Bumble Review – Who the App is and isn’t Good For?

Fact Checked by: Debbie Gutfreund, MA

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If you are a single woman, we have no doubt you’ve heard of bumble. It is the platform that is focused on shifting the antiquated dynamics of dating and handing the power of choice back to women. The main way this is done is by changing the communication rules so that the woman must like a profile before the profile owner can message them and also be the one to initiate (and unlock) the conversation.

Many women seem to love Bumble, but we wanted to know if they are using this one feature as a novelty that lets them ignore other features. If this feature isn’t adding to the app, like for same-sex couples or non-binary singles, does the rest of the app stand up? And what do we make of user reports from women saying the app is just too much work?

Well… Today, we are taking a look at every aspect of Bumble to see if it is truly worth a download. Additionally, we’re going to take a look at whether or not the app is good for men, women, or anyone else across the LGBTQ spectrum. If you’re ready, let’s buzz right into our Bumble reviews.

Who is Bumble Good For? (And Who it Isn’t)

Listen, we have some problems with Bumble and think that they could improve a few aspects of their app. But, overall we are pretty impressed with the platform, the user base, and how well it works. So, yes, Bumble can be worth it depending on who you are.

Here are some factors to look at to help you decide if Bumble is right for you:

Is Bumble Good for Women?

The Bumble app was designed with women in mind. So, for the most part, yes, the Bumble dating app is good for women. The one caveat, though, is that if you’re a woman who doesn’t want the onus of always having to be the one to make the first move and send the first message, it might not be a great fit. It ultimately depends on your preferences.

Though Bumble aims to put women first it’s admittedly not for everyone. So, if you think you’d agree with the other female Bumble users reporting that chasing men is “a lot of work” or even “a burden”, then this probably isn’t going to be the app for you.

Is Bumble Good for Men?

In our opinion, yes and no. Yes because the app is known to attract some higher quality women looking for something a little more serious. However, there are some potential issues. First, the app was designed so that men wouldn’t be able to send the first message, and while the app has recently adjusted it’s stance on men first messaging, some users may still find the “Opening Moves” system less than ideal. Imagine matching with an amazing women only to see the match expire in 24 hours because she didn’t get the first message out in time.

Second, you may run into some jaded women who are on Bumble because they have some issues with men. This is most certainly going to be the minority, but something to be aware of.

Is Bumble Membership Worth It?

If you’ve gone through this section of our Bumble review and think the app sounds like a great fit then there’s a very good chance it is. We think that there is some real value to paying for an advanced membership. But if you are just getting into using a dating app, we recommend signing up for a free membership first.

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In This Review

Pros and Cons | Testing | Features | Members | Pricing | Support | Free Trial

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Pros and Cons of the Bumble Dating App

Testing Awards and Accolades

Bumble Testing Results

Through extensive testing, focus groups, and analysis looking at over 70 data points, our team has determined that our success rating score for Bumble is an 8.39 out of a possible 10.

Here are the overall testing scores for each category tested.

Learn more about how we test and score here.

Here is a look at some of the results from the overall categories tested.

Bumble 9-Point Safety and Security Testing Results

Exogenous Factor Notification – Our calculated score for safety for Bumble through the algorithm is 7.95. However, the score we used for our overall rating is a manually adjusted 5.5. The reason for this adjustment is due to the swipe-style technology used on Bumble and the concerns that it may be causing mental health challenges that could be leading to emotional fatigue and burnout.

Value Analysis for the Price (DAVPD) Testing

Bumble scored a raw point total of 1,435 in our Dating App Value Per Dollar (DAVPD) testing. When matched with the monthly price of $16.67, this produces a DAVPD of 86.083.

UX and Usability Testing

Scoring a 9.1, our team’s testing of Bumble found the interface to be well thought out, smooth, and without lag.

Here you can see a screen recording from the onboarding process testing. Options were easy to select, the app followed the basic industry-standard (and device-specific) protocols of how menus and selectors work, and everything flowed smoothly.

Some data about Bumble worth noting at a glance

• Over 100 million users as of 2020.
• Bumble is the second most popular dating app in the US behind Tinder.
• 72 percent of Bumble’s users are under the age of 35.
• 4.2 star rating and nearly 500,000 reviews on IOS.
• 3.4 star rating and over 200,000 reviews on Android.
• Additional Bumble Facts:
  • Site Name: Bumble.com
  • Paid or Free: Free membership with paid features available
  • Average Sign-Up Time: ~ 3 minutes
  • Paid Membership Pricing: Plans starting as low as $30.99 per month

Bumble is Quite Rich in Features

Bumble has a lot of interesting features, but they can be a little confusing to navigate or understand. Let’s take a look through some of the main features and how they are used. 

