In this massive post, we will go deep and compare the two most popular online dating platforms, Tinder vs Bumble in 2020. We will explain the two dating platforms’ basic functionalities, all of its main features and premium subscriptions to give you a clear understanding of what you can expect from them.
If you are an online dating newbie and want to decide if you should try Bumble or Tinder first or already used one of them and thinking about signing up for the other one, this article is for you. We will answer any questions you have ever had about Tinder vs Bumble and their differences.
Tinder vs Bumble
This is an ultimate comparison of Tinder vs Bumble; we compare everything that makes sense to decide which is better. If you want to know a specific feature or thing, you can use the table of contents above to jump to that section. If you are interested in a quick video where they compare Tinder vs Bumble, you can also check out this one:
Tinder, the disruptor
Tinder was started up in 2012 and since then it has been the number one dating platform in the world with the highest user number worldwide. However, as it has started to dominate the online dating world with its then-unique approach, plenty of other platforms have emerged that were built on the basic features of Tinder. They were all modified a little to differentiate themselves and to make it an even better experience for their users.
Bumble, the challenger
One of the most successful challengers is Bumble that was founded in 2014 by one of the frustrated early employees of Tinder and has gained a significant user base since then. It is sometimes called the “Feminist Tinder”. Bumble is also different from other Tinder competitors as it has been not acquired by Tinder holding company, Match.com. It is still an independent company and a direct competitor to Tinder.
Tinder VS Bumble: Basic functionality
Regarding the basic functionality, the apps are totally the same, as Tinder had two pieces of innovation that managed to make it ‘the app that changed online dating forever’.
Tinder Innovation #1 – Swiping
First, due to the emergence of touchscreen smartphones, Tinder was the first to introduce the ability to swipe profiles. It made using the app not just more comfortable from a user experience point of view, but it made even the whole experience really fun and quick.
The amount of effort one has to put in to find people that find him or her attractive was so low that people that have not used online dating websites before started to use the app.
Tinder Innovation #2 – Mutual interest
Secondly, on early dating platforms, people had the opportunity to write someone even if the other person did not indicate yet whether she finds him or her attractive. Whereas on Tinder, people can start a conversation only when the attraction is mutual – both the man and the women swiped right.
This decreased the harassment aspect of Tinder, as hundreds of weird strangers can’t spam you. This made Tinder a safer platform and more girls found it easier to try out the platform. As these are the main functionalities that made Tinder immensely successful, Bumble works pretty much the same
The biggest difference between Tinder vs Bumble – 24 Hour Rule
What Bumble did to make itself unique and stand out from the masses of Tinder copies is a feature that also made the nickname, “feminist Tinder”. Unlike in Tinder, in Bumble if there is a match, only women can make the first move, meaning they have to message first.
In a basic scenario, the girl has 24 hours to start a conversation. After 24 hours is over, and she decided not to start chatting, the match will disappear and there is no way to contact the guy ever again unless they match again later.
On Tinder, no such rules exist that results in two major problems. A lot of times, because there is no pressure either on the men or on the women to start the conversation, it just doesn’t start. Secondly, because a match can stay there forever, a lot of people both guys and girls use match numbers as an ego boost. They don’t really start conversations or replay back to an opener because all they care about is how many people swiped the right.
At the end of the day, this feature doesn’t help those who really want to use Tinder for what it has been made for, meeting up with people for either a hookup or for long term dating. With the 24 hours rule, Bumble facilitates this part of the dating process, by making it inevitable for girls to at least text a “Hi”.
There is also a feminist aspect of the Bumble feature that made the nickname the feminist Tinder for Bumble. Basically, with this 24-hour rule it gives more power to girls to even choose after the match to start a conversation or not.
Bumble Modes
Another difference between the two dating apps is that Bumble is actually not just a dating app. There are two other modes you can use in Bumble, one mode is for finding friends and another one is for networking and finding mentors.
Bumble BFF
Its friendship mode is called Bumble BFF and you can use it the same way you use Bumble dating mode, you can add photos, write about yourself in your profile and swipe other profiles to find potential friends. In Bumble BFF mode you can only find a friend in your gender, so you can’t use it as a way to find hot dates.
