What Are Paid Memberships in Online Dating?

Endless swiping on dating apps can burn single people out real quick. You’re seeing a lot of profiles but never any matches – what gives? 

Perhaps it’s the free basic plan tripping you up with its limited options. A paid membership can offer a quick upgrade to a better experience. You are able to both narrow down your pool of potential partners and stand out to others. In a world full of options, any leg up you can give yourself can be critical to success.

Paid memberships in online dating unlock special features and perks for users.

When you become a paying member, you’ll access perks like advanced communication, increased visibility, and even a swiping passport to other cities and countries.  

You can start making use of these benefits and customize your dating experience with the membership that’s right for you. I’ll explain how it works exactly.

Types of Memberships | Benefits | Factors to Consider | Best Premium Offers

Every dating platform has its own unique approach to paid memberships. Many popular apps offer free versions with options to upgrade, but individuals seeking a more upscale dating experience can also seek out suitable premium options. There’s something for everyone!

1. Basic Free Membership

With a free membership, you’ll be able to access basic features of online dating, such as sending and receiving likes. Sometimes messaging other users is part of the deal as well. Plenty of Fish, OkCupid, and Facebook Dating are all examples of dating sites with more free members than anything else.

Facebook Dating is a popular free option that offers the ability to access local dating profiles and send chats without frills or high-priced add-ons.

2. Premium Membership

For the selective individual looking for a serious relationship and elite options, premium apps offer no free services. Everything is paid, culling the clientele down to those who are willing to shell out some money. 

On Raya, a private app where membership is application-based or invite-only, a standard membership costs $24.99 per month and grants you access to upscale members and events.

3. Freemium Models

Today’s most popular apps (Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, etc.) use freemium models that allow members to view profiles but give them the option to pay for upgraded experiences.

A paid subscription on Bumble means you have the freedom to rewind on hit your match list, use the Beeline to see who has liked your profile, and keep your current matches from expiring prematurely.

After paying on Hinge, you can date while filtering for specific characteristics, send more likes, and send more Roses, which designate the recipient as a “standout” and increase your chances of matching. 

4. Pay-Per-Chat Credit Systems

Though less popular than basic and freemium apps, pay-per-chat platforms, which charge users by the message to interact with others, still have a following. Meete, for instance, requires male users to purchase in-app “gems” to match with and message women. 

Paid memberships boast benefits superior to what you’ll experience as a basic user, taking some of the guesswork out of the experience and reducing your swipe fatigue. 

Enhanced Communication

Ever tried to send a match a message, only to be told you’ve hit your limit for the day? With a paid membership, you’ll typically have unlimited messaging capabilities, allowing you to match with and message as many users as you’d like. 

eharmony has some free messaging features, but only paid members can chat up anybody they fancy, so it’s often frustrating to stay on the free tier when a few bucks unlock much more capability.

If you opt to send messages via “Rose” (Hinge) or “Super Like” (Tinder), your message will also experience priority in delivery, making it easier for your words to stand out and for the recipient to see them faster. As with unlimited messages, you’ll be able to send more priority messages than you would as a basic user. 

Visibility on the Platform

Feeling like you put a lot of effort into your profile, but no one’s noticing it? Paid upgrades allow you to boost your profile and increase its in-app visibility.

On Hinge, you can purchase “Boosts,” which are timed bursts of increased visibility to users in your area. The Boost lasts for 60 minutes once activated, and your profile will be seen by 11 times more people in that hour.

Visibility goes both ways. Paying on Bumble and Hinge, for example, allows you to see who has viewed your profile, if you’ve ever been curious about who liked you but haven’t wanted to do the swiping to figure it out. This way, you can afford to be picky.

Safety and Verification

Depending on the app or website, paid members are sometimes publicly designated with verified badges. Some premium websites also require verification for membership, whether via social media profiles or facial recognition.

Combined with enhanced privacy controls and hidden personal information, these features may put your mind at ease if online dating safety is a concern.

Sound amazing? Before diving in and entering your card info, there are a few more factors to consider. Make sure to consider your own intentions as well as those of other users, and do your own research on the benefits of each platform.

1. User Intentions

 Paid users may be more likely to seek serious relationships because they’re investing money in a subscription. Do some self-analysis and consider whether you’re aligned with this approach to dating before jumping in. 

