Types of Dating Apps: How They Work
There are many dating apps on the market now, but they are based on almost the same methods of finding and selecting partners. There are three popular options.
Geolocation. The principle of choosing a partner for many dating apps like Tinder is based on geolocation and a minimum set of parameters, such as age, height, religion, etc. Due to this, the application covers a very wide and rather random circle of potential partners - sometimes thousands of people. And swiping profiles is so addictive that people don’t notice how they spend hours on them.
Questionnaire survey. Thanks to the questionnaire, the search for a partner can become more accurate and deeper. You can use general questions such as "What are your favorite hobbies?" or even psychological tests. Artificial intelligence will help analyze user responses and find the most suitable partner among all profiles. For example, the dating app OkCupid offers about 4,000 questions from which people can choose the ones that are most interesting and important to them.
Selection by niche. Niche dating apps are a kind of clubs for like-minded people looking for a soul mate. Look at Pure - it openly invites you to find a partner for a one-night stand. Every user of the application accepts these rules and is not looking for a serious relationship there.
One of the important advantages of online dating over the traditional format is the ability to find a partner based on an exact request - appearance, education, habits, etc. Therefore, we believe that niche apps or apps that use questionnaires will be very popular in the market.
There are many dating apps on the market now, but they are based on almost the same methods of finding and selecting partners. There are three popular options.
Geolocation. The principle of choosing a partner for many dating apps like Tinder is based on geolocation and a minimum set of parameters, such as age, height, religion, etc. Due to this, the application covers a very wide and rather random circle of potential partners - sometimes thousands of people. And swiping profiles is so addictive that people don’t notice how they spend hours on them.
Questionnaire survey. Thanks to the questionnaire, the search for a partner can become more accurate and deeper. You can use general questions such as "What are your favorite hobbies?" or even psychological tests. Artificial intelligence will help analyze user responses and find the most suitable partner among all profiles. For example, the dating app OkCupid offers about 4,000 questions from which people can choose the ones that are most interesting and important to them.
Selection by niche. Niche dating apps are a kind of clubs for like-minded people looking for a soul mate. Look at Pure - it openly invites you to find a partner for a one-night stand. Every user of the application accepts these rules and is not looking for a serious relationship there.
One of the important advantages of online dating over the traditional format is the ability to find a partner based on an exact request - appearance, education, habits, etc. Therefore, we believe that niche apps or apps that use questionnaires will be very popular in the market.
Main functions of a dating app: what's inside
To create a dating app, you need to know a set of functions that users are already accustomed to and which are considered basic. Let's take a look inside an app like Tinder.
🔐Secure registration. Required to register users of the dating application. By the way, you can authenticate them through social media accounts. Thus, the mobile dating application will weed out bots and scammers, which will increase user confidence.
🧑User profile. Dating apps like Bumble give users the opportunity to describe themselves in detail. But too long texts can scare off users or simply not fit into the interface design. Therefore, some restrictions on volume are necessary in any case.
🗺️Geolocation. Regardless of which app you plan to choose, having GPS and distance filtering is considered a must-have. You can encourage users to narrow their search distance to one kilometer or select specific cities or countries.
📞Audio and video chat. Open communication is a trend in recent years. Users are moving away from simple text conversations, which are common on traditional dating apps, in favor of communicating via audio or video messages. Such messages help to get a more complete picture of a person. That is why it is important to give a choice in communication methods - exchange of audio and video recordings or calls, including video chats.
⛄Ice breakers. Even in online dating, being on the other side of the screen can make it difficult for people to start a conversation. Many users are looking for alternative options instead of the banal question “How are you?” In this case, ice-breakers come to the rescue - these are questions that help start a conversation and create a relaxed atmosphere. When creating ice-breakers, it is recommended to follow a simple rule - they should be light, pleasant and provide new information about the person. For example, the system may ask the user to choose one of the questions like “If you were a wizard, what wish would you grant first?” This question is easy to understand, fun, and gives your partner an opportunity to describe themselves.
To create a dating app, you need to know a set of functions that users are already accustomed to and which are considered basic. Let's take a look inside an app like Tinder.
🔐Secure registration. Required to register users of the dating application. By the way, you can authenticate them through social media accounts. Thus, the mobile dating application will weed out bots and scammers, which will increase user confidence.
🧑User profile. Dating apps like Bumble give users the opportunity to describe themselves in detail. But too long texts can scare off users or simply not fit into the interface design. Therefore, some restrictions on volume are necessary in any case.
