Is Tinder better than Bumble? Or is Bumble better than Tinder? These might not be age-old questions, but they’re certainly new-age ones.
It’s rare these days to find someone who hasn’t heard of dating giant Tinder (that got me wondering who hasn’t heard of Tinder… maybe my Granny?
Should I call her and ask for research?) and Bumble is another big name on the scene, its female-focused approach gaining popularity fast after its inception in 2014.
With so many apps around these days and all with their various pros and cons, it’s good to do a bit of research to see which app is a fit for you! I’m going to compare some of the main features of Bumble and Tinder so you can see what you think.
The straight-up answer to the question is no, Bumble isn’t just like Tinder, it has pretty different features. But at the end of the day, they’re both dating swipe apps, so they can’t be all that different.
In the event that you’re unfamiliar with either app, you can check out these guides I’ve written for Tinder and Bumble, on the fundamentals of how each app works.
Dude Hack Exclusive Offers
Feature Comparison
Women Make Their Move
Bumble’s main feature is of course, that only women can initiate a conversation. And they only have 24 hours to do it! This gives women more power in the situation and means they’re not drowning in gross messages like you hear about on Tinder.
It’s obvious why this would be attractive to girls, though I’ve also spoken to female friends who said making the first move took a lot of getting used to.
To be honest, it’s great for men too, always having to initiate can be tiring and frustrating. Let the ladies take the lead for once!
Profiles
Let’s get down to the specifics, in case these kinds of details sway you. On your Tinder profile, you can upload a max of nine photos, which is plenty really. And you get a free form bio of up to 500 words.
You can say a lot in 500 words, though I would advise not to fill up that bio and stick to something a bit shorter, and preferably funny!
On Bumble you can have six profile photos and a slightly shorter limit of a 300-word ‘about me’ bio, though the same advice applies here, keep it short and witty.
Bumble’s profile is definitely a bit more nuanced, you can also fill out ‘basic info’ where you answer questions from a drop-down list about things like your politics, height, and whether you drink or smoke socially, never or frequently.
There’s also a work and education section and you can choose what types of relationships you’re looking for.
Bumble also has ‘prompts like ‘my dream dinner guest is..’ or ‘my third-grade teacher described me as…’ which will be displayed on your profile for people to respond to.
Pretty different from Tinder’s bare-bones profile approach.
You don’t have to answer everything but generally, the more info your profile has the better matches you’ll get.
Backtrack
I have swiped left accidentally on someone hot so many times. It’s truly one of the agonies of modern dating. So being able to go back when I’ve made a mistake is a very valuable feature.
Bumble wins on this front, allowing you three ‘backtracks’ per hour on the free version. I think this is pretty great.
Sadly Tinder only offers the ‘rewind’ function on the paid version. So swipe carefully!
Like Limits
Back in the early days of Tinder and other apps, you could literally swipe all day, as many matches as you could manage. Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore.
This is one of the big draws for Tinder where you can have up to 100 left-swipes per day. Which is loads, especially compared to most other free versions of dating apps. If you pay for premium you’ll get unlimited likes.
Bumble has a more conservative 25 likes per day, and as with Tinder, you’ll get unlimited likes if you go premium.
Hookups vs Relationships
Is Tinder Just A Hookup App?
Tinder is definitely the most well-known as hookup app, but to be honest, it’s just the most well-known app overall.
Tinder has been around so long and is huge, it had 6 million downloads in January 2021 alone!
While it’s safe to say it is big for hookups, with a user base that huge, it has anything and everything you’re looking for, and I know plenty of legit couples who met on Tinder.
Is Bumble Just A Hookup App?
Bumble definitely markets itself as more of a relationship app, claiming that 85% of its users are looking for something serious.
This may be true, but in my own experience, Bumble is also pretty big for hookups. The reality is that you can find plenty of people on Bumble and Tinder looking for hookups or relationships, though Bumble definitely leans more seriously.
Which is better for relationships: Tinder or Bumble? It’s probably gonna be Bumble.
Age
What Age Group Is Tinder For?
Tinder being what it is, it has users in pretty much every age bracket.
And the fact that it’s the OG dating app is probably why 33-44 is the most common age group on Tinder, though it’s closely followed by users aged 18-27.
These statistics show just how many of you have used it.
What Age Group Is Bumble For?
With 12 million monthly users, Bumble is the second biggest app after Tinder.
It’s also one of the only apps where over 50% of its users are 18-30, making it a pretty young app compared to Tinder.
Probably because younger generations are more into Bumble’s feminist angle.
Should I Get Tinder Or Bumble?
Tinder and Bumble are both massive on the dating scene, and it’s 100% a matter of personal taste as to which one you’ll be best suited to.
They are pretty different, so mull over the different features, have a think, and to be honest, it’s probably worth having a go on both to see which one you like best!
Tinder definitely has a reputation for being more casual than Bumble, which tends to be more relationship-focused, so maybe that will influence your decision.
Personally, I’ve been on every dating app on the market, and the best way to know is just to have a go. And if you don’t like it, on to the next.
It’s tough though, so if you want a bit more help on which to choose, check out my article on the best dating apps for hookups, relationships, and everything else.
