Talk about bang for buck… Match, the parent company behind Tinder and Hinge, is testing to see how much users are willing to spend to get a date. Hinge will test a US $60 ($86 AUD) premium tier for “highly motivated daters” while Tinder is apparantly testing a $500 ($721 AUD) version of its app.
House prices are skyrocketing, mortgages are going up, rent is rising. And don’t even get us started on the price of groceries (and utilities). But it’s not just these essentials that will cost you more in 2023, but online dating as well (if you want to opt for the higher end of the services).
Hinge is reportedly testing a US $60 a month plan, which a step up from their current US $35 a month paid subscription level. Paying this premium will give you more exposure, show other users your likes more quickly and give you better recommendations from the algorithm. Basically, you’ll get a bunch of stuff the app can already do, but chooses not to.
According to Business Week, Match expects the new paid tier to bring in at least $100 million of direct revenue in 2023. Match’s share price fell quite a lot last year. Its stocks are up when compared to the beginning of the year though. As for how users will react to this new premium subscription, only time (and satisfied swipers) will tell.
“Hmm, get rejected for free or upgrade to $500 rejections, this choice is hard.”
Reddit user Thick-Acanthaceae-59
Social media users have had a field day with the news, with some saying “highly motivated” daters sounds like a synonym for “desperate” and that the money “would be better spent on OnlyFans.” Others said “no amount of money is going to make Danny DeVito look like Chris Hemsworth.”