Tinder's $500 Dating Plan Brutally Mocked With Flood of Memes, Jokes

July 09, 2024

Dating might be difficult, but would you fork out $500 a month for a service online?

That's the question Tinder is posing to users after launching its $499 "exclusive" dating subscription.

While for years Tinder has offered paid subscriptions for better access to nearby singles, its Tinder Select program is a different animal. The company describes the subscription as an exclusive membership program that requires an invitation to apply, unlike its other subscription options. These Tinder users are paying for "exclusive perks," the company says.

That includes the ability to direct message users without matching first. You can also "Skip the Line" by putting your profile in the Likes You grid unblurred for seven days. All members of the Select program also get a shiny SELECT badge on their profile to show off to others.

Tinder markets the subscription as a way to find "more exceptional connections," with less than 1 percent of users able to engage in the VIP experience.

Many dating app users complain about platforms' algorithms that purposefully keep their most ideal matches hidden. This subscription is a clear way to bypass that, albeit at a high cost.

Still, the widespread reaction to the new subscription option, which amounts to a whopping $6,000 per year, has been one of shock while also seeing absurdity.

Many expressed negative views of the type of people who would pay $500 for a dating app to begin with. Others shared memes poking fun at the subscription.

"I imagine most people would find it creepy if someone is spending 500 a month on Tinder. $500 to stay lonely, ruin yourself financially, and be made fun of by everyone," @MoistCr1TiKaL wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Another user, @Fried_Melons, said: "If you're spending $6,000 a year on Tinder, you're not down bad, you're down horrendous. Quit while you're ahead."

Some suggested that there might be an income-selection bias to the Select program and that it is for those who want to date only within their class.

"I feel like this is one of those ways for the wealthy (out of touch) to filter only people in their strata," X user @Greibach_VT said. "Obviously I don't mean everyone wealthy, but there's definitely a class of people that only want to date within their class."

Some have even gone so far as to call Tinder's new way of boosting profits "unethical."

"When it comes to love, I feel like people will pay any price because it's almost like a drug," Jackie Pilossoph, the founder of Divorced Girl Smiling, a website that aims to help people going through a divorce, told Newsweek.

She continued; "The opportunity to meet someone is worth it to those who feel lonely, who desperately don't want to be alone and who want companionship and love. I personally think Tinder is taking advantage of people's vulnerabilities, and I think the price is borderline unethical."

So who exactly is paying for it? That remains to be seen.

A Tinder representative told Newsweek that the company issued its first set of invitations during its September launch.

"Since then, we have been steadily inviting additional users to apply," Tinder communications spokesman Philip Fry told Newsweek. "This gradual expansion is likely the reason behind the recent increased visibility and attention online as users share their invitation."

Some dating experts and therapists see the new subscription offering as a potential sign of dismal things ahead for those looking for love.

Bayu Prihandito, the founder of Life Architekture and a certified psychology expert and life coach, said the shift toward paid dating app subscriptions reflects a growing impatience and desire for immediate results and instant gratification, even when it comes to dating or falling in love.

"The commodification and monetization of love and relationships are becoming more common and even banalized," Prihandito told Newsweek. "This shows a consumerist mindset where people are willing to invest their hard-earned money to make connections, at the cost of more traditional, organic and more authentic old-school face-to-face methods."

Larger Ramifications

There's a possible dark side to accepting the subscription at that cost. Brent Metcalf, a clinical social worker and the owner of Tri-Star Counseling in Kingsport, Tennessee, said he understands why users might find the subscription worthwhile, given its additional features and benefits.

With enhanced matchmaking algorithms, users might feel they can find more meaningful connections. The lure of exclusivity and "higher-quality" potential matches also draws many into pricey subscriptions, but there could be unforeseen consequences.

"As a clinician, I encourage users to reflect on their motivations for investing in such a subscription," Metcalf told Newsweek. "There's a risk that tying the success of one's dating life to a premium subscription could contribute to feelings of inadequacy for those who may not opt for or afford such a service."

Metcalf said dating subscriptions like this could also create a "tiered dating system" that reinforces societal notions of status and privilege.

This is not the first time someone has tried and succeeded at making money off desperate singles. For decades, high-end matchmakers have found success charging far more than $500 a month, Amber Brooks, the editor-in-chief of DatingAdvice.com, told Newsweek.

"The buy-in is marketed as an investment in love and a chance to date in the upper echelon of society," Brooks said. "But Tinder is no millionaire matchmaker."

While matchmakers might have a case for charging high prices, Tinder risks alienating its user base by offering the elite subscription, she added.

"Tinder's effort to get users to pony up for a select membership seems to miss the very point of the free swiping app," Brooks said.

"Users like it because the swiping is cheap and easy," she went on. "Upping the cost of a Tinder membership, even for only 1 percent of users, seems counterproductive to the app's very nature and successful approach of throwing together as many singles as possible with few barriers and many opportunities to meet and chat."

Brooks views Tinder's move as a gamble, with no evidence yet to determine whether it will help the app attract a different client base that wants more control over swiping.

"Tinder is making a bold move toward profits with its Select membership, but the vast majority of its users are in their 20s, and that's not the type of person who needs to spend hundreds of dollars to meet dates," Brooks said. "Even if they had the funds to do so."

Some have become increasingly critical of dating apps as the companies work to boost profits without necessarily delivering on the promise of finding the right match.

"Despite what their taglines might decree, dating apps were not created with the altruistic intention of helping others find love," Kara Kays, a licensed marriage and family therapist at Thriveworks, told Newsweek. "They are businesses that are designed to be monetized, and the longer a single person stays on each app, the more money they make.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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