Is Hinge Still The Best Dating App? I Tested It Out

Honestly, the envy that we get when we hear that someone met their partner in real life is bad. How do people do it? Even worse are the people who claim 'I wasn't even looking' and then end up engaged two years later. But for those of us who haven't managed to find our other half in real life, we've had to turn to dating apps like Hinge.

And safe to say, since I downloaded the app, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. There have been some good dates and there have been some awful ones, but the main thing is: there have actually been dates.

So if you're finding that you're regularly being ghosted on Hinge or struggling to match with people in the first place, we've collated all the best tips and tricks for you to actually have some success on Hinge and get some dates.

First of all, what is Hinge?

Creating a real connection is Hinge’s raison d’etre, it sells itself as Match.com for the younger crowd, without Tinder’s superficial picture-only swiping, and its slogan is literally 'designed to be deleted'.

It used to have the same function as Tinder when it came to swiping, but has increasingly adapted to the ever-evolving intricacies of online dating, including question and answer prompts - WITH a voicenote feature - and installing a ‘Your Turn’ reminder to reply to messages, a tactic to decrease ghosting.

Founded in 2011 by Justin McLeod, Matt O’Donnell, Frances Haugen and Bennett Richardson McLeod, the premise of Hinge was initially meant to mimic the real life dating experience of meeting people through mutual friends, except online. So, by using Facebooks 'mutual friends' feature, you were led toward people you had virtual friends in common with to take away some of the fear around anonymous online dating. Now though, Hinge no longer matches people using Facebook and has instead enlisted an AI-based algorithm (so it learns from itself) developed by the Nobel Prize-winning Gale Shapley.

So, how does Hinge work?

When you first install Hinge, you still can do so using Facebook though - or if you prefer, your mobile number. It's newer algorithm in matching you with people is said to be a lot more 'sophisticated', although little is known about what that actually means. When you first start your profile, alongside uploading your Facebook profile pictures, which are automatically pulled through to the app, you’re asked to choose three questions to answer. Que sheer panic.

Setting up your Hinge profile for success

Now I’m quite the keyboard warrior when it comes to witty remarks, my Instagram captions could honestly be entered into awards, but this shook me to my core. Not only do you have to choose a fun, quirky question that will adequately express your personality, but then also think of an equally funny answer? It’s a sweat-inducing prospect, and while clearly meant to be all fun and games, with these people deciding whether our personalities are compatible before even having a conversation, it’s far too much pressure to put on three questions as far as I’m concerned.

With your string of images and three questions laid out, your profile can also include your age, height, job, location, political leanings and whether you drink, smoke or do drugs. You can even include your star sign if so inclined, but don't be fooled into thinking the men that do actually care about astrology, 'astroglogy-fishing' is the new catfishing. Then you're free to roam.

When someone likes you, they have to heart a certain thing on your profile, whether it’s liking a picture or commenting on one of your answers. You get a notification, and you can choose to reply, remove, or just click match and then leave them to initiate conversation. When it’s your turn to reply, you’ll be told so.

If you really like someone, then there is option to give them a rose which is essentially a step up from a heart.

Is the Hinge app free to download?

It sure is, although you can upgrade your account to Hinge+ which will cost you £14.99 per week or HingeX which will cost you £24.99 a week.

Are Hinge subscriptions worth it? Hinge+ and HingeX explained

Hinge+ (previously known as Hinge Preferred) allows you to send unlimited likes on the app and see which users have already liked you. You also have the option to set more dating preferences. Reviews of Hinge+ are mixed with some Hinge users claiming that the update isn't worth it whilst others found that they got more matches on the app.

'The main difference is that you can narrow your preferences for, so you can put height and education, stuff like that,' Noelle Simpson, a Hinge reviewer, explains on TikTok. 'I did that, and from what I noticed it does not increase the quality of men... with that being said I did find a few good finds and set up a date for this weekend, so there's that.'

HingeX is a level up from Hinge+ that includes all the benefits of Hinge+ and also enhances your recommendations - making them fit your type better - and boosts your profile so that more people are able to see it. How do users feel about it? Again, it's quite mixed - with a lot of people bemoaning the significant financial cost.

'I matched with 500 men and [I have] a comical amount of Hinge numbers saved in my phone,' says Kelly McMahon when reviewing HingeX on TikTok. 'The obvious pros are that you get unlimited likes, you can go back and review someone and you can see all of the people that like you at once. They push you out more, they show you earlier than they show people that aren't paying for it... I'm assuming that led to me getting more matches.'

Kelly goes on to say that around one in five men she was shown on the app were men she would like or match with, but admits she wouldn't pay for it again. 'When I did go on dates, the men I met on Hinge were great and I had a really good time,' she says. 'But I don't know whether I would've met them without having paid for it.' She does say though that if you want to go on multiple dates a week, it definitely helps.

How is Hinge different to other dating apps?

