At this point in the game, I don’t really know how you could have gotten by without at least hearing of Tinder.
According to the BBC, with over 57 million monthly users, everyone has had a swipe or two.
Tinder is pretty straightforward. The Premium subscription bands, on the other hand, are definitely not.
You’ve got your Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold, and now a third contender – Tinder Platinum.
Tinder Platinum has only started to be rolled out around the world since September 2020, so let’s get you up to speed before it hits your area.
Dude Hack Exclusive Offers
What’s The Difference Between Tinder Gold And Tinder Platinum?
Tinder Platinum is the next step in upgrading your Tinder account. Coming with all the same features as Tinder Gold, plus two more significant features, and one smaller one.
First of all, let’s quickly just make sure we’re on the same page with what Tinder Gold is.
With Tinder Gold, you get access to knowing who likes you before you swipe (showing if it would be a match if you were to swipe right).
You’ll also get unlimited likes, meaning you can swipe for as long as you want without any timeouts.
With all that swiping, you might miss someone you actually kind of liked. That’s why they introduced Rewind, letting you move back action and recover a lost profile.
You’ll also be given new Top Picks each day and the ability to boost your profile once a month. I’ll go more into these further down the article.
Tinder Gold also lets you give out 5 Super Likes every day, use passport mode to move your location around and scout out different areas, as well as removing all ads.
Okay. That’s a fair amount of features. But wait, then there’s Tinder Platinum, which gives you all of the above, combined with the ability to Message Someone Before Matching, as well as being prioritized over other accounts.
Every like you have given out over the last 7 days will also be recorded, meaning you’ll be able to see who you swiped on.
If anything, if you haven’t matched with them by now, this feature is more savage than anything. But, hey, if you’re curious and can’t remember, this could be useful for you.
| Tinder Gold |
|---|
|
| Tinder Platinum |
|---|
|
How Does Tinder Platinum Work?
All in all, Tinder Platinum gives you access to messaging before your match, as well as a higher chance of being put closer to the top in the swiping queue. I’ll jump into long descriptions of these features.
But, I think you can already see that this extra tier doesn’t seem to provide much more content on top of Tinder Gold. So I won’t tell you what to pick out of Tinder Gold or Platinum, that’s up to you.
How Tinder Priority Likes Work
Tinder Priority Likes get your profile out there. You’ll begin to come up earlier, and more often, while users are swiping. Being seen first means that you’ll have a higher chance of matching.
People normally get bored of swiping after a while.
A Priority Like essentially moves you ahead in the algorithm.
Tinder wants to favor those who pay to use their service, with anyone who has Tinder Platinum coming up before those who have a normal subscription.
One user, Gerard Keys, documented his first week on Tinder Platinum. At first, he reports that he gained a lot more matches.
Normally matching with 2-3 people per day, that was upped to 15-18 matches each day. That’s a massive increase in potential people.
However, as time went on, it seems that Platinum becomes less effective. Those 15-18 matches slowly came back down, resting to where it was before he upped his subscription.
It seems like Tinder Platinum is a fantastic idea if you’re looking to boost yourself out there quickly. But, it doesn’t seem the best dating app to put your money into in the long term.
How Does Tinder Message Before Matching Work?
With Tinder Platinum, you can now attach a message to a Super Like. The message has to be under 140 characters, so very short and to the point.
You could let someone know why you liked them, a first date idea, or a little about yourself.
Just a note, 140 characters is very short – think old-school Twitter! Try not to waste time rambling. This paragraph is 140 characters for reference.
Your message will be shown on your profile when they come across it during swiping. So not only will they have the Super Like blue screen, but also a personal message from you.
This is definitely a way to stand out from the crowd.
You might be wondering how you send a message before matching with Tinder. Click the blue star Super Like icon, which will then give you the option of attaching a message.
That said, you don’t HAVE to add a message to your Super Like. If you just want to use that feature alone, simply click out of the text box, and your Super Like will be sent without one.
But with so many users on Tinder, a small difference like this can go a long way.
How The Tinder Algorithm Works
Considering that Tinder is one of the most successful dating apps globally, the algorithm is a little basic. Tinder proposes you, people, swipe on based on location, with others in your area coming up on your search.
The order in which these people come up is based on their own accounts. People who have upgraded to Tinder Plus, Gold, or Platinum, will come up long before free users.
