How does Bumble work & make money?

Company: Bumble
Founders: Whitney Wolfe Herd
Year founded: 2014
Headquarter: Austin, TX
Registered Users (2019): 75 million
Valuation (2019): $3 Billion
Annual Revenue (2018): $162 million

Products & Services: Mobile Dating App and Website
Competitors: Hinge| Tinder | Hily

Fun Fact:
Did you know that it’s not just the messaging on Bumble that’s women-led, but the company itself? 82% of Bumble employees and nearly all of its executive leadership are women.

Table of Contents

About Bumble

Bumble is a mobile app and website for both dating and social networking. The app allows users to match with other people in their area, whether it be for a potential date, a friendly hangout, or a professional meetup. The app has three modes:

Bumble Date
Bumble BFF
Bumble Bizz

Image Source: Apple App Store | Bumble App

Bumble Date

Bumble Date is the primary component of Bumble: its dating platform. This is where users match with potential romantic partners in the hopes of going on a date, and where women make the first move.

Bumble BFF

Bumble BFF is Bumble’s platform for finding and matching with other users in their area to become friends with. This mode was created for people who are new in the area or are simply finding difficulty meeting new people and making friends. In Bumble BFF, there are no rules about who approaches who first.

Bumble Bizz

Finally, the Bumble Bizz component of the app allows people to network for business purposes, such as finding mentors within their field, chatting with potential interns, and kickstarting new career opportunities.

How Bumble works

Match by swiping right on someone’s profile
Two mutual swipe-rights equals a match
In heterosexual couples, the woman must message the man first within 24 hours

Bumble works like a typical dating app, with a few distinct differences. Bumble’s primary distinction is that when a heterosexual couple matches on the site, the woman must message the man first.

Men cannot message a woman that they’ve matched with until she’s messaged them. With same-sex matches, or in the Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz modes, either person can make the first move.

How Bumble matching works

Users match with one another by viewing profiles of people in their area and swiping right on someone’s profile if they want to match with them. If that user also swipes right, a match is created.

When two people have matched, the woman (or man in a same-sex couple) has 24 hours to reach out to the other person before the match expires (expired matches will still reappear in the app).

The recipient then has 24 hours to respond, or again, the connection will expire. Bumble touts that this rule emboldens users to immediately make a connection, which results in a higher rate of post-match conversations and has led to over 3 billion messages on the app to date.

Using multiple modes

You aren’t restricted to just one Bumble mode (Bumble Date, Bumble BFF, or Bumble Bizz); you can use all three modes at once, even with a separate profile for each one. You can switch from mode to mode inside the app with the mode-switching menu.

Bumble Coins

Bumble also comes with an in-app currency called Bumble Coins that can be used to purchase the app’s premium features (which we’ll discuss in the next section, ‘How Bumble makes money’).

How Bumble makes money

Freemium model
Optional in-app purchases for advanced features
Subscription model

Bumble is free to download and free to use for its primary features, which we’ve discussed above. However, the app does generate revenue from special premium features, bought in either one-time purchases or through a subscription.

Premium features

Bumble offers several special features that can enhance your experience on the app, including SuperSwipe and Spotlight. ‘SuperSwiping’ on someone’s profile lets them know that you’re extra interested in them.

The ‘Spotlight’ feature allows you to put your profile at the top of the stack of profiles, so more people will view it that instant.

Users also have the option to extend a match by 24 hours, on top of the default 24 hours. This feature signifies that you’re especially interested in the other person. Non-Bumble Boost members can only buy this feature once per day, and no users can extend the same match more than once.

Bumble Coins can be used to purchase any of these features, either for one or multiple uses. Or, you can gain access to these features through a Bumble Boost subscription.

Bumble Boost

A Bumble Boost membership entails the following advanced features:

See all of the users who have swiped right on your profile
Rematch with expired connections
Extend an unlimited number of matches by 24 hours

You can choose among a variety of subscription options, including weekly, monthly, three months and six months, to become a Bumble Boost member for up to $25 a month.

With Bumble Coins, you can send Super Swipes to make a bold first impression and activate Spotlight to maximize your profile views.

What sets Bumble apart

As previously mentioned, the primary characteristic that makes Bumble stand out among other dating apps is its requirement that women must make the first move.

This requirement not only challenges antiquated dating norms and empowers women, but also cuts down on the amount of harassment and abuse that plagues many online dating sites.

Bumble takes its commitment to create a safe and respectful platform even further with technology that can identify whether or not a photo sent on the app may contain a lewd image.

Users are given a warning if they have been sent a potentially lewd photo and can choose whether to see it or not.

Furthermore, Bumble’s partnership with Vital Voices means that for every first move made on the app, the company donates to a woman-focused nonprofit. Users can choose which cause their first move will support within the app.

Lastly, Bumble is unique in that it is not only a platform for dating, but for socializing and networking as well. In fact, it is the first app of its kind to combine dating, finding friends, and career-building into one single platform.

Bumble’s growth thus far

Since its launch (a little over five years ago), Bumble has now achieved approximately 75 million users, located throughout 150 countries. After generating $162 million in revenue in 2018, the app is expected to bring in a huge boost of $300 million in revenue this year.

Though its profits are unknown due to the company’s private status, CEO Wolfe Herd has revealed that Bumble is making a profit.

Conclusion

With its staggering growth since the app’s inception in 2014, Bumble is changing the mobile dating app game and setting a precedent for empowering its users that other companies may want to take note of.

References & more information