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Does Bumble Work Without Paying? Do You Have To Pay To Message?

Does Bumble Work Without Paying? Do You Have To Pay To Message?

So, you’re keen to try something new. Specifically, you want to try Bumble – an app built by women for women. I mean, it seems like dating might be rough out there for the fairer sex, and you’re keen to maybe transition from the wild badlands of Tinder onto something a little more… grown up.

And maybe something with a gender ratio a little better than Tinder’s seven women for every two women.

Whatever your impetuous for moving to a new app, and whether you’re coming from Tinder, just emerging from a relationship (scared, blinking, blinded by the lights of all the dating apps now on offer…) or hopping over from another dating site, you probably have a few questions.

But the first is bound to be – is Bumble free? Because a new dating app is one thing, but paying to try a new app is another.

Well, you’re in luck. Bumble has two paid services, Bumble Premium and Bumble Boost, but basic membership is totally free. With the free service, you get twenty-five likes a day, which is plenty to get a taste of Bumble.

In fact, for many, it’s plenty period, with most of its 22 million worldwide users opting for basic membership.

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Why Bumble?

Bumble is a great stepping stone for anyone bored by the male-dominated world of Tinder, or looking for slightly more mature dates. I’m not talking cougars, or not largely anyway, most Bumble users, 75% in fact, are under 35.

Related: What is the Average Age On Bumble?

But a whopping 91% of users over 22 also have at least a bachelor’s degree, and a large number of users aged over 25. If you want a full rundown of everything that the dating app “by women for everyone” has to offer then check out my full review here.

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Can You See Who Liked You On Bumble Without Paying?

Of course, there are plenty of apps you don’t technically have to pay for that you actually kind of do have to pay for if you actually want to get a date. Is that the case with Bumble?

In my experience, Bumble is very usable without paying for Boost or Premium. The one thing that premium users often feel the lack of, though, is what Bumble calls Beeline. Beeline is a feed full of only users who have liked you, so you know for sure if you swipe right it’ll be a match.

Remember, though, this is Bumble, so even after a match, you need to wait until the girl makes the first move!

Beeline is only available to paying Bumble users, but all it gives them is a fast track to matches. If you have beeline, you don’t have to swipe through users who aren’t interested until you find one who is.

Of course, when you swipe right in your normal feed and get a match it means that the user already liked you! And if you don’t, well, the user may like you in the future and then it’ll be a match.

The danger with Beeline is that you’ll stop going into your normal feed where there are plenty of potential matches too, and where the Bumble algorithm can learn more about what exactly you’re into.

So, if you do go for a Boost or Premium membership try not to get lazy and only hang out in Beeline! It might get you more matches, but not necessarily the best matches for you.

Does Bumble Work Without Paying - Bumble App

Bumble Free Trial

The only way to get a free trial of Bumble Premium or Boost is to make a new account and spend about a week swiping about. At that point, you should be offered a free upgrade to one of the two services.

The specifics vary, but these tasters are intended to persuade you into plumping for Boost or Premium in the long term after the trial is up.

Bumble Boost and Premium Features

Bumble Boost and Bumble Premium offer a variety of features on top of the basics you get with a free account. Both have recently been revamped, and they now include the following:

Bumble Boost:

  • Backtrack
  • Unlimited swipes
  • You can extend time on matches
  • Five SuperSwipes per week
  • One Spotlight

Bumble Premium includes:

  • Unlimited Advanced filters
  • Beeline so you can see who has swiped right
  • Travel mode
  • Backtrack
  • You can extend time on your current matches
  • Rematch with users whose matches with you have expired
  • Unlimited swipes
  • One Spotlight per week
  • Five SuperSwipes per week
Does Bumble Work Without Paying - Bumble Boost Features

If you want to know more about Bumble Boost and Premium features as well as pricing and packages, take a look at my article on the subject here.

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