You can manually edit who comes up, filtering based on maximum distance, gender, and age range. That means you could only find people that are really close to you (under 1km), or up to 99km+.
The age range can also be filtered from 18-99, finding people the age you actually want to see.
Even though it is yet to be reported that Tinder Platinum has any impact on the algorithm, chances are that Tinder wants its paying users to, well, keep paying.
So it wouldn’t be that farfetched for Tinder’s algorithm to favor a Tinder Platinum user. Just the fact that you are closer to the front of the swiping deck has somewhat impacted your ELO score.
To find out more about your ELO score and the Tinder algorithm check out my guide on how Tinder works.
Tinder Platinum Cost Vs. Other Subscriptions
The cost of Tinder varies based on where you are in the world. Right now, Tinder Platinum is only around in a couple of countries.
But, the reported prices are very steep for Platinum. However, just like most dating sites, the longer you subscribe for, the cheaper it becomes.
Let’s go from the lowest premium account and have a look.
Tinder Plus is actually a good deal, giving you a lot of perks for as little as $4.58 per month.
| Pricing | Total Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Plus (Under 28) | ||
| 1 Month | $9.99 | $9.99 |
| 6 Months | $34.99 | $5.83 |
| 12 Months | $54.99 | $4.58 |
| Plus (Over 28) | ||
| 1 Month | $19.99 | $19.99 |
| 6 Months | $60 | $10 |
| 12 Months | $80 | $6.67 |
Tinder Gold is slightly more expensive, costing $18.29 for one month, $63.96 ($10.66/m) for six months, and $100.39 ($8.36/m) for twelve months.
| Pricing | Total Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | ||
| 1 Month | $29.99 | $29.99 |
| 6 Months | $112.99 | $18.83 |
| 12 Months | $149.99 | $12.50 |
Then comes the one we’ve all been waiting for. The 2020 addition to Tinder, Tinder Platinum, comes in at a reported $32.94 for a monthly subscription.
The more months you get, the cheaper this goes, coming in at $22.34 each month for six months and $14.89 for twelve.
Just a small note, the Tinder Platinum isn’t currently available in my area as they’re still sweeping out the service.
These prices were given to me by a friend in Spain (and converted into USD), who has kindly taken on the brunt of the $30 so we don’t have to. Cheers, pal!
| Pricing | Total Cost | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum | ||
| 1 Month | $32.94 | $32.94 |
| 6 Months | $134.04 | $22.34 |
| 12 Months | $178.68 | $14.89 |
Do not take these prices below as gospel, as I have seen the reported prices online swaying quite dramatically, with some reporting prices up to $54 per month, all the way down to around $15.
Chances are, Tinder is doing some testing before coming to the desired price point to make as much profit as possible. But what you can probably bet your bottom dollar on is it won’t be cheap.
Considering services like eHarmony has a much better success rate for dating, these prices did make me raise an eyebrow. Or, if you’re actually just looking for a hookup, take a look at my deep dive into AdultFriendFinder for some more information on that.
How Does Tinder Platinum Super Like Work?
Even if you’ve never personally used Tinder, you’re probably already fairly familiar with their liking system. If you’re not interested in someone, you can swipe left on someone to move to the next person.
If you like them, then swipe right. If both you and the person you swiped right, you’ll get an ‘It’s A Match’ screen, then allowing you to message them.
But, with Super Like, you can take that a step further. If you see someone you really think you’d connect with, someone you want to make sure sees your profile, you can ‘Super Like’.
When they reach your profile, they will get a notification that you’ve given them a Super Like. This makes your profile stand out in the blue, differentiating you from the crowd.
Considering that swiping on Tinder can get pretty monotonous, you don’t want someone you really like to accidentally pass over your profile. If you Super Like someone, they will have more of an incentive to take a look through your photos and general profile.
Hopefully, if someone spends more time on your profile, that means they’ll be more likely to swipe right on you. Just make sure you’ve got a good bio!
With Tinder Platinum, you’ll get up to 5 Super Likes every day. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to stand out and get your profile out there.
How Does Tinder Platinum Top Picks Work?
Endless swiping can get pretty boring. Considering that’s the main way you find other people on Tinder, they decided to do something about that.
In 2017, Tinder introduced Top Picks, a curation of 4-10 profiles that they think would be a good fit for you. Every 24 hours, you’ll get a new set of profiles to interact with.
