Tinder in the test (2022): Great love, just a swipe away?

1. The Tinder principle explained

2. No more Facebook coercion

3. Free or paid?

4. Conclusion & alternatives

The “Tinder” app revolutionized online dating with its swipe concept almost ten years ago – first in the USA and now also worldwide. “Tinder” is now used as a synonym for finding a partner online and is even a verb in the dictionary.

The Tinder principle explained

Despite its success, Tinder enjoys a dubious reputation and this is not due to cases of fraud as described in the Netflix documentary “Tinder Swindler”, but to the concept:

Tinder will show you a stack of photos after registration. You can work through this photo by photo. If you like a profile, tap the green heart or swipe your finger to the right. Otherwise, click the red “X” or swipe left. If you are unsure, tap on the photo and you can view more photos and details about the person suggested in the profile. You can only write with the other person if they have also given you a like. Then you have a “match”.

You can only influence to a limited extent which people are suggested to you. Tinder allows you to select potential partners by age, gender and distance from your current location. Other preferences such as hair color, height, figure, smoker/non-smoker cannot be specified, unlike with Finya or Bumble. At Tinder, it is primarily the appearance or the impression that the profile photo leaves on the other that decides about sympathy or antipathy.

A common criticism of this concept is “Tinder is shallow”. You can feel that way, but in fact Tinder only imitates “real life” from our point of view. If you speak to someone in the disco, the selection of the flirt partner is only based on the appearance. Or do you take a sign with you that says your hobbies when you leave the house in the evening? Probably not.

So Tinder is a bit like the dance floor in your favorite club, only without music and without the risk of being rebuffed. After all, at the club, you never know if the person you’ve got your eye on might like you too. Responding here is always associated with a risk. In a Tinder match, on the other hand, you can assume mutual interest.

However, not every match on Tinder automatically results in a conversation. There are various reasons for this: writing to a potential flirt without much background knowledge about the person is difficult for many. Very few Tinder users make use of the opportunity to write a few lines about themselves in their profile or to indicate their interests, and if they do, they are often secret Tinder codes that first need to be decrypted.

In our Tinder test, only every 6th match resulted in a longer chat. Tinder is now aggressively tackling this problem. The options for adding information to the profile have been continuously expanded since our last test in 2021. You can now enter your zodiac sign or your eating habits.

One of the biggest innovations, however, is the “Explore area”, in which you can get to know other users in changing interactive games – in Music Mode, for example, your taste in music plays a role in addition to the photos. However, most Explore offers are basically filtered Tinder stacks in which you only see contacts with similar interests. That’s a bit disappointing.

No more Facebook coercion

Another criticism of Tinder for a long time was that the app could only be used with a Facebook account. But that is long past. You can now sign into Tinder with your phone number, Apple, Google, or Facebook account.

If you use one of the latter options, the setup is done quickly. You don’t have to fill out a questionnaire or upload photos. Tinder takes most of the information directly from your profile, but still asks for your cell phone number and asks you to verify your profile. The provider wants to make it more difficult to create fake profiles.

Tinder: This is how much the dating app costs

Both registering and using Tinder are free. However, the free version does not have some functions that you can use to increase your chances of flirting. In addition, you can only like a certain number of profiles per day (about 100).

The table below gives you an overview of which Tinder functions can be used free of charge and which require a Tinder Plus, Gold or Platinum subscription. You can also purchase some features individually without a subscription.

Tinder does not communicate prices for the subscriptions on its website. These are calculated individually and displayed to you in the app. According to a study by the Mozilla Foundation and Consumers International, these should be dependent on country, gender and age. According to Tinder, at least the latter should no longer play a role.

In our experience, you have to expect prices between 5 and 30 euros on Tinder. Depending on which subscription model you choose and how long you want to commit yourself. You can choose between one, six or twelve months. Payment is made using the payment method stored in the App Store. You can also pay by credit card on the website.

In addition, you can now buy vouchers for 1 month Tinder Gold and Tinder Plus from Amazon and Lidl at a fixed price of 12.92 and 8.61 euros respectively. These can be redeemed on the Tinder website.

at 1 month Tinder Gold for 12.92 euros*

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at 1 month Tinder Plus for 8.61 euros*

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at 1 month Tinder Gold for 12.92 euros*

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at 1 month Tinder Plus for 8.61 euros*

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Aside from these premium services, Tinder still uses advertising as a financing option. However, the number of advertisements in the app is negligible. According to their own statements, the service does not sell your data. Nevertheless, you should be careful with your information on Tinder. Too much information in the profile makes it easier for other Tinder users to find you on Facebook. So protect your Facebook profile against unwanted glances in advance.

If you feel harassed by another user, you can report them to customer service. Experience has shown that Tinder takes action relatively quickly against such users. The app also pulls fake profiles out of circulation within a very short time. You can also have your Tinder profile verified and show that you are real.

If you chat with a match for a long time, some inadequacies of the app come to light. The chat is not very comfortable here. There is no search function. You cannot quote or send pictures to your contact. Good conversations can therefore be continued more conveniently via WhatsApp or directly over a coffee. Alternatively, Tinder has also been offering a video chat in the app since 2020.

Tinder

editorial rating 9.0 reader ratings

430 reviews

Login & Registration

9.0

Costs & Financing

7.0

Tinder: The best alternatives

Don’t you agree? Are you looking for suitable alternatives? Below you will find the best Tinder alternatives.

We also recommend that you take a look at our online partner search leaderboards. You can find comparable products, for example, in the “Comparison of dating apps and partner searches: Tinder, Parship, Lovoo – where is the best place to flirt?”

Tinder: data sheet

Here you can find the technical data for Tinder. You can easily compare size, weight and other properties with other products.

Registration free	✔ Yes
Free use possible	✔ Yes
Premium features can be booked	✔ Yes
means of payment	Credit Card, Google Play, App Store
advertising	✔ Yes
members	about 2 million
Number of downloads (Android)	100 million
Partner suggestions based on	distance, location
What is wanted?	flirt, relationship
Phone calls or video chats possible on the platform?	✔ Yes
verified profiles	Yes, but not compulsory
special feature	✘ no

Show all technical data❯