Should I Build It Should I Build It
08 Apr 2025
Dating

A app to find lonely singles near the users location or ge

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Freemium

People love using similar products but resist paying. You’ll need to either find who will pay or create additional value that’s worth paying for.

Should You Build It?

Build but think about differentiation and monetization.

Your are here

You're entering the crowded field of dating apps, a space where many users enjoy the benefits of free platforms but are often hesitant to pay. Given that there are 21 similar products in this space, competition is significant. To succeed, you'll need to find a way to stand out and offer unique value that users are willing to pay for. The average number of comments for similar products is 4, which suggests medium engagement. This means that it's important to create a hook to attract user attention and encourage interaction. Since we have no buy and use signals, that means there's very little signal about what users want, meaning you have room to experiment.

Recommendations

  1. Focus on identifying which users derive the most value from the free version of your app. Understand their needs, pain points, and usage patterns. Look at the criticism of similar apps and how you can solve them. For instance, users find typical dating apps superficial. Can you use AI (like LuvHut) or a focus on deep connections (like SoulMatcher) to create a dating app for deep meaningful relationships?
  2. Develop premium features that cater specifically to these high-value free users. These features should offer substantial improvements or time-saving benefits that justify a paid subscription. Premium features should be built to address the major reasons for churn in existing apps.
  3. Consider offering team-based or group dating features, and explore charging businesses or groups rather than individuals. This could involve corporate relationship-building events or social clubs. This helps solve the chicken and egg problem with dating apps: that they don't have enough users initially to give users an immediate positive experience.
  4. Offer personalized matchmaking help, dating coaching, or profile optimization services as add-ons. This could create a higher-touch, premium experience that appeals to users seeking more than just a dating app. Consider a subscription bundle for users: that pairs AI-driven matching with human experts.
  5. Experiment with various pricing models and approaches on smaller user groups to determine what resonates best. Consider tiered pricing or a freemium model with in-app purchases, ensuring clear communication about the value proposition. What is your north star metric? Engagement in the app? Successful connections between users? You need to be focused and intentional about this.
  6. Address the accessibility concerns highlighted in similar dating apps. Ensure your app supports multiple languages and caters to a diverse user base. Take note of the criticism toward HeyDosti Dating App and ensure that your app supports a broad range of users across a number of languages.
  7. Prioritize user-friendly design and interface. As seen with HeyDosti, a poorly designed website can deter users. Invest in a clean, intuitive design that enhances user experience.
  8. Focus on the matching algorithm and its effectiveness, especially with user privacy in mind. Ensure transparency about how matches are made and what data is used, addressing privacy concerns highlighted in similar CRM-like apps.

Questions

  1. Given the competition, what unique value proposition will your dating app offer to truly differentiate itself and attract paying users? How will you avoid the common pitfalls of superficiality and exhaustion that users report with existing apps?
  2. How will you balance the need for a user-friendly interface with advanced matching capabilities, ensuring that the app is both intuitive and effective in connecting people on a deeper level? What UX/UI design considerations will you use? What user testing will you do?
  3. Considering the potential for viral success (or lack thereof), how will you ensure that your app's initial usage period is compelling enough to encourage long-term engagement and word-of-mouth referrals?

Your are here

You're entering the crowded field of dating apps, a space where many users enjoy the benefits of free platforms but are often hesitant to pay. Given that there are 21 similar products in this space, competition is significant. To succeed, you'll need to find a way to stand out and offer unique value that users are willing to pay for. The average number of comments for similar products is 4, which suggests medium engagement. This means that it's important to create a hook to attract user attention and encourage interaction. Since we have no buy and use signals, that means there's very little signal about what users want, meaning you have room to experiment.

Recommendations

  1. Focus on identifying which users derive the most value from the free version of your app. Understand their needs, pain points, and usage patterns. Look at the criticism of similar apps and how you can solve them. For instance, users find typical dating apps superficial. Can you use AI (like LuvHut) or a focus on deep connections (like SoulMatcher) to create a dating app for deep meaningful relationships?
  2. Develop premium features that cater specifically to these high-value free users. These features should offer substantial improvements or time-saving benefits that justify a paid subscription. Premium features should be built to address the major reasons for churn in existing apps.
  3. Consider offering team-based or group dating features, and explore charging businesses or groups rather than individuals. This could involve corporate relationship-building events or social clubs. This helps solve the chicken and egg problem with dating apps: that they don't have enough users initially to give users an immediate positive experience.
  4. Offer personalized matchmaking help, dating coaching, or profile optimization services as add-ons. This could create a higher-touch, premium experience that appeals to users seeking more than just a dating app. Consider a subscription bundle for users: that pairs AI-driven matching with human experts.
  5. Experiment with various pricing models and approaches on smaller user groups to determine what resonates best. Consider tiered pricing or a freemium model with in-app purchases, ensuring clear communication about the value proposition. What is your north star metric? Engagement in the app? Successful connections between users? You need to be focused and intentional about this.
  6. Address the accessibility concerns highlighted in similar dating apps. Ensure your app supports multiple languages and caters to a diverse user base. Take note of the criticism toward HeyDosti Dating App and ensure that your app supports a broad range of users across a number of languages.
  7. Prioritize user-friendly design and interface. As seen with HeyDosti, a poorly designed website can deter users. Invest in a clean, intuitive design that enhances user experience.
  8. Focus on the matching algorithm and its effectiveness, especially with user privacy in mind. Ensure transparency about how matches are made and what data is used, addressing privacy concerns highlighted in similar CRM-like apps.

