In today’s digital age, finding love or companionship can be as easy as swiping right on a mobile app. Tinder is one such app that has gained immense popularity since its launch in 2012. It is a location-based dating app with a simple swipe-based interface to match users with potential partners.
According to a report, Approximately 40 million people use dating applications and websites around the globe. Over 27% of committed relationships started via the Internet.
Tinder is a well-known and widely used dating app, and in this article, we will look at how to develop an app like Tinder and how much it costs.
In this article, we will explore what Tinder is, how it works, and the various features and criticisms of the app.
- What is Tinder?
- How does the Tinder app work?
- Top 12 Tinder Alternative Apps
- How does Tinder show Potential Matches?
- Business Model of the Tinder App
- Gamification in Tinder – Tinder’s Swipe Night
- Key Features of an App like Tinder
- How to develop a dating app like Tinder?
- How much does it cost to develop an app like Tinder?
- How much time does it take to develop an app like Tinder?
- Why is Capermint the best Tinder like App Development Company?
- Wrapping Up!
What is Tinder?
Tinder is an online dating and geosocial networking application. The app will help you find singles around you. The users can swipe right when they like someone and swipe left if they dislike someone. Each user’s profile will contain some photos, a short description, and a few interests. Based on these points, the users will like and dislike others. The users can also link their Instagram profiles to show more photos.
Tinder uses a “double opt-in” system where the users can talk to each other only if they swipe right on their profile. In Tinder’s terms, it is known as a “Match”.
Once matched, the users can talk with each other, and then they can take things forward. Once the user has found a dating partner, they can uninstall the app.
The users can reinstall and use the app again after the break-up to find another dating partner, probably the right partner this time.
About Tinder
- Tinder CEO: Renate Nyborg
- Founders: Sean Rad, Justin Mateen, Jonathan Badeen
- Owner: Match Group
- Founding Year: 2012
- Used By: Around 50 million users per month
- Active Subscribers: 3.8 Million
- Matches per day: 26 Million
- Swipes per day: 1.6 Billion
- Headquarter: Dallas, TX
- Number of Employees: 750
How does the Tinder app work?
Tinder app has made dating very much easier. No more blind dates and no more asking your friends for help. With dating apps like Tinder, the users just have to follow certain steps, and they can find their match. Let’s have a look at how Tinder works.
Step 1: Create a Profile
To create a profile, the users can use their mobile number or sign in using Facebook. Just fill in a few simple details, and the app will create your account.
The users must confirm their phone’s location to get nearby matches.
Step 2: Modify your account
This very important step will determine how many matches the users get. In this step, the user has to upload their best photos, and they have to write a small bio about themselves. They will also be asked to choose some of their interests. The users can also add their favorite song in the bio.
Using photos with different photos is preferred as they will give a better idea to the other users.
After uploading the photos, the users can verify their account to get a verified sign. This sign will attract more users to their profile.
Step 3: Start the swiping
Now as the profile is ready, this is the time to start swiping. The user can swipe right on the profiles they like and swipe left on those they dislike. Tinder offers a limited number of swipes per day. The users can get unlimited swipes after buying the Tinder Gold subscription.
Step 4: It’s a Match
You will get a match when someone likes your profile and swipes it right on it. After getting a match, the user can chat with the other person. The more they chat, the more they will connect and soon plan a date. If everything goes right, the user will find the right dating partner.
Thus, the user’s journey to find a dating partner ends, and now they can enjoy their dating life.
Top 12 Tinder Alternative Apps
A list of other well-known dating apps:
1. Bumble
Bumble is a swipe and date app that gives direct competition to Tinder. This app provides power to women, as when matched, only the female can send the first message. The match will be lost if the female does not message in 24 hours.
2. Happn
Happn is yet another huge competitor of the Tinder app. This app uses GPS to track the user wherever they go, and it will show you users that you have crossed paths with. The more you go out, the more users you will be able to see.