🗺️Geolocation. Regardless of which app you plan to choose, having GPS and distance filtering is considered a must-have. You can encourage users to narrow their search distance to one kilometer or select specific cities or countries.
📞Audio and video chat. Open communication is a trend in recent years. Users are moving away from simple text conversations, which are common on traditional dating apps, in favor of communicating via audio or video messages. Such messages help to get a more complete picture of a person. That is why it is important to give a choice in communication methods - exchange of audio and video recordings or calls, including video chats.
⛄Ice breakers. Even in online dating, being on the other side of the screen can make it difficult for people to start a conversation. Many users are looking for alternative options instead of the banal question “How are you?” In this case, ice-breakers come to the rescue - these are questions that help start a conversation and create a relaxed atmosphere. When creating ice-breakers, it is recommended to follow a simple rule - they should be light, pleasant and provide new information about the person. For example, the system may ask the user to choose one of the questions like “If you were a wizard, what wish would you grant first?” This question is easy to understand, fun, and gives your partner an opportunity to describe themselves.
🧙Partner search algorithm. This is the most important and difficult part of developing a dating app. Some unusual algorithm may become the very function that will explode the market. What if you offered to find a partner by singing songs? This can at least impress your users!
💰In-app purchases. Statistics show that users are willing to pay for good service and additional features. A survey of Rambler analysts suggests that more than 70% of Russians spend no more than 300 rubles per month on subscriptions, and 10% of respondents spend more than 1,000 rubles monthly. You can provide a variety of subscription options to choose from that include advanced options, such as a super like like on Tinder, which makes the user's reaction more noticeable, or virtual gifts.
The final feature set for your dating app will depend on your idea, target audience, and use cases. If you are still looking for a dating app concept, you can take a look at our article. There we shared 7 dating app ideas.
💰In-app purchases. Statistics show that users are willing to pay for good service and additional features. A survey of Rambler analysts suggests that more than 70% of Russians spend no more than 300 rubles per month on subscriptions, and 10% of respondents spend more than 1,000 rubles monthly. You can provide a variety of subscription options to choose from that include advanced options, such as a super like like on Tinder, which makes the user's reaction more noticeable, or virtual gifts.
The final feature set for your dating app will depend on your idea, target audience, and use cases. If you are still looking for a dating app concept, you can take a look at our article. There we shared 7 dating app ideas.
What affects the cost of developing a dating app?
The cost of developing a dating application primarily depends on the selected technologies, the scope of work and the development team. Let's find out how they form the final price.
Technologies
First you need to determine what type of application you want to create. There are three options:
Native applications. For such applications, the code is written literally from scratch without any restrictions in the development of mobile applications, except your budget and imagination. But then you will have to create a separate dating application for each operating system (iOS and Android), which can take quite a lot of time.
Progressive web application. This is a special technology in web development that visually and functionally turns a website into an application. It is cheaper to implement, but inferior in data processing speed, since the system takes time to display the interface. So this technology is unlikely to be suitable for a dating app where people spend a lot of time.
Cross-platform applications. Cross-platform technologies allow you to create applications for both operating systems (iOS and Android) simultaneously, which reduces the cost of creating a mobile dating application by 2 times. And the quality remains as high as that of native development: at least users do not notice the difference. The most popular cross-platform framework is React Native. It is based on the JavaScript language, which has the world's largest libraries and community. We recommend React Native because using this technology you can create a dating app in record time - in just 4 months.
Required Features
The next thing to consider when creating a dating app is what features you want in the app. For example, creating unique features can have a major impact on the price. If you're not sure which specific features to choose, you can start with an MVP—the first version of a product with key features that implement your idea. This approach will allow you to quickly launch the product. If the release is successful and users positively evaluate the dating application, this version can be expanded and supplemented.
UI/UX design
The next factor is UI/UX design. UX design helps create a product that people will use easily and comfortably. UI design is responsible for how the application looks and what mood it creates in users. In modern mobile application development, design determines almost half of the success. But the more complex it is, the higher the cost of developing a dating application. If you're on a budget, it's best to keep it simple and easy.
The cost of developing a dating application primarily depends on the selected technologies, the scope of work and the development team. Let's find out how they form the final price.
Technologies
First you need to determine what type of application you want to create. There are three options:
Native applications. For such applications, the code is written literally from scratch without any restrictions in the development of mobile applications, except your budget and imagination. But then you will have to create a separate dating application for each operating system (iOS and Android), which can take quite a lot of time.
Progressive web application. This is a special technology in web development that visually and functionally turns a website into an application. It is cheaper to implement, but inferior in data processing speed, since the system takes time to display the interface. So this technology is unlikely to be suitable for a dating app where people spend a lot of time.