Bumble Boost

Bumble Boost is something between a premium upgrade and an a la carte feature. It costs $10.99 for a week of bumble boost, but there are other payment options to extend your boost as well. When you purchase bumble boost you will gain some of the perks under a premium membership including backtracking, extending match time, unlimited swipes, one spotlight per week, and 5 super swipes per week. 

Beeline

The Beeline, which is available with the premium subscription, lets you see a list of members who have liked your profile. This gives you a way to focus on profiles you know will be a match if you also like them. 

Match Extension

Match extension gives you another 24 hours to contact a match before the match expires and disappears. This is available on both a Bumble Boost and the Bumble Premium subscription. 

Opening Moves

As we’ve previously alluded to in this article Bumble is no longer a strictly women first messaging app. This somewhat controversial shift has come in the form of a new feature called “Opening Moves”. This gives men some wiggle room to reach out first, but some would argue it still doesn’t let them “make the first move”. We’ll explain…

Sticking with the brand’s core theme of female empowerment in dating this new feature will allow men to message a woman without first being messaged. However, only in response to a question or prompt selected by the woman.

So, is this undoing decades of progress or a long awaited response to female Bumble users who felt the app was too much work? We’ll let you decide!

Backtrack

Backtrack lets you under your last swipe. This is available on both the Boost and Premium versions of Bumble. 

Spotlight

This feature allows your profile to be featured in other member’s match feeds for a full 30 minutes. It’s a great way to drum up a lot of attention, especially during peak hours.

SuperSwipes

Super Swipes are very similar to Super Likes on Tinder. When you Super Swipe on a user, your profile is shown to them directly and they are informed that you are interested in them. This feature is found on Bumble Boost and the Premium membership.

Advanced Filters

Narrow your searches down in as meticulous a manner as you choose with advanced filters. This feature is only available on Bumble Premium. 

Incognito Mode

This feature is available for premium members. When in this mode, your likes are only shown to members who like you back. This keeps those who did not like your profile from knowing that you liked theirs. In other words, it removes some of the embarrassment that comes along with trying to date online. 

Travel Mode

Travel mode is great for those that plan to move in the future. They let you preemptively match with singles in other parts of the world. 

Will You Find Quality Men and Women?

The quality of singles at Bumble are pretty great when compared to similar, swiping-style apps. This is partially because men who want to send unsolicited messages tend to steer clear of the app, but also because there seems to be a healthy level of safety moderation to prevent scammers from joining.

Here are some other thoughts and anecdotal user reviews we’ve heard about the singles on Bumble:

• There tends to be more people looking for more serious relationships (unlike with Tinder)
• You’ll probably find fewer “alpha males” as the lack of the ability to message first is a turn off for this personality type
• You may run into women who have had a lot of negative online dating experiences and could be jaded
• Anecdotal reports are that the userbase is older than you would find on a swipe app like Tinder

A Review of the Prices for Bumble Premium

While you do have access to some features for free on Bumble, the real success is often found through the paid upgrades and enhancers. Here’s a quick look at how much those things cost on the app.

Bumble is one of the rarities with dating apps in that its basic plan is entirely free. Simple registration with no payment method required is all you need to get the ball rolling.

Of course, if you’re serious about meeting someone, you want to give yourself as much of an advantage as possible, and that’s where the upgrades come in handy.

Bumble is all about making quick decisions. If you snooze, you lose with your potential matches. But the deluxe memberships give you options to extend your decision-making window, backtrack, and take advantage of unlimited swipes.

You can get by with the free membership. But even with the upgrades, Bumble is one of the more affordable dating apps. Paying for multiple months in advance can save you as much as 74%, keeping your price for a Boost add-on to well under $10 a month.

Bumble accepts payment through the standard App and Play Store options

• Google Play
• iTunes
• PayPal
• Credit Cards
• Venmo

Recently, Bumble added Venmo as a payment option. This is always a nice touch as any additional options are always welcomed in the payment processing department.

Do Bumble Memberships Auto-Renew?

Yes, Bumble memberships do set to auto-renew upon purchase. Unless you have a lifetime Premium membership, if you opt-in to the Boost or Premium plans, they will auto-renew daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually based on your preference.

