How to Create an App for Dating?

People around the world are obsessing over dating applications. They have been around for more than a decade. However, quite recently, they gained fame. It is because of the cultural shifts. The concept of dating culture and casual relationships is expanding slowly and steadily. The dating application market is dependent on cultural stimulation and, therefore, extends similarly.

Nevertheless, the dating app industry’s major players, such as Tinder, Happn, Badoo, are going stale. Like Facebook, people get bored with conventional dating applications, and therefore, they are looking for other options. There is always space for fresher dating applications. Hence, if you are looking to create your dating application, there’s no better time than now!

What’s in This Blog?

In this blog, you are likely to learn everything there is to create a dating application. Here are some facts on how dating apps work and what financial models they follow:

Dating App Industry – Facts and Figures

Let us start with the facts and figures in the dating application industry. Once you know the scope of the sector, the interests are likely to skyrocket. The dating app market is one of the fresh industries. You can only be successful if, and only if, you satisfy your customers’ needs and expectations.

As an application owner, you can only try to meet your customers’ expectations. Let us dive into brief facts and figures and then study what the customers expect from a dating application:

1. 37% of the internet users downloaded and used a dating application once every six months.
2. 25% of the dating app users delete the application because of boredom.
3. 93% of the dating app users delete the application within six months.
4. Demographics show that 53% percent of people who use dating applications are single.
5. People spend an average of ninety minutes per day on a dating application.

So, How’s Tinder Doing?

Tinder is the most controversial yet famous dating application. Following are some brief facts:

1. If dollars attract you, know that Tinder makes $4.14 Billion per annum.
2. It gets more than 50 million users every month.
3. Every month, Tinder gets 3.8 million paid subscriptions.

What About Bumble?

Bumble is one of the newbies in the dating application world. As we discussed previously, people are likely to get bored with a dating application. Bumble acquires Tinder’s subscribers now and then. Let’s go through some brief Bumble facts:

1. Bumble has 10% more subscribers as compared to Tinder.
2. Bumble gets 55 Million subscribers every month. Most of these subscriptions are secondary Tinder subscriptions.
3. 72% of Bumble users are under the age of 35.

Customers’ Expectations from A Dating Application

First things first, do not bore your customers. A dating application would be successful only when you meet your customer’s expectations. It is essential to meet the norms of the dating culture and comply with them. Nevertheless, you can try to satisfy these norms only if you know what they are. Let us list out a few 2020 hot benchmarks:

1. The first concern of a dating application user is safety and privacy. 11% of the dating application users have deleted the app because they did not find it safe.
2. Remember how the “swipe” gesture revolutionized the dating application market? That’s how important an intuitive user interface is for dating application users.
3. Blocking and reporting is another concern. 72% of the dating application users confessed that they had blocked at least one user in six months. 60% of people admitted that they had reported unwelcoming behavior on these applications.
4. Niche dating applications are new customers’ preferences. People tend to seek matches based on hobbies, food habits, religions, etc., as opposed to sex and fling behavior.
5. LBGTQ community prefer convenience, discretion, and safety over any other benefits that any dating application offers. Most famous LGBTQ dating applications include HER, Grindr.

How Does Dating Application Work?

A dating application always works on one primary algorithm. This direct algorithm consists of two dependent processes. You can call it the base algorithm. All the value-adding and categorical algorithms are based on this initial set of functions. Let us discuss them individually in the section below:

Primary Algorithms for Dating Applications 

One of the most critical concerns about dating applications is how they work. We know that almost every dating application is location sensitive. Nevertheless, a dating application is based on a two-process algorithm.

Let’s discuss these processes briefly:

1. The first part of this algorithm subjects showing potential matches to the customers based on their live location. This ensures that people find perfect partners near them, making it easier for them to meet in real life.
2. The second part of this algorithm is an extension of the first part. It helps the user in increasing or decreasing the range of potential matches. It is always more complicated than the first part. However, it is highly dependent on the first part, i.e., location-based matches. The second part of the algorithm is always more important because it keeps evolving. Customers always look for something new. This algorithm allows for adding extensions and functions for customer satisfaction.

Secondary Algorithms for Dating Applications

There are many secondary algorithms that a dating application follows. Nevertheless, it is impossible to decide human behavior using an algorithm. Thus, a perfect algorithm does not exist. There are four basic algorithms that application owners have been using. A dating app can be based on one, or two, or any combination of the algorithms given as follows:

1. The number of views or likes that a profile gets follows an algorithm. In this case, the probability of profile views will increase with the increase in likes. Owners use this algorithm because it is simple and requires only the user’s preferences and photographs.
2. Well-liked profiles are likely to get more ratings. However, this ranking system is internal. All of it is part of the backed process. Application owners prefer this algorithm because it does not require any personal information from the user.
3. Owners follow another algorithm that works in categorical format. This algorithm distributes people’s categorical configuration based on their behavior analysis. Owners can use the afore-mentioned algorithm as some extensions to this one. Additionally, the scoring system remains the same.
4. Internal questions and surveys is another algorithm that dating applications follow. This algorithm is the most complex yet the oldest one in use. In this algorithm, several surveys and internal questionnaires categorize people. The application keeps asking questions and the user’s answers suggest the matches for them. This algorithm has been the most successful in matching people with similar tastes and preferences.

How Does a Dating Application Make Money?

Remember how we mentioned that people spend an average of 90 minutes every day on dating applications? This means that there is a lot of money in dating application development.

Does the monetization have potential? Making money via dating application is problematic. It is not only because the competition is insane, but because people do not take dating applications seriously. Swiping left and right only to get a fling comes with no responsibilities. On the other hand, if you are paying for a dating application, it means you are serious about dating. Quite honestly, there is nothing serious about Bumble and Tinder.