3. Raya
Raya is a dating app for elite users, or one can say for popular people. It is a private, membership-based networking app that follows a vetting process for you to even land on this app. However, as this is an exclusive app, the app offers an impeccable dating experience.
4. OkCupid
“You are more than just a photo” – OkCupid. The app brings something new to the table. Instead of just swiping right and left based on the looks and photos, the user profile will contain a list of likes and dislikes of the users, which can be used to match them.
5. Hinge
Hinge brings yet another unique approach to the table. In the Hinge app, instead of liking the full profile, the users can select different parts of the profile, and thus the users can get a pretty good idea of what the other person likes about them and their profile.
6. Skout
Scout is a dating and friendship app focusing more on value-filled relationships. The app can connect with people near you to date them, or you can also use it to connect with people who reside in other countries or continents to be friends with them.
7. Truly Madly
Truly Madly is a Tinder alternative app for India. The app solves the biggest problem of the Tinder app: fake profiles. The app uses a trust score to showcase how trustworthy the profile is. The score can be increased by verifying phone numbers and social media profiles.
8. Coffee meets Bagel
Coffee meets Bagel introduces the most unique dating approach. The guys will receive up to 21 matches, known as bagels, every evening. Women will receive suggestions from only those guys who have already liked them. Thus, women welcome highly curated suggestions only.
9. Plenty of Fish
Plenty of fish is for users who like Tinder but do not like its limited features in the free pack. Plenty of Fish offers unlimited messages, unlimited profile checks, and many more features for free.
10. eHarmony
eHarmony prides itself on being the first dating app that uses a scientific approach to show users only the most compatible partners. The app uses 30 dimensions of compatibility, and this means all the users you see will be a great match for you.
11. Match
Match.com has been a trusted dating site long before the days of Tinder. The app offers amazing filters to filter out people based on your preference. This allows you to match with only like-minded people and thus provides an amazing experience.
12. Grindr
Grindr is a dating service like Tinder, especially for gay, bi, trans, and queer people. Here, the users will find their perfect partner without being judged. The users can set their preferences, and the app will show like-minded people to them.
How does Tinder show Potential Matches?
— Attractiveness of the users
If you see boring profiles when you start using the app, this will leave a bad first impression. Therefore, Tinder finds attractive users based on the number of likes they get, and it will show these users first so that you see the best potential matches first.
— Activeness of Account
You get a match once the other person likes you too, but what if the other person is not using the app regularly? You will get fewer matches, affecting your trust in the app. So, Tinder uses activeness as a factor, showing active users first.
— Facebook Profile
As the user has integrated their Facebook account, Tinder will use some information like mutual friends or common interests to suggest matches on the app.
— Other Factors
There are some other factors too that Tinder uses to show potential matches. One common one is that Tinder will showcase the profile that already likes you, and as soon as you swipe right, it will be a match, and you can now start chatting with them.
Business Model of the Tinder App
Subscription
The prime source of income for Tinder is Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold, and Tinder Platinum Subscription. These subscriptions allow the users to do unlimited swipes and boosts, see who has liked them, message before matching, and so on.
Ads
Ads on tinder are just like a user profile. The ad will appear after 5-10 swipes. On the ad, the users can either swipe right to open it or swipe right to close it.
In-app purchases
In in-app purchases, the dating site can offer access to emojis and icons that are unique and made specifically for flirting. These can be an attractive addition for the users to improve their impression, and thus the users can buy these products.
Others
There can be other business models that can be unique to your app. For example, in Bumble, once you have matched with someone, the first person to message will be the Female one. So if you are a male, you have to wait for them to message you first; if they do not message you in the first 24 hours, the match will be lost.
To prevent this, you can pay a small amount to reset the 24-hour timer. This will work as an additional and unique business model for your app.
Gamification in Tinder – Tinder’s Swipe Night
To improve the user experience and attract more users to the dating app, Tinder has introduced gamification strategies in their app. And for the very first gamification strategy, Tinder opted for a Zombie Apocalypse.
