After their exploding popularity in 2020 and 2021 amid COVID-19 lockdowns, dating apps and websites saw stagnant revenue growth last year as life returned to normal. However, the number of people using dating services has continued rising.
According to data presented by OnlyAccounts.io, more than 270 million people tried their luck with dating apps and websites in the past five years, pushing the total user count to over 570 million in 2023.
More than 100M New Users by 2027, Despite Growth Slowing Down
Dating apps and websites have made it easier than ever for people to connect with potential partners. They are convenient, easy to use, and especially popular among the younger generations, which has remained the biggest driver behind their impressive user growth.
In 2017, around 300 million people worldwide had been using dating services, according to Statista Digital Market Outlook. Three years later, this figure jumped to 464 million, with the number of users growing by an average of 15% per year. Although the last three years saw almost three times smaller growth rates, the number of users in the dating services industry still hit over 570 million in 2023, showing a massive 90% increase in five years.
Around 66% of all users in 2023, or 381 million, prefer online dating apps and websites. Matchmaking and casual dating services have less than half that user count, with 115 million and 165 million users this year.
And while Statista expects growth rates to drop even more in the following years, the entire market is still projected to hit 100 million new users by 2027, with the total user count rising to 672.4 million. This massive user base will help the global dating services industry to grow its revenue by CAGR of 2.46% in the next four years, resulting in a projected market volume of $9bn by 2027.
China is the Largest Market, but India to will see the Biggest User Growth
Although one-third of global dating services revenue comes from the United States, China, and India convincingly lead in the number of users.
The Statista data show roughly 133 million Chinese used dating services in 2023, almost double the number of users in the US market. India follows with nearly 83 million people using dating apps and websites as of this year.
However, Statista expects India to witness the biggest user growth of all top markets. By 2027, the country will see more than 115 million users in the dating services segment or 40% more than this year. The US and Chinese markets are expected to see 9% and 8% user growth in the next four years, respectively.
