Dating App Costs 2026: Every Major App Priced

We went through each app's App Store listing and the dated third-party pricing pages named under the table, and documented what each tier includes. Why? Because every "dating app cost comparison" article we found was outdated or wrong.

Prices change constantly, and several apps price by age, location and plan length, so your number might differ from ours. App Store listings often show several prices for the same product without saying which plan length each one is. Where that happens, we give the range rather than guess.

The full pricing table

Sources, checked October 25, 2026 unless dated: App Store listings for Bumble, Hinge, Match, The League, Feeld, Coffee Meets Bagel and OkCupid; DatingScout pricing pages updated September 20, 2026 for Seeking, Secret Benefits, Match's multi-month plans and eharmony; Android Authority (November 11, 2025) for Tinder's US list prices. Monthly prices unless stated. Longer plans usually cost less per month. Prices vary by age, location and plan length, so check the app before you pay.

The hidden cost most people miss

The subscription price isn't the real cost. The real cost is time. A "free" app where you spend 45 minutes a day swiping through irrelevant profiles costs you 22 hours a month. At $50/hour (roughly what a $100K salary works out to), that's $1,100 in time. A $50/month app that surfaces better matches and saves you 30 minutes daily is cheaper than the free one.

This is especially true for people over 35 with demanding careers. The calculation isn't "can I afford this app?" — it's "is the time savings worth the subscription price?" For most working professionals, the answer is yes.

App-by-app breakdown: what you actually get

Tinder ($0 – $49.99/month)

Tinder's free tier is aggressively limited — capped swipes, no rewinds, no see-who-liked-you. In our view, the goal is to frustrate you into paying. Plus ($24.99) removes limits and adds Passport (swipe in other cities). Gold ($39.99) adds see-who-liked-you, which is genuinely useful. Platinum ($49.99) adds priority likes and message-before-match. Those are the US one-month list prices reported by Android Authority (November 11, 2025); six-month plans work out cheaper per month, and Tinder is widely reported to vary prices by age and location.

My take: Plus is the sweet spot. Gold's "see who liked you" is nice but not essential if you're swiping regularly anyway. Platinum is a waste. Also worth knowing: Tinder has been sued over charging older users more. In Candelore v. Tinder, a California class action over higher Tinder Plus prices for older users, the parties agreed on September 10, 2025 to settle for $60.5 million, covering California Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold subscribers aged 29 and over (Match Group quarterly report, quarter ended September 30, 2025).

Bumble ($0 and up)

Bumble's free tier is genuinely usable — matching and chatting work without paying. Paid plans add things like advanced filters, extended matches, Incognito mode and Travel mode, per its App Store listing, and Bumble's help center says Incognito mode comes with Premium and Premium+. The App Store listing shows Bumble Premium at $17.99, $19.99 and $32.99 without saying which plan length each covers, and doesn't list a Premium+ price.

My take: The free tier is good enough for most people. Premium is worth it if you're in a smaller city where the pool is limited and you need better filters. We'd skip Premium+ unless one specific feature is the reason you're paying.

Hinge ($0 and up)

Free Hinge limits how many likes you can send each day. Hinge+ removes that limit, per its App Store listing, and HingeX is the top tier above it. The App Store listing shows Hinge+ at $16.99 and $19.99, and other Hinge subscriptions from $14.99 to $34.99, without labeling plan lengths.

My take: The best mainstream app for people who want relationships. The daily like limit on free actually forces you to be selective, which improves match quality. A paid tier is worth it if you know exactly what you want and the filters help you find it faster. If you're still figuring out your type, free is fine.

Seeking ($0 – $274.99/month)

Free for women, who can message without paying. Men get a free tier for browsing, but need to upgrade before sending messages. Premium ($109.99 for 30 days, or $289.99 for 90 days) unlocks messaging and adds privacy options, read receipts and advanced filters. Diamond ($274.99 for 30 days) adds a badge, higher search placement and verification of identity and net worth, and requires at least two months on Premium and a passed background check. All per DatingScout's Seeking review, with pricing updated September 20, 2026.

My take: The Diamond tier is especially poor value in our opinion — $165 a month more than Premium, mostly for a badge and placement. Seeking's Trustpilot page showed a TrustScore of 1.6 from 41 reviews on October 25, 2026, and reviewers there often complain about account bans and refunds. Read our Seeking cost breakdown and our full comparison of alternatives.

