People have always been creative when it comes to seeking romantic partners. The first personal ads in the US began appearing in journals and periodicals in the 1690s. While these ads were first intended to help secure the financial security of marriage, these postings soon morphed into a means for people to seek the companionship of individuals with similar interests and concerns.

Today, profiles on popular online dating services such as Tinder, Bumble, and OKCupid fulfill the same purpose. These applications make it easier for people to find like-minded individuals and explore the possibilities of romance. Their convenience, though, doesn’t negate these apps’ pitfalls and dangers.

In this article, we’ve compiled the latest statistics on online dating. These numbers will provide a more accurate picture of online dating in the US, its users, as well as the leading services of the online dating industry. These statistics will also shed light on the potential dangers of using these applications.

Current Online Dating Market Size

There is an extensive variety of online dating apps available today. These apps differ from matchmaking services in that online dating apps provide a platform for more casual contact, allowing members to chat, flirt, or pursue deeper romantic connections. Users can apply search filters and criteria such as age and location to find potential matches.

Dating apps enjoy immense popularity across all regions in the world. In the US alone, experts predict a user base of 35.4 million paying and non-paying users for these apps by 2024.

• As of 2019, there are 30.4 million online dating users in the US. This number is expected to grow to 35.4 million by 2024.
• 30% of US adults have used a dating site or app.
• 25.1 million people used online dating apps on their smartphones.
• Millennials make up the largest sector of online dating users, with 36% of people aged 18 to 29 saying that they’ve used an online dating service or app.
• College graduates and people with college-level education are more likely (35%) to use dating apps.
• 11% of Hispanic Internet users in the US report that they were very likely to use online dating to find a new partner.
• 32% of female American adults have used an online app or service for dating, compared to 23% of men.
• 55% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults say that they’ve used online dating at least once.
• Among single LGB people who are looking for dates or relationships, 37% currently use online dating.

Online Dating Market Leaders

During the past decade, online dating services have experienced a surge in popularity, thanks to the spread of broadband Internet. Moreover, people’s increasingly busy lifestyles leave little room for traditional methods of courtship and matchmaking. These online dating apps provide convenience, which is especially true if you’re a paying customer of these services.

Thanks to users who opt to pay for premium features on these services, online dating apps and services earned a revenue of $973 million in 2019. There are over 1,500 dating apps today, with the American company Match Group Inc., owning many of the top players.

• The online dating industry is expected to break past the $1 billion barrier by 2024, with a projected CAGR of 5.1%.
• 11% of American adults surveyed have spent money on online dating.
• In 2019, 35% of paying customers used Badoo, a dating-focused social network. Match, Bumble, Coffee meets Bagel, and Tinder each got a 28% share.
• Tinder sits at the top as the most popular online dating app, with its user base of 7.86 million in 2019.
• In terms of usage sessions per month, Grindr dominates the market, with users averaging 295.37 sessions per month.
• Similarly, Grindr leads the online dating industry in user engagement, with users spending an average of 935.8 minutes or 15.58 hours on the Grindr app each month.
• As of September 2019, Tinder had a US mobile audience reach of 4.2%.

Match Group, Inc. Statistics

Match Group, Inc. is an American Internet company that operates several websites and services for online dating, including Tinder, PlentyOfFish, Hinge, OkCupid, and Match.com. The company’s brands span a variety of audience segments and regions. The Match-owned online dating site OurTime, for instance, has the largest community of singles over age 50 compared to other dating products in the US.

• For the first quarter of 2020, the Match Group saw a total revenue of $545 million, along with a 17% growth from the previous quarter.
• In 2019, the Match Group had an annual revenue of $2 billion.
• 60% of relationships that started on a dating site or app began on a Match Group product.
• The Match Group had 9.8 billion paid subscribers all over the world as of 2019.
• 53% of the Match Group’s paid subscriber base resides in North America.
• 47% of Match dating app users are monthly active users, while 13% are daily active users.
• Additionally, Men comprise the majority of Match dating app users, taking up 67% of these apps’ user base.

Tinder Statistics

Launched in 2012, Tinder is one of the most widely known dating apps today. Excluding games, this dating app is the top-grossing app overall worldwide. Tinder’s most prominent feature–swiping–has also made it into the vernacular, used by people to indicate dislike.

• In 2019, Tinder had an annual direct revenue of $1.2 billion.
• By the end of 2019, Tinder had 5.9 billion paid subscribers.
• Tinder iOS’ biggest market is the US, with the app earning $66 million in the country in 2019.
• 41% of US adults on Tinder use the app daily, while 71.6% use the app monthly.
• Moreover, 78% of Tinder users in the US are male.
• 19% of active Tinder US users are 30 to 44 years old, and 18% of all Tinder users in the US have an annual income of more than $100,000.
• Also, most Tinder users in the US (17%) reside in suburban areas.