Please note that Bumble membership costs may change between renewals as seen in this screenshot from section 5 of the company’s terms of use:

As Bumble relies on Google Play and iTunes (Apple) for membership payments through the app, you can easily cancel your plan directly through either provider. If you’re using Bumble Web or a credit card on Android devices, click on your profile photo and cancel by clicking “manage your subscription” or “manage your boost.”

What happened to Bumble coins?

Bumble is replacing its Bumble coin program with the two optional deluxe membership upgrades (Boost and Premium). Additionally, the pay-per-feature opportunity provided by Bumble coins is now known as Spotlight. You can buy anywhere from one to 30 Spotlights at a time to shine the light on your profile.

The bottom line is that like other apps, Bumble costs and offerings have changed and will continue to do so over time. For example, here’s one Reddit user who purchased lifetime membership for $67 ($162.99 less than the current cost of lifetime!):

You can see the full conversation and users thoughts on the cost of reddit here. You will quickly see that there have been many pricing changes just within these 129 comments:

Bumble pricing
byu/beardojon inBumble

Do I have to provide a payment method when I join Bumble?

When you use the Bumble app, it links to your Google Play or iTunes account. However, you’re not charged anything unless you decide to upgrade to Bumble Boost, Bumble Premium, or purchase Spotlights. If you are using the web platform, you also don’t need to link a payment source unless you are planning to upgrade to premium.

Does Bumble offer refunds on purchases?

No, Bumble clearly states in its Terms of Service that there are no refunds on any purchase, no matter the reason. It also goes further to state this includes if you are not happy with the quality of the service. Check out this screenshot for the exact phrasing:

Reviewing Bumble Customer Support Options

Bumble does not have a customer support phone number, which we are unhappy about—but we’re divas. We are pleased to see, though, that they have some options that are a little quicker than sending a canned response in via their website. 

They also allow users to message them on Facebook and Twitter for additional support. There are some websites that list phone numbers for Bumble customer support, but the official site makes it clear that these are fake numbers and you should not use them. 

Bumble Free Trial

Here’s what you do and don’t get with Bumble for free.

The biggest takeaway is free messaging.

While there is a lot to take from this chart, there are really three big themes that matter. Number one—you’re going to be able to send messages to your matches. Keep in mind (as we covered in our Bumble review linked above) that you can only send messages to someone you’ve matched with, and even though Bumble announced men can message first, there are still limitations to that for men.

But, that all said, you can 100% send messages for free with the Bumble free trial, and that’s a big takeaway.

The quality of matches is going to be lower.

The second big takeaway is that the quality of your matches will be lower with the free trial account. No, they aren’t going to show you “lower quality people” (whatever that even would be). But what it means is that your matches are less likely to be the right matches for you. You won’t have access to things like advanced filters and you’ll only be able to set matches by gender, age, and distance. You won’t get access to things like relationship intent, height, religion, education, politics, etc.

Here are some screenshots showing what you get for preferences with the free trial account, and then all the advanced matching features you won’t get access to.

Expect to get less attention with the Bumble free trial.

And number three, you can probably expect to get fewer matches and messages. Premium accounts get the option of showing first when people are swiping, showing higher on the list when there is a match, and generally just getting more attention thrown there way. This does not mean you can’t meet someone with the free trial option from Bumble, but it’s going to be more work and results won’t be as strong.

Convenience features aren’t included in the free trial account.

We’re calling them convenience features, but you can call them extras (or whatever you want). Just don’t call them into action with the free trial, because you won’t have access to them! We’re referring to things like Travel Mode (where you can swipe in other cities), Extends (leaving the window to communicate open longer), Rewinds (when you can take a swipe back), and a few more.

These features technically are not necessary to get a match and communicate on Bumble, but they are nice perks to enhance the quality of the experience. If you want these, you will have to pay to upgrade as they don’t come with the free trial account.

Is there a free trial that has all the bells and whistles?

No. This free trial account is the best that we’re aware of. In the past, the company used to offer more involved free trials, but those seem to be a thing of the past.

Here’s a Reddit post that discusses it with several members saying that they used to give these years ago, but no longer do (exactly what we’ve seen from our research and experience).

Free trial?
byu/gladysmmm inBumble

Is Bumble Anti-Men?

No! This is a common misconception because of the communication rules regarding heterosexual matches. The idea behind Bumble is to allow women to feel safe while dating online. That being said, there are some men who aren’t going to be huge fans of the platform, which is okay.