Online dating in 2023 💌

I made my way back out into the world of dating about a month ago. I spent about 2.5 years in my last relationship but it came to a close a little over a month ago. No need for details about it as nothing crazy happened and it's honestly not that interesting of a story. Just know that everything is okay for both of us and we are both happier this way and still able to remain friends to this day.

Now that I'm single though, the obvious move is to start meeting some new people. There are many options to go about this but by far the easiest way in our modern era is dating apps.

I won't waste my time on a dating app that wants me to pay just to talk to people. However, all of the dating apps do at least have an optional subscription that will boost your status in the sea of potential mates. I don't think you really need to buy into the subscriptions, but it's totally up to you.

Out of the many dating apps you can use, I have narrowed it down to my three favorites. Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge. Each one offers something slightly different, but you'll most likely want to use all three if you are trying to maximize the chances of actually meeting somebody you like and want to be with.

Today I wanted to talk a bit about each of the three best dating apps. Then we will try to determine which one is the best. A lot of it is going to depend on what exactly you are looking for and how patient you are with the process.

Tinder 🔥

The OG of dating apps. Tinder was released all the way back in 2012 and has since evolved into an extremely popular app. The release happened right as I got to college, so it was honestly such a blessing for a formerly shy guy like me. I sucked at meeting people in person at the time and all of a sudden having a reliable dating app was huge.

Fast forward to now and the app is totally different, yet very similar at the same time. You still go through the same process of setting up a profile and then swiping right (for yes) and left (for no) on a nearly unlimited option of users. It can become overwhelming with how many options you are provided. If you are willing to skip through all of the ones that do not interest you, there is a lot of potentials.

Pretty much anybody who is single and looking to date is on Tinder. Some think of it as a hook-up app, but it's far from that. Pretty much every girl I've talked to on there is looking to actually get to know somebody and potentially date long-term.

Out of the three apps, Tinder gives you the most features for free. As a guy, you get about 50 likes per hour. Females often get up to double that many, depending on how the algorithm works. You get unlimited left swipes, so saying no doesn't affect how much you can say yes.

You can of course pay for one of the subscriptions of which there are three. Tinder Plus ($8/month) gives you unlimited likes and the ability to change your location. Tinder Gold ($25/month) gives you that and also the ability to see who likes you. Tinder Platinum($30/month) gives you the chance to send a message before you even match with the person.
The one bad thing about Tinder is if you like somebody, you still may not show up for that person if they receive a lot of likes or aren't on the app much. Unless they are a paid user, which most people aren't, then they do not get a notification that you liked them. This means there is a lot of hoping and waiting with Tinder. You sometimes have to get lucky, because even if you are an ideal match for someone, they may never even notice you.

Bumble 🐝

A few years after Tinder had caught fire, along came Bumble. This was a very similar experience but had a few stark differences. For one, men were never allowed to message first. This means that if you match with a girl, you have to wait on her to send you a message. Sometimes they will and sometimes they won't. Unlike Tinder, your matches do expire on Bumble. You get the option to extend the match or rematch, but you only get a very limited number of each of those per day. You also only get 25 free likes per day, which is a fraction of what Tinder allows for free.

Bumble also has a BFF and BIZZ section but I will be only talking about the DATE portion of the app.

Bumble's subscription service is called Premium and it is in my opinion very over-priced. $20 for just a week. You may get lucky and be offered a discount if you are new or have been a free user for an extended period of time. The app knows how to tempt you to pay. Being able to see all of the people like like you with the Beeline is a very handy feature. You also get unlimited likes, extends, and rematches.

Overall, bumble seems to be slightly more focused on long-term dating than Tinder, but not having the ability to contact the female first can be an issue. Some girls are rather shy and don't know what to say. I'm not sure why they'd be on Bumble since they must initiate, but there are plenty of shy girls on the app who match with you and then let the match expire.

Hinge 🖤

Hinge launched in 2013, but for me, it really never was an option. it has since gained some popularity and is a viable dating app. Hinge's motto is "The app that is designed to be deleted". Their goal is to help you find that special person and then never use the app again. It's a great goal, but it's not always that simple. Online dating provides an endless amount of options, which also makes it very difficult for somebody to settle down with just one person. Why do that when you can always have that feeling of being with somebody new? All hope is not lost though.

Hinge is the most unique of the three apps. For one, you can only say yes to 8 people per day. They do at least get a notification if you liked them, so that's nice. You also are allowed to comment on their photo or a specific aspect of their profile before matching.

One of the best parts about Hinge is how detailed you can make your profile. You can upload not only photos but also videos and even voice recordings. The app provides you with many different icebreaker questions that you can answer. This makes it very easy to find something to say to your next match that isn't a simple copy-and-paste job.

Hinge has two different subscriptions. Hinge+ and HingeX. Hinge+ is $15/month and gives you unlimited likes and lets you filter your options by things such as location. Without the subscription, you often will be shown people who live 50+ miles away. I usually prefer to keep my radius under 30 miles personally. HingeX costs $25/month and gives you all of what Hinge+ offers, but also things like priority likes, enhanced recommendations, and skipping the line.

You will spend the least amount of time looking through profiles on Hinge from where you get so few free likes per day. I think this is the one that has the greatest potential in terms of finding somebody that you actually have similarities with. On Hinge, it is about much more than just physical attraction.

For now the top app is 🥇

I've got to hand the award to Tinder.

The main reason that I say this is that the user base is the largest of the three. You get the most out of the free version. Plus, it's honestly just the most simple out of the three.

Tinder also offers the only subscription under $10/month. It really only gives you unlimited likes, but the fact that it is so cheap makes it seem okay. The other apps want double or triple the amount that Tinder Plus charges.

All of the apps let you verify your profile, which helps to cut down on bots. There will always be fake accounts though, so you have to be careful not to waste your time or get scammed. It's not as prevalent as you may think, but it is a possibility.

Hive Dating App 🤔

One thing I'd love to see is some sort of dating app on Hive. I've always thought this would be huge. I don't know of a dating app that is full of people who are into crypto. Crypto is one of the main aspects of my life though. I'm tired of going out on dates with girls that don't know the first thing about Bitcoin. It makes it extremely difficult to explain what I do for a living. I'm sure some of them just think I'm unemployed and live off the government. Little do they know I've been grinding on here for 5+ years and have a bright future ahead of me.

Hive's community isn't massive in size yet and I have noticed that there aren't a ton of people here in the USA. Still yet, I think that getting the Hive dating app ready now for the future influx of users would be great. That's the stage that most apps are in the process of right now. Build it before they come instead of scrambling to get things together as we gain popularity.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who would appreciate a Hive dating app. Leave your thoughts about that in the comments below.

Good luck with your dating future!

Thanks for reading today. Let me know if you have any questions about any of these dating apps. I've been using all three for many years off and on. I know pretty much everything about them and can give you tips on how to stand out among the competition.

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