Tinder vs. Bumble: Which Dating App Is Right For You?

How's your dating life these days? Have you met someone interesting and with potential? Where did you meet this person? Was it through a dating app? There's a good chance you did because, in the age of technology, dating apps are the norm. For over ten years, dating apps like Tinder and Bumble have been responsible for the change in how we meet people. Is digital dating the same as offline dating? For sure it's not and we can debate which one is better but that's not our purpose here.

Ten years ago, online dating was a choice for those that had trouble meeting people face to face, now it's the norm. In 2019, just in the U.S., up to 75% of heterosexual couples met online through dating apps (according to the Financial Times). It has simplified things, and it has an appeal. You just whip your phone out click on your favorite dating app and you got yourself a date. Beats taking the time to get ready to go to a bar and meet someone in person, right? That's what technology has done for the dating scene and, according to the number of people on Tinder and Bumble, millions seem to prefer this way or meeting people.  

Apart from being "the norm" nowadays, dating in the age of technology has shifted the focus on what people want. It seems that people are not looking for "the one" anymore but for "the many". Dating apps are in part responsible for this because they offer many, many choices. They also offer present shared experiences. The technology behind the dating apps allows you to find people that are in the same stage as you. Friends around you are getting married and having kids and you're not. You start to feel isolated however, on app land that's not the case, everyone there is where you are.

Some dating apps were created to offer people the chance of exploring new kinds of relationships in terms of who you choose to date and on what conditions. There are apps position themselves as "open-minded" and offer their users all kinds of new and kinky experiences with just a click. For people who dig this, it's a very appealing proposition. 

Digital dating is a valid way of meeting someone or having a relationship. It's a convenient way too but dating apps have taken away the romance and serendipity of dating. In the age of technology, with a swipe and a click, you can order food as well as sex and even love? Convenient, yes but also it has made people lazy when it comes to making and effort to make real-life connections.

The market offers you now lots of dating apps to choose from and sometimes it could be overwhelming because it's hard to know which option is the right one for you. If you're new to the online dating scene you most definitely have heard of Tinder and Bumble. Are you using any of those? Or did you tried both and now have a favorite? Are you considering a switch? Both apps might have the same outcome. meeting people and going on some dates but the truth is that Tinder and Bumble have very distinct identities.

On the surface, it may seem that both apps are the same but the truth is that there are main differences between Tinder and Bumble, both good and bad. Take a look.

The premise of both Tinder and Bumble is to swipe left and right on the profiles of people you like and don't like. You swipe right for "yes, I like" and left for "no, don't like". Once the app matches you with someone, you can start a conversation. Depending on what app you're matched, there's a difference in who starts the conversation. If you're on Tinder, either party can start the conversation, but if you're on Bumble, the app requires that the woman make the first move. Just from this feature, you can see that the experience for women and men is going to be different. So which app is better for men and which is better for women?

The number of users on Bumble is more or less equal between men and women, so for men, it probably is a better option because the odds are going to be more on their favor than on Tinder (where the number of male users doubles the number of female users).

Starting a conversation on a dating app can be daunting and women are the most hesitant to do this. Since Bumble requires that women make the first move, this changes the dynamic and gives women more control of the situation. If you're a woman who likes to be in control of all the matching and conversation, Bumble could be a great choice for you. There's a downside here though, a lot of men like to swipe right as many times as possible just to increase their odds of a match. Then they wait to receive a message and that's when they decide if they really like you. It could be annoying sending many messages and never receiving an answer.

On Tinder, since the number of men users almost double the number of women users, it could be beneficial for women because they have more options to choose from. Women can be flooded with messages here, but if you're a woman who likes to just sit back and not do all the work, this could work for you (if you don't mind having to put more effort into responding to all the messages received from your matches).

Men on Tinder almost always have to make the first move and that could mean a lot of work. Since there's no time limit here, the ball is on the men's court not on the women, so if you're a guy, you can take your time to message back to your match and get things going from there.

Some users from the LGBT community have said that they like Tinder because of its popularity (everyone's on Tinder). Tinder has an expanded gender option and its layout lets people describe themselves better. They like the variety of options and the hookup vibe of the dating app. 

Bumble, in the case of same-sex matches, the first contact can be made by either match. The dating app has a considerable number of lesbians in their user base so for gay women looking to meet someone and make a match, it could be a good option.

We're sure that you know at least one or two persons that have hop on the Tinder train. This is because there are more people on Tinder than on Bumble. According to Statista, as of September 2019, Tinder's user base was 7.86 million while Bumble had 5.03 million (just in the U.S). 

According to We are Flint, in the US the male users of Tinder double the female users For women who love to have many options, this is great, but this is also one of the reasons a percentage of Tinder users consider it more a hookup dating app. On the other hand, Bumble has one of the highest proportions of female users (46.2%). This goes in accordance with Bumble's model (another main difference with Timber) where once a match is made, the woman has to message first.

With both Tinder and Bumble you can swipe left and right to indicate you like or don't like a user's profile and both are geolocated-based. Bumble lets users customize their profiles with personal details; Tinder lets users upload more photos. On Bumble women make the first contact, (but there's a 24hrs time limit to send the first message) on Tinder anyone can make the first contact and there's no time limit. Tinder's exclusively for dating (or hookups), while Bumble offers additional features like BBF and Bizz that lets users build professional networks and/or friendships.

Tinder is considered among its users as more of a hookup dating app. According to some statistics, 40% of Tinder college U.S. student users have said that "Tinder is for hookups and Bumble is for dating"... 54% have also claimed that there is no difference between the two dating apps. 

Also, Bumble isn't used just for dating it has a BBFoption where the users can swipe and meet people just to hang out with. Users choose this option just to have a fun conversation with someone and to things they don't want to do alone.

There are some main differences between Tinder and Bumble so the outcomes are also different. It will depend on why you're on either dating app and what you're looking for.