With so many dating apps to choose from, it’s hard to figure out the best one. There’s Hinge, Bumble, Tinder, The League, and CMB, plus all the dating websites too. Add in dating services and meeting people in person, and it’s too much!

I’ve tried each of the four main dating apps – extensively. Over time, I’ve limited myself to Bumble and Hinge as the best two.

So here’s where the pivotal question comes in: Which app is better? Hinge or Bumble?

Overall, I hesitantly give Bumble the award for best dating app. I love Hinge’s features and setup much more, but at the end of the day – it all comes down to which app has gotten me the most dates. This is where Bumble wins hands down.

Which Dating app is Better: Bumble or Hinge?

Read below to learn how Bumble stacks up to Hinge below based on the filters available, user friendliness, the quality of the men, and the results.

1. Filters Available on Bumble versus Hinge

 

Winner Based on Free Dating App Filters: Bumble

You definitely won’t be short of finding a date on either Bumble or Hinge, so it’s key to have the right filters set to weed out the men and women who don’t meet your preferences. I don’t pay for Hinge or Bumble’s preferred member settings, so below is how the two dating apps compare to each other based on the free settings.

	Bumble	Hinge
Maximum Distance	Free	Free
Age Range	Free	Free
Ethnicity	Not available	Free
Religion	Not available	Free
Objective with Dating App	Free if one of two advanced filters	Not available
Height	Free if one of two advanced filters	Preferred Member – Must Pay
Have Children / Family Plans	Free if one of two advanced filters	Preferred Member – Must Pay
Education	Free if one of two advanced filters	Preferred Member – Must Pay
Politics	Free if one of two advanced filters	Preferred Member – Must Pay
Drink / Smoke / Marijuana / Drugs	Each one is free if one of two advanced filters	Preferred Member – Must Pay
Have Pets	Free if one of two advanced filters	Not available
Exercise	Free if one of two advanced filters	Not available

Why Bumble Beats Hinge on Filters

The reason I prefer Bumble over Hinge is that you can select two advanced filters based on what is most important to you.

For me, it’s very important that a man 1) wants children and 2) has a college degree. I can select these two filters on Bumble for free, which makes Bumble the better dating app over Hinge.

I also prefer Bumble over Hinge because it shows each of the man’s preferences in his dating profile. So even if I don’t select the filter of “height” or “politics,” I can see his views and what he is looking for.

Bumbler filters: Bumble shows filters like height, exercise activity, education, drinking, smoking, pets, and relationship versus hook up, children plans, politics, and religion versus Hinge.

This is a huge winner for me. If I see a guy on Bumble that is seeking “something casual” versus “relationship,” I can swipe left on him and move on to the next guy.

What You Can See About a Prospective Date on Hinge

What I hate, hate, hate about Hinge is that I can’t see the following information on a man’s dating profile:

• Education Level
• What he’s looking for (relationship vs. something casual)
• Religion
• Family plans
• Has kids

What You Can See After Matching with Someone on Hinge Versus Bumble

The reason Bumble beats Hinge is you can see more about your prospective date before you meet up. Here’s a table showing what you can see in a prospective date.

	Bumble Setting available to see for free?	Hinge Setting available to see for free?
Age & Height	Yes	Yes
Current location & Where they Live	Yes	Yes
Drink / Smoke / Marijuana / Drugs	Yes	Yes
Profession & School Attended	Yes	Yes
Has / Doesn’t Have Kids & Open to Kids / Doesn’t Want Kids	No	Yes
Looking for… (relationship, something casual)	Yes	No
Education level (high school, undergrad, grad degree)	Yes	No – but shows where individual went to school
Religion & Political Affiliation	Yes	No
Exercise activity & Astrological Sign	Yes	No

In summary, Bumble beats hinge on criteria #1: filters available.

2. User Friendliness of Bumble versus Hinge for Both Men and Women

Rating user friendliness of Bumble versus Hinge is tricky. I’d make this one a tie. Both Bumble and Hinge have their benefits and drawbacks.