Premium Version of Dating Applications 

Despite that, premium Tinder services also exist, but paying extra undoes and swipes was never worth it. Asking customers to pay for a service that they once had for free would never add additional value. It would only add value that is not valuable for the customers. On the contrary, think of profile boost as a premium service. Many customers would be willing to pay extra dollars to boost their profile. In this way, they will increase their range of matches, but their faces will be a priority, just like SEO.

Advertisement as Means of Monetization 

Another way of making money by using a dating application is an advertisement. Consider Grindr, for example. The revenue for Grindr comes from Grindr Xtra and advertisements. Grindr Xtra is an upgraded version of Grindr that comes without ads, and more people choose from it. Advertising, however, is a flashy method. If you are solely relying on ads to generate revenue, you might end up with a customer turnover. Additionally, this practice might also backfire because there are add-free applications such as Bumble and Tinder.

Business Affiliation and Virtual Gifts 

Alternatively, there is an even effective method of revenue generation using dating applications. It is affiliate marketing. The dating application displays relevant business deals to its customers in this method. Consider affiliating with bars, restaurants, jewelers, florists, candy stores, and vice versa. You can also monetize virtual gifts. Users are likely to send virtual gifts to their dates because casual dating is all about constructing an impression.

Offline Monetization Via Live Events 

Hosting local dating events is also a way to generate revenue. Generating money through live events such as speed dating can also be beneficial. You can also send tickets for movies and other local events through a dating application.

Partnering with Local Service Providers 

When you create a dating application, know that users would not pay for something that isn’t adding genuine value. Of course, you cannot charge for the application itself because there is insane competition in the market. Try figuring out adding value to your application by making partnerships with local stores and event venues. This is one way of constructing a win-win deal for yourself and your partners.

How to Develop a Dating Application?

Developing a dating application is quite a lengthy process. Dating applications are based on the technology of attraction. The intuitive interface is the most critical factor in the development of a dating app. Therefore, matching algorithms are essential, yet too delicate. After inputting all the information, the user would always be looking for a mister or miss Right. Thus, various steps ensure ideal planning.

Let us discuss them in the section below:

Planning The Audience

Before initiating an application development, the first and most crucial step is to know what audience you are targeting. If you target a general audience, then you should cover all the general factors. These include thoughts, music taste, food habits, age, hobbies, etc. In this step, your application’s success will rely on the value you plan to offer.

UI/UX Design

When it comes to dating applications, UX/UI design needs to be highly intuitive. You must cover the essential information on a single screen. Incorporating smart yet simple commands is also necessary. Finally, it would help if you planned where everything appears in a settling way on a solid UI design. Always remember that UI design pathing is the most crucial step for your application.

Back-End Development

Privacy and safety is the most critical concern of customers who use a dating application. Therefore, creating powerful servers and secure databases is essential. With a dating application, you are dealing with the most personal and sensitive information. Thus, ensuring security would help in guaranteeing the longevity of your application.

Front-End Development: 

Frontend developers render and organize the data from databases and servers on the backend. Once done, they display the information on the mobile software. It is crucial to develop a dating application on every platform. It helps in choosing between hybrid and native development.

Testing & Launching

Some people would say that once you are done with development, test the application and launch it. Such is not the case. You still have work to do. The testing phase requires testing the application concerning its functionality and planning to generate revenue from it. Launching the application in a freemium model is not an ideal way, but it works.

Nevertheless, once you acquire a potential audience, add push notifications, in-app charges, and premium features to your application periodically. Finally, consider the application maintenance and upgrades for the future.

Cost to Develop a Dating Application

The cost of developing a dating application would always depend directly on the developers’ hourly rates. There are many options available vis-à-vis development, such as:

1. You can hire a freelance developer or a development team. The freelance rates are likely to start at $10 per hour.
2. Choosing an in-house development team is also an option. Their charges start from $150 per hour.
3. You can go full Jedi and consider development outsourcing. This option is likely to cost you around $50 per hour.

A Little Explanation Never Hurts.

The estimated time for each of the steps mentioned in the development section is 1450 hours. This leaves an estimated bill of $70,000 to $80,000. Out of all the options, outsourcing development is most reliable because it never compromises quality and reduces costs.

Instead, if you are looking to hire freelancers or an in-house development team, the development cost will double. Keep in mind that out of the total cost and time:

1. Platform/ hybrid and backend development consumes 70%
2. UX/UI and frontend development use 20% of the time and cost
3. QA, testing and launching use the remaining 10% of the investment

However, the process does not stop here. It is important to maintain the application. Ideally, one should assign 30% of the total budget for application maintenance. Let us make it easy for you. We all know what Tinder is and how it functions. For a Tinder-like application, consider the following estimations:

1. $55,000 to $60,000 as a starting point for a basic application.
2. $70,000 to $80,000 for a single platform dating application.
3. $100,000 to $120,000 for a hybrid, cross-platform application with premium features.

Conclusion 

In short, it is quite evident that dating apps are trending nowadays. It is because people have finally accepted casual dating culture. Nevertheless, customers’ expectations and demands are challenging. The need for time is to create something simple yet robust.

In this blog, we saw how dating applications are generating money and how much they are earning. Additionally, we discussed the essential steps of dating application development and how much the development costs. If you want to achieve from a dating application, you should always plan it accordingly. Launching a freemium version and then making it paid is a fool’s practice since the intra-industry competition is saturated. To stand out, one will have to offer something that the existing platforms do not provide.

Thus, if you are interested in developing a dating application, contact us today! We are the global guru in mobile application development. You can discuss your idea with our professional consultants. We will ensure transforming your idea into a revenue-generating reality, that too, at very reasonable prices. Get a free quote today!