How do Dating Apps Make Money [11 Monetization Models]

Published On: September 14, 2018
Last Updated: September 15, 2022
How do Dating Apps Make Money [11 Monetization Models]

You have invested a lot of time, money, and effort into building your dating application. Now, it’s time to create an effective marketing plan to earn money from your dating app. For the same, you have to learn monetization strategies & then integrate them into your dating app.

Does it sound good? Right. Then let’s move on.

We have been developing dating apps for clients over the globe. Hence, we are familiar with many dating app monetization methods.

Dating apps make money using subscriptions, in-app purchases, in-app advertisements, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, etc.

In this blog, we have curated the list of the most popular ways in which dating apps make money. By integrating these ways, you can start generating good revenue and also make your dating app successful.

Moreover, various dating apps have already implemented these monetization models to reach a wider audience and generate good revenue.

According to BusinessofApps, the revenue of the dating apps worldwide is increasing every year. The global dating apps have generated $5.61 billion in 2021. Here is the graph that represents the same.

Global Dating App Revenue

Now, we will look at the monetization models adopted by various dating apps worldwide.

Let us look at all of these monetization methods in detail:

Subscription

Subscription should be the primary revenue stream model for a dating app. Any registered user on a dating app who wants to get more services must opt for a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription.

You can categorize your app well so that whenever a user pays for a premium account, their profiles get more views and more filtering options to get the best match. Also, you can provide them with a feature to chat with another person instantly.

Unlimited swipes and video chat are the two features that you can only provide in the premium model.

You can also limit the number of search results displayed for finding a profile after applying filters. Free members can see up to 5 profiles (let’s say), and paid members can view all results. Even the popular dating app Tinder and Bumble follow this model.

Want to Integrate Subscription Models in Your App?

Let us know your dating app features & revenue goals,
and we can create the best subscription models.

In-App Purchases

Certain users love to use different types of emojis apart from simple ones. You can integrate in-app purchases for special emojis, GIFs, and such things. It is one of the best ways to earn money from dating apps.

In-App Advertisements

Advertisement on the dating app is also a very profitable option to generate profit for your services. You can integrate different ad formats in your dating app like banners, interstitial ads, native ads, video ads, etc.

As various users worldwide spend a lot of time on dating apps; hence, new users are captivated to search for their future groom/ bride on these dating apps.

Many restaurant owners who have developed their own restaurant app are promoting their business through dating apps as it is the best place where their audience lies.

With this method, dating app owners can generate good revenue. Besides this, companies that reach out to dating app services can build their brand.

Affiliate Marketing

In this type of revenue-generating activity, you need to ask other service providers like restaurant owners, jewelry stores, gift stores, bars, and florists to sell their products or services through the dating app.

With this, an affiliate service can target the users of the app and the app owner. Hence, the app owner gets a commission for every sale that affiliate services make through the dating app.

Sending Gifts

An effective way to make money on a dating app is by integrating a service that allows users to choose attractive gifts for their date and send them directly.

Hence, you can generate some revenue by selling gift items through the dating app.

For this, you can open an online gift shop of your own and provide its link on the dating app. Other than this, you can also collaborate with florists & gift shops and include their links in the app.

Run AdSense Advertisements

You can run AdSense advertisements in your dating app with some restrictions on the content.

Firstly, ensure that there is no adult content in the service menu of your dating app.

Secondly, you must take care that when you are using affiliate marketing as well as trying to target AdSense advertisement, the affiliate service should not contain any adult content because it is strictly against the internal policy of AdSense.

Use the Services of BuySellAds

The Buy & Sell Ads is a service provider that connects advertisers with the publishers.

Through this service, you can advertise your dating app, which will allow interested advertisers to find out more about your app and contact you to learn about the terms and payment slabs for posting an advertisement on your app.

Using this method, you can bypass all traditional methods of looking for advertisers. You can connect with the advertisers and negotiate your price with them.

Promote Sponsored Posts on Your App

To earn money by dating app, you should follow a policy of allowing sponsored posts in your app.

