The Overview of the Best Dating Apps in 2020

Dating apps have always been popular but in 2020, considering the pandemic lockdown and the growing popularity of online communication, dating apps have now entered their Renaissance era.

Whether you have an innovative idea for a new dating app or you simply want to enter the niche, you need to know your competition. We have reviewed the most popular dating applications and their functionality in this article.

Tinder

With about 50 million users, Tinder is by far the most popular dating app out there. It has a signature and recognizable interface, easy navigation, and lots of useful features that facilitate the process of finding a partner.

Tinder is used by both men and women and helps find either a date for a night or a more serious relationship. Tinder’s interface is incredibly simple: when you start searching, you just swipe through the photos of potential matches, with right swipe accepting a match and left swipe rejecting it. A user’s profile is also fairly simple: it features several photos and a short bio. As well, a user can connect their Tinder profile with Instagram to display Instagram photo gallery on their profile.

So what are some of the most interesting Tinder features? They include:

• Location-based suggestions of potential matches,
• Advanced search filters,
• Integration with the calendar for better dates management,
• Live video chat,
• Notifications,
• Alarm button for notifying friends in case of a dangerous or risky date.

Tinder is a freemium app meaning it has a Premium subscription that unlocks advanced features like Boost that puts you on top of the list of other candidates. Overall, Tinder is a perfect example of a dating app with a simple and clear interface yet with a plethora of useful features and options.

OkCupid

OkCupid was launched back in 2004 but since then, the app keeps innovating and keeping up with the ever-changing user demands and trends. The app remains a strong player in the field of the dating industry and consistently rolls out new features for the users.

The interface of the app is similar to the interfaces of other dating apps: a user has a personal profile with several photos and a short bio. But unlike Tinder (and similar to eHarmony), OkCupid seems to match people in accordance with their interests, beliefs, and preferences. 

The app is freemium, with either a free or Premium plan. Premium users get access to a more advanced search or an option to see who liked their photo. Overall, OkCupid has the following features to pay attention to:

• Personality quizzes,
• Highlights of the user’s interests on their profile,
• Search filters,
• Messaging only in case of a match.

In recent years, OkCupid has become more like Tinder in terms of its interface but it’s nice to see the app evolving in accordance with the users’ needs.

Bumble

Bumble was created by one of Tinder’s founders in an attempt to make a safe dating app with a minimal chance for harassment. As a result, Bumble allows only women to message first – and guys have to wait for a woman to show interest in them.

While such an approach might seem reasonable, Bumble has a few features that are not very user-friendly. As already mentioned, guys can’t message first which might be disappointing for some users. As well, Bumble limits your bio up to 300 characters only so you won’t be able to tell much about yourself. And finally, Bumble gives a woman only 24 hours to initiate contact with a man – and if she does not do so, the match is lost.

Another interesting thing about Bumble is that it is not aimed at dating only. The app has two additional modes: Bumble Bizz for finding work and colleagues and Bumble BFF simply for finding new friends. Together with a set of classic dating app features, all that makes Bumble an interesting yet a slightly controversial choice.

Grindr

Grindr is the most popular dating app for gay and bisexual people with 2 million active daily users from more than 196 countries. What sets Grindr apart from traditional dating apps is that it does not focus on matching people for a long-term relationship – instead, it just helps find a date. With this said, Grindr does not ask its users to fill in lengthy bios or write their hobbies so the user profiles remain quite concise. 

Grindr offers an anonymous way of looking for a match. The matchmaking process is based on geo locations only – a user sees who is online and where the person is, simple as that. There are also Grindr Tribes that are sort of categories where a user can put himself in: for example, it can be Bearded men and etc.

Same as other dating apps mentioned above, Grindr also has a Premium subscription option called Grindr Xtra. This option allows users to have an ad-free experience, discover more people, get additional filters for their photos, and get unlimited block options.

Hinge

Hinge’s slogan is “designed to be deleted” so you can say from the start that HInge aims at serious relationships. This app is the #1 dating app according to NY Times and it claims that 3 out of 4 times its users go on a second date.

The app’s intention is clearly seen through its approach towards matching the users. When a user creates their profile, the app would request them to fill in a questionnaire about their preferences. Once this is done, the app’s matching algorithm will make sure a user sees only those people that match their type. As well, the app gives users a sense of their matches’ personality not only through personal information but also through their answers and reactions.

One more notable feature of Hinge is that it collects feedback from the users with an aim to provide better matches in the future. In this way, users can rest assured about the quality of the app’s services.

Summary

Judging from the examples above, a good dating app should have the following essential features:

• An option to create an informative user profile with several photos,
• Search filters,
• Geolocation,
• Push notifications,
• Video and/or audio chat,
• Premium features for better matching.

However, if you plan on developing a new dating application, its functionality will heavily depend on the app’s goal. Do you want to help users find long-term relationships, meet new friends, or simply get a date? By answering these questions, you will be able to clearly outline the functionality of the future application and better understand what kind of features it must have and which ones can be neglected.

SoftTeco, in turn, will be happy to offer you application development services to ensure that your application looks and functions exactly as you want it to. Contact us to learn more about what we can offer!