How Much Does It Cost to Build a Dating App? Breakdown

In 2023, Dating Apps are more common than you may think.

Dating Apps Like Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid are very popular with millions of users. The industry size is skyrocketing and so is the revenue generation.

This brings us to our question, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BUILD A DATING APP?

Well, determining mobile app development cost isn’t all that simple. That’s the reason you are here, right?

Therefore, let’s get right into it:

Is It Profitable To Make A Dating App?

People who inquire about the cost to build a dating app are usually the ones who consider developing it. And that’s why there is an important question we must answer first.

Should you Invest in Dating App Development?

Yes, you should!

As per Statista, there are over 25 million dating app users in 2023. Here, the most popular online dating app by audience size is Tinder, followed by POF and Bumble.

The market size for the global dating app industry was valued at $ 7.5 Billion in 2021, as per the last survey.  One can only imagine how large the market is today with all the growth.

Moreover, another thing that sets dating apps and apart from the market is the fact that it is all-inclusive. That’s the reason why LGBTQ Users Are Twice as Likely to Use a Dating App.

With this recent hate against a certain group, this is a good thing to see.

If this isn’t the reason for you to invest in dating apps, the revenue will. You see, the market was already attracting around $ 9 Billion in revenue in 2021, with an expected CAGR of 6.9% from 2022 to 2030.

This is what attracts businesses from across the world to build a dating app of their own. After all, who doesn’t want to make millions in the market with minimal investment?

Moving on, let’s see how much building a dating app will cost you.

How Much Does It Cost To Build A Dating App?

Cost to build a dating app falls between $35,000 and $450,000.

It’s next to impossible to predict accurate development costs without learning about project specifications and what exactly customers want.

The cost to develop a mobile app actually depends on several different parameters. This includes location, type of team, complexity, type of dating app, complexity, and so on.

Therefore, if you want to learn more about learning costs and want a quote for your project, it’s recommended that you consult dating app development company that can help you with this.

Moving on, let’s look at these so-called factors which affect the cost as well as how to calculate dating app development costs.

How TO Calculate Dating App Development Cost? Factors Affecting Cost

Mobile app development can be complex.

But it is possible to calculate dating app development costs.

There are some projects which are very basic, while others can be very complex. Just like this, there are various factors that can affect the cost to building a dating app.

Using these features, you can

In this section, we shall be going through a few of these factors:

1) Type of Dating App Development Team

Granted that’s easy to find an app developer in 2023, but there are various ways you can do it.

Now, the way you choose to hire dating app developers can actually affect the development cost. Let’s see how this works below:

• FREELANCERS – $40 – $85/Per Hour.

Well, the word “freelancer” is the first thing that comes to mind when you talk about hiring developers and building a dating app.

This is a popular option that every company has used at some point in time. Moreover, there are various platforms where you can find freelancers.

Some of these are:

• LinkedIn
• Fiverr
• Freelancer
• UpWork

Apart from this, you can also accept references which is yet another good of finding freelancers. As far as cost is corned, it ranges anywhere from $40 to $85.

• IN-HOUSE TEAM – $250,000 – $750,000

The name is quite self-explanatory.

Keeping an in-house team can be expensive, very expensive, as you can see. As you why? The reason is simple.

Here, you are hiring a team of experienced developers who will be working in-house. Meaning you have to provide them with infrastructure, workplace, benefits, salary, and so on.

Well, this is expensive but there are benefits when it comes to building a dating app.

Moving on, people often compared in-house vs outsourced, let’s look at the latter one in this section.

• OUTSOURCE APP DEVELOPMENT COMPANY – $25 – $75/Per hour.

This is by far the most popular option on the list.

Whether it is a Fortune 500 company or someone with a small business idea, everyone loves outsourcing their work.

Why choose to outsource? Well, let’s see what these are:

• Less responsibility for you
• Cost-effective development
• Fast time to market
• Maintenance services
• Experienced team of developers

These are some of the advantages you get with an outsourcing company. And the reason why everyone loves trends in outsourcing.

• IT STAFF AUGMENTATION – $15 and $75.

What if you don’t want to hire an entire custom on demand app development firm but just a few developers as fresh hands-on projects?

Well, then you should go with IT staff Augmentation.

This is a good and fairly cheap option that you should definitely explore.

2) Location Of Development

One big effect of technology is globalization.

People and businesses are no longer limited by regional or national boundaries. With help of the internet and IT tech, you can work with someone sitting on the other side of the world.

