Rise in Paid Dating App Services Reflects Shift in Online Dating Landscape

The era of free dating apps may be coming to an end: businesses are attempting to increase income, while single individuals increasingly believe that apps are the only way to find love.

People Spend Hundreds of Dollars on Dating Apps

According to a recent Pew Research Center research, 35% of Americans who have used a dating website or app have paid to do so at some point. Morgan Stanley discovered earlier this year that the average paying dating app user spends roughly $19 per month. Some people, however, spend significantly more, as per CNBC.

VIP membership in the League costs $999 per week or $2,499 per month. The VIP subscription entitles users to match with prospects in various cities, to see new individuals first, and to employ a concierge service that claims to help you "win at this dating game."

Tinder offered a $499 monthly subscription to some of its most active users in September, and Hinge recently introduced a $600-per-month membership. "The days of venture capital-subsidized swiping are over. [Companies] want to monetize the services they provide to eager singles," Blaine Anderson, a men's dating coach in Austin, Texas, claimed that her clients spend hundreds of dollars a month on dating apps.

According to Anderson, the increase in premium choices has rendered free tiers "borderline unusable" for some clients. Nonetheless, dating app developers say they have detected a desire for pricey add-ons and are unlikely to abandon them.

"There's a group of users who are eager to use our premium features," Grindr's chief product officer, AJ Balance, told CNBC. Match Group, Inc. officials declined to comment despite the parent business having more than 45 dating apps and services, including Tinder, Hinge, and The League.

Dating Apps Offer Paid Services To Attract Users

Meanwhile, dating apps' user growth has recently slowed, "stoking investors' concerns that the honeymoon may be over for the U.S. online dating industry," Morgan Stanley stated in a recent research.

"I think there's a general sense of app fatigue," Kathryn Coduto, an assistant professor at Boston University who studies internet behavior, stated. Coduto discovered in her research that many people use up to four dating apps at the same time. The platforms may begin to converge.

"The apps are pulling from the same dating pool, and so [users] are seeing the same people, matching with the same people and not finding anyone new. This leads to a feeling of frustration and the question of like, 'What's the point?'" Coduto stated.

According to Anderson, dating apps are responding by offering exclusive memberships and unique advantages: "Premium features can accelerate and improve the quality of your matches and dates."

Users who pay $34.99 monthly on the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel can send virtual flower bouquets, while Tinder allows some customers to swipe on people in different cities. Grindr customers who pay $39.99 a month can view unlimited profiles, compared to the 99 profiles available to free users.

"People have paid for things like personal ads, speed-dating experiences, dating and relationship coaches and matchmakers," Coduto explained. While there is a robust market for dating app subscribers, many single people may feel they have no other option, according to Ali Mogharabi, senior equities analyst at Morningstar Research Services.

"It's become more of a norm to use apps to find dates and long-term relationships," she said. Anderson, an Austin-based dating coach, says her clients frequently believe they must pay for an app's premium services in order to meet someone. "You want to be able to cast a wider net, and you often can't do that with the free version," he said.

Coduto shared that the free versions are becoming increasingly cluttered with irritating adverts. "You're swiping on a lot of ads in addition to people," she went on to say.

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