If you’re even a little bit picky (and you should be if you know how to use Bumble), the dating app swipe game can be pretty time-consuming.

Brittany looks pretty hot, but she’s riding a horse in one picture. Concerning. Meghan’s a rock climber, but her Spotify Top Artists are veering into classic rock territory.

So if swiping is a challenge for U2, then there’s a new Bumble feature you might want to check out to help you find your Queen. No classic rock mixtapes required.

Fortunately for the indecisive, time-poor, or simply selective folks among us, most dating apps are bringing in features that thin the pool based on your preferences. Introducing: Bumble Best Bees.

What Is The Best Bees Feature On Bumble?

“Bees?” I hear you asking. Yep, Best Bees to be exact. Let’s find out what all the buzz is about.

So what is the Best Bees feature on Bumble? Best Bees is a streamlined swipe feature on Bumble, bringing you selected profiles that the Bumble algorithm thinks you will be compatible with.

It’s pretty much a combination of common features found on other dating apps, like Hinge’s Standouts and Most Compatible, rolled into one.

So you can expect to find some appealing honeys in your Best Bees, but whenever there’s an algorithm involved we find ourselves asking how is it choosing? How does Bumble select your Best Bees?

Let’s dive into this new Bumble feature to find out everything you need to know about how it works.

How Does Bumble Best Bees Work?

If you’re the kind of person who’d pull out the Greatest Hits rather than listen to the b-sides, then you’re into one thing: the best of the best.

And let’s face it, there’s no swipe deck on earth that doesn’t contain a few duds. Well, Bumble Best Bees is all killer, no filler.

So how does Bumble Best Bees work? Your Best Bees are found under the diamond icon on the bottom bar of the Bumble app. In this tab you’ll find a carousel of specially chosen profiles to check out.

If you like what you see, like the Bumble profile and see if it’s a match.

Because Best Bees are selected based on what Bumble knows about both your preferences and how other users interact with your profile, you won’t get any Best Bees until you’ve had at least one match.

So if you’re new to the app, deck your profile out with a great set of Bumble profile pictures and hit the regular Bumble feed until you get your first match.

What Are Best Bees?

Your Best Bees are a curated collection of profiles, just for you. But curated by who? Or what? As ever in life, there’s some kind of faceless computer algorithm behind the scenes.

So what are Best Bees, and how does Bumble select your Best Bees? Best Bees are chosen for you based on mutual compatibility, meaning the Bumble algorithm expects that there’s a good chance you’ll match. They’re not just the most attractive profiles, but the most attractive profiles, to you, that might Like you back.

Best Bees are partly selected based on your preferences, so think carefully about any filters you’ve included in your search settings.

But the algorithm also uses data it gathers from your behavior on the app. That’s why swiping on everyone you see is a bad idea. If the algorithm thinks you’ll like anyone, it will show you less attractive profiles as a result.

And ultimately, it will only pick Best Bees who might like you back. It bases this on your Elo score, essentially a ranking mechanism within the app. 

What Happens When You Like A Best Bee On Bumble?

In the Bumble feed, you like a user by swiping left or right. But in the Best Bees tab, you don’t swipe. You simply tap “Like” if you’re hoping to match with the user.

So what happens when you like a Best Bee on Bumble? Liking a Best Bee is effectively a free Superswipe. The other user will get a notification telling them you’ve liked them, making you stand out and increasing your chances of a match.

Some apps only allow you to “Superlike” the top users they’ve picked for you. On Hinge, for example, your top picks are called Standouts and you can only send them Roses, the Hinge equivalent of an upgraded like. With extra romance.

On Bumble, a like is basically a Best Bees Superswipe, according to Reddit users. Given that a Superswipe is a premium feature, it’s kind of surprising Bumble is bundling them in for free with Best Bees.

But since Bumble chose these users especially to match with you, it makes sense that they highlight your profile to a Best Bee if you’ve liked them, bumping your chances of a match.

Are Bumble Best Bees Free?

It’s one thing that an algorithm is choosing our future partners, and basically determining the genetic make-up of our children. Wait, what if it’s selectively weakening our genes, making it easier to take over in the future?

Ok, paranoia aside, algorithms can be pretty helpful. But when they lock up our most compatible matches behind a paywall, you can’t help but feel cheated.

So are Bumble Best Bees free? Yes, every user gets four Best Bees every day, so long as they’ve had at least one match on the app. However, free Bumble users can only like one of their Best Bees each day.

If you want to like more than one Best Bee, you’ll have to upgrade to Bumble Premium. Alongside unlimited Likes for Best Bees, you also get a range of other handy features, like seeing who’s in your Bee Line and incognito mode.

And take note, Bumble’s first paid tier, Bumble Boost, does not let you like more of your Best Bees.

Sure, Bumble Best Bees is designed to get you more matches. But by restricting your free likes to one each day, and giving you no guarantee you’ll see your Best Bees in the regular feed, it’s also strongly incentivizing you to cough up for the app.

My advice here is that if you don’t want to pay for upgraded Bumble, don’t worry about who you’re missing out on. Just Like one of your Best Bees every day and put your effort into having a great conversation that leads to a date.

What Is The Beeline On Bumble?

Oh yeah, the Beeline. Another of Bumble’s buzzy bee-themed features. It’s only a matter of time until they rename Bumble chat “Droning On”, call the Compliments feature “Catch More Flies With Honey” and rebrand a left swipe as a “sting”. Hey Bumble — you can have all those ideas for free.

So what is the Beeline on Bumble? The Beeline is where you can access Bumble users who have already liked your profile, people that Bumble calls your “Admirers”. You can find the Beeline at the top of the Chats tab, with your Admirers blurred out until you pay for Premium.

Just like your Best Bees are a shortcut to the best Bumble users for you, your Beeline is a straight shot to a match.

Final Thoughts

A lot of people’s first question about Bumble is: is it better than Tinder? So it’s about time Bumble introduced a “Top Picks”-style feature, something that their hottest competitor has had for a while.

And the fact that you can see your Best Bees for free, and like one user each day, gives even free Bumble users a bit more functionality in the app.

And I think the Best Bees look pretty good, at least for me. If you’re not impressed by the caliber of your own Best Bees, then you might need to aim for an Elo bump in the app.

So check out my completely free 6-Step Tinder Tune-Up for a walkthrough on leveling up any dating profile. Even though it says Tinder in the name it can help tailor your Bumble profile for better Best Bees, better matches, and more real-life dates.