Dating Apps

Overview

From Bumble to Hinge, the dating app industry is made up of mobile phone-based applications that use algorithms to match users with romantic prospects. While it generated roughly $6B globally in consumer revenue in 2024, its financial impacts pale in comparison to its social ones. Dating sites and apps have become a hallmark of modern romance: 53% of US adults under 30 have admitted to using them.

Dating apps evolved from online dating websites, such as Match.com, which launched in 1995 and has since evolved into the dating app parent company Match Group. It now controls roughly 65% of the US market by revenue share with its ownership of industry powerhouses such as Tinder and Hinge. Today, some estimates claim half of all online relationships began on a Match Group platform.

In recent years, dating app business models have become increasingly dependent on "freemium" subscription models. Parts of these platforms are often free to use, but to get certain perks (such as seeing more potential matches per day), users must pay a subscription fee.

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