The event was live every Sunday in October 2021. Daters using the app had access to free chapters of the Zombie game. In the game, the users were supposed to face various moral dilemmas whilst surviving the zombie apocalypse. At the end of the event, the users who made the same choices were shown, and then the swiping began.
They can match and have a conversation if it is a swipe right from both sides. If they swipe left, the users must find someone else to survive the zombie apocalypse.
This gamification strategy was a huge success, and it helped the users by providing them with something to discuss. It offered a new perspective on how to find their perfect match. The user engagement rates skyrocketed with the event. Tinder has also announced the second season of “Swipe Night”. Tinder said millions of users had tuned into the series, and matches and conversations had increased by 26% and 12%, respectively.
Key Features of an App like Tinder
An app is defined by its features. Features are the main thing that helps an app stand out from the competition. Here is a list of key features of the Tinder app:
For Registered User
- Easy Login
- Swipe Left/Right for Matching
- Messaging
- Photo Uploading
- Profile Editing
- Video Chat
- Instagram Integration
- Common Connections
- Tinder Gold
- Panic Button
- Traveler Alert
- Plus One
For Web admin
- Sign Up Process
- User Management
- Collating Information and Inputs from Users
- Management of payment
- Subscription Management
- View and manage lists of users, payment, the subscription
- Notification and request management
How to develop a dating app like Tinder?
Developing an app is one thing, and creating a ranking app is another. You want to have the perfect app that can stand out from the competition, so you have to hire some professionals for this task.
Technologies required to develop an app like Tinder
- Kotlin for Android App Development
- Swift for iOS App Development
- Flutter for Cross-Platform App Development
- Node.js for Back-end Development
- AWS or Azure for Cloud
- SQL or MongoDB or Cassandra for Database
- Azure Stream Analytics for Real-time analytics
- Google Cloud Messaging and Apple push notifications service for Notifications
- WebRTC for real-time video calling
- WebRTC for Chat
Backend team requirement for developing an app like Tinder
- Project Manager
- Business Analyst
- UI/UX Designer
- Android Developer
- iOS Developer
- Back-end Developer
- QA Engineer
OR
You can leave this work to the Tinder like app development company, and therefore you can get an app like Tinder developed by skilled and experienced developers. This will take the development work off your shoulders; consequently, you can focus on other important things while the best Tinder app development company is developing your app.
How much does it cost to develop an app like Tinder?
Develop an app like Tinder costs around $30,000 – $40,000 for a single platform (Android or iOS) with basic functionality. If you wish to build an app with all the advanced features and functionalities, with support for multiple platforms, it may cost up to $100,000.
The cost also depends on the company that you choose.
Charges of a small company: $15 – $40 / hour
Charges of an Intermediate company: $50 – $100 / hour
Charges of an Enterprise-level company: $100 – $300 / hour
You can contact us if you are looking for a mobile app and development company to develop an app like Tinder. We have solid technical app developers who have developed various apps. To know more about our Dating App development, check out our portfolio.
How much time does it take to develop an app like Tinder?
Tinder app development will take around 12 weeks to develop an app like Tinder, and the timeline can increase to 20 weeks depending on the features and number of platforms.
Why is Capermint the best Tinder like App Development Company?
Capermint Technologies is a Tinder like app development company. Our team of App Developers ensures that all your requirements are met in the app, and with advanced development skills, they incorporate the best features in the app. We have developed multiple apps and provide after-launch services and maintenance for all the apps we develop. Our developers use the latest technology to create the most user-friendly, advanced app.
Wrapping Up!
Social media apps have made users habitual in connecting with people online. As everything is online nowadays, an online dating app is a brilliant and profitable idea. However, as many dating apps exist, you must bring something unique to the game to stand out from the competition.
Developing a dating app requires not only financial resources but also the experience of effective mobile app developers. To get the most useful and unique swiping dating app developed, contact Capermint Technologies and get the benefit of an experienced and skilled app development team. Contact us now!