The last thing you want is to spend money only to realize that everyone else is looking for something different than you are, or that you simply don’t want to be dating at all–much less paying for it. 

Cases vary from person to person, and even a premium member could be searching for a casual fling and just trying to make that process easier — so always check out the “what I’m looking for” section of a profile to determine the best fit!

2. Platform Reputation

Honest reviews will tell you more about the platform’s reputation before you decide to bite the bullet. Some platforms also publish user success stories. Match’s MatchMade Stories include photos and testimonials from real couples to help reassure you that you’re in the right place, and OkCupid shares success stories on its blog.

“We only lived one mile from each other, but without Match, this love story would not have be possible.” — a couple who met on Match

In the Reddit forum for Hinge users, someone shared, “Met my girlfriend of over a year on Hinge after way too many dates and feeling constantly hopeless. Stick it out; it works. It just takes time.”

But, even though hearing that it’s worked for others is great, doing your own research is still important. Do a thorough Google search and check out the Reddit feedback and App Store reviews to see how other users are faring. When reading through testimonials, gauge whether the users seem similar to you or whether your demographics and desires may be a better fit for a different site.

3. Trial Periods and Refunds

Though not every platform offers trial periods, they’re a great way to decide whether a subscription is right for your needs. Match offers free trials that you can cancel before the period ends if you determine you’re not interested.

Make sure to get acquainted with your chosen platform’s policies. Most apps do not offer refunds.

On Tinder, for instance, you can request a refund though customer support notes that “generally, all charges for in-app purchases are nonrefundable, and there are no refunds or credits for partially used periods. We may make an exception if a refund for a Tinder subscription offering is requested within 14 days of the transaction date, or if the laws applicable in your jurisdiction provide for refunds.”

As I said, every dating service is unique and has slightly different membership offerings. I’ll discuss three popular services to consider.

1. Match

Match offers tiered paid memberships at Bronze, Silver, Platinum, and Diamond (exclusively for residents of Texas, Oklahoma, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut). Packages range from one month to 12 months. 

Bronze offers members unlimited profile exploration and the ability to rewind on skipped profiles, for when you accidentally swipe left. 

Silver also includes the ability to see who liked you.

Platinum includes all of the above, plus unlimited introductions, advanced preference filters, private browsing, read receipts, and profile boosts.

Diamond offers the best value for regional residents seeking all of the above and the Anti-Ghosting feature, weekly auto boosts, three weekly Super Likes, priority likes, and discounted events. 

2. Tinder

With a free Tinder account, you’re limited to matching and chatting. After paying for Tinder Plus, you can get unlimited likes, rewinds, hide advertisements, and go incognito to only match with people who’ve matched with you. 

The Gold tier also offers free weekly Super Likes, the Passport location feature to see users across the globe, and daily top picks.

As a Platinum member, you’ll receive all of the above as well as prioritized likes, the ability to message before matching, and the ability to see your sent likes from the past week.

A paid Tinder membership is not required to meet people on the app, but it can be worth it if you want to up your flirting game a bit.

3. OkCupid

OkCupid started as a totally free dating site in 2004, and its leadership promised to keep the basics (including chatting) free forever.

Users do not have to pay OkCupid to send and receive messages, but they will get certain benefits for upgrading to a paid plan.

OkCupid boasts unique perks for paid members. Its signature feature is an advanced matching algorithm that matches you with users with similar values and beliefs, based on responses from an in-depth questionnaire.

Other premium features include boosts, read receipts, and OkCupid Stacks, which allow you to filter based on specific preference categories.  

Paid memberships take care of the heavy lifting, enabling you to focus on what matters: finding a partner without the fatigue of endless swiping. 

As with all aspects of online dating, staying informed throughout the experience is essential. Each platform has its own unique perks and pricing, and each platform caters to a different type of dater. Whether you need to assess what you can afford or you’re more concerned with the success stories, make sure to prioritize what’s important to you. Dating is a personal process!

When you decide to make the leap to a paid membership, you’ll get to cut through the noise with a streamlined process that promises better visibility and more messaging options–so you can stop getting squashed by the algorithms and start standing out.