How to Make a Dating App Like Tinder
Christina Kovalevich
Can love be found online? Opinions on this may vary, but developers continue to be puzzled over how to make a dating app like Tinder, Match, Badoo, or OkCupid. With over 8,000 dating apps around the world, users choose only the most trusted. The picture below shows the most popular dating apps in the USA.
Contents
- How to make a dating app like Tinder
- Why Tinder? How does the Tinder app work?
- Tinder app features
- Technology stack required to develop a Tinder-like app
- Team (one developer per technology)
- Effective monetization strategy
- How much does it cost to build a dating app like Tinder?
How to make a dating app like Tinder
Steps to developing a Tinder-like app
Why Tinder? How does the Tinder app work?
Tinder is a popular and easy-to-use online dating solution. Since it appeared on the market, it has made over 30 billion matches. The secret of its success is gamification, which it introduced using innovative swipe technology.
Although Tinder may seem simple, it is smarter than it appears. In March 2019, Tinder presented a new matching algorithm. Currently, it’s not as transparent as it used to be. Tinder now matches you according to your recent activity, proximity, and gender preferences. It aims to show active users to other active users.
Tinder app features
Tinder’s basic feature set
- Registration through social networks
- Profile editing
- Geolocation-based searching
- Swiping and matching
- Private chatting
- Notifications
- Settings
User profiles
Registration is a must-have feature, but it should be quick and easy. Each user creates a personal profile outlining their interests and preferences. Basic information could be extracted from social networks. Allowing sign-up using social network accounts is essential.
Searching
Users identify their region so they can match with users from nearby locations. The ability to set preferred age and gender also makes it easier to find one’s soulmate.
Swiping and matching
Swiping is Tinder’s unique feature. It gives the app a dose of gamification and entertainment. A right swipe is a Like, a left swipe is a dislike, and a swipe up is a Super Like. A match occurs when two users like or Super Like each other.
Private chatting
After matching, users may begin chatting. Emojis, stickers, and GIFs make the conversation more lively.
Settings
To personalize the app, users can turn the sound on or off, change the visual theme, apply search filters, and edit personal information.
Admin panel
The team should have access to the admin panel to solve issues, manage users, and analyze the UX.
Technology stack required to develop a Tinder-like app
Team (one developer per technology)
- Back-end developer
- Front-end developer
- Android developer
- iOS developer
- UX/UI designer
- Quality assurance engineer
- Project manager
Effective monetization strategy
Although most dating apps are free for users, this doesn’t mean these apps earn nothing. The basic features are free for everyone, but users need to pay to obtain additional features.
Tinder Plus
Users can upgrade to Tinder Plus to receive unlimited Likes, rewind, a free monthly boost to the top of the user list, Super Likes, and the possibility to chat with users around the world.
Tinder Gold
The second option — Tinder Gold — gives all the advantages of Tinder Plus and a Likes You feature to let a user see who likes them.
In-app purchases
Some users don’t need all the Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold features. They are thus allowed to purchase only what they do need. For example, Tinder users can buy a boost and become a top profile in their location. Also, users like sharing stickers and gifts while chatting, so providing sticker packs for purchase can increase your revenue.
Ads
In-app ads are a good revenue solution for apps with mostly non-paying users. Tinder’s users are a great target audience for brands. An ad may help a user find new places to go, gift ideas, restaurants, taxi services — everything they need to prepare for a date. Just don’t place the ad on each screen; this will irritate and push your audience away.
Remove ads
If users are annoyed by in-app ads, they should be able to turn them off. A small fee of a few dollars removes all ads in all the user’s devices.
How much does it cost to build a dating app like Tinder?
You can see the approximate cost of building a mobile dating app like Tinder below. This estimate includes only the features essential to building an MVP of a Tinder-like app. The total price will vary depending on additional functionality.
Android
|
Feature |
Cost |
|
|
Min |
Max |
|
| Architecture |
$416 |
$624 |
| Sign-up and sign-in |
$676 |
$1,248 |
| Search |
$260 |
$520 |
| User profile |
$1,560 |
$2,288 |
| Swipe and match |
$1,040 |
$1,560 |
| Chat |
$1,144 |
$1,560 |
| Payment |
$312 |
$624 |
| Settings |
$624 |
$832 |
| Push notifications |
$312 |
$416 |
| Total |
$6,344 |
$9,672 |
iOS
|
Feature |
Cost | |
| Min |
Max |
|
| Architecture |
$312 |
$624 |
| Sign-up and sign-in |
$624 |
$1,092 |
| Search |
$260 |
$520 |
| User profile |
$1,508 |
$2,496 |
| Swipe and match |
$1,144 |
$1,612 |
| Chat |
$1,456 |
$2,028 |
| Payment |
$312 |
$624 |
| Settings |
$624 |
$832 |
| Push notifications |
$312 |
$416 |
|
Total |
$6,552 |
$10,244 |
Back-end
| Feature | Cost | |
| Min | Max | |
| Project architecture | $416 | $624 |
| Database design and connection | $624 | $832 |
| Registration and authentication | $832 | $1,248 |
| Search | $1,248 | $2,288 |
| Swipe and match | $1,612 | $2,184 |
| User profile | $1,716 | $2,236 |
| Chat | $936 | $1,508 |
| Payment | $1,040 | $1,664 |
| User settings | $624 | $832 |
| Push notifications | $468 | $676 |
| Total | $9,516 | $14,092 |
Admin panel
| Feature | Cost | |
| Min | Max | |
| Back-end | $2,080 | $3,016 |
| Sign-in | $416 | $832 |
| User management | $832 | $1,248 |
| Chat management | $832 | $1,248 |
| Payment management | $832 | $1,248 |
| Content moderation | $832 | $1,248 |
| Total | $5,824 | $8,840 |
Additional costs
| Feature | Cost | |
| Min | Max | |
| UX/UI design | $8,100 | $11,400 |
| Quality assurance | $6,264 | $9,504 |
| Project management | $3,900 | $5,940 |
| Total | $18,264 | $26,844 |
Conclusion
In short, a Tinder-like MVP costs $50,000–$80,000. This price includes developing an MVP for both Android and iOS and hiring one person for each technology.
Do you still have questions? We know how to make a dating app like Tinder. Contact us for more information.
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Burley says:
Good day! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group?
There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content.
Please let me know. Thank you
Christina Kovalevich says:
Hey! Of course, if you find the article helpful, I’d be glad if you shared it. Thank you.
Josef Akirke says:
Nice post! I’ve shared it with my friend who’s interested in Tinder-like app development
Patrick says:
It was very useful to know the cost to create an app like Tinder. Thank you for the article