31 January 2025
How to Choose the Best Mobile App Development Company for Your Business Read More
In a world where 3 out of 10 couples start their romantic journey through online dating apps, these platforms have evolved far beyond simple swiping—they’re now shaping how love begins. While many dating platforms follow the quick matches and casual chats theory, Hinge offers something unique. Branded as the app that’s “designed to be deleted”, Hinge focuses on making real connections with deeper compatibility, without any gimmicks or mindless swiping.
Hinge’s innovative approach is catching everyone’s attention, leading to a 50% surge in revenue in 2023 and making it one of the fastest-growing dating platforms globally. Dating apps like Hinge have set a standard, where many start-ups and entrepreneurs are finding opportunities in developing relationship-focused apps that shine among the Tinder-style crowd.
You must already be thinking about how much it costs to build a Hinge-like app. This blog is not just about guiding you with the statistics, but about understanding what makes a platform successful that people genuinely want to keep using.
Most dating apps may feel like a game to you, where you swipe, match, chat, or ignore, and the cycle repeats. However, dating app like Hinge focused on intentional dating instead of fast swipes and one-liners. Its iconic tagline, “Designed to be deleted”, is not just another marketing strategy, but the philosophy behind the app’s core product.
Dating apps like Hinge don’t want its users to get stuck in the same loop of repetitive tasks like others. Rather, it wants them to meet someone they vibe with, and then leave the app for something good. Such a unique vision has shaped everything from its profile design to its algorithm.
Here’s a closer look at how Hinge compares to other dating apps:
Dating apps like Hinge have a conversation-driven design where users answer engaging prompts such as “Truth or dare?” or “How to build a good relationship?”. This allows users to engage with something more than just a photo.
Rather than swiping, users engage by liking or commenting on specific parts of a profile, say photos or answers.
App like Hinge monitor who likes you or what you like, and improves suggestions eventually with genuine intent in mind.
Hinge’s revenue is generated from two main channels, which both tie directly into its “relation-first” approach.
With this plan, you can unlock additional features such as advanced filters, unlimited likes, and seeing who liked you. It is mostly about serious users who want to find a partner quickly.
Features such as Boosts or Roses (a premium like) give users more visibility or help them to stand out on Hinge’s busiest days, i.e., Sundays.
Because of this strategy for revenue generation, to build a chat app like Hinge you need:
All of these include more development time, backend logic, and personalization layers, which are directly related to the budget to build a chat app like Hinge.
Before you directly plan about AI-powered matchmaking or video dates, your dating app needs to master the basic features that make users feel like they’re on the right platform. These basic features are the foundation of any successful MVP (Minimum Viable Product). Get to know the success strategies to build mobile apps that not only work but make you stand out in the dating app market.
They’re not flashy, but they are reasons behind your app being functional, reliable, and emotionally usable from day one.
Give users a chance to register with email or social media IDs and create a basic profile with images, name, gender, age, and fun prompts.
✓ What’s included:
Log in through social media such as Facebook, Apple, or Google with profile photo upload, bio, and prompt sections, and an onboarding flow.
✓ Estimated cost: $4,000 to $6,000
This includes the database design with both frontend and backend development.
You must offer a direct matching system depending on location, gender, age, and orientation filters.
✓ What’s included:
Mostly basic features, distance calculation via GPS, and preference-based match queue.
✓ Estimated cost: $5,000 to $8,000
Even if it’s the basic one, the logic must be scalable and consistent for your target audience.
Your users should be allowed to like, pass, or view profiles with swiping or card-stacking UI.
✓ What’s included:
Swipeable UI, with like buttons, profile views, and basic animations.
✓ Estimated Cost: $3,000 to $5,000
A good engagement flow can help you with fewer user drop-offs in the early days.
Your users must be allowed to have one-on-one chats with read or typing indicators and real-time delivery, once they match with someone.
✓ What’s included:
Basic messaging interface with push notifications and integration of Firebase or WebSocket.
✓ Estimated cost: $6,000 to $10,000
This feature needs strong backend support, especially for real-time performance.
You must take care of the fake profiles and inappropriate content by using essential safety features.
✓ What’s included:
Email or phone authentication, block or report user flow, and content moderation triggers (mostly keywords).
✓Estimated cost: $4,000 to $6,000
You have to consider them from day one to gain trust and stay compliant with app store policies.
