allows making huge revenues as many users can often use the app to make purchases or send gifts to their respective matches.

Key Features To Include While Developing Tinder-Like Dating App.

1. User Onboarding & Authorization

Here, the app users can get onboard the app and authorize it by logging in to the app by using Instagram or Facebook profiles. The dating app account can be connected to social networking accounts, and this social authentication allows the platform to become more reliable. 

2. Profile Setting & Editing

This feature allows dating app users to make their profiles more attractive and reliable. 

3. Left-Right Swipe

Here, the Tinder users can like the other profile via ‘swipe right’ and dislike the profiles via ‘swipe left. As per the Tinder press release, the Swipe Surge feature increased the user activity up to 15 times more, increasing the match-making potential of the user by 250 percent. 

4. Push Notifications

In this feature, as the app algorithm finds a new suitable match, the app users a push notification to the app user. 

5. Private Chat

As the app matches the users, these users can then use the built-in unscripted messenger feature to start chatting with their respective matches. 

6. Geo-Locations Tracking

Here the Tinder uses the users’ location to see what social spots they frequently visit, like cafes, malls, lounges, bars, etc. This way, these apps use geo-location functionality to find interest-based matches. It allows the app to improve its services, like the app starts removing movie theatres from its social spots list if many app users are deleting those from their lists.

7. Profile Match Algorithm

Here, the app algorithm compares the new app user profile with the other profiles already present in the database and suggests relevant matches. In the case of Tinder, its algorithm works as: the app uses sore for ranking people as per their attractiveness, the app keeps a count of how many people swiped right on a person’s profile, more number of likes (swipe right), means higher user score, the dating app shows the profiles to the other users with a similar number of likes. This way, the app makes matches for the most-liked people. 

What Are The Challenges In Developing The Tinder Dating App?

As it comes to dating apps, it is not all rosy picture as the users of dating apps face several challenges and here we have mentioned crucial ones, like:

1. Cyber Bullying

It is pretty common for app users to become victims of cyberbullying, and it can have a severe impact on their mental health. Hence, several measures have to be taken to manage this aspect.

2. Harassment & Violence on Dating

This is a prevalent case among dating apps, where the app users have faced harassment and violence as they go to meet their match in person on a date. This is why specific actions are needed to be taken by these apps to ensure the safety of their users.

3. Identity & Privacy

Again, quite rampant in the arena of dating apps where certain app users try to fool others by offering fake identities. And this can lead to a lot of harm later on.

4. Personal Data Security

Often, dating app users have faced the issue of their data being misused by other users via the app. It needs stringent actions to ensure the safety of personal data.

5. Robust User Verification

This functionality allows users to instantly verify every time they try to log in to the app. A strong system allows recognizing every time a fake user tries instantly.

Recommendations By EmizenTech

As you are about to release your new dating app in the market, it is advised to launch the marketing campaign before that and promote it through social networks and send out the invites.

As you are new to the dating app business, it is not advised to compete with Tinder, instead aim to offer a niche dating experience to your audience. People looking for a different kind of dating experience will try yours. 

It has been noticed that some apps create fake user accounts to make an extensive database. However, dating app users have often reported that they face a great deal of disappointment due to this, and it is mainly the reason they lose their trust in the app. Hence, steer clear from using this false approach.

As the app is to be launched, begin by focusing on a region, as it can be overwhelming to start with the entire country. Instead, pick a city with many colleges and universities, as that is where you will find your audience. 

Select a part of your target audience that will be toughest to grow, like most female users in the dating apps, and make a plan to target them specifically. If you successfully provide a female-friendly environment to your app users, you will have more users to try your app.

What Tech Stack Is Required To Develop A Tinder Like Dating App?

When choosing a tech stack, it is crucial to consider scalability because if the app is not scalable, there will be issues in the later stages of the app upgradation. For example, Tinder utilized NoSQL & MongoDB databases to match people at the start. But then, with an increased number of app users, it got challenging for Tinder to offer the best performance with the same database. It is why the developers behind Tinder chose to shift the data on Amazon Web Hosting. It clearly states that the tech stack directly impacts app performance and scalability. 

The Tech Stack That A Dating App Can Use, Can Be

• Programming Languages: Ionic, React Native, Swift, Kotlin, Java
• Payment Gateway: Stripe, PayPal
• General Utilities: Google Analytics, Google Maps, Twilio
• Web Servers: Nginx
• Cloud Storage: Amazon AWS
• Database: PostgreSQL, MongoDB
• Frameworks: React.js, Node.js

Next comes another important part of app development: choosing the ideal app development team. 

What Team Structure Is Required To Create A Dating App? 

When it comes to deciding on the app development team, it is essential to consider the location of your team, like if the app developers are hired from USA/Western Europe, that costs a lot. However, the developers from Eastern Europe can offer the same services for a lot less money. For instance, an average Ukrainian outsourcing firm charges $50/hour to create an app like Tinder. Hence, to create a Tinder-like app, your project team must consist of: 

• 2 Backend developers
• 1 UI/UX designer
• 2 Android developers
• 2 iOS developers
• 1 Project Manager
• 1-2 QA engineers

How Much Does It Cost To Create An App Like Tinder?

To find the app development cost to make a Tinder-like app, you need to understand that Tinder has two native app versions, one for iOS and another for Android. To find the price to create an MVP app, here we have listed all functionalities present in the Tinder app, and the hours it takes to develop and integrate them, such as:

• Sign-in feature: 8 hrs
• User-profile editing: 40 hrs
• GPS tracking: 8 hrs
• App settings: 10 hrs
• Profile photo editing & gallery arrangement: 10 hrs
• Instagram Integration: 40 hrs
• Admin panel: 80 hrs
• Payment method integration: 20 hrs 
• Chats: 80 hrs
• Push Notifications: 8 hrs
• Matching menu & swipe effects: 40 hrs
• Matching algorithms (plus AI engine development): 200 hours

Besides features, the app owners need to pay for UX & UI design, marketing support, and Quality Analysts. Hence, the general project cost is mentioned here split by the type of work: the

• Web app development: 180 hrs
• UX/UI Design: 100 hrs
• Project Management: 100 hrs
• Native mobile app development (Android & iOS): 600 hours (300 for each platform)
• Web App development: 180 hrs
• QA Assistance: 220 hrs
• Marketing strategy development & implementation: 200 hrs

Keeping the above number of hours, which totals 1400 hours, the app development cost will fall somewhere between $50k-$70K. 

Final Note

Research states that by the end of 2031, most couples would have met online, hence the demand for dating apps will be consistent in the coming years as well. Thus, this is the best app to jump into the dating app market and make the most of it.

If you have any project related to the dating industry then do get in touch with Emizentech a leading app development firm providing services globally.