Tinder uses information from your profile to match you based on interests. Based on your bio and information, Tinder labels each person you come into contact with. Labels include titles like ‘Musician’, ‘Adventurer’, and ‘Creative’, describing a core aspect of someone’s identity.
This is typically based on their bio – another reason to fill yours out well!
Access Tinder Top Picks by going to the Discovery page, then selecting the diamond at the top of the screen. From there, you’ll be able to move through your Top Picks and match where you see fit.
Based on your swiping history, Tinder will build up a pretty accurate picture of what you find attractive. Regarding physical appearance and key elements of a person’s profile, they will suggest people you’ve shown a history of liking in the past.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like how time-consuming swiping can be, this is a really great new feature. It reminds me a lot of how Zoosk works, building up its algorithm based on your interactions.
This can be a lot of comforts, knowing that the app helps you look for someone and is not just an endless void of profiles.
One quite exciting thing you can do with this feature is to combine it with Tinder Passport. You can ‘travel’ somewhere else in the world and see who your top picks would be.
If you’re going to be moving to a new city, or maybe you’re just in town for a weekend, this feature can help you connect with some local people.
Both Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum give you access to these features. If you’re not too sure what the difference is between Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum, you can read my article here.
How ‘See Who Likes You’ Works
Another feature of Tinder Platinum and Gold is the ability to see who has swiped right (like) on you before you swipe.
You’ll be able to access everyone who has liked you from your messages tab.
You can look through profiles with the certainty that everyone you view has already swipe right on you. This takes away a lot of the uncertainty of Tinder, letting you know exactly who is interested in you.
How Tinder Platinum Boost Works
Boost allows your profile to be one of the first seen by everyone in your area for the next 30 minutes.
Although that doesn’t seem like a huge amount of time, considering Tinder has around 50 million members, a whole lot of people are always online.
On average, these boosts help your profile be seen by around 8.5x more people. This is the perfect thing to use if you’re only somewhere for a short amount of time.
If you’re on holiday for the weekend, a boost will show you to all the locals around you.
It could normally take days of people working through their swipe queues to come across you. There is nothing worse than matching with someone, only to see they’re where you were a few days ago.
Boost makes you visible right now, increasing your chance of finding someone quickly.
For Platinum and Gold members, you can use them once per month. Make sure to save your Boost for a great time!
How Tinder Rewind Works
When you’re swiping, it’s easy to get a little carried away. With a Rewind, you’ll be able to reverse a swipe that you made by accident.
This can apply to liking someone, swiping left to avoid someone or the Super Like feature. Simply click the yellow arrow icon and it’ll take you back one action.
You never have to worry about that heart-wrenching moment when you pass over someone you really liked. Your whole life together flashing before your eyes. Well, you can now just go back with one swipe.
Crisis averted!
How Tinder Platinum Swiping And Matching Works
‘Swipe Right’ has become an iconic phrase around the world. Based on the Tinder dating preference of either ‘Swiping Left’ (disliking) or ‘Right’ (liking someone), this term has embedded itself into all areas of pop culture.
Chances are, you know how Tinder works by now. But is messaging and matching different on Tinder Platinum? Besides the introduction of messaging before matching as explained above, swiping and matching are much the same on Tinder Platinum.
How Tinder Platinum Messaging Works
On Tinder Gold and its predecessors, once you’ve matched with someone, you’ll be able to send and receive messages between yourselves.
The messaging comparatively is pretty basic on Tinder, with sites like eHarmony and Elite Singles offering a series of Icebreakers.
You’ll be given a few options of features at the bottom of the screen. You can send GIFs, recommend songs, and send Bitmojis.
Once you’re chatting with someone, you can also give a ‘heart’ to their message, just to let them know you liked it, or it made you laugh.
When it comes to Tinder Platinum, nothing really changes. Again, you can send a message along with a super like, prior to matching. But other than that, messaging is much the same.
Final Thoughts
Tinder really did put dating apps on the map. But, just because they’re a key player doesn’t mean they have to try and capitalize on everything their users do.
Tinder Gold definitely has some great features and is worth checking out if you like the app.
Tinder Platinum just seems like a bit of a money grab, costing a lot more than Gold while only having 3 (well, kind of two if we’re being honest) new features.
If you’re looking for a more worthwhile dating investment, with a history of proven results, I went through the Top Dating Sites of 2023.
Although my top recommendation is eHarmony, you’ll definitely find something that matches what you’re looking for.
Best of luck!
