10 Proven Ways to Monetize a Dating App

The 21st century seems to be an era of dating apps as it has become tough to find a compatible partner in your surroundings. These apps match the habits, lifestyles, and preferences of two people to increase the chances of getting matched in the first meet only. Adhering to the increasing adoption of dating apps among people, it has proven to be one of the best investment ideas in the modern time. By developing a robust dating app, one can generate a passive income without much hassle that can even overtake the active income if managed well.

However, no doubt developing a dating app requires a significant amount of investment. So, it becomes very obvious to have concerns about the monetization models of dating apps that can bring a good return on your investment. Today in this article, we will have a glance over some of the best monetization models that you can use for your dating apps. These monetization models are being practiced by most of the technical giants and online platforms to generate revenue. Also, you will be reading about the monetization strategies being used by the existing dating app leaders in this article.

What is the Monetization Model?

Before jumping to the different monetization models that you can use for your dating app, it can be a great idea to understand the basics of the monetization model. So, it is a practice of generating revenue from the users or any third party that helps to collect revenue against the services being provided by the app. In simple words, monetization models are the money-generating principles that a business owner implements to recover and grow the investment they have made in the business.

There are different types of monetization models which are implemented to varied types of dating apps or other digital platforms according to the nature of customers and services. Each monetization strategy is suitable for a particular type of service being provided to a specific type of target audience. Let’s get deeper into the pool of different monetization strategies.

👀 Also Read: Tips to Create a Successful Dating App UI and UX

10 Best Ways to Monetize a Dating App

While there are an undefined number of monetization models that you can integrate without your dating or any mobile app, having an understanding of some of the proven monetization strategies can help a lot. Here are 10 best monetization strategies for a dating app-

1. Premium Subscription Model

This is one of the most prominently used monetization strategies by digital platforms coming from different industries. Under the principle of premium subscription monetization models, the app owners provide the basic features and functionalities of the application for free while implementing the charges for accessing the advanced and more useful features of the app. So, it becomes extremely easy to attract the audience for a free feature and then inspire them to opt for the premium version to better leverage the services.

In this model, the owner can customize the subscription cost based on geography, profession, usage basis, and user behavior. At the same time, different billing cycles can be provided for the users so that they don’t have to think twice when thinking about the longer term. Most of the dating apps that you can see around are working with this model. Here are the key features that you can charge for in your dating mobile app-

• Stretch the response timeline.
• Bring your profile to the top to highlight
• Access the exclusive features like super likes and gifts
• Access to see who has liked your profile
• Use filters to see the relevant results on the top
• Incognito mode for profile privacy
• Read receipts
• Unsend the messages
• Messages and photos expiring
• AI response and assitant

👀 Also Read: Dating App Statistics for 2024: Users, Revenue, Apps, & More

2. In-App Purchases

While this monetization model is mostly used by gaming app owners, it can be efficiently implemented in dating apps as well. The basic principle of this monetization strategy is providing the digital currency and products in the app which the users can access or purchase using real money. These digital currencies, tokens, gifts, vouchers, or any kind of product are designed to highlight the profile and boost the chances of getting matched with other users.

This is one of the best monetization models for users who are concerned about committing to the application by paying a subscription fee. All they have to do is sign in to the app and purchase the things that they find useful. It significantly increases the engagement rates of users in the app and ultimately drives a better return on investment. The in-app products include special stickers, video call features, contact number access, and much more.

3. Advertisement

Irrespective of the type and industry of the mobile app, advertisement has been proven to be the best monetization model of all time. However, to implement this model in your dating app, the very first requirement is to grab a good audience base. As soon as your app is entertaining a broad audience base regularly, you can easily find the big brands who are keen to purchase space on your application for showing advertisements. For this space, you can charge an attractive fee from the brands.

The bigger the audience, the higher the fee that you can charge. Having implemented this monetization model, you can even skip the rest of the models as you can get sufficient income from the advertising only. At the same time, when you are earning through advertising and not charging any fee to the users, the number of users increases automatically.

👀 Also Read: What Technology is Needed to Build a Dating App Like Tinder?

4. Paid App

This is one of the simplest monetization strategies for your dating app. With this model, you will have to launch your dating app in the paid app category. So, the user will have to pay a one-time registration fee at the beginning and then they can use all the services error-free. However, your dating app must be popular enough for people that they agree to pay the registration fee without any hesitation. If your dating app is providing enough benefits to the users and maintains a good image in the market, you can get a good return on your investment with this monetization model.

5. eCommerce Store

Along with a monetization model, eCommerce stores can be your additional source of income from the app only. All you have to do is design a portal where you can list several merchandise that users can purchase from the app. However, you must remember to provide the products which are relevant to your primary service. For example, you can sell flowers, bouquets, gifts for male and female partners, cards, t-shirts, coffee mugs, collages, and much more. As soon as a couple gets matched, they can purchase these products from your app for gifting to each to other on various occasions.

👀 Also Read: How Much Does It Cost To Develop An App Like Bumble?