Bumble Bizz
Bumble Bizz is the networking mode for Bumble. Just like with Bumble BFF and Bumble Date, the functionality is the same, add pictures to your profile and write something about your professional interest and you can swipe to find mentors or peers with the same interest. Bumble Bizz can be used to find professional partners in your gender and in the opposite gender.
If you are not single or not looking for dates at this moment and don’t want to use Bumble Date you can enable it and use only Bumble BFF and/or Bumble Bizz. You also have the opportunity to use all three modes at the same time.
Although as we showed Bumble has non-dating modes, it is important to add that most people use it for dating purposes. But it is a nice extra feature or add-on that you can use the app also for finding new friends and network with others.
Tinder modes
Tinder doesn’t have any other modes or anything similar to find friends and to network, but if you are smart you can definitely use it also for finding friends. Or if you don’t know how to message properly and set up dates on Tinder, you can be friend-zoned.
Profile on Tinder vs Bumble
A slighter but mentionable difference can be detected on the profile section of the apps where Tinder is going for the minimalist approach whereas on Bumble you can share more about you.
Tinder Profile
On Tinder, you still can only share your school, job and the company you work for and have the ability to share whatever you want on your bio. However as we said in our Tinder Bio guide, it is better to keep it short.
Bumble Profile
Bumble is closer to the traditional dating platform like OkCupid or Match.com, where you can literally write novels about your hobbies, your personality and yourself. Bumble is the middle ground between OkCupid and Tinder, you can share quite a lot.
Which approach is better, is totally personal preference. However, of course, even on Bumble you don’t have to answer every question they ask you, you can keep it minimal if you prefer that.
Tinder vs Bumble: User experience, user interface
The two platforms have a slightly different approach besides the swiping. The swiping works the same way if you want to like someone, swipe the profile right if it is a ‘no way” for you, then swipe left.
Tinder UX and UI
To be able to read the bio and the profile information is also different a little bit. On Tinder, you can see a tiny part of it when you tap through the profile pictures. To see the full bio, you have to tap to the name of the profile. So basically, a lot of times people won’t really see most of your bio even if they go through your pictures.
Bumble UX and UI
On Bumble as you scroll through the pictures, they display the information she gave about herself. This way it is more likely that people read the bio, and also gives a bigger incentive to provide useful bio information.
Regarding UI errors, no platforms have experienced significant issues recently. Tinder as the older one used to have some serious UI issues such as accidentally Superlike profiles, but it is no longer the case. If you have a proper smartphone and use the latest version of the app, you don’t have to worry about it.
Generally, both apps provide a comfortable user experience and a great UI without any errors. They are different because Bumble couldn’t copy the Tinder UI absolutely so they don’t face legal issues, but the swiping mechanism is the same giving the users a very smooth and fine experience altogether.
Features on Tinder vs Bumble
Taking your last swipe back – Rewind vs Backtrack
Both on Tinder and Bumble you can take your last swipe back. On Tinder the feature is called Rewind, on Bumble it is called Backtrack.
The big difference is that Rewind is only available for Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold subscribers, whereas on Bumble you get three free Backtracks per day, which should be enough for an average user. Bumble is the winner in this.
Social profiles
Connecting your social profiles is a great way to show more of your personality, share more pictures with potential matches, and also get some social proof. Both on Tinder and Bumble you can connect your account with Instagram and Spotify.
On Tinder connecting your Insta account was also a great way to increase your Instagram following, as a lot of girls only signed up for Tinder to promote their Instagram account and never really used Tinder. Public Instagram profiles were also a safety loophole and made online harassment a bigger problem. For these reasons, Tinder stopped showing the name of the IG profiles.
Paid features and Subscription in Tinder vs Bumble
Features both in Tinder and Bumble
Unlimited Likes
Both Tinder and Bumble introduced a limited amount of likes as it is a great way to then introduce an Unlimited Likes feature for paying subscribers. That is what first Tinder did and then Bumble also had to do when they realized that it can be a very convincing point for signing up for Bumble Boost.
Although it is not officially confirmed but is generally believed that in Tinder women can right swipe more before reaching the like limit.
