Is it worth paying to find love?

Many dating apps require users to pay to use premium features. Many consider this to be wasteful.
Robert Beck (28 years old) spent most of his life being single. He has downloaded a lot of dating apps in the hope that one day he will delete them when he finds a lover.

Recently, Beck received many ads from Tinder about premium service. Beck has never paid for a dating app. He thinks paying £14.59 a month is an unreasonable price. “I just turned 28. Sometimes I wonder if I’m being charged more than young people. If you’re single at 28, do the tech giants know that many people are so scared that they might pay any price to get a date?”, Beck told The Guardian . Dating apps, make friends quite popular with young people in recent years. Photo: Ties. Beck conducted a survey with friends, relatives, and community groups and asked them to submit screenshots of the prices they pay for using dating apps. In the group of respondents who responded, there was a clear difference. Those over 30 will be charged £27.49-29.49/month, while the rest of the users only have to pay £13.99-14.49. Tinder isn’t the only dating app with paid services. Many other platforms also launch similar features besides the free version to expand the scope of searching for love for users. For example, Bumble asks members to pay £14.99/month for Bumble Boost to give them access to unlimited “swipe” (showing interest in someone) mode. With the Bumble Premium plan (£32.99/month), users can see who has liked them. This functionality is similar on the premium service of Coffee Meets Bagel (£34/month). In addition, they will also receive a large amount of information about other people such as recent activity history. Pay to find love Sophie Thomas, a dating and love expert, says everyone should buy an upgraded feature. “You can absolutely meet your ideal person by using free services. However, if you’re really serious about the big milestone in your life, it’s also a good thing to invest in dating,” says Thomas. According to Thomas, paying a fee helps users get better search engines, which can save time and effort. “Getting to know someone takes a long time, so you shouldn’t be in a hurry to make friends with a stranger. Once you’re happy with an app, buy a long-term subscription to access dating opportunities until you find the right one,” she added. James Preece, podcast host Love Machine , agree with this statement. However, he argues that it’s not simply paying more to get better results. If the profile, photos, and messages are bad, the person will still get the desired results. “If the record is good, unlocking extras can boost your chances. Some of the premium functions like on Bumble allow you to use more filters when searching. That can help you get quality ‘matches’,” Preece said. The premium features of the dating app bring unlimited modes to users. Photo: Timesnext. Besides those who agree, many argue that paying a large amount of money to find love is a waste. Kate Mansfield (from London, UK), relationship expert, is among the naysayers. According to her, people who are confident, love themselves, know what they want, will not waste money on matchmaking services or an upgrade of a dating app. They can take advantage of free platforms and find their ideal lover. “You think paying for a premium service is the right thing to do, but you’re wrong. Because you will waste it being in a group of people who are struggling with love and dating,” Mansfield asserts. Instead of using a paid app, Mansfield advises: “Invest in yourself more like attending training courses, therapy to help us be in the best position. Then use the free versions of Tinder, Hinge or Bumble to find love.”