These are not only required for your MVP, but they are the potential upgrades that can significantly improve your user stickiness, conversion to paid models, and overall app credibility. They are perfect to introduce as your app gains engagement and revenue.
You must allow your users to reply directly to an image or profile prompt instead of linking them. This leads to the initiation of more personalized conversations.
✓ What’s included:
Interactive UI for image or prompt responses, with integration of notification and conversation liking.
✓ Estimated Cost: $3,000 to $5,000
If your messaging logic is modular, these features are easy to include, which helps boost first-message response rates.
You should be able to provide your users with more authority over their match feed by letting them filter based on education, interests, religious beliefs, smoking or drinking habits, etc.
✓ What’s included:
Advanced filters with user preference input screen and database login updates.
✓ Estimated cost: $4,000 to $7,000
In this stage, your focus is to enhance match quality and contentment, especially with a broader audience.
Consider smart push notifications to monitor user behaviour and send new match alerts, re-engagement pushes, and tailored suggestions.
✓ What’s included:
Custom push notification builder with programmed trigger system and behaviour tracking.
✓ Estimated cost: $3,000 to $6,000
This feature improves daily activity usage and can also be used to promote paid features and boost.
Remember to include authorization with selfie or video-based verification as identity proof, to reduce catfishing, and reveal special “verified” badges.
✓ What’s included:
Selfie camera integration with badge display, AI or manual analysis system, and fraud detection logic.
✓ Estimated cost: $6,000 to $10,000
You need to plan a bigger budget for this step because of privacy, camera access, and moderation requirements, which are vital for user trust.
Let your audience use purchase features such as “Boosts”, “Roses,” or “Super Likes” to stand out.
✓ What’s included:
Crypto wallet with purchase flow integration from App Store or Google Store, and UI components.
✓ Estimated cost: $5,000 to $9,000
This is the foundation of monetization, so you must prioritize it once the basic engagement features are done.
Now that you have the idea of the premium features, understand that they can generate monetization opportunities for you and determine stronger user intent.
You can use machine learning tools for match suggestions depending on user behaviour, likes, and interaction history.
✓ What’s included:
User data collection module with match ranking system, recommendation algorithm, backend logic, and testing and tuning.
✓ Estimated cost: $15,000 to $30,000
AI’s implementation in your app is a huge step that significantly improves match quality and retention.
You can also add exclusivity and urgency by giving users limited daily likes and the option to send special “Roses” with in-app purchases.
✓ What’s included:
Like-count logic, with cooldown timers, rose token wallet, and integration with virtual currency or real-money payments.
✓ Estimated cost: $5,000 to $8,000
This is a proven monetization strategy for maximizing revenue and boosting your app’s engagement and simultaneously driving users to buy premium plans.
It’s time for you to let your users connect safely through in-app video before meeting in person.
✓ What’s included:
Real-time video call performance through WebRTC or Agora, permissions handling, call UI, and bandwidth optimization.
✓ Estimated cost: $8,000 to $15,000
This security feature makes your app credible and is a must-have in serious dating apps. Want to know why mobile app security is important for your business. Read our exclusive blog on top 21 mobile app security best practices
You can plan to feature interest-based groups or host themed events to reach local or niche audiences.
✓ What’s included:
Group creation module, with tagging method, scheduling event, RSVP flow, and voluntary chatrooms or live sessions.
✓ Estimated cost: $6,000 to $12,000
Here, when you build a dating app like hinge it gets an excellent social dimension for niche dating or building a sense of community.
These features drive your backend functionality by helping you manage users, maintain safety, and monitor profit.
This feature helps you manage profiles, ban scammers, respond to reports, and keep your community clean.
✓ What’s included:
Admin login with search or filter functions, user list view, suspend or ban controls, and report queue.
✓ Estimated cost: $4,000 to $7,000
This feature is a pioneer for any dating app, so you must not ignore it if you want to maintain user trust.
2. Content Moderation Tools
You can approve or flag photos, chats, and bios, either manually or with AI’s support.
✓ What’s included:
Content review interface with image filters, keyword detection, auto-flagging, and AI plug-ins (optional).
✓ Estimated cost: $6,000 to $15,000
It is necessary for scaling safety, where you can plan a manual start and include automation with a growing user base.
This feature will assist you with real-time performance, including subscriptions, active users, retention, churn, and more.
