After a strenuous year fighting a lawsuit against the company she co-founded, Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe Herd joined Russian entrepreneur and Badoo founder Andrey Andreev to launch Bumble.
Bumble was designed from the ground-up to be a different type of dating app, in which women message first. If no message is sent within 24 hours, the pair are unmatched. Herd saw this functionality as “pro-feminist”, empowering women to make the first move and their own choices.
While not everyone was sold on the idea, Bumble has proved the doubters wrong. In 2020, it reached 100 million users and has become the primary competitor to Tinder among people under 35.
🚀 Grow Your App! Free ASO Audit by Award-Winning Agency
Discover how Yodel Mobile, the App Marketing Agency of the Year, can transform your app. Gain insights with our free ASO audit, proven in elevating apps like B&Q, Afterpay and Gymshark. 🌟
Get StartedLike Tinder, Bumble users can swipe right to show interest. Much of the design is borrowed from Tinder, but Bumble aims to be for longer-lasting relationships, while Tinder is considered more of a casual app.
Bumble also generates revenue through its premium service, in which users are provided with more swipes and other additional interactions. Bumble generated $240 million in revenue in 2019, and has beat its projected revenue run rate for two years.
Alongside the dating app, Bumble has also launched BFFs, a matching system for friendships. Bumble Bizz is a professional networking service, which is a cross between dating and LinkedIn. Both sub-systems have a few million active users.
As Bumble started to gather traction, Match Group, responsible for Tinder, Match and OK Cupid, approached Herd with an offer of between $500 million and $1 billion for the company. It may have sent multiple offers between 2016 and 2018. Bumble published a snarky reply to the acquisition attempts and has since filed a lawsuit against Match for alleged plagiarism.
In 2019, the holding company for Bumble and Badoo was acquired by investment firm Blackstone for $3 billion. Investigations into sexual misconduct allegations at Magic Leap, specifically against Andreev, shook Bumble’s reputation as a pro-feminist app, although Andreev has been acquitted of any irresponsibility.
Bumble went public on the NASDAQ in February 2021, which saw its value skyrocket to as high as $13 billion. That has declined quite heavily, due to the tech stock crash in 2022, although the value stabilized in 2024.
We have collected data and statistics on Bumble. Read on below to find out more. Want to gain more insights? Check out our dating app report.
Bumble Key Statistics
- Bumble generated $844 million revenue in 2023, an 21.6% increase on the previous year
- In 2023, Bumble reported a loss of $1.9 million, a good improvement on 2022
- Bumble has 58 million active users, 2.4 million of which subscribe to the app’s premium features
Dating App Report 2024
Want to learn more about the dating app industry? In our Dating App report, we cover financials, usage, downloads, and demographics by app and industry, alongside market share, user acquisition, engagement, and benchmarks.
Bumble Overview
| Title 1 | Title 2 |
|---|---|
| Launch date | December 2014 |
| HQ | Austin, Texas |
| People | Whitney Wolfe Herd (co-founder, CEO), Andrey Andreev (founder, Magic Lab) |
| Business type | Public |
| Industry | Online dating |
Bumble Revenue
Bumble reported revenues of $844 million in 2023.
Bumble quarterly revenue 2020 to 2024 ($mm)
Bumble annual revenue 2016 to 2023 ($mm)
| Year | Revenue ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 |
| 2017 | 100 |
| 2018 | 190 |
| 2019 | 240 |
| 2020 | 337 |
| 2021 | 532 |
| 2022 | 694 |
| 2023 | 844 |
Sources: Company data, Dating App Report
Bumble Profit
Bumble lowered its losses considerably in 2023 to $1.9 million.
Bumble annual net income/loss 2020 to 2023 ($mm)
| Year | Net income/loss ($mm) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | -110 |
| 2021 | 286 |
| 2022 | -80 |
| 2023 | -1.9 |
Source: Company data
Bumble Users
Bumble had 58 million users in 2023, the vast majority of which do not pay for the service.
Bumble annual users 2015 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Users (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2016 | 8 |
| 2017 | 12 |
| 2018 | 22 |
| 2019 | 35 |
| 2020 | 42 |
| 2021 | 45 |
| 2022 | 50 |
| 2023 | 58 |
Sources: Company data, Dating App Report
Bumble Subscribers
Bumble had 2.4 million paying users in 2023, who pay for premium features such as more likes, rewinds, and ability to see who liked them.
Bumble annual paying users 2019 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Paying users (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 0.8 |
| 2020 | 1.2 |
| 2021 | 1.5 |
| 2022 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 2.4 |
Note: Values taken from Q2. Source: Company data
Bumble Valuation
Bumble’s valuation peaked in 2021 shortly after its IPO, when it hit $13 billion market cap. That has more than halved in 2022, dropping to $6 billion, lower than its 2020 valuation.
Bumble valuation 2017 to 2022 ($bn)
| Year | Valuation ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 1.5 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2021 | 13 |
| 2022 | 6 |
| 2023 | 5.7 |
Sources: Bloomberg, BizJournals, Forbes, TechCrunch
Bumble US Market Share
Bumble is a close second place to Tinder in the US dating market, but Hinge is growing at a faster rate.
Dating app market share in United States 2023 (%)
Want to learn more? Check out our dating app report
Bumble FAQ
How many swipes have there been on Bumble?
There have been over four billion total swipes (TechCrunch)
How many matches have there been on Bumble?
In 2017, 800 million people had matched on Bumble (Forbes)
How many countries is Bumble available in?
Bumble is available in 150 countries
What is the main age demographic that uses Bumble?
72 percent of Bumble users are under 35 (Forbes)
What is the average revenue per Bumble paying user?
In 2020, the average revenue per user was $27.79
