Tinder is working on secret $500-a-month version of app

Tinder is planning to roll out a $500-a-month ultra premium version of the app that gives users 24/7 access to a dating coach.

‘Tinder VAULT’ would go above and beyond the three paid subscriptions already offered to users – Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold and Tinder Premium.

The new offering – which is still in beta testing – also promises to connect daters to the app’s most active, influential and sought-after members. 

The company’s Chief Product Officer Mark Van Ryswyk confirmed Monday the test roll-out of the luxe new subscription plan, but was cagey on specifics.

‘Tinder VAULT’ would go above and beyond the three paid subscriptions already offered to users – Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold and Tinder Premium.

Tinder already offers three paid subscriptions to users – Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold and Tinder Premium

‘We’re really looking at a whole range of additional value-add services to Tinder overall,’ Van Ryswyk said.

But one Reddit user has already posted snaps of the app after claiming to have been invited to take part in a trial.

Screenshots show the upgraded accounts promises ‘unrivaled access to the best of Tinder’ and a chance to help ‘shape the Tinder VAULT offering’.

The service offers two different price plans – a monthly rate of $500 or a yearly fee of $5,000. That is a huge increase on the three paid accounts already available, which range from $2.67 a month to $29.99.  

Tinder VAULT boasts a ‘personalized concierge service’ with 24/7 expert dating advice, and other elusively defined mark-ups like ‘priority pass’ and a ‘premium passport’ that gives users access to the most active and ‘liked’ users.

Van Ryswyk has told reporters, however, that VAULT won’t include entirely new features like human matchmakers, but will resemble a scaled-up, pricier version of their existing premium options.

Today, Tinder swipers can pay for upgrades amplifying the reach of their dating profile, dropping the cap on swipe limits, and moving their likes to the front of the queue, where paying members’ likes get seen before non-payers.

Given that Tinder’s owner Match Group posted their first-ever quarterly drop in profits this January, it’s possible that their plans for Tinder VAULT aren’t entirely romantic.

Match CEO Bernard Kim attributed the company’s lag to Tinder’s ‘weaker-than-expected product execution.’

‘It’s been pretty clear since I joined last May that I wasn’t happy with the Tinder roadmap,’ Kim said on a Q4 2022 earnings call. ‘I’m holding myself and the Tinder team accountable for the delivery of that product road map.’

The company appears to have learned its lesson from acquiring the exclusive $1,000-per-week dating app The League last July.

Chief Product Officer Van Ryswyk says League subscriptions have held steady despite waves of lay-off in high-paying sectors like tech.

The app, which describes its elite userbase as ‘high-powered (and empowered) people who are ready for a long-term relationship,’ has shown Match Group that Tinder might yet have more ‘high intent members’ willing to drop a small dowry for top-notch dating prospects and experiences.

Reddit users who posted screencaps of Tinder VAULT’s trial offerings, however, were unimpressed.

‘For that amount of money,’ one top poster said, ‘Tinder should just discreetly align with escort services.’

Match Group says that VAULT is still in beta, meaning the company is leaving the door open to sweeping revisions to every aspect of the service, from features to pricing to the name itself. 

The company says it doesn’t want to break the user experience for Tinder’s free members, who make up the majority of users. 

And yet, VAULT would still have to deliver on benefits that could wind up costing subscribers up to $6,000 per year.

‘We’re still in this learning mode,’ Van Ryswyk said.