Hooking Up Comes With A $499 Premium On Tinder Select

Tinder is raising the price for finding true love. The company has introduced Tinder Select, an exclusive premium option for top-tier members to access innovative new features of the online dating platform.

Announced on Sept. 22, the company stated that the rollout was offered to a small portion of Tinder’s users, less than 1% of the most active members. However, using the premium features comes at a significant markup—$499 a month—as confirmed by Bloomberg.

For the hefty price tag, Tinder Select will allow users to peruse exclusive search options and matching. While Tinder has current paid subscriptions available to members at a significantly lower price, this new plan is by invitation only. The most significant difference stems from Tinder Select’s “VIP” search options, which will enable subscribers to initiate conversations with people they may not have access to on a lesser-tiered plan.

While its beta form is limited to its “select” few, those who are curious and willing to be charged almost $6,000 annually for the membership can apply to be part of this new cohort. However, Tinder has announced this will only occur on a rolling basis.

The company’s Chief Product Officer, Mark Van Ryswyk, offered more insight into how it developed this new form of finding and connecting with potential love matches to serve its consistent members better.

“We know that there is a subset of highly engaged and active users who prioritize more effective and efficient ways to find connections. And so we engaged in extensive tests and feedback with this audience over the past several months to develop a completely new offering.”

While some users are shocked at the relatively low-stakes dating platform moving toward more costly plans, this premium subscription model is not new to its parent company, Match Group Inc. The business owns multiple dating platforms, including Match.com, OkCupid, Hinge, and the newly acquired The League. The latest addition to its portfolio boasts hefty subscription costs, serving its often high-value clientele. The corporation also owns BLK, a dating website centered on Black singles.

The transition for Tinder hopes to indulge more of its “power users,” who accumulate over half the time users spend on the app, to increase the revenue garnered. Even as subscriber numbers wane, its quest for an overall platform refresh continues.