How to Successfully Create a Dating App like Tinder?
“Look at all the lonely people” – sang the Beatles in the song Eleanor Rigby Song. Since the 1960s, a lot of things have changed. This includes the way we find our soulmates. Mobile dating app development companies play a vital role in it. Tinder is one of the best mobile dating app companies that created a revolution in the niche of dating apps. There is no doubt about it. However, presently, there are a lot of other dating apps like Tinder that are getting the attention of dating app users. Before we get into the details of Tinder and its competitors, let us share some dating app stats.
Present Dating App Stats
As we mentioned before, modern technologies changed the way we find our partners to date. As a result, online dating is no longer taboo. Here are a few stats on online dating.
- 27% of the committed relationships start online.
- 40 million people are using dating apps globally.
- The annual revenue from all the dating apps is estimated at $2 billion.
- Tinder is still the most popular dating app and counts 50 million users globally.
- The worth of Tinder is estimated at around $1.6 billion.
The dating app market is expanding. Also, the demands of the users are changing quickly. Thus, as a dating app development company, if you want to make apps like Tinder, this is the right time. In this case, the first thing to do is what are the main features of Tinder.
What are the Main Features of Tinder?
The secret weapon of Tinder is the gaming spirit and the swiping feature. When you like someone’s profile, you swipe right; when you don’t – you swipe left. Now, let us share the Tinder app features in detail.
Log in through social networks. The users can log in through Facebook and Instagram profiles. Thus, the users can connect their Instagram & Facebook profiles using a Tinder account. Social media authentication helps Tinder to be more trustworthy.
Geolocation: This is another feature that Tinder users can use to locate social spots, coffee shops, bars, and more. Others who have visited the place will get a notification only after the app users have left the area. Also, Tinder uses Geolocation for finding interest-based matches. In this way, the app improves the services.
Thus, if you are a dating app development company and want to create other dating apps like Tinder, then this feature is something you need. Tinder uses this feature to improve its services. For instance, the app will remove any movie halls from the social spots list if a lot of users delete them from the list.
Matching Algorithm: The app algorithm compares the new user’s profile with other profiles in the database. Then it suggests the relevant matches.
How to Create an App Like Tinder?
As a mobile dating app development company, if you want to create an app like Tinder, you need to know its algorithm and features. Let’s start with the algorithm. Here is how the Tinder algorithm works.
- The app uses the score to rank people according to their attractiveness.
- The app counts how many people have swiped left or liked a profile.
- The more likes a profile has, the higher the user’s score will be.
- The app will show the profile to other people along with a similar number of likes.
- Thus, the app will make a match for the most liked people.
Also Check: Why Android App Development Services Require Rigorous Market Research?
The Features of Tinder App
As a dating app development company, if you want to make an online Tinder alternative, you need to check out the features of Tinder.
The Swipe Surge: As we all know, Tinder users can like other profiles with a single right swap and dislike a profile by swiping left. The swipe surge enhanced the user activity to 15X higher. This feature of Tinder increased the user-match-making potential by 250%.
Find Matches: You can set interests, gender, age, and other features as a search criterion. Then, the app will match the users who like each other’s profiles.
Profile Setting: Tinder users have the option to set up their profiles to create them more attractive and trustworthy.
Push Notification: As a dating app development company that wants to create an app like Tinder but better, this is a crucial feature. When an app algorithm finds the right match, the user will receive a push notification.
Private Chat: When an app makes a match, the users should get an in-built chat or messenger option.
That being said, here is a checklist of the features that your dating app should include.
How to Create a Dating App Better than Tinder?
When you want to turn your idea of a dating app into a reality, you must go through the following steps.
Find Your Niche
Figuring out your niche is the first step in creating a dating app like Tinder. There are a lot of existing dating apps in the market. However, you will still be able to stand out from the crowd. For that, you must select your niche.
Here are some exciting dating niches that you can check:
Preferences in Food
There are a lot of people with specific menu choices. These include gluten-free people, vegans, and vegetarians. However, it is hard for them to meet a soul with the same decisions in everyday life. Thus, you can base the dating app on similar individual diet choices.
For instance, as a mobile dating app development company, if you want to check online tinder alternatives, you should check “Gluten-Free Singles.” This dating website was created solely for gluten-free people so they can find dating partners, activity groups, and friends with similar preferences.
Lifestyle Preferences
We are all different and have different choices. For example, while some of us prefer bigger cities, others might want to stay in the countryside. Thus, the shared lifestyle preferences are a solid basis for people to start their relationship.
If you want to create a Tinder-type app but something better, you must check out the Equestrian Cupid app. It is a dating website that is developed by country and horse lovers. The best thing about this app is that Equestrian Cupid garnered millions of people that disliked busy cities and have a dream of living in the countryside. Even when the user doesn’t own a horse, they can still join the site if they share similar down-to-earth values.
