- Hinge is available for free and allows users to like up to 8 profiles per day. Paid versions called “Hinge+” and “HingeX” have extra features and allow unlimited likes.
- Hinge+ costs $14.99 - $29.99 per month. Along with unlimited likes, it has advanced search filters and the option to see everyone who liked your profile.
- HingeX costs $24.99 - $49.99 per month. Along with all Hinge+ features, it makes your profile more visible and makes your “likes” stand out in users’ feeds.
Is Hinge a free app?
Hinge is available for free, but the paid versions offer extra features. The free version allows you to make a profile, upload photos, and view profiles of people in your area. You can filter by gender, age, location, ethnicity, and religion. The free version lets you “like” up to 8 profiles per day, and if someone’s like you back, it’s a “match.” From there, you send each other unlimited messages and even do video calls. Hinge is available for free on iPhone and Android. There are also two paid versions, Hinge+ and HingeX, that offer extra features such as unlimited likes. We'll outline them in detail below. Hinge+ costs $29.99 for 1 month, $59.99 for 3 months, and $89.99 for 6 months. HingeX costs $49.99 for 1 month, $99.99 for 3 months, and $149.99 for 6 months.
Free Hinge Features
The free version of Hinge lets you send 8 likes per day. As you use the app, profiles will appear on your screen according to your filter settings. You can select “like” or “pass” on each one. Free users can see who liked their profile by going to the “Likes You” tab at the bottom of the screen. You can see one like at a time and select “like” or “pass” on each. After 8 likes, free users get a notice saying they’re out of likes for the day. Your likes reset every day at 4:00 AM.
You can filter by gender, age, ethnicity, religion, and location. You can even make certain traits “dealbreakers,” which means that your matches must have them. For instance, you can provide a specific age range—say, 25-33—then check the box for “dealbreaker” so that only profiles of users aged 25-33 appear on your feed. If you uncheck “dealbreaker,” users outside of this range may occasionally appear. Use the “dealbreaker” option for traits that are especially important to you. Any filter can be set to “dealbreaker,” including height, ethnicity, distance, etc. If you don’t set a filter to “dealbreaker,” you may still see users who don’t match that filter. For gender, you can filter by 50 different options, including traditional “male” and “female” labels and many genderqueer and tans-inclusive labels. The gender(s) for your desired partner in the “I’m Interested In” preference is automatically set to “dealbreaker.” That way, you will only see users who match your gender preference.
You can send unlimited messages and do video calls. Once you match with someone, you can talk to each other on the app as much as you like. You can also do video calls to get to know each other a bit before meeting face-to-face. This also lets you confirm that the person matches their photos, which is great for safety. Video calling becomes available once both of you have messaged each other.
Paid Membership Features: Hinge+ & HingeX
You can send unlimited likes every day. This can be super helpful if you often run out of likes when using the free version. But more importantly, liking more profiles increases the chance of getting a match. Both Hinge+ and HingeX can send unlimited likes—in fact, most special features are available for both memberships, but we'll explain the one key difference below. You’re still limited by the number of users in your area. So for instance, if you live in a small town with only 20 nearby Hinge users, you might run out of profiles to “like.”
You can see everyone who liked your profile. Whereas free users can only see one like at a time, Hinge+ and HingeX users can tap “All” in the upper left corner of the screen to see the whole list of users who liked their profile. You can then browse the profiles and select “Like” or “Pass” on each one. You can only see likes you received from someone else. When you like another user’s profile, your like is sent to that user’s feed and you won’t see that user again unless they like you back.
You can use advanced search filters to improve your matches. In addition to the filters in the free version, Hinge+ and HingeX users can also filter by political beliefs, drinking habits, marijuana use, tobacco use, drug use, educational level, and even whether someone wants to have children someday (or already has children of their own). These filters help weed out people you’re not compatible with. The more filters you use, the fewer profiles you’ll see—but those profiles should be more compatible with you.
HingeX: users get permanent profile boosts and prioritized “likes.” These features are HingeX exclusives. Instead of having to pay for boosts, your HingeX profile is boosted 24/7, making it visible to everyone in your area who matches your filters. When you like someone, that like appears at the top of their “Likes You” list (if they’re a free user) or the top of “All” (if they’re subscribed to Hinge+ or HingeX). Being more visible doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get more matches, but it definitely improves your chances.
Additional In-App Purchases
You can pay to “boost” your profile and make it more visible. A boost will show your profile to more users for 1 hour, increasing the chances of likes and matches. You can also buy a “Superboost,” which lasts for 24 hours. Boosts work for the free version of Hinge and for Hinge+. HingeX profiles are automatically boosted. 1 boost costs $9.99, so they aren’t cheap—though you can purchase 3 for $26.97 ($8.99 per boost) and 5 for $39.95 ($7.99 per boost) A “Superboost” cost $19.99. Only boost your profile during the daytime or evening, when users are browsing the app. Boosting at 3:00 AM won’t get you more views if all your potential matches are asleep.
You can send a “rose” to make your profile stand out to someone. When browsing their profile, you can select the “rose” icon instead of the standard “heart” icon. This places your profile on their “Standouts” feed, which they can access by tapping the star on the bottom menu. All Hinge users get one free rose to use per week. You can also purchase additional roses: 3 roses for $3.33 each ($9.99 total) 12 roses: $2.49 each ($29.88 total) 50 roses: $1.49 each ($74.50 total)
Should you pay for Hinge?
Stick with the free version if you live in a less-populated area. Major cities often have tons of Hinge users, but rural communities may have just a handful. Paying for Hinge+ or HingeX isn’t worth it if few people will see your profile anyway. If you only see a few dozen nearby profiles when browsing Hinge, you’re better off sticking with the free version. Try a 7-day free trial of Hinge+ if you’re not sure whether it’s worth it for you. Just remember to cancel before the trial is over, unless you want to renew your subscription.
Use the free version if you don’t use Hinge very often. Hinge+ and HingeX may have fantastic features, but they’re not worth the money if you don’t use the app. 8 likes per day is plenty if you only browse Hinge for a few minutes every now and then. And besides, you can still get matches if you stick with it long enough. If you find yourself using the app more often, try subscribing to Hinge+ or HingeX for a month.
Pay for Hinge+ if you use the app a lot and often run out of likes. The more you browse Hinge, the more likely you are to run out of likes. This can get annoying, especially if you see an intriguing profile and don’t have any likes to send! Try a 1-month subscription and see how it goes, or pay for 3 or 6 months upfront to save money in the long run. You’ll also be able to see everyone who liked your profile so far.
Pay for Hinge+ if the advanced filters are important to you. If you’re specifically looking to have children someday, Hinge+ lets you screen profiles so that only wannabe parents appear on your feed. Likewise, you can screen for drug use, sobriety, and other options not available in the free version. Set these to “dealbreakers” to ensure you only see what you’re looking for. Using advanced filters could also reduce the amount of time you spend on the app since you won’t need to search profiles for specific dealbreakers.
Pay for HingeX to stand out from the crowd and get the best matches. HingeX subscribers get a permanent boost, making their profiles visible to more people at once. This can be super helpful if you live in a big city with thousands of Hinge users nearby. As a bonus, your likes will appear at the top of users’ feeds, and you’ll always see the most compatible profiles upfront thanks to an improved algorithm, increasing the chances of getting a match. If you’re on the fence, try Hinge+ first to see if get more matches and have an overall better experience. You can always upgrade to HingeX later on.
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