It’s hard to decide between one app and another. I mean, what differentiates one swiping time-suck from the next? (I kid, I love dating apps… but I also lose a lot of time swiping…)
Well, when looking at the question ‘Is Hinge more serious than Tinder?’ you could base your answer on a few things.
What your mates say, maybe, or more general reputation, or what the marketing and UX design is telling you.
The third one sounds the most reliable. Depending on who you’re friends with, I guess?
If we look at UX and marketing, Hinge is slightly more serious than Tinder, because it was designed as a somewhat more interconnected app that sets you up with friends of friends on social media.
It also asks for more complete profiles and a minimum number of images, plus it’s sold as ‘the app that’s designed to be deleted’.
All the free, swipe-based dating apps are kind of in the same ballpark, however.
By that, I mean that you can find a serious relationship on any of them if you look hard enough, but they’re also used by plenty of people who want hookups.
One way to discern the seriousness of apps is by looking at who uses them, and honestly, the user base of Tinder and Hinge looks really similar, with Hinge users clocking in, on average, as super mature 27 years old to Tinder’s 26.
If you want a guarantee that other users on the dating site you choose are serious about finding a partner, then the only thing to do is move to a paid service.
The paywall kind of makes sure no one is just wasting time (or sucked into a swipe hole) and the search gets somewhat easier.
There are obviously still no guarantees, but hopefully, the chat-up lines get a bit better than these gems from Hinge.
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Is Hinge For Dating Or Hooking Up?
So, you now know that Hinge is slightly more serious than Tinder. But that doesn’t really tell you whether Hinge is for dating or hooking up!
This might not be immediately helpful but… both? Don’t worry, I’ll elaborate!
Hinge was built for finding relationships, but unsurprisingly, we gutter-brained Millennials (and now Gen Z too – hey Gen Z, welcome to everyone hating on your party!) made things about hooking up too.
So, you can find hookups or serious dates on Hinge.
As always, I’m just going to tell you to communicate clearly.
If you’re looking for a bit of fun, tell your matches that (not in a creepy way though).
And if you’re looking for the one? Well, maybe don’t tell matches that, it’s a lot.
But do tell them you’re thinking along the lines of more than one date and a sleepover!
Things also have got a bit confusing on Hinge after a big update last year.
If you need help understanding Hinge Standouts, I’ve got a guide for you.
Theoretically, the updates should encourage the ‘dating’ crowd rather than the ‘hooking up’ crowd, but their full effect remains to be seen.
Overall, they’ve made the app more complicated so they might just make everyone jump ship back to Bumble!
Which Dating App Is Best For Serious Relationships?
I hate to break your heart here, I know we were comparing Hinge and Tinder, but neither of the two is the best dating app for serious relationships!
You probably knew that though, didn’t you? Free, swipe-based apps like Hinge, Tinder, and Bumble are fantastic tools and can get you great results if you have two of the following: time, patience, and adjustable standards.
Unfortunately though, if you’re busy, easily bored, or know exactly what you want in a partner, then you might have to look elsewhere.
That’s where paid dating apps come in. Dating apps with paywalls are just better for finding serious relationships than apps like Bumble and Tinder.
Paying for entry means that everyone there is serious about finding a partner – or at least more serious than on free swiping apps.
I know it sounds scary, like a step into ‘dating apps for grownups’, but guess what? You are a grownup. Or you better be anyway! You’re using dating apps.
Plus, if you’re looking for a serious relationship, maybe it’s time to take the search a little more seriously. Say, by putting your money where your mouth is?
I’ve collated a full list of the best dating apps for serious relationships here, but if you’re just dipping your toe into paywalled apps after using Hinge and Tinder I would advise Zoosk.
It’s a happy medium between swiping and seriously searching for love, and its users are mostly young.
The step up from that is eharmony, which leads to an amazing 236 marriages per day on average according to the site’s own statistics, and might sound a little terrifying if you’ve just hopped off the Tinder and Hinge merry-go-round!
