None of the apps we checked gives free members unlimited likes. Bumble, Tinder, OkCupid, happn, Hinge and Feeld all put a daily limit on likes for free accounts and lift it on a paid plan. If you want unlimited swiping, you pay. If you want to use the free version well, you learn to spend a limited number of likes on the right women.
What each app says
| App | Free members | What lifts the limit |
|---|---|---|
| Bumble | A daily like allowance that refreshes 24 hours after the limit is reached | Bumble Boost or Premium |
| Tinder | A daily Like limit, which follows from Tinder Plus listing unlimited daily Likes as a subscription feature | Tinder Plus and the plans above it |
| OkCupid | A daily limit on how many profiles you can like | The A-List plan has no daily limit |
| happn | A daily Like limit | A happn subscription removes it |
| Hinge | A limited number of likes | Hinge+ and HingeX subscribers can send unlimited Likes |
| Feeld | A daily limit | Majestic members can like an unlimited number of profiles each day |
The word "swipe" is a habit. On some of these apps you tap a heart, not swipe, but it is the same action. A like is a like.
Unlimited is a paid feature everywhere
It is worth being direct about this, because search results are full of pages promising an app with no cap. For the apps above, the cap is part of how the free version is separated from the paid one.
Free caps change, and the apps do not publish them as promises. So this article gives no numbers. If an app you are looking at shows a different limit than you expected, believe the app.
Why the limit is not as bad as it looks
A man who has never run out of likes often thinks unlimited is the main thing he is missing. A man who has run out knows the truth: the limit is rarely what is holding him back.
Think about what unlimited likes do. They let you like women you would not bother to message. Each one adds a match that goes nowhere and a name in your list you will not answer. a dating coach's description of how apps judge you adds a second cost. He says an app that sees you liking everyone reads that as a sign you are less attractive, and has less reason to show you the women you most want to meet. Whether or not the apps work exactly like that, liking indiscriminately costs you attention and gains you very little.
A cap pushes the other way. It makes you pick.
How to spend free likes well
Treat each like as something you will follow up on.
- Read the page before you like. If you could not write her one specific sentence about something on it, skip her.
- Like fewer, then write. A match you message the same day beats five you never open.
- Use the likes on your best evenings. A full allowance on a quiet Tuesday night is a wasted allowance. Spend them when you will also have time to reply.
- Notice what fraction of your likes turn into conversations. If it is tiny, the limit is not your problem. Your photos or your opener are.
None of this needs money. It needs a habit of choosing.
When paying for unlimited is sensible
There is a fair case for it once the free version is clearly working. If your likes are running out each day while the matches turn into real conversations, you have a signal that more likes would produce more dates. a dating coach says paying for dating site features is probably worth it in most cases, and that the way to decide is to test one cheaply and drop it if nothing changes.
The reverse is the mistake. A man whose matches keep going quiet does not need a bigger allowance. He needs better photos and a first message that sounds like a person.
The short version
Free members get a daily allowance on every app listed here, and paid plans remove it. Use the allowance on women you will actually write to. If you run out and you are still getting conversations, a paid tier is a reasonable thing to try next.
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.