✓ What’s included:
Charts for MAUs and DAUs, with churn reports, revenue tracking, subscription analytics, and export possibilities.
✓ Estimated cost: $4,000 to $10,000
This is where you make smart product decisions and justify investor conversations.
It’s your time to empower your premium subscriptions and in-app purchases with a secure payment method.
✓ What’s included:
Incorporation of RazorPay, Apple Pay, or Stripe, with payment history, refund logic, and secure checkout.
✓ Estimated cost: $3,000 to $6,000
This step is non-negotiable if you are focusing on monetization. So, do it early and properly.
While planning for an AI-powered dating app, your budget can vary significantly depending on a range of factors. From your app’s complexity to the location of your workforce, every step involves a particular budget. Here’s an estimation of the key components to determine your hinge clone app development budget.
Your app’s complexity is a major consideration for your budget aspects.
Simple MVP vs Fully Loaded Version
To bring your idea to life, if you are aiming for a basic variety, consider components for user sign-up, profile creation, swipe-based matching, and chat. This simple structure often takes less hinge like dating app development time and is therefore cheaper.
Are you already visualizing your app with smart recommendations, video profiles, behavioural analytics, location filters, in-app purchases, and AI-powered chat support? Then you must collaborate with more developers, designers, and testers, and consider more budget.
Tip: If you want more advanced features, be ready with more capital.
Your design will also play a significant role in the case of user experience and your expenses.
Presence and personality are the significance of unconventional dating apps. If you want to beat those who build Hinge-like apps, which rely on inventive prompts and profile storytelling, you’ll need:
Consider more time and design skills to match this interactivity level, which can considerably impact your budget.
Enhance your user experience with seamless card transitions, smooth animations, or micro-interactions. However, they also require advanced UI programming and QA testing. You should also be ready to pay extra if you want delightful, custom motion effects.
Whichever fundamental tech stack you select will directly impact your app’s functionality, scalability, and budget. Learn how to choose the right tech stack for mobile app development.
Your backend will take care of:
Scalable cloud solutions such as Google Cloud, Firebase, or AWS may lead to budget fluctuation depending on your user base.
This stage requires reliable tech to implement chat, video calls, and real-time notifications. For this, you require:
These tools not only expand your development time but also come with monthly charges.
Your development team’s geographic location can hugely impact your budget.
Us or Europe vs Asia or Latin America
✓ US or Europe: You can expect an hourly rate of $100 to $250.
✓ Asia (India, Philippines) or Latin America: Here, you can get your work done at an hourly rate of $60 to $80.
The difference is significant, but you must understand that lower cost to develop an app like Hinge, doesn’t always indicate poor quality. Many startups hire an experienced offshore workforce to get the best work done.
| Region | Hourly Rate (USD) |
|---|---|
| US or Canada | Between $120 and $250 |
| Western Europe | Between $100 and $200 |
| Eastern Europe | Between $40 and $80 |
| India | Between $20 and $50 |
| Latin America | Between $30 and $60 |
You can also consider a smart and hybrid approach by working with a combined team of PM and offshore developers.
If you aim to develop app like Hinge, you cannot expect everything from one person. Rather, you’ll need a well-rounded team.
Team Size Estimation for a 4-6 Month Project
| Role | Number of People |
|---|---|
| Frontend Developer | 1 or 2 |
| Backend Developer | 1 or 2 |
| Designer | 1 |
| QA | 1 |
| PM | 1 |
| DevOps | 0.5 or 1 |
| AI/ML Expert | 0.5 or 1 (optional) |
Now that you are ready to build a dating app like hinge, you should know the various definite phases it demands. Every phase has its possibilities, timeline, and inferences. Understanding the requirements in each stage can help you plan expenses more accurately and avoid last-minute hassles. Let’s understand the development cycle with six major stages and see what’s included, why it matters, and what it can cost to develop dating app like hinge in each step.
What’s Included:
You can consider this the foundational stage for your app. You team up with a business analyst and product strategist to find solutions to some major factors, such as Who is your audience? What problems are you intending to solve? What should be built now vs later?
Importance: Overlooking this phase will lead you to indistinct demands and budget issues. To save time and money in the future, you must carefully evaluate this phase.
Estimated Cost: approx. $3,000 to $7,000
Timeline: 2–4 weeks
What’s Included:
A good dating app is reviewed within seconds of opening. At this point, you should be concerned about delivering an intuitive, engaging, and unconventional app. Integrate personalised hints, when you build an app like Hinge-inspired prompts, animations, and smooth transitions.