As an avid online dater, how did my venture into Hinge compare to other apps? Well within minutes of my first conversation on the app, I’d been invited to Lisbon for a first date – all expenses paid. 'Is this a great start or am I accidently venturing into escorting?' I thought to myself. My next few conversations were very classic, 'How’s your week going?' being the opening line of choice for many. Better than the peach or cheeky monkey emoji openers I’m used to on Tinder though.

On that note, one thing I did notice that I didn’t expect was that the women on Hinge are actually much more like the Tinder lads I’m used to. For reference, my male Tinder matches almost always start the conversation commenting on my body, whereas the women tend more towards a nice, simple 'How are you?'. On Hinge however, that’s flipped on its head, with many more women opening simply with 'Ass' than men…literally what do you respond to that under any circumstance?!

Why have women become the LADSLADSLADS of Hinge? I honestly couldn’t tell you. I’m leaning towards to the fact that I match more women on Hinge than Tinder and so am subject to a greater experience of f*ckgirls. However, the positive takeaway there is that for the bisexual and pansexual communities, Hinge seems to show me equally as many women as men compared to Tinder, where I see one woman for about every tenth man.

Bumble is very much the same, but on the bright side I haven’t had anywhere near as many peach emoji openers from either women or men. In terms of starting an actual conversation after matching, Bumble and Hinge are on par, Tinder however is worlds above and is basically a match to conversation guarantee. I take full blame for the lack of conversation on Bumble, since you know I’m the one that’s meant to start the conversation (for my male matches) and I’m often too disinterested to come up with a decent opener. However, Hinge is an equal playing field, and I’ve found more matches than ever will ghost as soon as you ask them to initiate conversation.

It could be the blatant hook-up culture on Tinder that means conversations are initiated immediately, but I think it’s more likely that on Tinder, you’re not expected to put actual effort in. Hinge and Bumble, you need to think before you speak, and how many of us on online dating apps are actually on there to start a relationship? Are most of us not just passing the time during the boring parts of a Netflix binge, or boosting our egos after failing to pull IRL on Saturday night?

My final verdict on Hinge

I will say though, when considering every aspect of the dating app experience, Hinge is the best dating app to me mostly because it's the most popular now. Fewer and fewer people I know are actively using Tinder, mostly because I'm getting to that age where people actually want serious relationships.

While the set up process of Hinge is nerve-wracking, once you're happy with your profile the algorithm is more reliable than most in showing you your preferences, and the matching system makes it easy to review whose already liked you instead of swiping through people hoping for the best.

My favourite thing about Hinge is that it's easy to get a good read on people without focusing too much on appearance. The newer voice note and video prompts are an extra benefit, allowing you to gage someones personality and sense of humour a lot easier than other dating apps. In a dating landscape fuelled by endless swiping, the efficiency of figuring out whether this person is 'your vibe' or not is appreciated.

It also can be quite a low maintenance dating app if you want it to be. You can invest in conversations with cool people, or you can sit back and wait for them to message you - with the prompts around replying to people definitely a useful reminder if you're texting back etiquette is as bad as mine. Bumble however feels slightly more intense, with the pressure to think of a good opening message and maintain conversations more on women.

Of course, whether Hinge leads to success in your dating life is very much a personal experience - I've had great dates from Hinge matches, and life-ruining situationships at the same time. That's definitely on me, but date with caution wherever you like to swipe!

How does Hinge's 'Most Compatible' work?

Perhaps general indifference, or despair at meeting someone actually decent within a 10-mile radius of your home, is why Hinge introduced their ‘most compatible’ feature. Intended to push you towards those you’re more inclined to like, this feature uses a Nobel-Prize-winning algorithm (for a service to shagging we can only assume), that learns from users’ preferences through their liking and passing activity, and pairs them with those who they best align.

When you’re paired with someone, you appear at the top of their feed as you do theirs. It’s a nice idea, but also means if you don’t like their profile you’re probably living in denial about what’s good for you and destined to failed romance... not to get super dark about it.

What are the best answers to the Hinge questions and prompts?

It’s time we introduced you to the easiest way to guarantee matches on Hinge: with some of the best answers to the Q&A section of your profile.

Hinge IRL, the dating sites additional platform for ‘advice and insight into modern daters’, is a secret haven of Hinge success and contains a series of articles detailing the best responses to various questions. Analysing the best answers that get the most engagement - including words - for each individual prompt, there’s a ‘best answers’ guide on Hinge IRL.

Here’s a snapshot of their best answers to ‘Most spontaneous thing I’ve done’ and 'Last meal' prompts. Need some funny Hinge prompts? Look to these answers for inspiration...

So it seems that basically, the weirder your life has been, the better? Hinge's generic advice when to comes to the best answers is to create detailed ones, and paradoxically both being as weird as possible and as basic bitch as possible will equally get you more likes and comments, so it all really depends on who you’re looking to attract. Women, we have two choices: weirdos or basics.

Whether it’s Tinder, Hinge or Bumble, be warned: the weirdos are everywhere, the basics are everywhere, you just have to hope one of them is the exact mix of weirdo and basic that you yourself are.