Evolution of Dating Apps | How Dating Apps Evolved to become a Billion Dollar Industry?

The Internet has brought the world into our desks and pockets via our laptops and mobiles. From shopping to dating almost everything can be done online now. Imagine meeting your imperfectly perfect match just by swiping right. Well, thanks to the internet, this is the reality now. Dating apps are now helping users to find their new romantic partners, renew older romances, strengthen social connections, and reinforce friendship bonds as well.

Generation Z has taken a huge interest in online dating because now, it is easier to find a person online whose interest matches with them. People don’t have time to even have proper food in this fast world, so sometimes dating can be out of the question. Online dating on the other hand solves this problem, it is not time-consuming plus it also saves money and energy.

The craze for online dating has increased in such a way that reports claim 38% of relationships happened through online dating. In recent years it has become a widely accepted phenomenon. The free access to various features of dating apps to find potential partners is what makes it more appealing.

Plus there is no boundary, one can be in the South Pole and will be able to find a partner who is residing in the North Pole, basically from any corner of the world.

“You are my only ‘swipe right' among the million swipe left.”

-Firdouse Malasha

In this article, we will discuss how the dating business has evolved over time and how it has become a big part of the economy in recent years. So let’s get started.

The Rise of Online Dating Apps
Evolution of Online Dating App Business
Economy of The Dating Business

The Rise of Online Dating Apps

For those who are not familiar with dating apps, these are online applications to meet new people and find potential partners. While earlier, people had to form connections within their circles or via random meetings, where the association or the circle itself was really small and the opportunities were much lesser, now we have the online dating apps the popularity of which are rising each day. The rise of online dating and dating apps has made the world a smaller place that what it used to be and that too, easily navigable based on similar interests.

The GPS location in dating apps gives out an option to match people within the user’s radar, which the latter can use to his/her benefit and meet local friends, lovers, and new connections.

Although Tinder is not the first dating app in the world it still takes the pride to call itself the app that changed the way of dating on a global scale. Tinder was founded in the year 2012 by Christopher Gulczynski, Dinesh Moorjani, Jonathan Badeen, Justin Mateen, Sean Rad, and Whitney Wolfe Herd.

This app matches the users with other users who are nearby and who have similar interests. With over 66 million users, Tinder has become one of the most popular dating sites in the world. Tinder bears the flag of finding partners through smartphones irrespective of gender and sexuality. Probably the best feature of this app would be to swipe left if not interested and swipe right if there is a tiny spark in your heart.

According to reports, online dating is the second most popular way of finding potential connections in the United States. However, Tinder is not the only popular dating site anymore.

People spend an average of 10 hours a week on dating apps. With plenty of dating apps now in the market, the dating business has noticed strong competition. Covid-19 played another huge role in this matter.

While being confined in homes, dating sites became sort of an only option to find connections during the time of isolation. Although teenagers and new adults were already involved in this and were users of these dating apps, currently the millennials are also indulging themselves in this.

Some of the most popular dating apps apart from Tinder are mentioned down below.

• Bumble
• OkCupid
• Badoo
• Happn
• Grindr
• Hinge
• Aisle
• Tantan
• Plenty Of Fish

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Evolution of Online Dating App Business

It is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the market, gone are the days when going on a date with a stranger was frowned upon. With new apps finding their way to garner people's attention, it is easier to find partners online rather than offline.

Bumble, for example, made people’s heads turn when it was launched in 2014; it became the first online dating app that lets women make the first move. Apart from the swipe left and right method, these apps also started matching people based on similar interests and who are nearby them.

Now there are hundreds of dating apps that can be found in the market with different features they are giving good competition to each other. The pandemic completely changed the way people used to interact.

Tinder stated in a report that 2020 was one of the busiest years for them and in a single day they recorded 3 billion swipes. Thanks to these applications, from casual encounters to finding the perfect companion, everything is being possible and is now welcomed by people with open arms.

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Economy of the Dating Business

The total revenue of the dating app market in the year 2021 was $3.08 billion and by 2021 its worth has grown even more to become $5.3 billion. The dating apps industry is not only a large sector that is just thriving but continuously growing too. The global dating app users were reported to be 185 million in 2015, which exponentially increased to be around 270 million when last measured in 2020.

Now when it comes to revenues, the dating apps industry has brought in revenues close to $3.08 bn in 2020 and it is estimated to grow to cross the 5.5 billion dollar mark in 2025.

How much money do dating apps make?

Looking at the staggering rate at which the revenues of the dating apps are increasing, the dating apps are making quite something out of their users.  The world-famous dating app Tinder has a valuation of around $10 bn as of 2022, which is quite impressive.

Tinder, the leader of dating apps takes the cake here making a whopping $1,469 per minute, or $88,143 per hour, while the female-friendly Bumble app is reported to be earning $172 every minute.

How do dating apps make money?

The dating apps make money through numerous subscription plans, in-app purchasing, advertising, and freemium.

Using these apps most of the time is free but to get access to special features and to get more profile visibility often there are some purchases that need to be made. As dating apps particularly follow the notion ‘First impression is the last impression’, the increase in the market for grooming products for men is very much evident.

Conclusion

In the time we live in almost everything can be done with the help of the internet. Going on an offline date seems more costly so people are turning towards online dating services thus meeting people and making connections online has now become the new trend.

Especially during Covid-19, the numbers of users have doubled in several apps like Tinder, Bumble, Aisle, and others and at this rate, the dating business market is only going to increase.

FAQ

How much Money does Dating Apps make?

As per a report in 2020, the global dating app revenue is $3.09 billion.

Which Dating App Makes More Money?

Tinder consistently placed itself in the ranking of top 10 biggest-grossing apps every month.

What Dating App Has The Most Users As Of 2021?

With 57 million, Tinder has the most users as of 2021.

How to market a dating app?

Marketing a dating app is not as hard as you might think of. If you already have a dating app and you need to market the same, then here is a list of some amazing tips that will help you market a dating app without worrying a bit:

• Roll out a foolproof business model
• Use an interesting and easy-to-use interface
• Go the social media way
• Target the singles
• Press releases are a must
• Collaborate with the other social apps
• Stay connected with media
• Paid app promotion is must
• Don't over monetize
• Talk more about the app
• Opt for video promotions
• Extend a gamified experience
• Try to add value