Arranged ($0 – $99.99/month)

Full disclosure: this is our platform. The free tier includes browsing full profiles, likes, matches and seeing who liked you. Women message free; men need Premium ($49.99 a month or $499 a year) to read and send messages, which also lets you hide from search and hide your income. Diamond ($99.99 a month or $999 a year) adds private browsing, hidden read receipts and last seen, priority placement, a weekly 24-hour boost and a Diamond badge.

Why it costs less than Seeking: We don't charge Diamond-tier prices for basic trust features: photo verification is an optional live-selfie check, and included. The free tier is genuinely functional — we don't cripple it to force upgrades. Where we're weaker: Arranged launched in 2026 and has far fewer members than Seeking.

The League ($0 – $99.99+/month)

Positions itself as dating for ambitious professionals. Free members see a limited number of profiles a day; the App Store listing says a subscription lets you "see more profiles each day." The listing (checked October 25, 2026) shows "Premium Membership - 1 Month" at $99.99, plus weekly memberships at $59.99 and $99.99.

My take: In our opinion the exclusivity angle is mostly marketing — the vetting process is opaque, and the app is at its best in a handful of big cities. At $99.99 a month, you're paying luxury prices, and the daily cap on profiles feels artificially scarce. Skip it unless you're in a major metro and specifically want to date other professionals.

How apps trick you into overpaying

The dating app industry uses specific psychological tactics to push upgrades:

Phantom likes. "17 people liked you! Upgrade to see who." You can't tell from that number how many of those people are active, nearby or a fit. In our opinion, the count is there to create FOMO more than to represent genuine interest.

Artificial scarcity. Limited swipes, limited daily matches, limited roses/super likes. None of these limits exist for technical reasons — they exist to make the free experience frustrating enough that you pay.

Age-based pricing. Some apps charge older users more, and they don't publish the age bands. Tinder is the documented case: the Candelore class action over higher Tinder Plus prices for older users was settled for $60.5 million in an agreement reached on September 10, 2025 (Match Group quarterly report, quarter ended September 30, 2025).

Anchoring. Apps show you the monthly price next to a cheaper "per month" price for a 6-month commitment. The annual plan looks like a bargain until you realize you're committing $150+ upfront to an app you might delete in three weeks.

The "boost" treadmill. One-time boosts (from a few dollars to about $25 each on the App Store listings we checked) give temporary visibility spikes. They work, for a short window. Then you're back to baseline, and the app nudges you to buy another. Users who buy boosts regularly can spend more than the top subscription tier without realizing it.

What actually determines value

The best app for you depends on three things:

1. What you're looking for. Casual → Tinder or Feeld. Relationship → Hinge or Match. Sugar dating → Arranged or Seeking. Using the wrong app for your goal is the most expensive mistake — you'll pay in wasted time regardless of the subscription price.
2. Your city. App user bases vary by location, and in our experience Hinge and The League are at their best in big cities. Check which apps have real, recent activity where you live before paying.
3. Your age. If you're over 40, we think Match and Hinge suit you better than Tinder. On Arranged, the median man is 39 and the median age gap across matches is 19 years. Our guide to the best dating apps for men over 40 goes deeper.

Frequently asked questions

Which dating app gives you the most for free?

Bumble and Arranged have the most functional free tiers. Bumble lets you match and message without paying. Arranged lets everyone browse full profiles, like, match and see who liked you for free, and women message free. The most limited free tiers are Match (you can't read messages for free, per DatingScout), The League (a few profiles a day), and Seeking (men need Premium to send messages).

Why do dating apps charge older users more?

Apps rarely say. Tinder is the best-documented case: in Candelore v. Tinder, a California class action over higher Tinder Plus prices for older users, the parties agreed on September 10, 2025 to settle for $60.5 million, covering California Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold subscribers aged 29 and over (Match Group quarterly report, quarter ended September 30, 2025). Most apps don't publish whether they price by age, so the practical step is to compare the price you're shown with what friends of different ages see.

Are dating app subscriptions worth the money?

For most working professionals over 30, paying for one good app is worth it — the time savings alone justifies $30-50/month. The mistake is subscribing to multiple apps simultaneously or buying the top tier when the mid tier covers what you need. Never buy the most expensive option based on a notification ("12 people liked you!") — that's designed to convert you in a moment of curiosity, not genuine need.

How do I cancel a dating app subscription without getting charged?

Cancel through your phone's app store (Settings → Subscriptions on iOS, Google Play → Payments on Android), not through the app itself. Apps often make in-app cancellation confusing on purpose. Bumble's help center, for example, says a subscription renews unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date, so set a calendar reminder 3 days before renewal. Some apps will offer you a discount when you try to cancel — if you're on the fence, wait for the retention offer.