The decision to join a dating site is based on convenience. You get a technology-supported matchmaking service. In essence, you will create a profile including your personal description, your answers to preferences and questions (but not on Tinder), and one or more personal photos.
The dating website crunches your individual user data and applies its own algorithms to match you with potential dates. You will be presented with choices of users, from which you can choose whom to correspond and discuss the possibility of meeting in real life. While some sites like POF and Match open up your search to nearby users based on your introduction.
Set your goals for online dating and decide who is worth some of your time. In the end, you should only continue conversations with people who capture your interest and respond favorably to your messages.
|
Features |
OkCupid |
Tinder |
|
Free Membership |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Advertising |
No |
Yes |
|
Scene Negotiation |
No |
No |
|
Visual Fetish List |
No |
No |
|
Photo Gallery |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Private Galleries |
No |
No |
|
Free Chat |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Dating Searches |
Yes |
No |
|
Events |
No |
Yes |
|
Apps for iPhone/Android |
Yes |
Yes |
Features
OkCupid and Tinder have freemium models, but there are limits to what you can do with a free account. You can use it to get a feel for the platform and decide if you want to subscribe through the App Store or Google Play Store. Most users will participate in this kind of dating and searching for relationships through their mobile devices. Tinder does not have a desktop version of its app.
Getting started with online dating and choosing the platform with the best features depends on your goals. Think about what kind of relationships you want to attract into your life at this time. Is it more important to have several dates a week or to focus on one special person who might become a long-term partner?
You can target your dating search based on a characteristic such as physical attractiveness or proximity to your home. Think about what is most important to your current lifestyle as you swipe left or right on these dating sites. On Tinder, swiping is based on pictures and short descriptions is the primary way to find a potential match.
The biggest differentiator between Tinder and OkCupid is that the former serves the needs of casual daters when the latter offers personality matching, which is better suited to users seeking a relationship. If you’re part of a couple who wants a playmate, you are definitely better off on Tinder.
These are the most important features you would want to pay for with each platform:
OkCupid: Join for free and complete the personality questionnaire to get matched with singles near you.
|
Free |
Paid |
|
See how many likes you have |
See who has liked you |
|
Send and receive messages |
View all introductory messages from users |
|
Send likes |
Send unlimited likes |
|
See who is online |
See what users answered to the questions you haven’t responded to yet |
|
Search for users |
See the people who have read your messages |
|
Upload more photos, answer more questions, and change your essay |
Upload more photos, answer more questions, and change your essay |
Tinder: You only upload a photo and a 500 character description of yourself. The major focus is on swiping right and left on local matches and casual dating.
|
Free |
Paid |
|
A limited number of swipes and matches per day |
Unlimited swiping |
|
View photo and a brief profile |
Use Passport to talk to people anywhere in the world |
|
Change your location to see different matches |
Use Rewind to match with a user who you first selected as not a choice (by swiping left) |
|
Contains ads |
Ad-free experience |
Prices
OkCupid
Base subscription: Free
A-List 1 month: $49.99
A-List 3 months: $33.33/month
A-List 6 months: $24.99/month
Tinder
Base subscription: Free
Tinder Plus: starts at $9.99/month
Tinder Gold: starts at $29.99/month
*The monthly price decreases for Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold decreases when you purchase more than one month, such as 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year of paid services.
Members
In 2019, Tinder had over 7.5 million paid subscribers in the U.S., and OkCupid had over 1.79 million paid subscribers.
Countries
According to our Tinder review, this app serves singles and couples in 190 countries, whereas, per our OkCupid review, this app serves users in multiple countries, but a total number of nations is not given.
User Design: Card Stack and Tile View
Both OkCupid and Tinder offer a card stack view. Users get their initial stack of users to swipe on which to swipe left or right and find a match. If you want to look at another group of users, you must change the search parameters. In OKCupid, the stacks of users are divided into nearby, online, and recommended users.
Swiping on either senior dating app can change your results if you adjust the search filters such as age and distance from you in miles.
The Owners Behind OkCupid and Tinder
The Match Group owns the OkCupid and Tinder dating networks. This group broke away from its parent company in 2019. The numbers of members for each platform increase when taking into consideration the free subscribers. Tinder has the highest number of users between 18 and 29, and that hasn’t changed since it was first introduced to college campuses.
