Which Tinder Subscriptions Come With a Free Boost?

Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum. Tinder says subscribers on those plans get a free Boost every month, and that it expires if you do not use it. Boost is not one of the Tinder Plus features, so a Plus plan does not come with one. Weekly subscriptions do not include the monthly Boost either, and Tinder says some Gold plans of a month or longer may not include it because of testing.

The line falls between Plus and Gold. Plus has its own list of features, and Boost is not on it. Gold adds a free monthly Boost, and Platinum, which includes everything in Gold, carries it too.

So if you are on Plus and wondering where your free Boost is, the answer is that Plus never had one. You would need Gold or Platinum for the monthly Boost, or you can buy Boosts separately.

Two exceptions catch men out, even on the right tier.

Weekly plans. Tinder says Boosts are not included with weekly subscriptions. A week of Gold gets you the rest of Gold, but not the monthly Boost.

Testing. Tinder also says some Gold subscriptions of a month or longer may not include Boosts, because it is testing different versions of the plan. If you bought a monthly Gold plan and see no free Boost, you may simply be in one of those groups.

The quickest way to know is to check the subscription details in the app. That screen shows what your plan includes. And if a Boost matters to you, you can still buy one at any time in the app or on Tinder.com.

The free Boost does not roll over. If you do not use it, it expires.

That creates a quiet pressure at the end of the month. Men notice the Boost is about to lapse and fire it off at eleven on a Tuesday night, then go to sleep. The Boost runs, a few women see them, and nobody is awake to answer.

A better habit is to decide on the evening in advance. Pick one night each month when you know you will be home, free and on your phone. Put it in your calendar like anything else, and use the Boost then.

a dating coach has two pieces of advice that fit a monthly Boost well.

The first is about timing. He has found that a Boost pays off best when you come back to the app after some time away, before many women have seen you. Fire several off one after another and each brings in less than the last. A Boost that arrives monthly is spaced out by design, so you are already on the right side of that.

The second is about where you are while it runs. His example is a boring work call you have to sit on for an hour but never speak in. That, he says, is a good time to run a Boost and swipe, because the hour was going to be wasted anyway. The point is that you are on the app while the Boost is live, ready to reply.

Anyone who likes you in the middle of a Boost is holding her phone at that moment. That makes her one of the easiest conversations you will get all month, and one of the easiest to waste.

My rule is to Boost, then message every woman the Boost brought in, and only Boost again once you have worked through them all. With a free Boost arriving monthly, that is easy to follow. Clear the matches it gives you before you think about buying another.

Keep the first message short and about her. One real detail from her photos or her writing, and a light question she can answer quickly. Then move toward a plan while she is still replying.

On its own, no. The monthly Boost is a small extra, and a plan should earn its place with the features you use every day.

Pick Gold or Platinum because the rest of the plan is worth it to you, and treat the Boost as something that comes along with it. If you would not use the rest of the plan, buying a Boost on the evenings you want one is simpler.

Treat each monthly Boost as a small experiment. Note how many matches you get on an ordinary evening. Then compare the evening you Boost. Follow those matches through to real conversations and dates.

If the Boost clearly beats an ordinary night, keep using it and keep timing it well. If it barely moves anything, more women saw you and passed. That tells you your photos need work before any extra visibility will pay off.