How to Develop Dating App Like Tinder?- Development Cost, Features (2024)

Ever since the internet has been accessible, people are more likely to get connected online. This digital revolution has given birth to an explosion of online dating as well. And when there is online dating, there are online dating apps to fulfill the demand. In this era, when people are so busy, access to an easy-to-use dating app is not a luxury but a matter of convenience. Dating app like tinder is not only eye candy for the users but also for the businesses as an opportunity to capitalize and make millions of revenue.

No doubt, the online dating market is booming with apps and is still evolving. The best example is Tinder. Since its official release in 2012, more than 5 billion matches have been made by the users and still counting. That’s the reason more and more businesses are interested in knowing the mobile app development cost in India and the technology of tinder clone app development company. If you are also keen on knowing the information and want to create or build your own dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, or Hinge, you have hit the right place. In this article, you will get to know everything, from the cost incurred to the time taken and the technology to build a dating app like tinder. So here we go!

Tinder App Work, Success, Revenue

But before deep-diving into the Nitti gritty of Dating App development, let us understand what Tinder actually is and how does it work?

What’s Tinder App?

In simple words, Tinder is an Online Dating Application used by both Android and iOS users. Tinder helps people who are like-minded to get connected so that they can chat, exchange personal information, or even meet if they feel like it. The application is a location-based social dating app that relies on Geographical proximity as its main feature. Thus, making it easy and convenient for people to get connected, either for long or short-term relations.

How Does Tinder App Work?

You just need to download the app from the app store or play store which is free. Then, you can create your free account by entering your basic info and a cool display picture and you are good to go. As far as the app’s functionality is concerned, it is quite straightforward and simple. The functionality lies in swiping left and right for skipping and liking a particular person respectively. In case, the other person returns the love, it’s a match!

If you log in using Facebook, the app analyses your data and offer matches based on factors such as geographical location, common interests, or mutual friends. Common swipes result in a Tinder match. Users can apply filters in terms of age, geographical area, and gender to look for their potential matches. Tinder also gives you the option to log in using your phone number or Google account.

Origin and Success of Dating App like Tinder

Tinder was launched in 2012 in Hatch Labs, a startup incubator run by InterActiveCorp by Sean Rad and Justin Mateen in Los Angeles. InterActiveCorp is also responsible for inventing other online dating platforms like match.com, OKCupid, and Zhenai (China).

In just two years, it has achieved a record of more than a billion swipes a day and since then, has successfully connected countless hearts. Witnessing the earth-shattering success in just two years, the free-to-use app introduced a premium subscription model in the year 2015 as Tinder Plus with some additional premium features. Later, a third level in the layer was introduced as Tinder Gold in 2017. Since then Tinder has only grown bigger.

Today, the app is available and running successfully in more than 196 countries and is almost accessible from all parts of the globe. Statistics say that a user spends at least half an hour daily on Tinder.

The Revenue Side of Tinder APP

Among all the major dating sites in the world, Tinder stands alone and unbeatable, making it close to $80 million-plus in user spending. Further, in 2019 September, it surpassed the second top-grossing app, Bumble with a large margin of more than $50 million.

Also as per the reports, Tinder’s yearly revenue in the first quarter has gone far ahead of Netflix, in the category of non-gaming app. That’s not all the app had over 100 million downloads and 30 billion matches in the year 2019. Hers is a brief depiction of Tinder’s success in the year 2019.

Also Read:How to Create a Streaming App Like Netflix

Dating App Development Features Like Tinder

The cost to build a dating app directly depends on its type and the set of features it offers. As it is a location-based app, it doesn’t take into account traditional personal information and surveys.

The reason why Tinder and other dating apps or hookup apps are in the trend is the super simple and easy-to-use mechanism that engages users due to its user-friendliness and appealing design. Now let us understand what features it offers:

Easy Registration Process

The login process is very simple & straightforward. You can either use your phone number or login via Facebook. Algorithms of Tinder helps in extracting basic user information from Facebook in order to skip the traditional form filling process and creating a profile without any hassle. Thus, the overall process enhances user engagement.

Profiles in Tinder App

The information can either be imported from Facebook or can be entered manually giving the user the freedom to choose. Later, users can add their info as in their photographs, bio, etc. Profiles become interesting when they display the following info:

• Age
• Location
• Brief Description
• Mutual Interests
• And, Mutual Friends on Facebook

Location for Tinder Clone App Development

Tinder uses your device’s location to find your nearby matches. That’s why proximity is essential for Tinder. In dating apps, geolocation is critical functionality to connect people and Tinder uses it brilliantly.

Discovery Settings in Tinder App

Tinder allows their users to adjust discovery settings by distance, sex, and age. In the free version, the user can adjust the distance up to 100 kilometers. Also, the paid version gives you the feature to hide your age, etc.

Swipe Feature for Dating App Development

Swipe is the backbone of Tinder. The idea behind swiping was to enhance the process of finding a suitable date and making the overall process engaging. A right swipe means you are interested, whereas a left swipe means you are not interested. Now, here the actual catch is the swipeable interface making the entire process more interesting.

Matchmaking

A Tinder match happens when both the users swipe each other. As soon as there is a match you can start chatting. The app gives you a chat box feature where you can chat safely and privately. There’ll be real-time chat in which users can also like each other’s messages, send emoji’s and GIFs.