Cross-platform applications. Cross-platform technologies allow you to create applications for both operating systems (iOS and Android) simultaneously, which reduces the cost of creating a mobile dating application by 2 times. And the quality remains as high as that of native development: at least users do not notice the difference. The most popular cross-platform framework is React Native. It is based on the JavaScript language, which has the world's largest libraries and community. We recommend React Native because using this technology you can create a dating app in record time - in just 4 months.
Required Features
The next thing to consider when creating a dating app is what features you want in the app. For example, creating unique features can have a major impact on the price. If you're not sure which specific features to choose, you can start with an MVP—the first version of a product with key features that implement your idea. This approach will allow you to quickly launch the product. If the release is successful and users positively evaluate the dating application, this version can be expanded and supplemented.
UI/UX design
The next factor is UI/UX design. UX design helps create a product that people will use easily and comfortably. UI design is responsible for how the application looks and what mood it creates in users. In modern mobile application development, design determines almost half of the success. But the more complex it is, the higher the cost of developing a dating application. If you're on a budget, it's best to keep it simple and easy.
Development team
When you decide on the concept of the dating application, choose the development technology, key functions, all that remains is to choose a team for design and development. Typically it consists of a designer, front-end and back-end developers, a tester and a project manager. You can hire them yourself, find freelancers, or use the services of outsourced specialists.
Inhouse. Employees who are on staff are more deeply involved in the process and are more loyal. But there are disadvantages: for example, you will have to place all your employees in the office or provide them with equipment to work remotely. In addition, you will need to decide what to do with staff after the project is completed, since technical support for the application does not require the involvement of all specialists.
Freelancing. Now there are many freelancers on the market who are ready to participate in the development of an application for a reasonable or even low price. But, most likely, you will have to dive deep into the process yourself and supervise their work.
Outsourcing. Mobile app development outsourcing companies are experienced teams that provide a full range of services, with the competencies and resources to develop any application. Their in-house staff includes many specialists who can join your project. They will not need to adapt to each other, since team members are used to working together.
The total cost of creating a dating app varies depending on the features, UI/UX design, and labor costs of the developers you hire.
Cost of developing leading dating apps
Of course, the cost of developing popular dating apps like Tinder is a trade secret. But, knowing their set of functions, we can guess how much it costs to create their analogue. So let's take a look at what they are and estimate the cost of developing them.
1.Tinder
On Tinder, users can customize their profiles with photos and short videos, integrate with Instagram and Spotify, and select partners based on age, gender, and location. The app uses a profile rating system, a swiping feature, and several paid features. It is also possible to delete the formed pair and complain about indecent behavior of users.
Purrweb valuation: from 10 million to 14 million rubles.
2.Bumble
This application has a more advanced and detailed format for user profiles, integration with Instagram and Spotify accounts, as well as ice-breakers in the form of questions and reactions to photos using emoticons. It also has its own special feature - algorithms that only allow women to make the first move, and time-limited matches. Users have access to paid premium subscriptions, which open up additional opportunities for users.
Pureweb valuation: from 11 million to 17 million rubles.
3.Results
Dating apps - what could be more relevant in the modern world? Especially if you know how to help users solve their problems - security, usability, and match accuracy. We are ready to help you with the development of a dating application, advise you on the stages and cost of the work. Contact us or fill out the form below, we will contact you as soon as possible.
Of course, the cost of developing popular dating apps like Tinder is a trade secret. But, knowing their set of functions, we can guess how much it costs to create their analogue. So let's take a look at what they are and estimate the cost of developing them.
1.Tinder
On Tinder, users can customize their profiles with photos and short videos, integrate with Instagram and Spotify, and select partners based on age, gender, and location. The app uses a profile rating system, a swiping feature, and several paid features. It is also possible to delete the formed pair and complain about indecent behavior of users.
Purrweb valuation: from 10 million to 14 million rubles.
2.Bumble
This application has a more advanced and detailed format for user profiles, integration with Instagram and Spotify accounts, as well as ice-breakers in the form of questions and reactions to photos using emoticons. It also has its own special feature - algorithms that only allow women to make the first move, and time-limited matches. Users have access to paid premium subscriptions, which open up additional opportunities for users.
Pureweb valuation: from 11 million to 17 million rubles.
3.Results
Dating apps - what could be more relevant in the modern world? Especially if you know how to help users solve their problems - security, usability, and match accuracy. We are ready to help you with the development of a dating application, advise you on the stages and cost of the work. Contact us or fill out the form below, we will contact you as soon as possible.
