Tinder is by far the most popular dating app in the world. In the last few years, it has built a reputation for being a hookup app, but some people use Tinder to build new friendships or seek serious relationships. In contrast, Happn is relatively younger. It aims to connect you with people you have crossed paths with in real life – within a range of 250 meters, to be precise. That’s why it has earned a lot of attention since its launch. If you are planning to dive into the world of online dating, you might be wondering which one is a better choice. Let’s find out.
Signing up
Both Tinder and Happn are built for the younger generation. You can download their respective apps on your smartphone and get started within minutes. You can sign up through Facebook as they both use Facebook Connect. It helps the apps quickly import your Facebook profile data.
If you happen to be among people who don’t have a Facebook account, both services now allow you to sign up using your phone number.
Pricing
Signing up and getting started on Tinder is free of cost. But the free plan gives you only basic features and you’ll encounter occasional ads. The free users get only a select number of likes in a day. If you run out of likes, you have to wait 12 hours before you can swipe through profiles again.
If you want more features, you can shell out $10 per month for Tinder Plus. If you are over 30 years, the cost of Tinder Plus is $20 per month. It gives you the ability to send five Super Likes and an ad-free experience. You also get the Rewind feature, which allows you to go back and swipe right if you changed your mind.
Tinder Plus also allows you to change your location to any city in the world and start swiping without physically being there. The paid plan gives users the freedom to like as many profiles as they want without any restrictions. Once a month, it also puts your profile to among the top profiles for 30 minutes, which dramatically increases your chances of a match.
If Tinder Plus is not good enough for you, there is Tinder Gold, which includes all the benefits of Plus and some extra features. If you are already a Plus member, Tinder Gold is going to cost you only $5 per month. For everyone else, it’s priced at $30 per month or $18.83 per month if you take the six-month subscription.
Tinder Gold allows you to see all the people who have swiped right on your profile. You can return the favor to jump to messaging instantly. Gold members are also presented with 4-10 profiles that are highly compatible matches with you.
Happn is also free to use, but the free plan has limited functionality. You can subscribe to Happn Premium to enjoy the extra perks. Happn Premium costs $25 per month. But if you opt for the six-month subscription, the price comes down to $15 per month. Committing to a 12-month subscription further brings down the price to $10 per month.
The Premium subscription gives you five credits daily, which you can use to send Charms to people you are interested in so that you can get noticed. The paid plan is also ad-free. Credits can also be used to respond to the availability of potential matches you have crossed paths with in real life.
Matchmaking
Tinder has more than 50 million users, which is much higher than roughly 20 million users of Happn. Tinder presents you profiles based on your location and interests. You can check more details about them by tapping on the profile. You are supposed to swipe left to reject them and swipe right to like a profile.
If the person you like also happens to like you, you’ll be able to message each other. You can’t message or chat unless it’s a match. The limited information in user profiles makes it difficult for you to decide who could be a better match for you if you are looking for a serious relationship.
One problem with Tinder is that when you are presented with a profile, you have to swipe left or swipe right. There is no option to do nothing for now and decide later. It presents you profiles of people who might not live or work in your locality.
On the other hand, Happn continuously updates your timeline with profiles of other Happn users who have crossed paths with you in real life. It also tells you how many times you have crossed paths with that person and the approximate location of where you were at the time.
At some point during the day, they were within 250 meters of you. It means they work or live in your locality. It makes the matchmaking more personal. You can tap the heart icon to like someone or the ‘X’ icon to reject them.
If you want, you can choose to neither like nor reject a profile, and move on to other profiles. The profile you took no action at all will again appear in your timeline when you cross paths with that person in real life. Happn uses geolocation technology to determine who you have crossed paths with.
Just like Tinder, Happn allows you to send messages to others only if it’s a match (Happn calls it a crush). It gives you the option to send a Charm to attract their attention. Another feature of Happn is Crush Time, which is a game to help you find who likes you. The app presents you four profiles and you have to guess which one of them has a crush on you. If you get it wrong, you can try again at the cost of a credit.
Happn makes it feel more personal than Tinder by telling you that you have been near this single person. It gives you a second chance to say hi to them. Since you’ve crossed paths with this person, there is a good chance the other person works or lives nearby, or has the same after-work lifestyle as you. Maybe both of you go to the same gym.
Conclusion
Tinder is the app for you if you are looking for hookups. If you have a busy lifestyle and you want a serious relationship, you’d want to explore Happn. In this busy world, dating is more likely to work if both of you have a similar lifestyle and live or work close by, making it a little easier for you to spend time with each other.
