How to Make an App Like Tinder & How Much It Costs?

Published On: December 5, 2018
Last Updated: March 14, 2023
How to Make an App Like Tinder & How Much It Costs?

Before a decade, online dating was considered the last option, and only desperate people were doing online dating.

However, things have completely changed over the years. And now, people across the globe consider online dating as one of the best options for finding friends, casual dates, and soulmates.

Among several dating apps available online, Tinder is the most popular. It’s because of its features, UI/UX, and matchmaking algorithm it provides.

Considering the success of Tinder, if you are also wondering how to make an app like tinder? Then go ahead and check the article below.

We have explained the complete process to build an app like Tinder and provide you with the cost of developing the same.

Step-by-Step Process to Build an App Like Tinder

You should follow the straightforward process given below when considering building a Tinder clone of your own:

1. Niche Selection

The first important step in creating any dating app is niche selection. Why? Selecting a proper niche and working towards it will help you in many ways. These are as follows:

  • You will not face stiff competition from dating giant
  • Your target audience will easily recognize the app
  • Stay ahead of your competitors & become successful in the dating industry within a short interval of time.

There is plenty of niches to build your dating app. You can target certain communities like LGBTQ, working professionals, people above 50, introverts, nerds, and many more. You can also check other niche dating apps to get more insights.

Get insights into a dating app developed by us called Konnected for professionals looking for a like-minded partner.

Another way is to target people by their interests. It includes food lovers, pet lovers, book lovers, adventure lovers, etc.

2. Choose a Business Model for Your Dating App

Here is the list of some popular business models that Tinder and other dating apps follow to generate revenue:

Free Model
In this model, a dating app offers most features for free to the users. Then you may have a question, how does it generate revenue? Here, a dating app shows in-app advertisements and earns money from them.

Premium Business Model

In this business model, users can enjoy free and advanced features. For instance, Tinder’s business model consists of Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold.

In these models, Tinder offers various advanced features like super boost, rewind your last swipe, hide age & distance, etc.

In-App purchases
Various dating app users love to send unique and trendy emojis to express their feelings to the other person. For them, you can include in-app purchases of multiple GIFs, emojis, etc.

Apart from this, there are various ways you can generate revenue for your dating app. To know in detail, check out this guide on how to make money through a dating app

3. Choose the Tech Stack for your Dating App

After choosing the business model, the next thing to decide is the technology stack to build an app like Tinder. Below is our suggested tech stack to build a dating app:

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

There is no compulsion to follow the above tech stack. Ideally, you have to choose a tech stack according to your dating app requirements.

If you are confused about which tech stack to implement, then let us know your dating app requirements and our experts will help you out in a minute.

Now, we are moving towards the most crucial part of the process. It is choosing the best app development team.

4. Choose the Best Dating App Development Team

A dating app can’t be made with a single person. Here, you will require a team of people based on the size of the dating application. These include UI/UX designer, front-end developer, back-end developer, QA tester, project manager, business analyst, etc.

If you want to get the best out of your dating app, you should choose an app development team with utmost care.

With many dating app development agencies in the market, it might be overwhelming to choose the best one.

For selecting the right app development team, you should consider some essential aspects, such as their previous work, client testimonials, etc.

5. Develop and launch MVP

After choosing the development team for your app, your work is not over. Now, you have to create a business requirement document and a functional requirement document and provide it to the team.

Based on the details you provide, the dating app development team will allocate sufficient resources and develop & launch an MVP version of the app. It’s always a good practice to build an MVP app before launching a full-fledged app.

Later, you can collect feedback from your target audience about your dating app and update it accordingly.

How much does it cost to create an app like Tinder?

On average the dating app development cost is $10 per hour. Building a tinder-like dating app takes around 500-800 hours depending on how many features you add. So, it will cost $5,000-$8,000. Even though it’s just a simple estimate, there are various other factors that affect the overall app development cost.

So, carefully decide on the basic features first and start developing your app. You can always add extra features later on if needed.

The Bottom Line

Two of the most essential things required for building your own Tinder clone app are financial resources and a highly experienced team of dating app developers.

We hope you have got an answer to the question, How to create an app like Tinder?

If you want to make a dating app like Tinder, you can contact us. We are a proficient dating app development company having years of experience in delivering top-notch dating solutions for clients worldwide. We will evaluate your idea and provide you with a free quote.

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.