It's no secret that women have had an easier time on dating apps than men. But what does the data say? Ogury's study found a massive gender imbalance among dating app users, with men outnumbering women by a ratio of almost nine to one. American women are slightly more likely than women in Europe to use dating apps, but still make up only 27% of users overall. Even on the most female-friendly apps like Bumble, the male-to-female ratio is seven to three.
So why do women seem to have the upper hand over Tinder? The simplest explanation is basic supply and demand. Evidence suggests that men use dating apps more prolifically than women, both in number of users and frequency of use. One estimate found that more than 70% of active American Tinder users were men, and the ratio of male to female users among our data was similar. Taken together, this suggests a profound imbalance in the Tinder user pool. Men are more likely to look at ways to gain an edge on dating apps, and looking at gender ratios is a start.
SurveyMonkey Intelligence, the company's app analytics arm, crunched the numbers to see which dating apps have the highest proportion of women (with the caveat that some of these women could be bots). Some apps are better if you are a shorter man, interested in more Asians, live in larger cities, want a relationship, exclusively looking for someone with an advanced degree or someone possibly famous. The app has proven to be especially popular with young people, and three-quarters of people aged 18 to 24 reported using the app at any given time. This, apparently, also translates to guys being more inclined to get the date and get to know each other, which isn't as commonly seen on Bumble, where a lot of conversations never lead anywhere and getting to dates isn't that easy. The data also tells us that some men are likely to struggle to get a date on Tinder, even after thousands of swipes and many months of trying. Instead of focusing on user volume or gender ratios, consider your location and other demographics of each app to see which has the most types of people you're looking for.
Although Tinder predates the dating app Bumble by 2 years, the difference in the number of users isn't that big. Finding a compatible partner with the age of the opposite sex can be tricky, but it's important to keep in mind that most dating apps are LGBTQ+ friendly. Just because a dating app has the most users doesn't mean it's the best app out there, let alone the best app for you. Just as Bumble benefits from the feminist wave that has been happening with its status as women taking the first step, Tinder has adapted and allows identification as belonging to other genders besides female and male.
