Tinder’s daily users grow for the first time in three and a half years as Hinge payers jump 23%
Match Group's revenue and payers fell again in the third quarter, but Tinder's daily users finally grew year on year and Hinge added paying users faster than ever.
For three and a half years, every Match Group earnings report carried the same line about Tinder: fewer people were opening the app each day than a year earlier. In September 2026 that changed. Tinder’s daily active users grew year on year for the first time in three and a half years, the company said in its Match Group Q3 2026 results, published after the US market closed on 2 November.
The rest of the report was more familiar. Group revenue fell 3 per cent to $891 million (down 2 per cent excluding currency effects), and paying users fell 5 per cent to 13.8 million. Revenue per payer rose 3 per cent to $21.19, so the group again earned more from a smaller paying base. Hinge, meanwhile, kept growing quickly.
Match Group Q3 2026 results at a glance
| Q3 2026 | Direct revenue | Payers | Revenue per payer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tinder | $480m (−2%) | 8.9m (−4%) | $18.02 (+2%) |
| Hinge | $221m (+19%) | 2.3m (+23%) | $31.81 (−3%) |
| Evergreen & Emerging | $176m (−20%) | 2.6m (−23%) | $22.58 (+4%) |
| Match Group total | $891m (−3%) | 13.8m (−5%) | $21.19 (+3%) |
Tinder: usage turns before revenue does
Tinder’s numbers are still shrinking, but more slowly. Its direct revenue fell 2 per cent to $480 million and its payers fell 4 per cent to 8.9 million. Monthly active users were down 5.5 per cent, a one-point improvement on the second quarter, and the decline in female monthly users narrowed to 6 per cent from 8 per cent. Daily active users were down just 1 per cent across the quarter before turning positive in September.
Match credits a run of new features aimed at younger users who had drifted away. Double Date has now produced 30 million matches, executives said on the earnings call. Groups has just launched in the US, Missed Connections is being tested in Canada, and the in-person Events tab and Group Hangouts showed what the company called encouraging early results. A new real-time recommendation system is due by the end of the year.
Usage is not yet revenue, and Match said its focus for 2027 is turning Tinder’s improving user trends into sustainable revenue growth. It expects Tinder’s monthly users, payers and direct revenue to improve again year on year in the fourth quarter.
Hinge: faster payer growth, and a cheaper plan on the way
Hinge’s direct revenue rose 19 per cent to $221 million and its paying users rose 23 per cent to 2.3 million, faster growth than in the second quarter, when payers were up 17 per cent. Global monthly users grew 12 per cent. European expansion markets now account for about a quarter of Hinge’s monthly users and 15 per cent of its direct revenue.
Revenue per payer slipped 3 per cent to $31.81, which the company put down to price changes. Hinge is testing a lower-priced tier aimed at price-sensitive users, particularly women, and plans to roll it out more widely in the fourth quarter. It also plans to launch in Japan in 2027, the year Match still expects Hinge to reach $1 billion in annual revenue.
The rest of the portfolio, and what comes next
The weakest part of the business remains Evergreen & Emerging, which includes Match, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish and brands such as BLK and HER. Its direct revenue fell 20 per cent to $176 million and its payers fell 23 per cent.
For the fourth quarter, Match expects total revenue of $865 million to $875 million, down 1 per cent to flat year on year, and adjusted EBITDA of $327.5 million to $332.5 million.
For users, the headline is less about money than direction. The biggest swipe app is trying to win people back with group plans, events and friends, and the app built on slower, prompt-led profiles keeps gaining paying members. For the longer view, see our online dating statistics and our research on dating app fatigue, or compare the apps in our Tinder review and Hinge review.
Sources
Cover photo: Romain Gal / Unsplash