In this policy, you can allow all the companies that sell related products to dating services to post their content in your dating app.

By following this policy, you can provide better services to your app users and get more revenue from those companies posting sponsored content on your dating app.

Ultimately, you can start making money through your dating app in no time.

Provide Personalized Coaching Service

Several people are too shy to approach a person of the opposite sex. They are not confident enough to express their feelings and communicate with the other person.

To help them enjoy fun dates with their match, you can provide them with different tips and strategies to talk to the other person. Also, you can offer them tips about body language, grooming, appearance, and how to make the best first impression while meeting their date.

Apart from this, you can also provide a personalizing one-on-one video coaching session.

For providing these kinds of services, you can charge the service provider commission on each successful transaction.

Conduct a Paid Survey

There are various companies who are excited to know what the current market users want from these dating services.

You can check your demand by carrying out a paid survey among all the registered users on your dating app.

Your registered users are the perfect target audience for such surveys and many companies are willing to pay a premium to know the result.

Which Monetization Strategy is Best for Your App?

Schedule a meeting with us. Our experts will suggest the best
monetization strategy based on your budget & revenue goals.

Become a Sponsor to Improve Client Base

You can become a sponsor of various events relevant to the dating world to create awareness about your dating app.

If you want to sustain in a competitive market and manage your business online, this revenue stream will help you gain customers and improve the client base.

To market these events, you do not have to take giant steps. You have to share details about the events on different social media platforms.

As soon as people know that you are the sponsor of an event, they would love to download and use your app; this will suddenly increase your app’s user base.

People who have downloaded the app are more likely to use the app to enjoy fun dates and to find their soulmate. It will help you improve the conversion of the app.

If you provide unique features in a subscription that meet users’ demand, they are more likely to purchase a premium plan. This method will ultimately help you to earn more money by dating app.

After integrating various monetization methods in your dating app, your task is not over. Then, you need to focus on increasing user engagement and retention of your dating app. By focusing on this thing regularly, you can make your dating app successful.

Conclusion

We hope that you have understood different ways to earn money through your dating app. Now, it’s time for you to sort out the best ways to generate revenue for your dating app as per the target audience.

You can integrate all the suitable ways to generate money into your dating app. If you don’t know how to integrate these into your dating app, you can reach out to us.

As a dating app development company, we have created many dating apps and integrated these monetization methods. Hence, we can understand your business goals and include the best app monetization methods at a cost-effective price.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do Tinder and Bumble make money?

Tinder primarily makes money through subscription plans. It offers three subscription plans known as Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold, and Tinder Platinum. Apart from subscriptions, it also makes money through in-app purchases, such as Super Likes & Boosts. Lastly, it also generates
revenue by showing ads in the free version.

Talking about Bumble, it makes money using the Freemium, in-app-purchases, and subscription model.

The dating app generates revenue by providing ads in the free version. Besides this, Bumble generates revenue by offering some premium features as in-app purchases. These premium features are Boost, Spotlight, and SuperSwipe.

2. How Does Hinge Make Money?

The Hinge dating app makes money using the two methods: Preferred Membership and Boosts.

Let’s look at both methods in detail:

Preferred Membership: The app makes money by offering a paid subscription service known as Preferred Member to users.

Hinge dating apps work on the freemium business model. The dating app is free to use but offers a limited number of features.

You need to upgrade to the preferred membership to get exclusive features like unlimited likes, set filters, etc. The price of the Preferred membership starts at $29.99 per month. The cost decreases if you go for a 3-month or 6-month plan.

Boosts: The app also generates money by selling premium features as in-app purchases apart from the membership.

By purchasing this feature, you can make your profile visible to users for an extra one hour. The cost of one Hinge boost is $9.99, and it decreases if you purchase more boosts.

Ravi Makhija
Ravi Makhija

Ravi Makhija is an entrepreneur, an IT professional, tech geek, founder & CEO at Guru TechnoLabs - Globally Trusted Web & Mobile App Development Company. He loves writing about new technologies and the latest trends in the IT field.