Gain more profile visibility feature – Tinder Boost vs Bumble Spotlight
This feature is available both in Tinder and Bumble with different names (Tinder Boost and Bumble Spotlight) but the functionality is the same. They let you “skip the line” for 30 minutes and be one of the top profiles in your neighborhood for 30 minutes.
It is easy to get confused with the name Boost in the online dating world. On Tinder, it is a premium feature that enables you to get more profile visibility whereas on Bumble it is the name of their subscription plan Bumble Boost.
Show that you like him/her the feature –Bumble SuperSwipe vs Tinder Super Like
Once again, a feature that both apps have with different names. Tinder calls it SuperLike, on Bumble they were really creative and named it SuperSwipe so they don’t have legal problems.
Regardless of the name differences, both features enable you to do the same thing, you can let someone know that you like her or him before she or he would you swipe your right. Both Bumble and Tinder claims that you can increase your chances of matching by using these features.
In Tinder, you get one Super Like a day if you don’t have a Gold or Plus subscription. In the premium plans, you get 5 Super Likes a day and you can buy more if you want.
On Bumble you don’t get any free Super Swipes, you have to pay one Bumble coin for one Super Swipe. One tiny difference is that users get a notification if they are superswiped by someone which doesn’t happen on Tinder with Superlikes.
Although Bumble Superswipe triggers a notification, we still believe that because of the free Superlikes, Tinder wins this feature.
See who liked your profile – Tinder Likes Me vs Bumble Beeline
This feature enables you to see who liked your profile before swiping them. On Tinder, this feature is only available on Tinder premium subscription plan, Tinder Gold and it is called Likes You. On Bumble it is called Beeline and it is also part of their subscription plan, Bumble Boost (it is cheaper though than Tinder Gold).
This is great for you if your profile and picture are top-notch and you are getting a ton of matches and don’t really feel like swiping through all the profiles or if you are extremely busy and just want to match with whoever has swiped you right. Because you get this feature with the cheaper subscription on Bumble, they are the winner in this feature.
Change your location – Tinder Passport vs Bumble Travel
Tinder Passport lets you change your location and swipe profiles in a city far from you. It is a feature that is part of Tinder premium subscription plans. It is very useful if you are traveling to somewhere, keen on meeting new people there, but don’t have time for Tinder when you are in the city. So you can change your location prior to the travel and set up dates in advance.
Bumble has recently copied Tinder Passport and now Bumble users can also change their location with Bumble Travel. This feature is not part of the Bumble Boost subscription, you have to purchase it separately. It costs 5 Bumble coins for one 7 day location change.
Features only in Bumble
Extend your matches
This feature is only available in Bumble as it only makes sense in Bumble. Using Extend, you can add an additional 24 hours if she didn’t message you in the first 24 hours. If you don’t have Bumble Boost, you can do this once per day, with the premium subscription you have unlimited extends in a day.
Bumble Rematch
Rematch is another Bumble feature that makes sense only in Bumble. If you had matches where the girl did not message you within 24 hours you can rematch with her right after the match disappeared with this functionality. Rematch is only available for Bumble Boost subscribers.
Bumble Filters
Bumble Filters is one of the more useful unique features of Bumble. It lets you apply certain criteria by which you can filter profiles and see those who match your criteria. If you are using Bumble for free, you can apply two filters in every Bumble mode. With Bumble Boost you can apply unlimited filters.
You can apply filters for everything that you can answer on your Bumble profile. Height, do they smoke, do they want children, politics, religion etc. One thing to keep in mind is that you can only apply filters if you have answered that question in your profile as well.
Bumble Modes
Modes actually are not features, and we already talked about them previously so no more explanation is needed, but it is worth saying again that Bumble has dedicated Modes for finding friends and making new professional relationships and Tinder does not have anything close.
Features only in Tinder
Tinder Super Boost
Boost and Beeline are one of the most popular features in Tinder and Bumble. Tinder Super Boost has the same functionality as those, the main difference is that it increases your profile visibility 100 times according to Tinder.
It is the feature that really works and can get you a lot of new matches, but also is quite expensive. It also has a negative side effect, that regular Tinder Boost (still costs money) is not that effective as it used to be a couple of years ago.
