J. Lo’s love may not cost a thing, but that same sentiment doesn’t seem to hold true for the romance seekers of this day and age. As of this week, Tinder has hit 1 million paying customers, and while this is but 1 percent of the app’s total 100 million strong user base (or at least, number of downloads), it’s a pretty impressive milestone all the same.
The paid version of the app, which will set you back $3 per month, allows users to swipe ad nauseam, bypassing the daily limit set by the free version. Those willing to dole out $36 a year for the chance to find love everlasting (or love transient) via a mobile application will also get five Super Likes a day (which basically tells your matchee that you really, really like them before they decide whether to swipe left or right), the chance to unswipe someone (in case your fingers are just moving too quickly), and the ability to use the Passport feature (so you can swipe in cities other than your own in anticipation of upcoming travel plans … or just out of curiosity).
Oh, and of course, if you pay for Tinder, you don’t have to see any ads.
The dating app’s parent company, Match Group, has reported strong numbers overall in the mobile dating space. In fact, over the course of the first quarter, the company has logged a 24 percent rise in revenue, now hitting over $260 million. Much of this growth, it seems, can be attributed to Tinder’s popularity. All the same, Match Group CEO Greg Blatt says, Tinder’s success doesn’t come at the expense of other apps under the company’s umbrella, like Match.com and OKCupid.
“Nothing we see in the numbers supports the idea that Tinder is the driver of any softness in our business,” Blatt said on an earnings call. “Tinder is a huge category expansion story. The category expansion far outweighs any cannibalistic impact.”
