Are Premium Dating App Subscriptions Worth It?
Every major dating app is constantly trying to get you to upgrade to their premium subscription with promises of more matches, better visibility, and finding your soulmate faster. But here's what they're not telling you: most guys are wasting their money on premium features that don't actually solve their real dating problems.
I've been coaching guys through their dating app struggles for years, and the question I get asked most often is whether upgrading to premium is worth it. The short answer is: it depends on your specific situation, but probably not for the reasons you think. The long answer is going to save you hundreds of dollars and a lot of frustration.
After testing premium subscriptions across all the major platforms and seeing the results firsthand, I'm going to break down exactly what you get for your money, who actually benefits from upgrading, and the honest truth about whether these features will actually improve your dating success. Spoiler alert: if your profile sucks, premium features aren't going to fix it.
The Psychology Behind Premium Upsells (And Why They Work)
Before we dive into specific features, let's talk about why dating apps are so aggressive about pushing premium subscriptions. It's not just about the money – though that's obviously a huge part of it. It's about exploiting your frustration and desperation when you're not getting the results you want.
Here's how it works: you download a free app, swipe for a few days, get a handful of matches (or none), and start feeling like maybe you're doing something wrong. Then the app starts showing you notifications like "You have 5+ people who liked you! Upgrade to see who!" or "Get 10x more matches with Boost!"
Your brain immediately thinks "Oh, there are people interested in me, I just need to pay to see them" or "Maybe I'm just not getting enough visibility." It feels like a simple solution to your dating struggles – just pay some money and unlock all these people who are supposedly waiting to match with you.
But here's the reality: those notifications are often misleading or outright false. Many of those "likes" are from inactive profiles, people way outside your age range or location preferences, or profiles that don't meet your basic criteria. The apps know this, but they also know that the promise of hidden matches is irresistible when you're frustrated with your results.
The other psychological trick is making you feel like you're missing out on opportunities. "What if my soulmate liked me but I can't see it?" "What if I accidentally swiped left on the perfect person?" These premium features promise to solve problems that might not even be real problems for you specifically.
Breaking Down the Major Premium Features
Let's get specific about what you actually get when you upgrade to premium on the major dating apps. I'm going to focus on Tinder and Bumble since they're the most popular, but the principles apply across platforms.
Tinder's Premium Tiers: Tinder offers three premium options: Tinder Plus (starting at $9.99/month), Tinder Gold (starting at $14.99/month) and Tinder Platinum (starting at $19.99/month). However, Tinder Gold starts at around 14.99$ a month, bumped to 29.99$ if you are above the 30yo limit, and Tinder Platinum costs $49.99 (one month) or $29.99 (six months) per month.
Unlimited Likes: The free version limits your swipes per day. Premium removes this limit. Sounds great, but here's the thing – if you're swiping through hundreds of profiles per day, you're probably not being selective enough. Quality over quantity always wins in dating.
Super Likes: These are supposed to make your profile stand out by showing someone you're really interested. In practice, they often come across as desperate or try-hard. Most women I've talked to say Super Likes actually make them less likely to swipe right, not more.
Boosts: These supposedly put your profile at the front of the queue for 30 minutes, giving you more visibility. They can work, but the timing has to be perfect (usually Sunday evenings), and you're competing with everyone else who bought boosts at the same time.
See Who Liked You: This is the big selling point – you can see all the people who swiped right on you without having to swipe through everyone. It sounds valuable, but remember, just because someone liked your profile doesn't mean they're someone you'd want to match with.
Passport/Travel Mode: Lets you swipe in different cities. This is actually useful if you travel frequently for work or are planning to relocate, but it's useless for most people most of the time.
Rewind Feature: Lets you undo accidental left swipes. Tinder and Bumble have added the backtrack feature so you don't miss out on a potential happily ever after. This feature is well worth it. This is probably the most universally useful premium feature, but you can achieve the same thing by just being more careful with your swiping.
Bumble's Premium Structure
Bumble has a similar setup with Boost and Premium tiers. You unlock unlimited swipes and a weekly profile boost to get in front of more people with premium subscriptions. The key features include unlimited swipes, advanced filters, and the ability to see who liked you.