Hide your age and location
On Tinder you can hide your age and location if you have Tinder Plus subscription. Not the most useful features, actually we don’t even encourage you to use them.
Top Picks
Every Tinder user gets one Top Pick per day. Tinder Gold subscribers get 10 top picks a day and you can of course purchase even more if you like this feature. These Top Picks are chosen by Tinder algorithm and are profiles that are swipe right by most of the profiles.
We believe it is not the feature that makes Tinder Gold worthwhile to buy as you won’t show up in a premium place for these profiles if you don’t have a great profile (but that does not have anything to do with this feature).
Tinder U
Tinder has introduced Tinder U which is a feature exclusively for university students (currently available only in the U.S.). It is a great feature if you are a college student and we would definitely urge you to sign up for it if you are able to.
You have to have a .edu email address and be physically located on campus to be able to swipe profiles of other close college students. It will give a natural boost for you profile among other Tinder U users.
Swipe Surge
A relatively new feature is Swipe Surge that is available in select countries. With a push notification it notifies the user when there is a spike in active user numbers.
If you open the app and join Swipe Surge you will see others who also joined it and the algorithm will get you a natural boost in your profile visibility as well.
Special promotions on Tinder
Tinder also runs several limited time promotions for all users or some special demographics or locations such as Festival Mode when there is a festival in a neighborhood or #SwipeOFF which was a special competition for Tinder U users..
They also made a series called Swipe Night where people could participate in an interactive series and match with those who also participated in the Swipe Night.
Bumble vs Tinder Features review
In terms of features, Tinder seems to be a little bit of ahead with new features coming up frequently. Bumble feature strategy is more focused on making features that are improving the user experience and have benefits for all users, not just certain demographics.
Tinder Vs Bumble: Premium subscriptions
Tinder Plus and Gold vs Bumble Boost
In Bumble there is only one premium plan available which is called Bumble Boost. (not to be confused with Tinder premium feature Tinder Boost). Bumble Boost has four premium features available that we already explained above: Beeline, Rematch and Unlimited extends and Filters and unlimited likes.
Bumble Boost is comparable with Tinder lower-level subscription plan, Tinder Plus.
Tinder Plus main features are: Passport, Hide your age or location, Rewind, Unlimited Likes No ads, 5 SuperLikes per day and 1 free Boost per month.
It is worth adding that Tinder’s higher-level premium subscription, Tinder Gold has two extra features on top of Tinder Plus’s features: Top Picks and Likes me. For these two you have to pay quite a bit of extra money and only Likes Me seems to be useful. This feature is available in Bumble Boost with the name Beeline.
Price of premium features and subscription – Tinder vs Bumble
Bumble Boost is comparable to Tinder’s lower-level subscription plan, Tinder Plus. It is a little difficult to compare them as their monthly prices change based on the number of months you purchase.
Tinder pricing also changes based on your age, gender and location, but 1-month price for Tinder Plus is around 19.99 USD, and 29.99 for a Tinder Gold.
Bumble Boost standard 1-month price is currently 24.99 USD per month which is right in between Tinder Gold and Tinder Plus prices.
Tinder vs Bumble: Safety Security and Security features
Profile verification
Bumble as the “Feminist Tinder” was the first to introduce verified profile pictures. Users can take a selfie and an algorithm compares it with their profile pictures. If Bumble successfully matches the selfies and the profile pictures, your profile will be verified and you get a nice blue checkmark next to your name on your profile. As not everybody verifies their profile it is a great social signal and increases your chance of matching.
Tinder was lagging behind in this respect but has recently introduced some new security features that made it maybe even better than Bumble. This includes verification that was already available in Bumble and the Panic Button that seems to be a really big innovation in the online dating industry.
Tinder Panic Button
Tinder Panic Button can increase the safety of users when they decide to meet up with someone. In the safety section of the app people can share the time of their date. By enabling their location information and downloading Noonlight app where the panic button is available when pressing the panic button they can ask for help from the emergency services if they feel their safety is in danger.
Tinder vs Bumble: User base
Overall user numbers
A more important aspect might be the man to women ratio. Although in absolute user numbers Tinder is the ultimate leader in the online dating industry, regarding women-to-men ratio Bumble is definitely ahead.