Why It Matters: Business mobile app design is a major reason behind user retention. If you have a clunky or hard-to-navigate UI, users will leave, despite how good the matching system is.
Estimated Cost: approx. $5,000 to $12,000
Timeline: 3–5 weeks
What’s Included:
This is the fundamental step of the project to turn your idea into reality. You’ll have to choose between native (Swift/Kotlin) or cross platform mobile app development frameworks like Flutter/React Native. If your vision involves AI matching, integrating machine learning libraries or APIs is done here.
Why It Matters: This is where you spend most of your expenses. Trying to save here by following shortcuts often results in a buggy or non-scalable product.
Estimated Cost: approx. $25,000 to $60,000+
Timeline: 8–16 weeks
What’s Included:
Your dating app must feel fast, secure, and glitch-free to your users. QA engineers carefully test the app across devices and edge cases to ensure the user experience holds up under pressure.
Why It Matters: Negative feedback from buggy apps can destroy user trust. With a strong QA process, you can prevent feature breakage, data loss, and embarrassing crashes.
Estimated Cost: approx. $4,000 to $8,000
Timeline: 2–3 weeks
What’s Included:
Finally, your app is ready to go live. Be prepared to handle technical submissions, reviews, and compliance in this phase. Some startups opt for a “waitlist” or early access version to launch.
Importance: An effortless launch can boost your confidence. Similarly, poor store listing, improper updates, or negative app feedback can cause interruptions and user drop-off.
Estimated Cost: approx. $2,000 to $5,000 (excluding marketing)
Timeline: 1–2 weeks
What’s Included:
So, your app is live now. But what’s next? Staying ahead of the curve is all about focusing on updates, especially with the ever-evolving space of online dating.
Importance: Unmaintained apps can quickly collapse. Frequent updates and support help reach user expectations and improve engagement.
Estimated Cost: monthly, approx. $1,500 to $5,000, depending on scale
First 6 Months: approx. $9,000 to $30,000
When you are targeting to build a dating app like hinge with core and some premium features, you should have an idea of the rough cost bracket:
Development Stages Comparison Table
| Stage | What’s Included | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Market research, feature list, tech planning | $3,000-$7,000 |
| UI/UX Design | Wireframes, mockups, design systems | $5,000-$12,000 |
| Frontend + Backend Development | All core features, real-time, AI matching, login, chat, video | $25,000-$60,000+ |
| QA and Testing | Manual + automated testing, bug resolution | $4,000-$8,000 |
| Deployment & Launch | App store submission, ASO, beta test setup | $2,000-$5,000 |
| Post-launch Maintenance | Fixes, updates, server, scaling support | $9,000-$30,000/month |
When you’re estimating your dating app’s budget, you tend to focus entirely on core development or attractive features. However, in reality, there’s an invisible layer of expenses that can show up quickly. Overlooking them can affect your entire launch plan. From compliance to customer service, these hidden costs are the glue that holds your product together with user experience.
Lets break them down clearly, so that you are ready with everything, and not surprised.
Your conventional dating app has to rely on multiple third-party services to deliver essential functionality, many of which operate on a pay-as-you-grow model.
With your growing user base, the need for a scalable and reliable infrastructure also grows. You can expect a monthly cost of around $100 to $300 for a basic MVP with a few thousand users. But whenever you intend to include real-time features and rich media, your monthly budget can easily exceed $1000.
Practical Insight: Hinge reportedly spends tens of thousands monthly on scale, relying on AWS. You don’t have to be prepared for that budget initially, but be ready for it with more upgrades to your app.
Most apps require OTPs for number verifications, user sign-up, and alerts. Depending on the country you are targeting, Twilio charges around $0.01 to $0.05 per SMS.
Take the example of 10,000 active users receiving 10 OTPs per month. This will easily cost $500 or more per month.
Your app needs these for match radius, event-based matchmaking, or suggesting local singles.
4. Push Notifications (OneSignal, Firebase Cloud Messaging)
They usually don’t charge anything for small-scale use. However, if you are trying to achieve analytics or advanced targeting, you may need to opt for paid plans, starting around $99 per month.
5. Estimated Monthly Third-party Costs (at MVP Scale)
Initial monthly cost ranges between $300 and $900, which can increase with the growing number of users and feature complexity.