Unlimited advanced filters — given how many people on Bumble, it's convenient to be able to narrow the pool. This is actually one of the more useful premium features, especially if you live in a large city where you're overwhelmed with options.
The weekly boost feature can be valuable, but like Tinder's boosts, timing and competition matter a lot. Like most dating apps, Bumble rewards frequent users with more profile visibility and a higher internal ranking score, so consistent daily usage might be more important than paying for boosts.
The Hard Truth About ROI (Return on Investment)
Let's talk numbers. If you're paying $15-30 per month for premium features, that's $180-360 per year. For that same money, you could hire a professional photographer for better profile pictures, buy some new clothes, join a gym, or take a class to meet people in real life.
The question isn't whether premium features work at all – some of them do provide marginal benefits. The question is whether they provide enough benefit to justify the cost, especially compared to other ways you could invest in your dating success.
For most guys, the answer is no. If you're getting zero matches on the free version, premium features aren't going to magically fix that. Your fundamental problems are probably your photos, your profile, or your swiping strategy – none of which premium features address.
If you're already getting some matches and dates from the free version, premium features might give you a slight boost, but you're probably better off focusing on conversion – actually turning matches into dates and dates into relationships.
Who Actually Benefits From Premium Subscriptions
After seeing hundreds of guys try premium features, here's who actually gets value from upgrading:
Guys in competitive markets: If you're in a major city like NYC, LA, or San Francisco where the competition is intense and the user base is huge, premium features like advanced filters and boosts can help you stand out. The sheer volume of users means small advantages can make a meaningful difference.
Frequent travelers: If you're constantly traveling for work or pleasure, Passport/Travel Mode is genuinely useful. You can start making connections in cities before you visit, which is especially valuable for business trips or vacations.
Older guys (35+): The dating app landscape skews young, and if you're over 35, you might benefit from features that help you find age-appropriate matches more efficiently. Advanced filters become more valuable when you have specific criteria around life stage, kids, career, etc.
Guys who are already successful on free versions: If you're getting decent matches and dates from the free version, premium features might give you the edge to level up from "doing okay" to "crushing it." But this is optimization, not fixing fundamental problems.
People with very specific preferences: If you have narrow criteria for what you're looking for (specific religion, ethnicity, lifestyle, etc.), advanced filters can save you time by pre-screening matches.
Who Should Definitely Skip Premium
On the flip side, premium subscriptions are probably a waste of money if:
Your profile needs work: If your photos are bad, your bio is boring, or you don't understand what makes profiles attractive, premium features won't help. Fix the fundamentals first.
You're not getting any matches on free: Zero matches means your profile isn't appealing, not that you need more visibility. Premium features won't fix an unattractive profile.
You're not opening or responding to messages: If you're getting matches but not converting them to conversations or dates, your problem isn't getting more matches – it's doing something with the ones you have.
You're on a tight budget: Dating apps are expensive enough without premium features. If money's tight, invest in better photos or clothes instead of premium subscriptions.
You're impatient: If you've been using the app for two weeks and expect premium features to instantly solve your dating problems, you're going to be disappointed. Dating takes time regardless of what features you pay for.
The Features That Actually Matter (And The Ones That Don't)
Let me rank the premium features from most to least valuable based on real-world results:
Most Valuable:
- Advanced Filters: Save time by screening for deal-breakers upfront
- Rewind/Undo: Prevents costly mistakes, though being more careful works too
- See Who Liked You: Can be efficient if you're selective about who you swipe right on
Moderately Valuable: 4. Unlimited Swipes: Only useful if you're actually being selective 5. Passport/Travel: Great for frequent travelers, useless for everyone else 6. Boosts: Can work with perfect timing, but results vary wildly
Least Valuable: 7. Super Likes: Often backfire by making you seem desperate 8. Read Receipts: Creates pressure and anxiety for both parties 9. Profile Controls: Minor features that don't meaningfully impact results
A Smarter Approach to Dating App Investment
Instead of automatically upgrading to premium, here's a better strategy for investing in your dating app success:
Month 1: Focus entirely on optimizing your free experience. Get better photos, write a compelling bio, and learn proper swiping strategy. Track your match rate and conversation conversion.
