Tinder wants you to pay up for better matches

Are you a lonely heart? Do you have some serious cash burning a hole in your pocket but aren’t famous enough to get on Raya? Well, now you’re in luck.

Driving the news: Tinder is launching a premium membership tier with a potential price tag of US$500 per month, possibly including features like a “personalized concierge service.”

  • After Tinder parent company Match Group saw success with The League, a premium dating app it acquired last year, it’s doubling down on the growing market opportunity. 

Why it matters: Tinder’s shift into premium offerings (and its ongoing brand refresh) is a sign of the fatigue that has crept into an increasingly saturated world of online dating. 

  • A recent survey found that 78% of online daters aged between 18 and 54 experience some degree of emotional burnout. So now, avoiding that burnout is a premium perk.

Zoom out: Other apps are expanding their paid offerings too. Hinge recently rolled out its first subscription plan, and Bumble has started offering curated profiles to premium users. 

Yes, but: A volume-first approach is tried and proven, so whether users will pay up for (theoretically) higher quality options will depend on whether these apps can actually deliver on their promise—especially as paid user numbers start to dwindle at Tinder.—LA, QH