Men to Women ratio on Bumble vs Tinder
Although Tinder doesn’t not publicly share the ratio of men and women, previous reports claimed that the ratio of women is under 40 percent. However, this ratio is speculated to be worse now because of the increasing competition from Bumble and other dating apps made Tinder lose the status of the only choice for a dating platform.
International availability
One more important factor regarding user numbers: Bumble being the younger platform has just started to launch and gain popularity in Europe and other non-US markets. For this reason, if you are not in the US or Canada, the user base might be a lot bigger on Tinder.
Active Users ratio
Bumble unique First Move feature doesn’t just give the power to women but also works to make conversations faster to start. Whereas on Tinder it is a regular experience that you don’t get an answer to your “opener” and a lot of girls’ only goal is to boost their ego by a huge match number and to promote their Instagram profiles.
Bumble’ feature has an indirect effect: women on Bumble tend to be more active as they have to start the conversation if they don’t want the match to disappear. On Tinder, it is not uncommon that the first message written by the guy is not answered by women.
One downside of this feature that sometimes women just don’t send any message in 24 hours and then the match disappears. To sum it up: less but more active conversations on Bumble compared to Tinder.
Bumble vs Tinder – Which should you use?
As the cost of signing up is basically zero to both apps, we suggest you to try both of them, use them actively and find out yourself which one is better for you. If you only want to sign up for one, we will give you some more help so that you can choose more easily, but bear in mind that as people are different the better option is different for everybody.
Long term dating intent vs. short term dating or hookup intent
There is a perception that Tinder is more for short term relationships or hookups and Bumble, as “the feminist Tinder” is more used to find long term relationships. This might be true but this doesn’t mean that you can’t find someone for long term on Tinder and for short term on Bumble.
There is a lot of people on both platforms with different intentions. To be fair, the majority of people on these platforms don’t really have a clear idea about whether they want a long term or a short-term thing. So don’t really bother with this aspect when choosing a dating platform. If you are only interested in long term, you can also find partners with mutual intent on Tinder and vice versa with Bumble.
Tinder vs Bumble: Which one is better for guys?
On Tinder, you will find more girls in absolute numbers, so if you think your Tinder game and profile is top-notch, your messaging skills are world-class, you will be more successful on Tinder. You will get plenty of matches and opportunities for meetups and dates. Although the ratio of women to men is lower on Tinder, if you are a superstar it doesn’t matter for you as a top profile, Tinder algorithm will show your profile to a large number of attractive women.
If you are getting very few matches, your profile pictures are not high-quality enough or your openers on Tinder are not effective. First, don’t be discouraged, everything can be developed, but it takes time. So, maybe it is time to try Bumble, where the competition is lower and your opening messages are not the most important as it is the girls who have to make the first move.
Bumble vs Tinder: Which one is better for girls?
Both of the platforms have advantages, pick the one based on your preferences.
If you don’t want to put a lot of resources into online dating, you have great photos, Tinder will provide you with a ton of match opportunities. The question is not will you get enough matches, it is to whom messages you should answer to. You can go on a date every day or just can see new compliments every time you open up the app. As Tinder matches won’t disappear, we can’t deny, it will be also great for an ego boost, as you will be able to see how many men have found you attractive.
If you want more control and more meaningful conversations, Bumble is the one you should pick. Don’t forget, on Bumble you have to message first, or your matches will disappear. It gives you more power and fewer men will spam you with NSFW pictures. But if you don’t won’t be lame and start with a “Hi” or “Wassup” as most men and women do, you have to put a little thought and creativity in your first message.
Regardless of your gender, the number of Bumble users outside of the North American markets are still significantly lower. This means that the number of matches you can get in your area will be also lower, but quantity is not quality. Also, if for some reason you want to match with American men or women, and you are based outside of the US, Bumble will help you with that, as the ratio of Americans in Bumble is way higher than in Tinder.
Now it is your turn
There you have it, everything you wanted to know about the different functionalities and features and premium subscriptions of Tinder and Bumble. Is there any question we did not answer? Ask us in the comment section and we will help you.
Also, what is your experience with Tinder vs Bumble and which of the two do you prefer? Share with us down below.
