Hinge isn't Tinder or Bumble - Don't compare the activity level you get on Hinge with those other apps

I see this come up often in profile reviews: "I'm getting many matches on Tinder/Bumble, yet not getting much likes or matches on Hinge! What's wrong with my profile?"

First, free users of Hinge only receive somewhere between 5 to 8 free likes to send out per day. Free users on Tinder and Bumble get up to around 50 /25 likes per day respectively (the totals aren't clear but it's in the ballpark). With so few likes per day, people on Hinge will be much more selective instead of liking profiles indiscriminately like on Tinder and Bumble.

Second, Hinge is not a blind swiping app like Tinder and Bumble. It's the one app where you can send a like and comment and the other person can see it before deciding to match (unless someone pays for Tinder Gold, Platinum, or Bumble Premium). So it goes hand in hand why there are so many few likes per day compared to those apps. People on Tinder/Bumble swipe blindly, may not pay close attention to someone's photos, biography or preferences. The stakes are lower, so why not just like and see what happens?

Third, Hinge is the 3rd most popular dating app by most metrics, but the user base is still dwarfed by Tinder (75 million users) and Bumble (45 million users). Hinge is around 20 million users. (Data taken from this website.) It can easily be said that you could be in a location where Hinge isn't as popular as the two other apps.

Disclaimer: I have premium, so this is purely my own speculations and opinion.

I want to get into what it means to be "more selective". In my opinion, I think fewer likes may cause some people to hold on to their likes so they don't run into the "Fear of Missing Out". It's natural for people to aim a bit higher than what their baseline is in terms of what they seek in a partner. So while someone may be a perfectly suitable match, maybe there are some small flaws (bad photos, poorly written prompt) which makes a person pass on them instead of sending a like so they make sure they aren't missing out on that "perfect" profile so they can "take their shot". I do that sometimes when my friends let me swipe for them. I might be hesitant on someone for some minor thing because you never know if the next profile may be better.

So I think that partially explains why you hear people say things like "I only get likes from people I don't like". Well, people are gonna "take their shot" and some may save their likes for people they think it's worth it even if it's "above their league". People will constantly try to aim higher than their "baseline". Men and woman also have different dating expectations, but that's a whole another can of worms I don't want to get into here.

TDLR: Hinge has fewer likes for free users, so people will be much more selective with who they send their likes to compared to blindly swiping on Tinder and Bumble. Hinge also has a smaller user base. The only thing the Hinge, Tinder, and Bumble have in common is they're all dating apps, but the underlying mechanics of each apps are very different, so you can't compare them 1 on 1.