Say you're in bed swiping on Tinder, as one does, and then you see a pop-up: Upgrade to Tinder Platinum, it says. Message Before Matching! Priority Likes!
Longtime users are likely aware of these in-app Tinder ads, as several features — such as "rewinding" your last swipe — are only available if you pay up.
The dating app rolled out Tinder Platinum in 2020, and at US$19.99 per month it's the most expensive subscription level they offer. Some tools, like being able to message someone before you match, were never available prior.
But is Tinder Platinum worth it? The app gave me a three-month trial run to find out. Platinum's varied features, elimination of ads, and exclusive perks (like seeing who I already liked) changed how I used the app — but didn't change much when it came to finding matches.
What is Tinder Platinum, and how's it different from Tinder's other subscription levels?
From least to most expensive, here are Tinder's paid subscriptions: Tinder Plus, Gold, and Platinum.
One month of Plus is US$4.99 and Gold is US$14.99, according to prices listed in the app. Each of these vary slightly depending on the timeframe of your subscription — if you sign up for a longer period, the prices per month drop slightly — but this exemplifies the differences.
It's also worth noting, too, that Tinder has modified its paid features in recent months. For example, free users used to get one Super Like — a blue star that indicates you like someone before you match — a day.
Now, Super Likes are only available for a la carte purchase or as part of a subscription.
Tinder Plus no longer includes Super Likes or a monthly Boost (which "boosts" your profile to the top of others’ card stack). Tinder Gold and Platinum now include five Super Likes a week as opposed to per day.
If you purchased Plus, Gold, or Platinum before the changes, your current subscription won’t be affected unless you cancel and resubscribe, or if you upgrade your subscription.
With Plus, you get:
- Unlimited likes (as opposed to 100 right swipes per day with a basic account)
- Unlimited rewinds (which undoes left swipes)
- Ability to change your location with the Passport feature
- No ads
Tinder Gold gives you all those features, plus:
- Five Super Likes a week
- One free Boost a month
- Seeing who already liked you
- Tinder’s “top picks” for you every day
Platinum has all the aforementioned features, as well as:
- Message before Matching (though you must Super Like someone to do so)
- Prioritized Likes (the app makes sure your Likes and Super Likes are seen faster before those of non-Platinum users)
- Seeing the Likes you’ve sent in the last week
Is paying for Tinder worth it?
Tinder's standard paid features — the ones available to all subscribers — are pretty sweet, and worth the price.
The most useful, in my opinion, is unlimited rewinds. You can't undo any mistaken left-swipe unless you pay for Tinder, period. Haven't we all experienced the anguish of Noping someone we wish we Liked? When you're not a paid user, it can be devastating. You're left wondering what such a connection would've been like.
With rewind, you don't have to wonder. Now, you can potentially change your destiny forever...OK, that's a stretch, but it is an incredibly useful feature I take advantage of often and miss now that my subscription has ended.
Then there's unlimited likes, which is useful if you're swipe-happy and live in a populous place. I will admit, there have been days I've swiped right over 100 times — and then can't Like anyone else for 12 hours. If you're in a major city and there's plenty of people on Tinder, sometimes it just happens!
One feature I don't care much about is Passport to any location. I'm not traveling often right now, but perhaps it'd be more useful to someone who is.
Hidden advertisements are a sneaky feature, but one that you suddenly notice if you stop paying. As with every service, not seeing ads is always a plus.
Should I buy Tinder Platinum?
The features mentioned above are available with Tinder Plus, the cheapest paid option. Let's examine the exclusive Platinum features.
First up: Message before Matching. To do this, you must Super Like someone and can write a message up to 140 characters. According to Tinder, this increases the chances of matching by 25 percent.
I refrained from using Message before Matching too many times because I was afraid this would be seen as "cringe," as Super Liking itself is sometimes perceived. If my memory serves me correctly, however, most of the people I messaged early did end up matching with me.
With great power comes great responsibility, though. You may think it's funny to ask to rub your balls on a woman, like this Redditor did using Message before Matching, but it can (and will) come across as gross.
Next is Prioritized Likes, which I forgot about during my time as a Platinum user. I didn't measure my match rate before and after the subscription, but I haven't noticed any discernible difference.
Finally, with Tinder Platinum you can see the Likes you've already sent in the past week. This is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's cool to be able to see someone's profile again even if you haven't matched, and in that time you can also "upgrade" your Like to a Super Like if you want to increase your matching chances.
On the other hand, it sucks when you see someone you find attractive and fun but they haven't matched back. What gives?
While I started my Platinum "journey" looking at who I liked, by the end I avoided that tab.
Overall, Platinum wasn't worth it for me as the features I enjoyed the most are available on Tinder Plus. I didn't discuss the features only available on both Gold and Platinum — like seeing who already liked you — because I didn't take advantage of them much, either.
As far as I can tell, I matched and messaged people at the same frequency as a Platinum user as I did as a free one.
If you want to message before matching, get priority likes, and see who you already liked, by all means go for Platinum. If not, you can easily downgrade to Plus or Gold and enjoy the experience.
Compared to Bumble Premium, another paid subscription I tried, Tinder Platinum has some similar features, such as undoing a left swipe and peeking at who already liked you. Tinder Platinum is about US$20 cheaper per month, but I'd choose one depending on which app you already use more. For example, if you enjoy Bumble's advanced filters, you may have a better experience with its subscription.
Tinder gifted me Platinum for review, but I will likely pay for Tinder Plus myself going forward. I can have all the features I want and save US$15 a month. When I see the Platinum pop-up now, I know what I'm missing — and I tap away.
Tinder Platinum is available for US$19.99/month.
UPDATE: Jan. 21, 2022, 3:30 p.m. EST This article has been updated with a comparison to Bumble Premium.
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