Contrary to Common Belief, the Dating App Market is Still Growing - Up 10% in 2024!
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There's been a lot of talk about the dating apps category declining in the last year but the numbers tell a different story - not of declining but rather of maturing.
Oh, and the money is still there - according to our App intelligence, consumer spending in the top dating apps has grown 10% in 2024 and crossed $3B for the first time.
But while things do look great, the market's evolution is not as simple.
I analyzed the top 10 dating apps in the US and found several surprises. Developers, if you're considering building a dating app you should pay close attention because while you can't compete with the leader, you can certainly succeed with the right approach.
The leader, in case you weren't sure, is Tinder. The OG swiper grossed a whopping $1.6B in 2024, according to our estimates. That's what it's users spent and before it forked over store fees. That's a new revenue record for Tinder which also celebrated its highest single-month revenue in December.
The haul marks a 10% growth from the previous year, which is the lowest in my comparison (among apps with a positive trend), but considering the difference is more than what other apps have earned in total, it's good.
But that's not something I can say about every dating app. Bumble, the "other" Tinder, isn't doing well at all. Yellow Tinder saw revenue shrink in 2024, down 3% from the previous year for a total of $735M in gross revenue - again, before store fees.
Bumble's unique interaction strategy was "cool" for a while, but over the last few years smaller rivals have brought novel ideas to dating apps that have been clawing revenue away.
One such app is Raya, which saw the most revenue growth in 2024 - 64% up from 2023. Raya's approach to dating is the opposite of most apps. The app is fully gated and requires daters to apply to join first, and then subscribe if/after they are approved.
Approved users have spent $80M in the app in 2024, and the way the trend is sloping I expect to see it do even more in 2025.
The other mainstream dating app, Hinge, also experienced growth in 2024 with consumer spending up 28%. Hinge ranked third when comparing revenue growth rates and also when looking at actual revenue. Hinge's stead growth isn't slowing down.
The Secret to Success in Dating Apps
The League and DateMyAge are fairly small in terms of revenue, but not in terms of growth. The two grew 45% and 28%, respectively in 2024. This show demand is shifting away from "boring" traditional dating apps and to apps that offer something unique.
Swiping was that something unique for Tinder back in the day, and it built such an efficient machine on top of it that it's still in the lead. Bumble had its "women talk first" approach which lost momentum mainly for gated communities.
There are quite a few dating apps offering that currently, and while small, most have been growing in a market most thought is done for.
It isn't, the only question is what's the next swipe.
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All figures included in this report are estimated. Unless specified otherwise, estimated revenue is always net, meaning it's the amount the developer earned after Apple and Google took their fee.
