Interface and Profiles: The Look for Love
Match and Tinder are tailored toward opposite, but equally valid, approaches to finding a relationship. Match is made for long-lasting ones, while Tinder is your path to quick hookups. These are generalizations, but a dating app's customer vibe influences certain social behaviors.
You can feel the difference immediately as you create your profile. Match asks you to put in some initial work, though not as much as eharmony or other premium dating services. You supply the app with information about your ideal partner, along with a healthy amount of personal details, including your zip code and your thoughts on children. Uploaded photos are vetted before your profile is approved.
(Credit: Jeffrey Hazelwood/PCMag/Getty images;Match)The payoff comes when you start browsing other profiles. By asking for so much information, Match's profiles paint clear and appealing pictures of potential partners. You can read about their current obsessions or see their hobbies and interests. You'll appreciate not wasting time searching for someone, thanks to the intuitive interface.
Match's focus on substance gives it a slight, even arguable, edge. If you don't want to get serious, though, you can't beat Tinder's youthful immediacy and volume. Enter basic preferences, such as age range and gender, and you're soon swiping left and right on profiles you find hot or not. To be fair, profiles contain more details if you look for them. Still, Tinder's design actively encourages shallow judgments and for you to interact with as many profiles as possible. This interface has proven so popular and intuitive, especially on mobile devices, that almost every other dating app has copied it, including Match.
(Credit: Jeffrey Hazelwood/PCMag/Getty images;Match)If this sounds dangerous, rest easy knowing Tinder features several safety tools, such as ways to share your location with friends and verify photos. For an app that truly puts the power in women's hands, consider Bumble.
Match and Tinder are both available on Android and iOS. You can access them via web browser, too.
Winner: Match
Price: Does Love Cost a Thing?
Dating apps absolutely know that anyone dedicated to finding love is willing to spend money on it. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a service that doesn't at least offer an option to pay for premium privileges.
(Credit: Jeffrey Hazelwood/PCMag/Getty images;Tinder)Match is primarily a premium service. It offers some free functionality, such as searching for and liking profiles, and sending messages to a few personalized daily picks. However, to access the full Match experience, you must pay $44.99 per month, a price that decreases with an annual subscription. You can also buy boosts that move your profile to the top of the profile list for an hour. Boosts cost $5.99 each or $30 for a pack of 10.
Tinder's free experience, while not without annoyances, doesn't feel quite as compromised. You can freely swipe and message anyone who likes you back. You'll just run into limits on how many profiles you can swipe per day, a number that changes based on a vague algorithm. Tinder's entry-level premium tier, the $24.99-per-month Tinder Plus, gives you unlimited likes and rewinds, and the ability to swipe around the world. For $39.99 per month, Tinder Gold lets you see who already likes you. Tinder's boosts cost $3.99 each, while Super Likes, more powerful and noticeable than normal likes, cost $0.99 each. Prices go down in bulk. Tinder lets you spend even more money if you want. For $49.99 per month, Tinder Platinum lets you send messages without matching and makes you a higher priority to potential matches. Tinder Select, at $499.99 per month, is a ridiculously exclusive tier that requires an invite. It gives you priority visibility, the ability to see the most sought-after people on the platform, and access to beta tools.
(Credit: Jeffrey Hazelwood/PCMag/Getty images;Tinder)While Tinder's premium features can get a little confusing, like a "free" mobile game that demands microtransactions after the fact, the free version is ultimately still complete and serviceable. Match's reliance on expensive subscriptions is another example of how it’s meant for people more willing to invest in romance, usually skewing toward an older demographic.
Winner: Tinder
Video: Which App Offers Virtual Dating?
Working up the courage to meet an online date in person is nerve-wracking even under normal circumstances. And with a global pandemic still fresh on our minds, it makes sense to be cautious before meeting up with a stranger. Match and Tinder both offer ways to keep your spark alive when apart, if you find a partner responsible enough to agree to a virtual date.
By pressing the camera icon in the app, two consenting Match partners can start a video call during a text conversation. Simply block the other person if things get uncomfortable. You can also read advice on virtual dating from Match's panel of experts. Tinder has a similar video chat feature called Face to Face. Tinder also uses video verification to ensure people are who they say they are.
Winner: Tie
And the Winner Is...
Match and Tinder are both Editors' Choice dating apps for a reason. They're the best at what they do. I dig Match's robust profiles, which offer more than enough information to find a partner worth your commitment. Meanwhile, I also like Tinder's game-changing interface, which remains the easy way to find quick love—a moment that may even last longer than expected. So consider what you personally want, and let that guide your decision about these dating app titans. Just like with dating, there's no objective best choice. There's only the choice that's best for you.