Key Takeaways

Swipe-fatigued daters are asking themselves, “Isn’t there a better way?” Now, niche apps like PURE and Ditto have the financial backing and the loyal user bases to say, “Yes.” 

The dating apps PURE and Ditto may have different demographics and be on vastly different parts of their respective journeys, but they’ve both managed to do something increasingly rare in the dating industry: track sustainable financial growth.

Ditto raised $9.2 million in a recent funding round, setting the college-grown start-up on the path to longevity. And PURE, an established sex-positive dating app, is celebrating a 46% revenue boost and 95% year-over-year boost in registrations. 

Revenue boosts in the 40% range, massive year-over-year growth; numbers of this magnitude are no longer common sightings in the dating industry. Not even Match Group and Bumble have been able to track this high level of sustainable growth since the pandemic. 

Numbers of this magnitude are rare sightings in the dating industry.

What, exactly, has Ditto and PURE done differently to account for their success? 

PURE put it simply: “PURE’s trajectory suggests that the dating app market may be entering a period of fragmentation, where niche players with disruptive approaches may capture market share from established giants relying on legacy swipe mechanics.” 

PURE and Ditto haven’t necessarily cracked some secret code. Their success lies in their ability to adapt to modern sensibilities: They’ve narrowed their focus onto niche groups, de-emphasized swiping, and prioritized positive user outcomes over short-term engagement. 

PURE and Ditto Officially Confront Swipe Fatigue 

Over the years, dating apps have become as much about swiping as finding love. Ditto thinks this is part of the problem. “Dating apps were monetizing attention and time spent swiping, not successful outcomes,” the app claimed in a press release. 

This is why “Ditto was designed to reverse that incentive structure and focus on results.” Surprisingly, college-aged Gen Z daters are especially interested in leaving swiping behind, according to Ditto. 

Forbes confirmed this back in 2025, when a survey revealed that 79% Gen Z respondents feel “dating app burnout” from legacy apps like Tinder and Bumble. Even more specifically, an Axios survey from 2023 found that 80% of surveyed college and grad students no longer use dating apps on a regular basis. 

Ditto and PURE seem to be exceptions because they aren’t designed to feel like legacy dating apps. Instead, they both intend to act as, say, social go-betweens for young people seeking connections. 

Ditto and PURE aren’t designed to feel like legacy dating apps.

Framing Ditto’s success around quick connections with long-term romantic potential “feels personal, efficient, and low-pressure” to the user, according to the press release. PURE aims to establish a similar tone, albeit for sex-positive encounters and not necessarily long-term relationships. 

We’ve lamented the loss of hookup culture in the past, but PURE’s nearly 50% revenue boost suggests that Gen Z is still very interested in the art of the casual relationship — they just want a fresh online dating experience, one that relies on genuine compatibility rather than swiping. 

To make this happen, PURE challenged the way most dating apps work at a fundamental level. 

“Our feed-based design gives control back to people over their dating journey,” said Luka Dremelj, CEO of PURE App. In other words, PURE allows users to find like-minded partners on their own terms, and as quickly as they want, without forcing them to swipe. 

Shorter Match-to-Meet Timelines in Modern Dating Apps

Ditto attracts the young, college-aged crowd and gives these daters the low-pressure, in-person connections they crave. The app’s founders, Allen Wang and Eric Liu, were undergrads themselves when they developed the initial idea for the app

Instead of browsing through carousels of faces, Ditto users can expect to receive prompt date suggestions from the app — emphasis on “prompt.”

“Our goal was to build something that actually helps people go on dates, not stay stuck in an app,” said Wang, CEO and co-founder of Ditto. 

Cutting out unnecessary swiping and dead-end chats can, he said, “remove a lot of the toxicity and anxiety that people associate with online dating.” A world without ghosting is a world where “20% of [Ditto’s] matches turned into actual dates,” Wang added. 

The date itself is the ultimate goal — not the initial match.

In Ditto’s formula for success, the date itself is the ultimate goal — not the initial match. 

PURE, too, shortens the match-to-meet timeline with its social media-like feed. The ease of use contrasts with the classic swipe-heavy design used by other dating apps. But this design decision, along with the features PURE offers, came from the app’s communication with users.

“In recent surveys, daters have expressed that it is extremely important that the dating app brand they use reflects their values,” Chantal Pesulima, Director of Integrated Marketing at PURE, told DatingNews.

“In that sense, our brand embraces a safety-first approach, while remaining playful and inclusive (sex positive), and transparent about privacy and data,” she added.

Community Connections Make Online Dating More Dynamic 

“The long-term vision is to become a matchmaker for modern life, helping people turn intent into meaningful, real-world interactions, one plan at a time,” according to Ditto’s press release. 

Ditto doesn’t only look to its finances for signs of growth. It boasts more than 42,000 users across four college campuses, with over 25% of users coming from referrals. There’s a reason Ditto has seen such success on college campuses: Students crave real-world socialization now more than they did a decade ago. 

With millions of dollars raised, Ditto is using its new funds to throw yacht parties, where 100 college-aged singles are matched into 50 couples. It further strengthens these real-world connections by partnering with Greek life organizations and popular school clubs. 

By working directly with real people and campus organizations, Ditto feels more alive than a typical dating app. It’s weaving itself into the very fabric of college culture. 

Niche platforms like Ditto and PURE are not the underdogs they once were.

PURE is also trying to ingrain itself into the world outside of dating apps. Its 2025 collaboration with fashion label FANG NYC positioned the app as a sex-positive meeting place for the “metropolitan femme”, as PURE put it. 

It credits its success to its close connection to users. “To better understand what our community is seeking, we regularly organize surveys and interviews with our users,” Pesulima told us. “These feedbacks are taken into consideration for any marketing campaign or new product feature.”

Thanks to their communication with users and their surrounding communities, niche platforms like Ditto and PURE are not the underdogs they once were. By reworking the way people connect on dating apps, they put what PURE calls “legacy swipe mechanics” into question — and puts Match Group’s dominance on shaky ground.