How Many Matches Is Normal on Dating Apps for a Man in His 30s?

About 4 matches for every 100 profiles you like. SwipeStats' Tinder data puts the average match rate for men aged 30 to 34 at 4.17 percent and for ages 35 to 39 at 3.78 percent. There's no normal number of matches per week, because the count depends on how many people you like, how long you use the app, and where you live.

SwipeStats, a site where users upload their own Tinder data, reports match rate by age for men. Match rate is matches divided by right swipes (likes), so 4 percent means about 4 matches per 100 likes.

• Ages 18-21: 7.54%
• Ages 22-25: 5.49%
• Ages 26-29: 5.29%
• Ages 30-34: 4.17%
• Ages 35-39: 3.78%
• Ages 40-44: 3.87%
• Ages 45 and up: 4.68%

For all men on the site the average is 5.26 percent and the median is 2.04 percent, which is about 1 match per 50 likes. Half of men do worse than the median, so a rate in the 2 to 4 percent range is common, not a sign something's broken.

Treat them as a rough guide. The data comes from users who chose to upload their own stats, most of them English-speaking or European. It's one app, Tinder, and SwipeStats says some of the age data includes impossible values and should be read directionally only. It also doesn't say how many men are in each age group.

SwipeStats' page on age adds that after 30 the pressure on men eases, with fewer users and less competition, though it doesn't give a number. SwipeStats' dating app page cites Pew for the share who have ever used a dating app: 37 percent of people aged 30 to 49. That counts people who have tried one, not who is on it now.

Say you like 40 profiles a week. At 4 percent you'd expect about 1 or 2 matches. Like 200 and you'd expect about 8. If you only like the 10 women you find most attractive, expect fewer, and don't read that as a verdict on you.

The number that tells you something is your own rate over a few weeks, not other men's counts. In a Blind discussion on whether men match more after 30, people disagreed. One said money helps, one said apps are about looks, and one said they matched a lot both before and after 30. Nobody had data, so don't plan around any of it.

Fix the earliest weak step first.

• Few matches: your photos. Use a clear, recent photo of your face, in daylight, alone in the frame. In your 30s the usual failure is a lead photo that's years old. Then add a full-length shot, one with friends where it's obvious which man is you, and one doing something you like.
• Matches but no replies: your first message. Pick one detail from her profile, react like you would out loud, and end on a question she can answer in a line.
• Replies but no dates: you're waiting too long to ask. Suggest a day and a place within a few messages.

a dating coach was 42 when he made his video on dating after 30. His first point is that dating doesn't change as much as you might think. The change is who you're around. At school and in your early twenties you spent every day near single women your age. Now your friends are mostly married and you go out less. The apps put single women back in front of you.

He calls an online profile a passive supplement: it takes little time and works while you do other things. It shouldn't be your whole plan. Join a club or a league, go out with single friends, and meet people where the women you want to meet already spend time.

He says there are two kinds of man who get older. One is worldly, successful and interesting. The other just got older. You want her to see the first, which means clothes that fit now, a body in shape, and photos and lines that show a real life.

a dating coach's last piece of advice is to decide whether you want to play the field or settle down, and let your approach follow. If you're unclear, you tend to end up with neither. Say it plainly in two or three lines on your profile. Don't rush, and treat needy energy as something that makes you less attractive.

a dating coach's method gets a woman from the app to a plan in about four to seven messages, and he warns that she's talking to other men, so a good date beats a long chat. Test two apps, not six, and count likes, matches, replies and dates for a few weeks. Fix the weakest step first.