Questions

  1. Given the competition, what unique value proposition will your dating app offer to truly differentiate itself and attract paying users? How will you avoid the common pitfalls of superficiality and exhaustion that users report with existing apps?
  2. How will you balance the need for a user-friendly interface with advanced matching capabilities, ensuring that the app is both intuitive and effective in connecting people on a deeper level? What UX/UI design considerations will you use? What user testing will you do?
  3. Considering the potential for viral success (or lack thereof), how will you ensure that your app's initial usage period is compelling enough to encourage long-term engagement and word-of-mouth referrals?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 21
  • Engagement: Medium
    • Average number of comments: 4
  • Net use signal: 2.4%
    • Positive use signal: 10.7%
    • Negative use signal: 8.3%
  • Net buy signal: -5.1%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.6%
    • Negative buy signal: 5.7%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

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LuvHut - A one-stop shop to meet singles & discover new places

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A one-stop shop to meet nearby singles and discover local restaurants, bars, and events based on shared availability & interests. Coming to iOS & Android in May! Join 15,000+ people on our waitlist as we expand throughout the U.S.

Users are excited about LuvHut's launch and its focus on real-life connections and local experiences, drawing comparisons to TikTok's community feed. The platform is praised for potentially revolutionizing dating and social life by addressing real-life dating challenges with AI, offering a refreshing alternative to exhausting traditional dating apps. Users appreciate the seamless booking of dates and congratulate the team on the launch.

Users find typical dating apps exhausting and superficial.

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HeyDosti Dating App

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HeyDosti is a modern dating app designed for India, offering a user-friendly platform for singles to connect, bond, and grow meaningful relationships. - Available in regional languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, and more. - Advanced matching algorithms and AI-powered compatibility features. - Free from spam and fake profiles. - Safety features to ensure a secure environment. - Affordable pricing options.

Users expressed concerns about the website design, with one mentioning it triggered their OCD. Another user inquired about the differences between this service and other dating apps.

The main criticisms are that the website design is problematic and that the service only supports regional languages, limiting its accessibility and appeal to a broader audience.

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Hey HN! We made a blindfold dating web app for fun as a side project, and are looking for some people to become our pilot users. Please visit to check it out:https://www.reveal-app.site/It's a mix of Omegle and Tinder where you go into a call simmilar to Omegle but without video at first, and then you guys can decide to reveal if you find that you like each other's vibes. Feel free to use it or not, some feedback would be much appreciated if you are interested, thanks!

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Hello! My friends and I have created a platform where users privacy and data are safe and not shared with any third-parties.Where you can talk about different topics, ask questions and post information.Because many people nowadays have problems with:OCD - Obsessive-compulsive disorderSAD - Social anxiety disorderPTSD - Post-traumatic stress disorderIBS - Irritable bowel syndromeas well as phobias.We wanted to create something where people with such problems can date and meet like-minded people.On the "Find Users" page in the menu (which is only visible on mobile devices), after activating the GPS on your mobile device, all users within your radius will be displayed.The radius can be adjusted and it currently goes up to 1600 meters (1 mile).If any of you are interested, we would be very happy if you join.

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SoulMatcher: Find the Right People - Match & make the right friends

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SoulMatcher is the free psychological-based dating and social network app that connects users based on their most compatible partner.

SoulMatcher's Product Hunt launch received positive feedback, with users praising its user-friendly interface, advanced matching capabilities, and focus on connecting souls rather than appearances. Multiple users congratulated the team on their launch. Some expressed curiosity about the matching algorithm. A spelling error ('Daiting' instead of 'Dating') was pointed out on the landing page. One user inquired about the potential addition of more criteria for matching.

The Product Hunt launch received criticism for a spelling error on the landing page ("Daiting" instead of "Dating"). Users also found the matching process limited due to the small number of characteristics used to find a perfect match, making it harder to get ideal results.

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Redwood.rent - A dating app, but for renters

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The solution aims to tackle high rent, room scarcity, and renter connection. The concept is considered interesting with strong market fit. However, concerns were raised about the short usage period potentially hindering viral success. The launch was met with supportive comments, congratulating the team and acknowledging the solution's potential impact.

The short usage period is a concern regarding the potential for viral success.

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Arrange - The matchmaking app

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Arrange is a social dating platform where users first talk to a friend of their match — if both friends (aka "Scouts") give the green light, users can dive into a connection backed by trust and genuine chemistry.

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A “CRM” for personal relationships

23 Sep 2023 Dating

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spreadvk.e...iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-new-elim/id6463781107We know life can be busy. And we often struggle to make time for the people that matter most to us.According to a Harvard study from 2021, "36% of all Americans [...] feel “serious loneliness.”" [1]We created an app to help people focus on their most personal relationships and guide them through forming more meaningful connections with them, in the hopes to combat the "Loneliness Epidemic".We just launched the first iteration - call it an MVP if you like - something to validate our ideas and get the conversation started.We are looking for people to try out what we have built and share their thoughts. The functionality is very basic for now, but we are planning to expand based on our users' feedback.Here is what you can do today:* Tell us who the people are that matter most to you* Get daily reminders to reach out to them* Send them virtual postcards with over 50 handcrafted designs[1] https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america

Users criticized the Show HN product for outdated plugins, privacy concerns, lack of trust without self-hosting, and insufficient contact management features. Comparisons to other CRMs like MonicaHQ suggest a need for better integration and a more personalized touch. Trust issues, language inconsistencies, and the absence of a web version were also noted. The product's name and the concept of 'eliminating' contacts were seen negatively, and there were calls for consideration of neurodivergent users and a more sophisticated app experience. Concerns about data lock-in, service degradation, and high prices were expressed, alongside a desire for encryption and better integration with communication tools.

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