Tinder rolls out 'exclusive' $499 monthly membership called Tinder Select

Tinder has been opening up a new "exclusive membership" that comes with a sizable monthly price tag for those who are invited to apply and get approval from the dating app.

The Tinder Select membership requires a monthly fee of $499, according to multiple reports. For 12 months, that would wind up being nearly $6,000.

On its website, Tinder said the Select membership currently "has limited availability" and that not all of those swiping on the dating app have access to it. It is only offering membership to "less than 1% of users to ensure you receive the most exclusive experience possible," it said.

Tinder Select first started becoming available via invitation in September, not long after parent company Match Group told shareholders in its second-quarter earnings letter the dating app was "on track to launch its high-end membership experience in early fall." 

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"We expect initial pricing to be substantially higher than Tinder’s current offerings given the significant additional benefits that members will receive and its limited availability," Match Group, which also operates Hinge, the League, Plenty of Fish and other apps, said at the time.

Tinder has three existing paid subscriptions – Tinder+, Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum – that have varying features and prices.

Users of the dating app can get access to Tinder Select once Tinder has reviewed their accounts and granted approval of their application, according to Tinder’s Help website. It encourages those interested to make sure their accounts are up to par with its "profile quality and engagement" requirements such as being photo verified, having four photos and expressing a relationship goal.

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The Tinder Select membership comes with benefits like trying out new features before other users, getting priority for liked profiles, sliding into others’ DMs twice weekly without matching, and avoiding seeing ads, among other things, according to Tinder. 

Tinder Select users can signal to others that they are part of the program by adding a special badge to their profile, Tinder said.

At the end of October, as Match Group executives discussed its third-quarter financial results with analysts and investors, CEO Bernard Kim said "the amount of invites for Select that have gone out are still at a very low level."

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"Tinder and the team have been working really hard to optimize the onboarding process and help users and Select members really understand the value proposition," he continued. "So we’re continuing to iterate, learn from our users, and will continue to ramp up the number of invites. We do continue to feel optimistic about the financial potential of the product, and we believe that it will continue and we can generate tens of millions of dollars of revenue next year."

Match Group reported 10.4 million users paid for Tinder in the third quarter.