Here's How Much The Average Tinder Date Costs

Jennifer Lopez may have poetically sang the questionably true (but totally not) lyrics that her “love don’t cost a thing,” but it certainly costs the rest of us quite a bit. This not-so-surprising insight was the theme behind RetailMeNot’s very recent infographic detailing “The Cost Of Love” — an area that was especially revealing concerned with how much should you spend on a first date.

Something you may not have expected (and I certainly hadn’t) from their survey is how much the way someone meets their date impacts how much money a person is willing to spend. Half of those polled believe men should pay for a first date, with more men believing this dating stipulation to be true than women. While more men still think they should pay for a date, women are, evidently, taking matters —and wallets — into their own hands and are more than willing to dole out cash on a date.

Another interesting discovery was that 33 percent of people believe whoever initiated the date should pay, and more women believed this to be true than men. As for going dutch? Neither party is really into it. Only one in six people are OK with splitting the bill. Here are some other things to know about the cost of love.

1. People Who Met Offline Spend More Money On A Date

In all areas of RetailMeNot’s survey, people who met offline (whether it was through friends, coworkers, relatives, etc.) spent significantly more money on their dates than people who met online.

My two cents: it’s probably because when people meet offline, there's a good chance they have somebody in common. Therefore, there's more to invest in. They’re on a date because the individual in common thinks they’d be a good match. Neither wants to let the other down.

2. People On Tinder Are The Cheapest

Of the bunch, those who met on Tinder proved to be the cheapest regarding cash spent on a date. The average Tinder (and Bumble, a Tinder-like dating app) date costs the paying party $19.20. This low date cost is likely the result of not knowing this person at all aside from their appearance in profile photos and the flirtatious messages sent back and forth as soon as they matched. Conversely, people who met on Hinge, another Tinder competitor, spent $23 on their date.

3. People Who Were Introduced Through A Friend Spent The Most Per Date

If you were introduced to your date through a mutual friend, your date is, on average, more than twice the price than if you met on Tinder or Hinge. Because of this mutual friend’s stellar (or not at all) matchmaking skills, daters spent an average of $46.10 on their date. If you met your date through work, your date is roughly two bucks less, on average.

4. The Most Generous Online Daters Come From Dating Sites

The Match dater (or member of any online dating site, for that matter) spent the most money on their date, though admittedly, they still didn’t spend much. People from online dating sites spent $24.30 on their dates, which is still less than any date between couples who met offline.

5. The Cheapest Offline Daters Met At A Bar

Because of course they are. You two met at a bar, so there isn’t much to invest in. If you hit it off? Wonderful. If you don’t? No harm.

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