Month 2: If you're getting some matches but want to optimize further, consider investing in professional photos or asking friends for honest profile feedback. This usually provides better ROI than premium features.
Month 3: If you're consistently getting matches and dates but want to scale up, then consider premium features that specifically address your bottlenecks. Don't upgrade just because – upgrade strategically.
Ongoing: Set a monthly dating budget that includes premium subscriptions, but also other investments like new clothes, activities where you can meet people, or dating coaching if needed.
The Premium Features That Are Actually Worth It
If you do decide to upgrade, here are the features that provide the best value for most people:
Bumble Premium's Advanced Filters: If you're in a large city, being able to filter by education, job, height, etc. can save hours of swiping through incompatible profiles.
Tinder's Rewind Feature: Prevents the frustration of accidentally swiping left on someone interesting. Though honestly, being more careful achieves the same result for free.
See Who Liked You (on either platform): Can be efficient if you use it strategically – only swiping right on people from your "liked you" queue who you're genuinely interested in.
Boost Features: Only if you understand optimal timing (Sunday evenings, typically) and you're in a market where competition is fierce.
Red Flags: When Premium Features Are Scamming You
Watch out for these signs that premium features are preying on your desperation rather than providing real value:
Fake Like Notifications: Both Tinder & Bumble are strangely the same in which when you sign up, you'll get a bunch of "likes" but won't be able to see them until you pay. Once you pay, most of those "likes" are fakes or whatnot. If you upgrade and discover the people who "liked" you are all inactive profiles or people you'd never swipe right on, you're being manipulated.
Pressure Tactics: Constant notifications about limited-time offers, people waiting to meet you, or missing out on opportunities are designed to create urgency and bypass rational decision-making.
Promises of Guaranteed Results: Any marketing that suggests premium features will definitely get you more dates or relationships is misleading. Dating success depends on many factors beyond app features.
Expensive Tier Pushing: Apps often bury the most useful features in their most expensive tiers while filling cheaper tiers with less valuable perks.
Testing Premium Features: A Smart Strategy
If you're curious about premium features but don't want to commit long-term, here's a testing strategy:
Start with the shortest subscription possible – usually one month. This gives you enough time to see if the features provide value without a major financial commitment.
Set specific goals – don't just upgrade and hope for the best. Decide what success looks like (more matches, better quality matches, more dates) and track whether premium features actually deliver.
Test one feature at a time if possible – some apps let you buy individual features rather than full premium packages. This helps you identify what actually works for your situation.
Compare results to your free baseline – track your match rate, conversation rate, and date rate before and after upgrading to see if you're getting value for money.
The Bottom Line: Strategic Upgrades vs. Desperate Spending
Kristie Colorado, a transportation planner in New York, says paying to upgrade her dating app has been worth it, but this isn't universal. The key is being strategic rather than desperate about premium upgrades.
Premium dating app features can provide value, but only if you're already doing the fundamentals right and you understand exactly what problems you're trying to solve. They're optimization tools, not magic bullets.
If your photos suck, your profile is boring, or you don't know how to have interesting conversations, premium features won't help. Fix those problems first – they're free to address and will have a much bigger impact on your success.
If you're already getting decent results from free versions and you want to optimize further, premium features can provide marginal improvements. But be selective about which features you pay for and honest about whether they're actually providing value.
The dating app companies want you to believe that their premium features are the key to dating success because that's how they make money. The reality is that genuine connection, attractive photos, interesting personalities, and good conversation skills are what actually create dating success – and none of those require premium subscriptions.
Your money is better spent on things that actually improve your attractiveness and dating skills rather than on features that promise shortcuts. But if you're going to upgrade anyway, at least do it strategically with realistic expectations about what premium features can and can't do for your dating life.
Remember: the best dating app feature is still being someone worth dating in real life. Premium subscriptions can't fix that, but they also can't replace it.