Meaning you can hire mobile application developers in Ukraine sitting in the United States of America.

BUT, the location of the development team can highly affect the cost to build a dating app. So, let’s look at the cost to develop a mobile app in different parts of the world.

This is shown in the Table below:

With this out of the way, let’s look at another top factor that affects development cost.

3) Complexity To Make A Dating App

It’s a simple concept.

The more complex it’s to build a dating app, the higher cost to build a dating app goes. On the flip side of the coin, the simpler it gets, the cheaper it is.

The table below shows the same:

4) Dating App Development Platform: iOS vs Android

Well, well, if it isn’t the iOS vs Android debate.

You see, when it comes to mobile app development, you have to choose a platform.

So, how does this affect the cost?

Cost to hire android app developers is actually higher than iOS app developers.  This is as, shown below:

Why Android App Development Is More Expensive?

The reason, why it’s more expensive to develop an android app, is that android as an operating system suffers from fragmentation. This means android users are using different versions.

Therefore, a custom android app development company has to build the same app for different times. This takes more effort as well as time.

That’s why it’s more expensive to develop an android dating app.

5) Tech Stack

Tech Stack refers to the set of technologies being used for development.

And how can we speak of the tech stack, without mentioning MEAN Stack vs MERN stack? Well, both of these are JS tech stack that is super popular in the development community.

Nevertheless, you can also build your own custom tech stack. Depending on the technologies you

are using, the cost may vary.

6) Other Factors That Affect the Cost Of Build A Dating App

Apart from the ones we discussed above, there are some minor factors that can affect the total cost to build a dating app.

Let’s look at some other factors. These are, as mentioned below:

How Long Does It Take To Build A Dating App?

An average mobile app development can take from 5 months up to 12 months and more.

Just like development cost, development also depends on a range of factors. Nevertheless, let’s look at the development time breakdown:

This is the development time breakdown for an average dating development.

Nevertheless, if you want to learn more about it, we recommended that you consult an demand app development company.

Create A Successful Dating App: A Unique Idea

Developing a dating app isn’t the hard part. It is creating a successful dating app.

So, how do you build a dating app that attracts users and helps lovers unite? Well, it’s actually simple. Let’s look at some tips to create a successful dating app.

• Make A Dating App That’s Unique: Transgender Dating App

Well, if you want to be succeeding in the market, you need to be different. Allow us to introduce an idea.

A Dating App For Transgender.

Everyone knows that the transgender community has been the focus of discrimination across the world. and they have a hard time even on popular dating apps like Tinder and Bumble.

Therefore, consider this idea. It can take you a long way.

• Don’t Focus on Cost To Build a Dating App

We get it; the cost to build a dating app is an important consideration. After all, money doesn’t grow on trees, does it?

See, the cost is an important factor but if you keep that at the center of development, it won’t take you far.

Therefore, if you want to create a successful platform for dating, keep this in mind.

• Fill It With the Right Features

Features can either make an app or break an app. Therefore, it’s essential to include the right feature when you make a dating app.

But what are the right features?

Well, let’s answer this question in the section below:

Essential Feature To Make A Dating App

So, what are some features that you should include in your dating app development?

Some that you should consider including are, as mentioned below:

These are features that you should include when you build a dating app for free.

Another important thing that you should know about dating apps is that features can highly affect the cost to build a dating app.

This is how it works:

Basic features are cheap. While if you move towards unique and more complex features they add to the total development cost. The reason is that more complex functionalities take higher time and effort to develop.

Moving on, let’s see how you can generate money with a dating mobile app.

How To Build a Dating App & Make Money?

Do you want to make millions with Dating App?

Here are some monetization strategies that you can add to your dating app. These are, as mentioned below:

• Premium Account
• In-App Advertisement
• Big Data
• In-App Purchases

These are some common monetization strategies, but you can always come up with your own. And with this, we have come to the end of this blog.

Conclusion

The dating app industry is one of the largest ones. Companies are generating millions in profit with the industry being valued in trillions.

That’s why a lot of businesses want to develop their own dating apps. And thus, asking the question “How Much Does It Cost to Build a Dating App?”

Well, on average, it ranges anywhere from $35,000 to $450,000. Nevertheless, there are various factors that can dating app development cost.

Therefore, if you want to learn more about it, consult a mobile app development company.

FAQ

Jermaine Trotman

Jermaine Trotman is the co-founder of Nimble AppGenie, a company renowned for its bespoke mobile app development and web development in e-wallet app development and fintech development.