• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

New form of whaling comes to dating apps: $500/month Tinder premium sub, $60/month Hinge

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member


Match Group Inc.’s dating app Hinge is rolling out a new subscription tier that could cost as much as $60 a month, betting that the platform’s fast-growing segment of Gen-Z users will see it as a worthwhile investment.

The new premium level, which is being tested at $50-$60 a month, will be a significant increase over the current paid version of $35 a month and will be introduced globally in the first quarter. It will offer Hinge’s “highly motivated daters” enhanced features to boost their exposure. The people that subscribers “like” will be seen faster by other users and the offering will provide better recommendations of profiles Hinge thinks the user will be most interested in. The company confirmed details of the new offering on Tuesday.

Hinge has become a standout property in Match’s family of dozens of dating apps, which includes Tinder and OkCupid. The app expanded into new European markets like Italy, France and Germany and revenue has jumped 42% to an estimated $285 million in 2022, according to the company. Hinge reported revenue of $25 per paying user in the third quarter of last year, up from just over $20 in the prior year.

“We still have a lot more countries to go, and we will continue to roll out new markets and that should drive growth for Hinge over the next few years,” Match Chief Executive Officer Bernard Kim said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.


Match is also testing user interest in a version of Tinder that would be priced at roughly $500 a month, allowing them to join a waitlist if the version becomes available, the company confirmed.

Match teased the new Hinge tier in the last earnings report, saying it would be targeted at its “most intentioned users,” who have a “higher propensity to pay.” Along with global expansion, the company expects the new paid tier to bring in at least $100 million of direct revenue in 2023.

Dallas, Texas-based Match struggled last year as a choppy economic environment and a strong dollar weighed on earnings overseas. Match shares slumped 69% in 2022, making it the second-worst performing company in the S&P 500, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Match is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Jan. 31. The shares were little changed at $46.14 Tuesday morning in New York.
 

feynoob

Banned
Dating sites are taking this seriously.
Ziwe GIF by SHOWTIME


This new dating timeline is not good for us men.
 
Last edited:

Fools idol

Banned
Actively giving worse matches to people who don't pay is pretty hilarious.

I read that 75% of their users are bots anyways. That is even more hilarious. When you factor in that with how many % of the remaining 25% are not catfish type people who use fake photos and profiles to get dates for themselves and show up begging... it's a mess.

I used dating site for around 2 months. Had 3-4 sexual encounters, all of which mediocre at best, 3 of the girls looked very little like their phtoos and had horrible personality problems that put me off for good anyway.

Oh and the 4th turned out to be married. She took her ring off for the date but accidentally answered a call from her husband on hands-free on the drive home and pretended it was her brother or something. Super weird.
 

NickFire

Member
To someone who never used a dating app like myself, "highly motivated daters" is pretty damn hilarious.

Is that basically a loose morals tax? :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

Ownage

Member
A matchmaking service like It's Just Lunch is $1800 a year. They're way more effective at putting like minds and bodies together than online.
 
Last edited:

Doczu

Member
500 bucks a month. 6 grand a year. You could vuy a console monthly. You could have a monthly payment for a nice car. You could donate that xash for someone in need. And all those actions would be better than to have a chance to maybe bang someone.

Let that sink in. 500 bucks.

If you had a girl you could use that cash for dates or small gifts to make her feel special and you'd have more ass than you'd statistically would get using these apps
 

tkscz

Member
Holt shit $500 a month? If you have that to spare on a dating app you might as well go to the club and meet someone.

Honestly there is always a place to meet the type of person you want, just look around your city. Don't spend date money on a dating app.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
I was bartending on a Valentine's Day a few years ago. At one point my manager and I were looking at the packed restaurant (mostly couples) and we both commented that 90% of the people were staring at screens.

Dating is hell, single life is best life.
Not that everyone does it in the States, but it seems more or less culturally acceptable to be a phone zombie. In Europe I barely ever see it happen. People put their phones away and actively engage when having meals together or socializing.
 
Holt shit $500 a month? If you have that to spare on a dating app you might as well go to the club and meet someone.

Honestly there is always a place to meet the type of person you want, just look around your city. Don't spend date money on a dating app.
I'd like to find a physically active, socially awkward homebody like myself. Preferably one that's not crazy but caring. A 5 or above in the looks department. Should I just go knocking door-to-door?
 

Doczu

Member
I'd like to find a physically active, socially awkward homebody like myself. Preferably one that's not crazy but caring. A 5 or above in the looks department. Should I just go knocking door-to-door?
Go to your local nerd spots: game shops, libraries, chill and laid back pubs. Take part in your local nerdy events, table top tournaments, go to a gym. Go to church.

That last one is not a joke. You'd be surprised who you can meet at church.
 

Ownage

Member
Havent heard of this. Its not an escort service, is it?
Not at all. IJL is great. They have a matrix database of hundreds/thousands of men and women across many cities in many countries. You reach out, take this 3-4h questionnaire in person, and they find common ground between what you're looking for and what others also seek. I've tried it. I met a number of women who are doctors/lawyers/high net worth families who are discerning about who they meet, their privacy, and value a matchmaker. I had fun and enjoyed myself, and part of the IJL deal is both parties pay their own bill on the first date. If you like each other, sort it out after that, but for the first meetup, it's two bills. They also choose the venues for you, and all you need to do is show up. I ended up at some pretty cool restaurants and bars in certain cities that can sometimes be difficult to get a reservation. I loved that aspect.

I ended up having a six year relationship with someone I met from IJL.
 
Last edited:

SafeOrAlone

Banned
5-10 years ago, these apps were awesome for my age group. Tons of cool people willing to meet up and date, before all the bots and before the app sort of lost the excitement.

Haven’t used one for a while. Last time I tried, I seemed to be shadow blocked anyway, prob cause I used to reset my account a lot. Doesn’t seem much point in trying again.
 

Nobody_Important

“Aww, it’s so...average,” she said to him in a cold brick of passion
Wtf? For $500 just treat yourself some great food each weekend, go to a bar, take your shot, and if you miss go home and treat yourself again with Mr./Mrs. Right. Do the same next weekend. Eat, drink, beat, and repeat until you succeed. (Beat our dick. Not the person.)


You'll save money and gain some experience.
 
Last edited:

Trogdor1123

Member
Where exactly?
Anywhere, it’s not hard to go up to someone and chat.

Meet in a park, a bar, coffee, at work, through friends, at school, at the legion, at a club … there are all of these places outside of our houses that are filled with other people. Most of them are actually really nice and want to meet other people too.
 

Goalus

Member
Are there people (men) stupid enough to pay these fees? Genuinely wondering...

It feels smarter to spend $500 on Diablo Immortal MTX.
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
Anywhere, it’s not hard to go up to someone and chat.

Meet in a park, a bar, coffee, at work, through friends, at school, at the legion, at a club … there are all of these places outside of our houses that are filled with other people. Most of them are actually really nice and want to meet other people too.

We live in a new age. Women don't want to be "bothered" when outside.

You talk to a woman randomly, you are seen as a creep.

I mean, there is a reason dating apps have become so hugely popular and they can charge an arm and a leg. Its not pure coincidence.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
Goddamn, $500 a month?!?

Anyone with that kind of disposable cash ought to be able to build out a profile with pics showing their $$$, no need to pay. Unless you are reeeeaaaaalllll ugly and are just trolling for gold diggers or are trying to keep your profile totally offline and need a curated match list (aka you are married) I don't see the point. Any girl that thinks the "$500 profile means he is serious" is just straight delusional.
 
Top Bottom