Why and How Bumble offers a Great User Experience

• It’s fast. Swiping is quick on Bumble. On the front page, you can see someone’s picture, name, age, profession, and educational institutional attended. This is where Bumble beats Hinge. On Hinge, you need to swipe DOWN to see this information, as the top page only shows someone’s picture.
• Clean User Interface. The light yellow background and black font is just easy on the eyes.
• Clear action buttons. Bumble is easy to use. The three main buttons on the bottom of the page take you to your profile, new matches, and current messages.
• Great for Men. Woman have to message the guy first on Bumble, so Bumble saves men time. Guys only match with women that are interested in them.
• Great openers for Women. Bumble offers great openers for women to start chatting with men. No need to type! Bumble makes it easy for women to make the first move.

Why and How Hinge offers a Great User Experience

• Allows you to see who already likes you. Unlike Bumble, Hinge offers four action buttons on its interface. One of those buttons is to see who already likes you. This is a benefit to both men and women. You can quickly and easily match and start chatting with someone who has already shown you an interest.
• Allows men to stand out. On Bumble, men have no chance to stand out to a woman. If a woman doesn’t like his main profile pictures page, she’ll swipe left and he’s gone forever. With Hinge, men can like a woman first, which allows men to show up in the “already likes you” section for women. Men can also message a woman first, which can help a slightly unattractive man stand out.
• Can hide inactive matches. This is my favorite feature of Hinge.

Hidden feature on Hinge: Hinge allows users to hide inactive users from their match section and conversation and messaging section, which makes Hinge better than Bumble.

• With Hinge, you can hide matches on your user screen. So if someone hasn’t been very talkative, you can “hide” them. This allows you to easily focus on your matches that have been responsive, while not “losing” prior matches. With Bumble, you can have 50+ matches in your messages area, but only be talking actively to 2-5 people at a time. It’s hard to keep track!

In summary, both Hinge and Bumble offer great user experiences within the app. If you guys tried using Hinge and Bumble a few years ago and disliked the apps, give them a try again. Hinge used to have a messy interface. Bumble used to freeze and crash on me a lot. But this doesn’t happen in Bumble or Hinge anymore.

3. Quality and Quantity of Men and Women on Bumble Versus Hinge

I’ve swiped a LOT on both Hinge and on Bumble. I started using both apps in 2016, so I consider myself an expert in the dating app area.

Quality of Matches on Hinge Versus Bumble

Let me let you in on this little secret: Both apps offer quality men and women. Both apps have matched me with educated men with college or graduate degrees and solid jobs. If you are concerned about finding quality men and women to date, I’d stay away from Tinder. But you can’t go wrong with either Hinge or Bumble.

Quantity of Men and Women on Hinge VS Bumble

I don’t know which app offers more users, but I have a theory that Bumble has slightly more men and women on it. I’ve seen all of my single guy friends on Bumble, but only some of them on Hinge. I think Bumble is more popular and has a stronger brand presence, so it attracts more total users.

I’ve seen all of my single guy friends on Bumble, but only some of them on Hinge.

Both apps started in 2014, so they likely have close to the same number of users. I have no idea, and to be honest, the total number doesn’t matter.

Reaching the End of the Bumble Line

If you swipe too much on Bumble, you may get the error: "You have no more matches. Expand your filters to see more matches near you.” Have no fear if this happens to you. It’s happened to me a couple of times. When this happens, give the app a break and start swiping on Hinge. Then, come back to Bumble in a few days for more matches.

In conclusion, both Hinge and Bumble offer quality men and women, and more than enough to choose from. I have a theory that Bumble has more people on it, so Bumble wins in this category.

4. Number of Dates from Bumble Versus Hinge Over 4 Years

The objective of getting on a dating app is to get a date (unless your goal is sex only), so the number of dates planned is the #1 criteria and decision factor for me.

I’m a MBA grad – so I decided to make my dating experience an analytical project, and started to keep track of each and every date I’ve been on since I moved to Atlanta in 2016.

By counting first dates only, and comparing Hinge to Bumble, I found that I’ve gotten 29 first dates through Bumble and 16 first dates through Hinge.

So in summary, Bumble has gotten me more dates. This makes Bumble the better dating app overall.

More to Come – Funny Stories from My Bumble and Hinge Dating Experiences

Many women and men complain about dating, but I actually enjoy it. I’m an outgoing person, so I enjoy meeting new people. Yes, I’ve come across a few duds during the dating experience, but those are few and far between.

Stay on the look-out for new posts coming soon. I’ll be writing one about how small the dating world really is, and how I find newly single men on the market through the dating apps.

And please, please, please, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!