Dating apps have become increasingly popular in today’s digital era, with millions of users searching for love and companionship online where finding love can be just a swipe away. However, while these platforms provide a convenient way to meet new people, they can also be quite expensive. So, have you ever wondered why dating apps are so pricey? In this article, we’ll explore why dating apps are so expensive.
Why Are Dating Apps So Expensive?
If you are single and looking for love, you may have considered using a dating app at some point in time, that’s how popular they have been since the internet became a part of our lives. In this process, you might have also noticed that some of these apps can be pretty expensive.
Most dating apps offer free accounts to give you an idea of the experience you’ll get from the real app. However, pretty much all free versions are severely limited but you have to pay big to find out who likes you. Millions of people worldwide will opt into a subscription service in hopes of finding their soulmates as they believe that “you can’t buy love, but you can invest in your relationship search.”
Let’s see the reasons behind the expensive plans of dating apps:
1) The Power of Love:
The first and foremost reason why dating apps are so expensive is- they play on the power of love. Irrespective of your gender (male or female), love is a powerful thing, whereas chasing love is even more of a task. With dating apps, users can meet people within seconds by simply swiping their fingers on a mobile screen. Technology has brought us closer to one another, with hopes of finding our boyfriend/ girlfriend or husband/ wife.
Dating apps thrive off of young and older bachelors and bachelorettes by giving them a potential partner to say yes or no. So, these hopes will come at a sturdy cost. Once the dating app can get us addicted to the nature of swiping left and right, they will often present an opportunity to buy a subscription plan, which has all the bells and whistles you’ll need to find love.
2) Access To More People:
These apps most often withhold matches and the opportunity to match with others by putting them behind a paywall. Many popular dating apps will only show you a blurred image with a number in hopes of heightening your curiosity. It’s like baiting your curiosity to spend money on the premium service.
Some people believe that you’re more likely to find someone when you are on multiple dating apps than you are actually going to a bar and getting the courage to talk to someone cold. So, dating apps have recognized our craving for access to more while sitting comfortably at home and have locked how many swipes you’re able to do per night. This hidden feature generates revenue for these apps as it will tip the scale of getting users to spend money (at least one month) to get them addicted to the premium process.
3) Dating Apps Save You Time and Effort:
As they say “You can charge people money for any service which saves them time, and most importantly you can charge them A LOT if you save them from doing something they really don’t want to do.
Many people consider dating apps as a more time-efficient way to land a date, compared to meeting someone in the real world. So, you can understand why so many people are willing to pay good money to use these apps. Instead of mingling in bars and clubs, they just swipe on their phone during their break at work or while comfortably snuggling in their bed and probably may land a date.
4) Cost of Investment and Maintainance:
Firstly, these dating apps require advanced technology to enable users to connect with millions of potential matches. So, the developers had to invest heavily in building algorithms that can efficiently match compatible partners based on user preferences and location. They have to constantly update their algorithms in order to provide users with the most accurate matches possible. Additionally, they also have to ensure that the app runs smoothly with minimal glitches or downtime.
Secondly, maintaining user privacy and security is vital for any reputable dating platform. This requires constant updates and improvements to keep up with evolving cyber threats. With personal information at risk on these platforms, dating app companies must invest heavily in cybersecurity measures to protect their users’ data from hackers or other malicious actors.
Other costs associated with things like data encryption, server maintenance, and security audits all add up and contribute to the high subscription fees.
6) Marketing:
It can be really expensive to get an app like this off the ground. No one likes to download your app until there are enough people on the app. Hence, marketing. Many popular dating apps invest heavily in their advertising campaigns to attract new users, which in turn it occupies a significant place in their total expenditure.
7) To Cut down the noise:
The premium price means it only attracts people who are serious about finding love and the cost of entry keeps out people who are only looking for a casual fling or validation from strangers. It increases the overall quality of the user base and people are willing to pay a premium for that benefit, which is not much different from a high-end nightclub.
Also Read: Why Do Guys Like To Facetime At Night?
8) To Provide the Balance:
Suppose these apps immediately give users all the functions, there is a greater chance that they will leave faster. As a result, the app makers won’t make more revenue as the users only see fewer advertisements. So, it’s a tricky balance because you have to keep your users happy, but you don’t want to lose them too quickly.
A subscription fee can be the best to solve that problem. If users leave quickly, they will have already paid at least for a month. It may feel unfair, but app makers are not charities. These companies also want to make profits and survive in the ever-changing world.
9) The Law of Supply and Demand:
The most obvious reason is there are enough people willing to pay the subscription fees on dating apps as the cost of courtship. The prices of these plans work on the law of supply and demand which means some of them are linked to your age too. The older you are the higher the chances that you would be charged more than someone in their twenties.
How Much Do Dating Apps Cost on Average?
Most mainstream apps use the ‘freemium’ model, where they have a free version that encourages users to upgrade to a paid subscription to enjoy more privileges and extra reach. These free editions are designed in such a way that they won’t bring you too much success. Their entire existence is only to tempt you to upgrade.
