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SENSOR TOWER · SEEMA SHAH · FEBRUARY 2024
Dating Apps Struggle to Find a Match
Online dating remains important and a key driver of how people meet and develop relationships. However, the penetration of online dating seems steady at 45%, with various dating apps seeing increased churn depending on promotions or a successful connection. ST metrics for dating apps are mixed, with larger apps seeing a deceleration while Grindr continues its positive momentum. To curb the declines, Tinder, Hinge and Bumble have increased their US advertising spend.
Key Takeaways:
Global mobile app trends for the dating cohort have slowed, with in-app revenue, downloads and MAU growth all decelerating YoY in 2Q23 - 4Q23, per Sensor Tower data
Total in-app revenue for the cohort rose just 4% YoY in 4Q23, with weakness led by declines at Tinder (48% of total IAP revenue), whose in-app revenue fell 2% YoY in FY2023, offsetting the 38%, 22% and 20% YoY revenue growth at Grindr, Bumble and Hinge, respectively
ST data estimates that Hinge, Tinder and Match revenue fell 13%, 8% and 4% MoM, respectively, in Jan’24; given that ST data aligns with reported metrics, it suggests a further slowdown in 2024
Download and MAU growth for the cohort has also slowed, down 1% and 7% YoY, respectively, in 4Q23
However, Grindr has continued to see both download and MAU growth trend upward at a consistent high-single digit rate, despite limited ad spend, likely due to being the largest LGBTQ+ app and social media-like features
In contrast, Hinge and Bumble growth is likely driven by an increase in paid advertising. Per ST downloads by source, Hinge’s paid downloads (includes paid and web browser) rose 43% YoY, while Bumble’s paid downloads increased 30% YoY in 4Q23
Amongst the dating cohort, Grindr has the strongest engagement levels, with users visiting the app 118x per week and spending 144 mins/wk on it in 2023, more than double that of Hinge; additionally Grindr’s churn is only 19%, significantly below the group average of 30%
For more information, request the full report from reports@sensortower.com.