6. Affiliate Marketing

Similar to that of the advertisement model, you can also opt for the affiliate marketing option to generate revenue. To better understand this monetization model, it is a practice where you partner with some other app or business. You then promote their services and products via your platform so that your customers can be their customers too. However, you must remember that you are not doing affiliate marketing for your competitor or any business that provides a similar product or service to yours. To make affiliate marketing more effective, you can provide perks like a free premium subscription or discount on in-app purchases. For the same, you can sign a monetary deal with the brand you are doing marketing for.

7. Social Media Content Partnership

This has also been a prominent monetization strategy among the digital business in recent years. However, for this model, you will need an account on some popular social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. with a good number of followers. If you satisfy these conditions, you can generate a good income through your dating app. For example, you can partner with a non-competitive business or brand to promote their product or service on your social media page.

In the social media landscape, there are different types of methods that you can use to generate revenue. You can implement the different charges for the different types of content like posts, stories, notes, and more.

👀 Also Read: How Could Advanced AI Help Improve Online Dating?

8. Expedited Profile Approval and Verification

To implement this monetization model, you must facilitate a robust and strict profile verification process. Different dating apps like The League have implemented this strategy where they check and assess the user credentials before permitting them into the application. This process is time-consuming and subject to the decision of the app admin whether they will get the approval or not. By implementing the expedited profile approval monetization model, you can allow the user to get approval by paying a one-time or period fee. Similarly, you can also charge a fee if the user wants their profile to stand out with a tag from the crowd or want to increase visibility by highlighting the profile at the top.

9. Rewarded Video Ads

The video ads are different from those of the traditional advertisement model. The reason behind the statement is that at the end of every video end, you provide a reward to the user for watching the complete ad. Thus, the engagement of the ad increases automatically. For example, you can offer a free token, discount coupon, free life (in-game), or access to a premium feature whenever the user completes a video ad.

As you are providing users from your side after the ad, you can easily charge a good amount from the brand that is running these ads on your platform. As the engagement rates are higher, it is a win-win deal for you as well as the partnered brand.

👀 Also Read: Top 11 Dating App Ideas That Will Boom in 2024

10. Games and Quizzes

If you can see several people turning into the couple on your dating app, this can be an ideal monetization model for your dating app. With this strategy, you can add various video games and quizzes to your application that users can play with their partners online to pass the time and have fun. At the same time, you can also add features like chat and video calling in these games. The best part is that you can monetize these games and generate good revenue even if you are providing the rest of the services entirely for free.

Monetization Strategies Used by Popular Dating App Giants

If you are planning to develop a dating app and monetize it to get a good return on investment, you would have been curious about the ways these apps make money. No doubt that having an idea about the monetization strategy of market leaders in the landscape can give you a clear vision of the models that you should choose for your platform. So, we have defined some of the best dating apps being used around the world along with the monetization models used by them.

1. Tinder

Tinder is one of the biggest and most popular dating apps around the world with over 100M+ downloads on the Google Play Store alone. The app has over 75M+ active monthly users from over 190 countries and 56 languages. The swiping feature of the app has made it easy for users to connect to the person they find relevant to their habits and profiles.

Talking about the monetization models, there are three ways that Tinder earns money. First of all, they have the three-tier option apart from the free version that helps to earn periodically. Different tier version provides access to different features like ad-free experience, new top picks, messaging before even matching, and many more. Another includes the paid super likes and post boosting that enhances the profile visibility of the user on the platform. Here is a glance into the three different subscription tiers provided by Tinder-

https://tinder.com/feature/subscription-tiers

👀 Also Read: The Coolest Features Coming to Dating Apps in 2024

2. Bumble

Next comes Bumble with 50M+ downloads on the Google Play Store and 58M+ active users. The app is reported to be generating a revenue of more than $1 Billion in 2023. The app ensures integrity, equality, integrity, respect, and confidence in its services. This core competency has made the platform one of the most preferred places for youth to find their partners. Talking about the monetization model follows the freemium approach along with the in-app purchase option. Following are the three main paid plans offered by Bumble-

👀 Also Read: How Much Does It Cost to Create an App Like Hinge?

3. Hinge

Another popular name in the landscape of dating platforms is Hinge. The brand message of Hinge is “the dating app designed to be deleted” which well represents their promise of finding the right match in the least time. The application never focuses on promoting casual dating on its platform. This principle of the app has earned them over 23 million active users with a revenue of over $396 Million in the year 2023. Coming to the monetization strategy of Hinge, it operates with a subscription model to earn from its users. At the same time, this dating app is also dependent on advertising revenue and in-app purchases to generate profit.

There are a number of brands that rely on Hinge to promote their products and services. Similarly, you can purchase virtual gifts on the application that you can give to your partner. However, the in-app purchases are completely optional as you can leverage all the features by paying for the subscription plan only according to your preferences. Here is a glance into the different paid versions offered by Hinge.

👀 Also Read: How Much Does It Cost to Make an App Like Tinder?

Wrapping Up

So, it can be concluded that there are a lot of monetization models that you can use for your dating app. The right monetization strategy depends on your type of app, features, and the target audience you are connected to. At the same time, you can impart more than one monetization model into your app to make the services more affordable for a bigger target audience. Taking inspiration from the leading dating app platforms for your monetization strategy can also be a good idea.

If you are planning to develop a dating app and have any doubts about the process, Developer Bazzar Technologies invites you to our free consultation session where you can resolve all your doubts about the project and take the right decision.