A Spotlight is aimed at many women and a SuperSwipe is aimed at one. Spotlight puts your page at the front of other members' stacks for a short period, so more potential matches see you, and nobody knows you used it. A SuperSwipe goes to one specific woman, she is notified, you skip to the front of her line, and your page carries a label showing you SuperSwiped her.
What a Spotlight does
A Spotlight is about reach. For a set period, your page is pushed to the front of other members' stacks, so more people see you than usually would. Bumble describes the period as a short one.
Nobody is told you used it. A woman who likes your page has no idea a Spotlight put it in front of her, so it looks like the ordinary way you appeared.
You start one from the Spotlight option on the main menu, under your profile photo.
What a SuperSwipe does
A SuperSwipe is about one woman. It tells her you are especially interested before you match, and it shows her a clear sign that you did more than swipe right.
You send it by tapping the star icon on her page. She is notified, you move to the front of her line, and your page carries a label showing you SuperSwiped her. Bumble says a SuperSwipe cannot be undone.
Side by side
| Spotlight | SuperSwipe | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it reaches | Many members, through their stacks | One woman you choose |
| Does she know | No one knows you used it | She is notified and sees a label |
| How you start it | The Spotlight option on the main menu | The star icon on her page |
| What it changes | How many people see you | Where you sit in her line |
| How you get them | Weekly with paid plans, or bought alone | Weekly with paid plans, or bought alone |
| Unused ones | Expire when the week renews | Expire when the week renews |
Both come with Boost and Premium in a weekly allowance, with Premium+ giving more of each. Both can also be bought on their own, and the unused ones from a subscription expire when the week renews.
Which one fits your problem
If you are not getting enough women to see you at all, the problem is reach, and a Spotlight speaks to that. If a woman has already caught your eye and you want her to notice you back, a SuperSwipe is the tool.
A SuperSwipe on a woman you barely liked wastes it. A Spotlight on a weak page buys you more people to be unimpressed by you. The question to ask before either is whether the thing you are about to put in front of someone is good.
What a dating coach says about pushing yourself forward
a dating coach has a view about boosts on the apps that applies here. If you have been away for a while and have not been shown to many people, a boost can work very well. If you keep using it again and again in quick succession, the app has fewer fresh, active people to show you, and he believes it also holds back how many matches it gives you.
He is talking about boosts in general, not Spotlight in particular, so treat it as a rule of thumb. Use a visibility tool when you have a reason, and give it time to work before you reach for another.
What neither one does
Neither feature writes the first message for you. A Spotlight gets your page seen, and a SuperSwipe gets one woman to look twice. After that you still need a page that holds her and a first line that gets an answer.
That is why the two are not rivals. A man who has fixed his page can use a Spotlight for reach and keep a SuperSwipe for the woman who stands out. A man who has not fixed it is paying twice to be looked at and passed over.
The cheaper answer first
A good page does more than either feature. The best first photo you can get, a bio that gives her something to answer, and one photo with a story she can ask about all raise the number of women who like you whether or not you pay.
If those are in place and you still want a push, pick the tool that matches the problem. Reach calls for a Spotlight. One woman you do not want to lose calls for a SuperSwipe.
Written by Matthew Stevens, Co-Founder & Head Coach. More than half a decade coaching men across the US and worldwide.
Everything here comes out of real coaching work: the approaches, dates, texts and profiles we go through with the men we coach.