Your dating app will be responsible for handling some of the most sensitive user data, including location, identity, preferences, and messages. You can’t afford to compromise on compliance.
If your target audience is based in Europe or similar countries, you must obey the GDPR guidelines.
Your app will be responsible for storing chats, images, and credentials, which demands security best practices. You must be prepared with SSL certificates, tokenized logins, encryption at rest, and a secure cloud environment.
For a secure app, you’ll need a system to flag inappropriate content and a tool or team to immediately handle that issue
Remember: Despite being popular, your app can be taken down from the App Store or face a lawsuit due to poor moderation.
Even including your app on the App Store will cost you something.
1. Apple App Store
2. Google Play Store
Note: Keep these commission cuts in your pricing model while planning revenue for microtransactions or premium subscriptions.
Building an app like Hinge just means you have won half of the game. Launching it for the right audience is where you face roadblocks.
Social media is the best platform for your app’s promotion, where you can collaborate with influencers or TikTok creators to drive actual results.
For each post, micro-influencers (10k to 50k followers) demand $200 to $500.
For each campaign, mid-tier influencers (50k to 200k followers) demand $1,000 to $5,000.
You must also plan a marketing budget for keyword bidding, interest-based targeting, and retargeting.
Soft launch in a Tier 2 city can cost you around $2,000 to $5,000 for initial installs
National campaigns in India or the US could run to $10,000+/month depending on possibilities.
You’ll need these to rank better on search results.
Tools such as SensorTower or AppTweak could cost you around $70 to $200 per month.
4. Referral & Gamified Growth Features
These features also need some development, where building a simple referral engine or reward system can cost you an additional $2000 to $4000.
Let’s get real. Your users will have issues regarding subscription queries and reporting safety concerns. The support structure you provide them will determine retention.
The monthly costs start at $100 to $400, depending on active users and support volume.
Hiring a small team to handle round-the-clock queries through email or chat may cost you monthly around $500 to $1,500, depending on the region and hours covered.
For instance, a mid-size dating app using Zendesk and two offshore agents monthly spends around $1,200 to handle 10K users with 5% support load.
Estimated Hidden Cost Range
| Category | Cost Range (Monthly/ Upfront) |
|---|---|
| Hosting & APIs | Monthly $300 to $900 |
| Security & Compliance | $5,000 to $15,000 (one-time) and additionally $100 to $400 per month |
| App Store Charges | Yearly $99 (Apple), $25 (Google – one-time) |
| Marketing & Growth | Monthly $2,000 to $10,000 |
| Customer Support Infrastructure | Monthly $500 to $1,500 |
Still planning for a dating app like Hinge without overshooting your budget? Let’s see how you can do it in collaboration with DevStory without stretching your budget.
Estimated Cost: $18,000 to $25,000
Development Timeline: 8–10 weeks.
Estimated Cost: $2,000 to $6,000 using third-party APIs
Note: Building an exclusive AI engine can exceed $25,000.
Cost Savings: around 40% of conventional UI design costs, possibly saving $4,000 to $6,000.
Developer Cost Evaluation: hourly $50–$80 offshore vs. hourly $120–$180 in the US or EU.
Achievable Output: Depends on scalable features without prior investment.
Instance: Firebase, on a standard non-paid level, offers hosting, verification, and real-time data.
Recommended Read– Hybrid App Development Cost 2025: The Ultimate Pricing Guide.
The dating app market is booming, with millions of active users and revenue worldwide. However, this opportunity is the reason behind fierce competition with giants like Hinge, Bumble, and Tinder. So, what’s your plan?
Success is not just about when you build an app like hinge, but about deciding on a clear niche, airtight safety protocols, a retention strategy, and the ability to scale with your growing user base. Building an app like Hinge, a full-fledged product from day one might excite you, but you should start lean. A well-executed MVP helps you test your strategy, collect feedback, and make data-based enhancements before investing further.
Don’t think you’re out of challenges. Dating apps have some of the lowest user retention rates in tech. So, instead of building an app like Hinge, a product, you’re designing trust, chemistry, and consistency, which is too much, especially on a startup budget.
Get ready to build your dating app right away. The market needs your unique twist – but only with the right tech partner specializing in dating app development services
Partnering with an expert team like Devstory allows you to launch smarter, not harder. We help you avoid costly mistakes and get in touch with the top-vetted dev teams.
