How to Use Bumble for Free: Getting Basic vs. Premium Features

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Plus a full guide to Bumble’s free and paid subscription plans
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If you're curious about Bumble but don't want to pay for a dating app, you're in luck—Bumble is free to use! While there are premium features available in Bumble's paid memberships, all of the features you'll need to find love, friends, and business contacts come with your 100% free account. We'll give you a breakdown of everything you can do for free on Bumble, what you'll get if you upgrade, and tricks for getting premium features without paying.

Is Bumble free to use?

Yes, the Bumble dating app is free to use and download. While Bumble does offer paid subscriptions (Bumble Boost and Bumble Premium) with additional features, you can make matches, send messages, and play games all with a free account.

Section 1 of 5:

Do you have to pay to use Bumble?

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  1. You can swipe, match, exchange messages, and use audio and video chat with other Bumble users without paying a dime. While there are added features available if you choose to pay, those features are truly optional—you don't have to pay to download or use the Bumble app. [1]
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Section 2 of 5:

What can you do for free on Bumble?

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  1. The most important features of Bumble—the ability to swipe through profiles, match with people you're interested in, and exchange messages—are completely free. However, free users do have a swipe limit. Once you swipe through a certain amount of profiles in a single 24-hour period, you'll have to wait a day before you can swipe through more potential matches. [2]
    • Bumble doesn't divulge how many swipes you get per day with a free account. If you're thoughtful about your swipes, you shouldn't run into the limit often.
    • Both Bumble Boost and Bumble Premium subscriptions come with unlimited swipes.
  2. When you match with someone on Bumble, you'll have 24 hours to send the first message (if you're a woman or part of a same-gender match) and 24 hours to reply to your match's first message. If you miss that window, you can use Extend to get another 24 hours in case you're too busy to hit the deadline. With a free account, you can use Extend once per day. [3]
    • If you pay for Bumble Boost or Bumble Premium, you get unlimited Extends.
  3. Badges are a way to add interests and preferences to your profile without wasting space in your bio. The more badges you add to your profile, the more likely you are to appear in like-minded users' searches. [4]
    • Basic Info badges: Looking for, height, star sign, drinking and smoking preferences, whether you have or want children, religion, political leanings, and more.
    • Interest badges: Coffee, pets, wine and food preferences, pets, music, positivity, and more.
    EXPERT TIP

    Lauren Sanders

    Matchmaker & Dating Coach
    Lauren Sanders is a Professional Matchmaker, Dating Coach, and the Founder of Dating for the Soul. With over four years of experience, she specializes in helping singles find love. Lauren is also the author of Lipstick Faith: A Collection of Inspirational Writings and Life Lessons, You Deserve the World, Rainbows and Strawberries: 100 Devotions for the Brighter Side of Life, and Let's Go Outside Mommy. Lauren holds BS from Dillard University and a Masters from The University of North Georgia.
    Lauren Sanders
    Matchmaker & Dating Coach

    Get more matches by posting good pictures. The best way to improve your chances of getting a match is to put really great photos in your profile. Add several photos that showcase your personality and lifestyle.

  4. With a free Bumble account, you can filter your matches by gender, age, and distance . [5]
    • This is one of the biggest differences between free and Premium accounts, as Premium account holders can narrow their searches by the information users specify in their Basic Info and Interest Badges.
  5. If you're not sure how to get a conversation going once you've made a match, you can use Bumble's Question Game feature without having to pay. [6]
    EXPERT TIP

    Lauren Sanders

    Matchmaker & Dating Coach
    Lauren Sanders is a Professional Matchmaker, Dating Coach, and the Founder of Dating for the Soul. With over four years of experience, she specializes in helping singles find love. Lauren is also the author of Lipstick Faith: A Collection of Inspirational Writings and Life Lessons, You Deserve the World, Rainbows and Strawberries: 100 Devotions for the Brighter Side of Life, and Let's Go Outside Mommy. Lauren holds BS from Dillard University and a Masters from The University of North Georgia.
    Lauren Sanders
    Matchmaker & Dating Coach

    Comment on something in a match’s profile to get their attention. The best thing to message a match relates to their profile. Acknowledging something you saw on their profile shows that you’re truly interested in getting to know them.

  6. If you're looking for friends instead of (or in addition to) dates, you can activate Bumble BFF mode, which allows you to create a separate profile just for platonic matches. [7] Similarly, you can use Bumble Bizz mode for work-related networking. You can use any or all of these modes on Bumble at any time with a free account.
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Section 3 of 5:

Bumble Subscription Plans & Features

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  1. These two subscription plans include all of the standard free features with added bonuses:
    • Bumble Boost: [8]
      • Backtrack, which is the ability to undo a left swipe. [9]
      • Unlimited swipes.
      • Unlimited Extends.
      • One Spotlight per week, which features your profile at the top of the stack. [10]
      • Five SuperSwipes per week.
    • Bumble Premium: [11]
      • Includes all of the features of Bumble Boost (Backtrack, unlimited swipes and Extends, five SuperSwipes, and one Spotlight).
      • Access to Advanced Filters that let you refine your searches by interest, physical descriptors, and more.
      • Travel mode, which lets you specify another location to match with people worldwide.
      • The ability to see who liked you on your Beeline.
      • Unlimited chances to rematch with expired matches .
      • Incognito mode, which allows you to swipe privately. [12]
  2. If you don't want to make a monthly subscription commitment, there are a few features you can pay for when you need them.
    • If you want your profile to be seen by more people, you can pay for Spotlight as needed without subscribing.
    • If you really want to show someone you're interested, you can pay individual SuperSwipes any time you want.
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Section 4 of 5:

How can you get paid features on Bumble for free?

