Hinge
A dating app with a distinctive premium visual style.
Hinge shows a brand can outgrow its category: it out-searches the generic term "dating", and its dark premium look helped lift Pro subscriptions in a Superwall test. It shares roadmap items with Tinder but differs on strategy: no swiping, profile prompts, TV ads. Lesson: build a name people search for and keep your rules distinct from copycats.
- Plus and Pro paywall
- No dark look on Pro
- Plus and Pro paywall
- Dark background when Pro selected
- Contrasts with white onboarding
More users subscribed to Pro
From Hinge-inspired paywall test
What was said about Hinge
A dark premium look on the Pro tier pushed more users to Pro. On a multi-tier paywall with Plus and Pro, the background switches to a contrasting dark look when the higher tier is selected. After the contrast effect was added, more users subscribed to the Pro plan. The design was inspired by Hinge's premium visual style.
The contrast works because it follows a white onboarding flow, which signals that something different is happening. The source gives no figures for the lift.
I made 4,000 app paywalls and learned this
Its look inspired a dark Pro tier design with fade contrast, and more users subscribed to Pro after the contrast effect was added.
A dark premium look on the Pro tier pushed more users to Pro. On a multi-tier paywall with Plus and Pro, the background switches to a contrasting dark look when the higher tier is selected. After the contrast effect was added, more users subscribed to the Pro plan. The design was inspired by Hinge's premium visual style.
The contrast works because it follows a white onboarding flow, which signals that something different is happening. The source gives no figures for the lift.
If You’re Running Paid App Ads, You NEED to Watch This
Has more search volume than the generic term "dating", showing how a brand can outgrow its category in search.
How to build your product strategy stack | Ravi Mehta (Tinder, Facebook, Tripadvisor, Outpace)
Hinge shares roadmap items like video chat with Tinder but follows a different strategy: no swiping, profile prompts to spark conversation, and TV advertising. Its use case is temporary where Tinder's is continuous.
How to Build a Media Empire From Apps
He argues a founder who coaches daters for free could earn enough great reviews to lift a dating app's score above Hinge's.
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