Favorite Pets
It is another niche that can bring a lot of people together. Some of us like dogs, while others like cats. Therefore, you can select the base of your dating app depending on the common interests of the pets. As a dating app development company, if you must create hook-up sites that are better than Tinder, you can check out Purrsonals. It’s a dating website that brings cat lovers together. They can seek love while discussing the pets.
Choose a Specific Business Model
There are a lot of business models that Tinder and other dating websites use to earn money. They are as follows:
A Premium Business Model: In this model, users will have a set of free app features, but they can get a premium version with advanced features that include:
- A Boosting Profile: In this profile, the app charges users a fixed fee to show their profile as the first within the search results.
- Advanced Swipe: This feature is powered by a machine learning algorithm. It changes the ways users see photos. A smart algorithm adjusts the user photos based on the interests of other users. Thus, the owner of a premium account will have a higher chance of getting matched.
- Unlimited Likes: The users of a free app version will have limited likes or swipes, and the users of a paid account will have an unlimited number of likes.
Other monetization methods include:
- In-App Purchases: App users give and receive gifts from each other. For doing this, add your app with paid gifts like greetings, kisses, and flowers. As a dating app development company, if you want to create a better version of Tinder, then this feature is vital.
- Ads: A lot of apps use this monetization strategy. Charge other businesses to run ads in your app. These are the cost-per-click or cost-per-mile models.
Also Read: 12 Tips to Master Android App Development Services
Choosing the Tech Stack for the Tinder-like App
You need the technologies that will power your app. The primary factor to keep in mind is the scaling feature. However, the question is, why does it matter?
Since the launch of the app, the Tinder app developers have used NoSQL and MongoDB to match with people. However, when the app became popular and started gaining momentum, it became hard for the development team to maintain the MongoDB database performance. Thus, the team needed to shift to powerful Amazon Web Services hosting. Considering this, as a dating app development company, here is the technology stack you need.
The Existing Tinder Alternatives in 2022
As a dating app development company, if you want to create a Tinder-like app, here are the apps you need to check.
OkCupid
It is a USA-based popular Tinder alternative where the app allows you to be more than just a “photo.” This matchmaking app curated a “personality quiz,” which includes questions that helps the app filter match options. Apart from that, this dating app also allows the users to know themselves much better than just a photo. It has a simple user interface which makes things easier for users to access than Tinder. There are options for mutual swipe and matching with singles of the same interest & passion.
Bumble
Regarding dating apps like Tinder but better, this is yet another app you need to check. It is a USA-based hook-up app for dating that became a single social networking platform that embraces women empowerment. It is unique because it has changed the standards of apps like Tinder. It allows women to make the first move, shattering all the gender norms. You will have 24 hours to respond to a match, and you can easily switch between different modes (date, business, BFF). You can also share music through Spotify.
Elite Singles
It is yet another exception to the apps like Tinder, especially for teenagers. It’s for the people within a specific age group of 30-55 years who are highly educated. It’s an Australia-based dating platform curated for highly educated singles seeking long-term relationships. This app includes a personality test. This is a great dating app if someone is serious about having a long-term relationship. This app contains ice-breaking conversational questions and matches depending on individual preferences and gets compatible matches daily.
Zoosk
It is a USA-based alternative to Tinder that helps to discover quality people for dating. It allows people to meet their real love instead of just flings. The app ensures a refined dating experience with a mutual like and connects feature. The user interface of this app is excellent. Almost 40 million happy women and men use the Zoosk app worldwide.
Happn
Happn has introduced the innovative concept of “cross path dating” in the category of other dating apps like Tinder. The dating app comes with integrated social media along with the user’s location that shows potential matches in the vicinity. Whenever a member of Happn app crosses paths with another in real life, the profile shows in the timeline. The app will also show the number of times a user has crossed paths with another Happn user. Coming to the functionality, it is similar to the Tinder app. It is an excellent example of a dating app development company because more than 70 million users are using this app.
Skout
This is yet another great alternative to Tinder which focuses on friendship and dating. Any user can choose to date a person near them or residing in another country or continent. The app functions like Tinder, but the difference is that it wants users to focus more on value-based relationships instead of random dates. You can watch other people’s streams, get updates from nearby users, and promote your profile with in-app users.
Badoo
This dating-focused social network app was developed in 2006 by the Russian Entrepreneur Andrey Andreev. This is one of the best dating apps because it will show you celebrity lookalike matches. So even if you don’t get the chance to date Tom Cruise or Jennifer Lopez, the app will find you the celebrity lookalike you have a crush on. The app uses face-recognition technology to find celebrity lookalikes. In addition, it includes real-time coordinated dating through video chat features and searches for people across the globe.
In Conclusion
Dating app development is a highly profitable investment. However, a dating app development company must go through a complicated process that needs financial resources and significant experience from the mobile development team. In this blog today, we have shared the complete guide to creating dating apps like Tinder and the seven main competitors of Tinder. We hope this guide helps you to understand how to create your own better version of Tinder.
