Coming to an important aspect of having a dating app, making money on dating apps is really simplified
Then, there is a more detailed and older format algorithm that categorizes people based on the various internal questions and surveys. As the app user keeps answering the questions, the prospective matches keep trimming or increasing. It gives a wider array of people to see and helps match people who have similar tastes.
The ‘correct’ algorithm for a dating app doesn’t exist since predicting human behavior and preferences aren’t possible with the help of an algorithm.
How do dating apps make money?
Advertising and subscription-based plans are the most common ways to monetize a dating app. In more professional terms, 90% of dating apps work on the ‘freemium’ model. The subscription plans for various dating apps have various ways to get users subscribed.
Case Study 1
With their Iconic Swipe gesture, this popular dating app was among the first dating apps to become a watershed moment for the dating app industry. The success of this dating app lies in its unique and simplistic approach to dating. The app gets over 1 billion swipes every day.
The success of this popular dating app will never truly be crossed and even today, it remains a solid app for the dating industry and the industry leader. Its iconic ‘swipe’ interface gamified dating in a way no one else could. So many have followed this dating app’s approach to dating and literally, every app incorporates some form of swiping as a gesture.
This app’s business model has by and large remained the same. They are not as keen on advertising themselves to the masses. Its popularity comes from word-of-mouth marketing. When the dating app was new, it marketed itself to sorority girls as an exciting way to connect. This followed an influx of men onto the app looking for a way to connect and socialize. This proved to be a massively successful marketing strategy and the dating app caught on like wildfire.
This dating app basically uses the strategy of creating ‘value’ for potential users. The ‘value’
What sets the app apart is that it also softens rejection. Other dating apps keep asking for more information and not getting matches after filling 10000 questions makes you feel sad. This dating app is much simpler. It is a modern take on love at first sight and first appearances. It is weirdly more realistic than other dating websites.
Their business model also incorporates various features for more matches. This aspect has been discussed in detail in the revenue model.
As mentioned above, this dating app began through sorority students and made its way to literally everyone on the planet. Their target audience is everyone from the age of 18 to 60. The app doesn’t have a true target audience, but it is most popular among people in their 20s. However, the later age demographic of people from their 20s to 30s keeps rising ever so steadily.
This popular dating app works on a ‘freemium’ model. The founders have promised that the base app and swiping for matches will continue to be free. The app does provide an upgrades and subscriptions. Apart from this, the app has also monetized its app for advertising. Every 4-6 swipes you see a clickable advertisement that you can swipe away.