Attitudes and Motivations of Online Dating Users

Online dating may be the rage now, but it hasn’t always enjoyed a positive perception. Dating a person you met online used to carry a stigma, as it was considered something only for the desperate and socially inept.

Nowadays, the stigma of online dating is slowly diminishing, which contributes to the popularity of these apps. The widespread reach of these apps may also be attributed to changing views on marriage and cohabitation.

• 55% of US online dating users are aged 55 or older.
• 49% of online dating users in the US want to find an exclusive romantic partner.
• 27% of US adults aged 18 to 34 use dating apps to have casual sex.
• 57% of online dating users say their personal experiences with dating sites or apps have been positive.
• On the other hand, 75% of US adults who currently don’t use online dating don’t see themselves using these apps in the future.

Priorities of Online Dating Users

• 74% of women on dating apps think that it’s important for profiles to include photos of the user. Likewise, 68% of men considered photos a top priority in the profiles they’re looking at.
• For 27% of female online daters, profiles must contain the user’s occupation. Only 8% of male online daters shared the same sentiments.
• Before physically meeting someone they’ve met on a dating app or website, 60% of US online dating users looked at the person’s social media profiles.

Success Stories in Online Dating

While there seems to be a common belief that romantic relationships that began online don’t last, numerous online dating success stories prove the opposite. There’s also evidence that people who meet online and later get married are less likely to separate or divorce within the first year of marriage.

Here are some more statistics on the success of online dating:

• Using online dating apps, 71% of users say that it’s easy to find people they were physically attracted to.
• 1 in 6 marriages begins online.
• Couples that have met on eHarmony have a divorce rate of 3.86%.
• 39% of online dating users say they’ve gone on a date with someone they met through a dating site or app.
• 12% of Americans who’ve used dating sites or apps have been in a committed relationship or married someone they met through online dating.
• Moreover, 21% of LGB American adults who’ve used these apps have gotten into a committed relationship or married someone they met through online dating.
• 63% online daters with a bachelor’s or advanced degree report a positive experience on these apps, compared with 47% of those who have a high school diploma or less.

The Dark Side of Online Dating

For all the convenience it brings, online dating also poses certain risks to users. Online dating apps and sites too easily turn into platforms for online harassment. For instance, women on these apps are particularly vulnerable, and they’re far more likely to receive unsolicited explicit images on these apps.

Online dating apps have also had their fair share of data breaches. The most recent data breach involved the dating app Heyyo in 2019 and exposed the data of nearly 72,000 users. Here are some more statistics that expose the dark side of online dating:

• 45% of American online dating users say that the experience has left them feeling frustrated.
• 40% of female online daters say it’s difficult to find other online daters who were looking for the same kind of relationship.
• Meanwhile, 38% of online dating users find it difficult to use online dating apps to meet other people looking for the same kind of relationship.
• 61% of men who’ve used online dating in the past five years say that they don’t receive enough messages from the people they’re interested in.
• Meanwhile, women who’ve used dating sites in the same time period are five times more likely to report that they receive too many messages.
• 71% of online dating users consider it common for people on online dating apps to lie about themselves. Women are 76% more likely to share this sentiment.

Gender-Related Harassment on Online Dating Apps

• 48% of female online dating users received continuous contact from someone even after an explicit expression of disinterest, compared to 27% of male users.
• Likewise, 46% of female online dating users in the same age group received an explicit message or image they didn’t ask for, compared to 26% of male users.
• Similarly, 33% of women on dating apps have been called an offensive name.
• 56% of LGB users on dating apps have been sent unsolicited explicit messages or images.
• Also, 48% of LGB online dating users have faced unwanted contact from someone after expressing disinterest.

Online Dating Apps in the Future

The future looks to be rosy for online dating apps. Despite the proliferation of dating apps and websites today, we’re seeing the creation of more dating apps with new ways of helping users find potential matches. Interestingly, dating apps may soon focus less on helping people search for partners and instead provide features for meeting new people.

Trends also point to dating apps offering more data protection features in the future. Blockchain technology, for instance, poses great potential in ensuring that online dating users’ data remains safe.

References:

1. The chatty, charming history of personal ads
2. Online dating in the United States Dossier
3. Online Dating Digital Market Outlook
4. The Virtues and Downsides of Online Dating
5. Dating App Growth Slows, but Advertisers Shouldn’t Ignore Hopeful Singles 
6. Morning Consult National Tracking Poll #200473
7. The Economist/YouGov Poll 
8. Statista Global Consumer Survey
9. Match Group Q1 2020 Results Report
10. Match Group Business Overview, February 2020 
11. IAC Q4 2019 Earnings Report
12. 4 Myths About Online Dating Exposed
13. Put a Ring on It? Millennial Couples Are in No Hurry
14. There’s Now Evidence That Online Dating Causes Stronger, More Diverse Marriages
15. 7 Online Dating Marriage Success Statistics (2020)
16. Majority of women on dating apps report sexually explicit messages or photos 
17. Another Dating App Has Leaked Users’ Data