Are dating apps dying out?

Unlike a man’s height in his dating app profile, revenue numbers don’t lie.

And the figures aren’t looking too good for dating companies as users get fed up with swiping:

• Tinder’s paying user base shrunk 9% YoY in 2024 to just shy of 10m.
• Match Group, which owns Tinder, saw other investments dip as well. Archer and Chispa — apps for LGBTQ and Latino daters, respectively — saw revenue dip 4% in 2023.
• Bumble missed analyst expectations with its Q4 2023 earnings, sending its stock spiraling down 30% and leading to the layoffs of 30% of its workforce.
• Match Group and Bumble — which make up the majority of the dating market — have lost a combined $40B+ in market value since 2021.

It’s not just that users don’t want to pay a premium for special swipes — they’re having a straight up bad time.

Almost half of all online daters and more than half of women daters say their experiences have been negative, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

Matching up

Compared to trillion-dollar tech giants, even the biggest dating companies are somewhat small: Match Group reported $3.4B in total revenue in 2023.

And to stay above water, dating companies are relying on pricey subscription models — which has likely led to increased dissatisfaction from users.

• While dating app users spend an average of $19 a month, the charges can get even steeper.
• Tinder released a $500 monthly subscription in 2023 and Hinge launched a $600 annual membership.

With users getting priced out from bearable dating experiences, many are turning to less traditional platforms like LinkedIn or Duolingo to find love.

Makes sense to us — if you’re going to pay a monthly fee, you might as well learn Spanish, too.