Linking Social Media

Tinder gives its users a feature to integrate their Instagram and Snapchat handles with their dating profile/account. This helps the users or the matches to know each other better and results in more conversations and user engagements.

Push Notifications

Almost all dating apps including Tinder uses this feature to ensure frequent returns and user engagement. Tinder notifies users about any new matches, messages, and app updates.

Also Read:How to Develop a Mobile App like TikTok: Top Features, Business Model and Cost

Tinder App Development Cost

In nutshell, taking all the features into consideration that are prevalent in the App, it can be assumed that a rough estimation of the cost in building the App would be somewhere around $50,000 to $60,000. However, it is just a rough minimum estimate as there are other factors as well to affect the overall mobile app development cost. Let us try to understand:

If you approach a mobile development agency, a standard team for dating app like tinder would consist of:

• 1 Project Manager
• 2 Backend Developers
• 2 iOS Developers
• 1 Designer
• 2 Android Developers
• 1-2 Testers

The cost incurred in developing an app depends on factors such as app complexity, features, development service rates, and whether the app is going to be developed from scratch. Based on the above features we have calculated a decent estimate in order to build such app:

So from the above table, we can get an idea that a similar dating app like Tinder for both the iOS and Android platforms will take 2255 and 2271 hours respectively. Now let us have a look at the average hourly rates depending upon the regions.

Average Hourly Rate ($ Per Hour)

Based on the above statistics, the complete app development process from scratch in Central and Western Europe for cost the user approximately $97,653 for an android app and $96,965 for an iOS App. Ukraine, on the other hand having less hourly wage rate, will cost you $56,375 for iOS and $56,775 for Android. Similarly, as per different regions, the price may vary due to fluctuation in the hourly wage rate.

Technology Behind Tinder

All those features that we have discussed earlier were just the icing on the cake. What actually happens behind the door is the real thing. What is working on the app 24*7 to give you the best user experience? Here we are refereeing to the technology which is working behind the app to enhance the user experience.

Many technologies and frameworks are working behind apps like Tinder. The technology stack for Tinder includes Python, JavaScript, and HTML5 as programming languages and a mobile platform to build and test apps called AWS.

For identifying the exact geographical location, Tinder uses GPS of the smartphone or the Wi-Fi network connection. The app utilizes scalable database environments such as Mongo DB and Redis to add to this functionality. Mapbox is an open-source platform to design custom maps and for safety and security purposes Go-Daddy SSL certificate is needed.

Tech Stack for Tinder App Development

There are different tools that can be used to develop such an app for both the iOS and Android platforms. Here is a list of all the major tools/technologies that are used in the app development process.

How to Develop Dating App Like Tinder?

Process Flow: Here you will get a clear picture for how to create a dating app like tinder in simple steps.

Ideation: Ideation means deciding what exactly will be the niche of your dating app. For example, there are, hook up apps, matchmaking apps, dating apps, and several other apps with multiple niches.

Making an Outline: The next step is to make a rough sketch or structure. At his step, you can also create a wireframe. Explain the details of user experience along with valuable information architecture.

Designing: An attractive design makes a dating app look like a dating app in true sense. Put utmost emphasis on the designing part and make it look attractive and beautiful. Take care of the icons, graphics, dashboard, and everything.

Coding: This is where your application gets a soul. And this is the process that takes the longest time. You can either outsource the task or can start with the coding part with your own team. You need to make sure that the code is perfect and bug-free. You can hire an app developer.

Testing and Quality assurance: Test each and everything at least three times. You need to rest assured that your app is bug-free when it is Live. Through testing, you can check whether every function is performing correctly or not. If any error is found, you can fix it.

Debugging: yes, in the beginning, there will be some bugs. Fix those bugs and revise the coding part before testing it again. In order to have a flawless app experience, repeat these steps, i.e., testing and debugging.

Making the App Live: In the last step, make your dream application live. When you have submitted your app to the app store/play store, the next step is to promote the app through sales and marketing.

Backend

There are three elements that you would be needing in order to create a Tinder Like the app. First is the design, second is the App itself (for Android, iOS, or both), and lastly an API. An API serves as a bridge by connecting any web-based client app to a server. This could possibly be e great option to provide fast data transfer along with certain real-time API.

The crux of a dating app like tinder revolves around three key elements – User Management, Chatting, and Notifications. This suggests implications of SMS notification services like Twilio, database frameworks (like Mongo DB), mapping tools like Mapbox, and other elements. The Tinder architecture chart (assumptive) will help you in absorbing the whole concept. At last, increasing the reach of your dating app will significantly increase the time taken to build a scalable backend model.

Native Development

This is where the actual development process comes into place. In developing we can use swift, object C, or Java Programming Language. Tinder has a high bar for user navigation and swipes, so when trying to add a unique touch to it, make sure that it should work nice and smooth. For both Android and iOS platforms, there are certain app features that are mandatory to implement. To name a name, they are, sign up, user profiles, matching mechanism, chatting, messaging, and geolocation. You can also customize the additional features and introduce creativity in your dashboard.

Conclusion: Tinder Clone App Development

At last, it is correct to say that in order to build a Tinder-like APP and learn the estimated budget necessary for its development, you should make a list of all the features and specifications. Without knowing the functionality as a whole it is quite next to impossible to predict the overall time taken and money spends on the app development.