The key facts

  • Match Group is testing a cheaper Hinge tier with extra filters and customizable location boundaries; the price has not been named
  • Hinge: revenue $221 million (+19%), paying users 2.3 million (+23%), MAU +12% year over year
  • Tinder: $480 million revenue (-2%), 8.9 million paying users (-4%)

The new tier and its rationale

Hinge is launching a test of a cheaper tier aimed, in the words of Match Group CFO Steve Bailey, «primarily at women, as well as price-sensitive users». The new level includes additional filters and customizable location boundaries, allowing users to control whom they see and where they meet people. The company did not disclose the subscription price. This was reported by the outlet TechCrunch following Match Group's third-quarter 2026 earnings call.

Why Hinge specifically

The choice of product may seem counterintuitive: Hinge is one of the most expensive services in Match Group's portfolio. Bailey explained that revenue per paying user at Hinge is nearly twice as high as at Tinder — about $30 — while the share of paying users is only slightly more than half of Tinder's figure. A cheaper tier could convert more users into paying customers for whom the current price is not a fit. It also marks a strategy shift: in 2023, Hinge, on the contrary, tested a more expensive tier for those willing to pay more.

The contrast with Tinder

The two apps' quarterly results diverged. Hinge grew its global monthly audience by 12% year over year, direct revenue by 19% to $221 million, and the number of paying subscribers by 23% to 2.3 million. Tinder earned $480 million, but revenue fell 2%, and its paying base of 8.9 million users shrank by 4%. Thus, the cheaper tier is being introduced at the group's strongest product, not the lagging one.

Context: dating app fatigue

The decision comes amid growing difficulty in selling premium subscriptions to users: subscription fatigue, endless swiping, and disappointment with the dating experience itself are taking their toll. Match Group is responding not only with pricing — the company is developing formats beyond classic matching, such as Group Hangouts and offline Events, and plans to expand them in the fourth quarter. In addition, in the fourth quarter Tinder will begin testing real-time adaptive recommendations announced in September: the algorithm will respond to user actions within seconds rather than hours. Match Group itself notes only some signs of improvement — the outlet emphasizes that a cheap subscription alone is unlikely to solve the problem of user fatigue.