Nowadays, most dating apps make their money from their subscription model. So, they typically charge their users between $15 and $30 per month. For some people, it may not be much especially once they consider the amount of time, they’ll save trying to land a date. So, there are enough people willing to pay at least a month for premium plans (like Tinder Gold) and that’s why it’s priced like that.
However, there are other premium apps too that are targeted to rich people that charge a lot more. They charge eye-watering monthly premiums, such as Luxy, The League, or Millionaire Match. The reason behind this is that they want to create an aura of exclusivity. The higher the plan, the more the perks. They put you towards the top pack, meaning your profile gets seen by a lot more people. But if most users found this feature affordable, then its advantages would be null and void.
Many women sign up for Luxy because they want to meet the men who can afford them. Men sign up on these apps because they want to show off their riches and have fewer men to compete with. It’s really no different from a high-end nightclub in this respect.
Why Are People Willing to Pay for Dating Apps?
It’s a known fact that dating apps cost more than some of the popular apps on iOS and Android. For example, Netflix, with all the hours upon hours of entertainment it provides, costs just $9.99. But the unique difference is dating apps are offering something that everyone desperately wants and many people struggle to find; love and intimacy.
You might enjoy going and flirting with sexy people on weekends, but it strikes fear into the hearts of a lot of men and women. A lot of young adults struggle to make romantic opportunities for themselves in the real world, either because they don’t have enough time to go out and socialize due to their busy life or because they’re afraid to flirt with people.
These dating apps market themselves as the solution to this problem – and it’s a solution people are desperate enough to pay decent money for. To use these dating apps effectively, it may take a little financial investment but part of the payoff can be saved time because people who pay for dating services tend to go on better dates. There’s less noise as there are fewer people, so it creates a space where people don’t feel as overwhelmed.
If we see the math, there are plenty of people willing to pay more than $20 for entrance to a nightclub every weekend, plus a lot more on drinks and travel, to try and solve the same problem. And when you consider that, dating apps are a steal. They get you access to more singles for lesser money and without all the hassle of having to dress up, queue to get in, find the courage to start a conversation, etc.
Tips Before Taking A Premium Plan On A Dating App:
- Do you go out a lot?
- Do you have trouble starting the conversations?
- Do you work a lot and not have time to go out?
- Do you prefer staying in as opposed to going out?
Answer these questions honestly, and if you get the majority of answers as ‘yes’, then you can consider paying for online dating.
- Remember that paying for some dating app won’t make your perfect match magically appear. There are plenty of other factors, like your personality and relationship goals or even your location could have an impact on your search for a partner. So, First, focus on your profile instead of upgrading to a paid version.
- The first photo on your profile should be your favorite photo of yourself and it should be current. As experts say, people who upload more than six photos will have a better experience because you’re really telling the story of who you are.
- The same goes for your written profile. Take a few minutes to list some of your interests to give your potential matches an idea of what you care about or how you spend your free time. A smart and clever bio is one of the best ways to strike up a conversation.
- Also, the best thing to do is do your research and stick to buying a plan from a single app (if you plan to purchase any) than spending a lot of money on different apps.
Few Other Things To Know:
It’s largely the same company:
People may think that they are switching to another app when they create an account in a different dating app But in reality that’s not much different to the app makers as many dating apps can be from the same company. To tell you a secret, apps like Tinder, OkCupid, Lexa, Hinge, and Meetic are all owned by a single-parent company named “Match.com.”
They create different apps and in a way create their own competitors, to cater to different sections of consumers and to give the customers a psychological feeling that they have multiple options.
The ratio of women and men is unbalanced:
The fact that people are happy to pay for these dating apps despite the high subscription plans is partly because the dating market is strongly out of balance. Comparatively, there are far more men than women on these apps. Hetero men, therefore, have it extra difficult.
Whereas women have so many choices, they can be picky. Most of the revenue to these apps is from men as they have to do their best to stand out because there are always men left without a match.
Most apps leave people with the same feeling:
Be careful when choosing your dating app because in some cases, females get harassed and end up deleting the app, whereas males feel like their chance of matching is near zero and uninstall the app too.
Just When an app tells you that you got several likes just within a day don’t fall for it too quickly as there is a chance that this is a lure.
Final Thoughts:
Honestly, from our observation some “dating” apps, aren’t “dating” apps they’re “I just wanna get laid” apps and “fake bot” profiles to keep you from closing out and just hitting the bar scene. That’s why they have fake profiles of their own that match with the users. The more excited the user is the higher the chances of him making any buying decisions.
To put it in a sentence, Sex, lack of sex, and working towards sex…sells. Some men don’t hesitate to pay large amounts just to try to even get the attention of a woman. So, we can say that… single men’s loneliness fills the money for dating apps.
If you consider the plans of dating apps expensive, it’s either because you don’t have a lot of money or you don’t consider it worth the money to save time finding a date online. You can earn enough money with an extra hour of time to pay for a month of Tinder Gold or other similar services.
At the same time, there are plenty of people who don’t consider dating apps too expensive – and that’s why the online dating industry is estimated to be worth about $8 billion dollars. In all honesty, the price of these apps will probably continue to grow even in the future.
We hope this guide helped you realize why dating apps charge as much as they do for upgrading the services.