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  1. When you're new to Bumble, you'll be offered a free trial subscription of Bumble Boost or Bumble Premium after you start swiping through matches. It might take a week or so before you're offered the trial, but it'll only be offered soon after creating an account. As long as you cancel your trial before the end of the trial period, you can take advantage of the paid features without ever paying.
    • This is also a great way to see if you’d like to invest in a Bumble Boost or Bumble Premium account.
  2. With a free account, the only legitimate way to know who already liked you is to swipe right on someone you're interested in and hope they swiped right on you too. If you don't want to pay for Premium, try our trick for seeing your Beeline without paying using a web browser:
    • Open your Bumble matches on your computer using a web browser.
    • Press Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + J (PC) or ⌘ Command + ⌥ Option + J (Mac).
    • Select the Network tab.
    • Refresh the page.
    • Scroll and select /mwebapi.phtml?SERVER_GET_ENCOUNTERS .
    • Click the Response tab and copy the text.
    • Paste the information in a JSON text reader.
    • Expand the numbered folders to see who you matched with.
  3. If you've already missed your chance at getting a free Boost or Premium trial, resetting your Bumble profile can bring back that free trial offer. [13]
    • Don't make a habit of resetting your profile often—Bumble will issue a warning if you delete and recreate your profile too many times. [14]
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Section 5 of 5:

Tricks for Using Bumble for the First Time

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  1. The first step to using Bumble (or any dating app) is to create a profile that screams “you.” Be honest about your likes, dislikes, and hobbies, and don’t be afraid to showcase your style and/or humor. Promote yourself authentically to get the most out of the app. [15]
    • Upload pictures to your profile that show all areas of your personality. For example, maybe you share a picture of you and your dog, you at a concert, or you decorating a cake.
    • Fill your profile with creative prompts to highlight your values and interests.
    • Keep the information in your profile current and as accurate as possible.
  2. Your comfort and safety are most important. While having an authentic profile is key, it’s also just as important. You don’t have to share your exact location or job title on your profile. Consider waiting to disclose these facts once you get to know a match . [16]
    • Never share personal information with people online. That includes your full legal name, address, email, and phone number. Wait until you get to know them first!
  3. To get a conversation going with a match, ask a question, or make a remark about their profile. This shows that you looked over their profile and are interested in learning more about them. [17]
    • For instance, say your match has a picture wearing a band t-shirt in their profile. Ask them about it! Did they say they have a dog? Comment about how you’d love to see a picture of their furry friend!
  4. Don’t be afraid to swipe right on someone who isn’t your “type” or might be out of your league. Attraction goes beyond looks, so pay attention to someone’s interests and values. This can give you a bigger pool of matches to connect with.
    • If you have definitive deal-makers and breakers, use Bumble’s search filters to narrow your dating pool. You can sort by gender identity, location, and values. [18]
  5. It can be discouraging if you swipe right on someone and they don’t swipe right back—don’t take this personally! Dating apps are full of potential matches. If someone doesn’t vibe with your profile, that’s on them.
    • Put your energy into connecting with others who show an interest in you.
    • If you really like someone, you can use a SuperSwipe to get to the top of their swipe queue. [19]
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      Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about dating, check out our in-depth interview with Lauren Sanders .

      References

      1. ↑ https://bumble.com/en-us/help/do-i-have-to-pay-for-bumble-or-is-it-free-2
      2. ↑ https://bumble.com/en-us/help/do-i-have-to-pay-for-bumble-or-is-it-free-2
      3. ↑ https://bumble.com/help/how-can-i-extend-a-match
      4. ↑ https://bumble.com/help/what-are-bumble-badges
      5. ↑ https://bumble.com/en/help/how-do-i-filter-my-search
      6. ↑ https://bumble.com/en/the-buzz/bumble-question-game
      7. ↑ https://bumble.com/en-us/the-buzz/what-exactly-is-bumble-bff
      8. ↑ https://bumble.com/en-us/help/what-is-bumble-boost-new
      9. ↑ https://bumble.com/help/undo-accidental-left-swipe
      1. ↑ https://bumble.com/help/what-is-spotlight
      2. ↑ https://bumble.com/en/the-buzz/bumble-premium
      3. ↑ https://bumble.com/en/the-buzz/bumble-incognito-mode
      4. ↑ https://bumble.com/en-us/help/how-do-i-delete-my-profile
      5. ↑ https://bumble.com/help/am-i-penalized-for-deleting-profile
      6. ↑ https://thebeehive.bumble.com/datingguide-bumble-better
      7. ↑ https://bumble.com/the-buzz/safety
      8. ↑ https://bumble.com/en/the-buzz/how-to-keep-a-conversation-with-your-crush
      9. ↑ https://thebeehive.bumble.com/datingguide-bumble-better
      10. ↑ https://bumble.com/help/what-is-superswipe

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      With a Bumble free membership, you can swipe, match, exchange messages, video chat, audio chat, extend one match per day, use basic search filters, apply profile badges, play the Question Game, and use different Bumble modes at the same time.

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