{"id":2584,"date":"2023-10-06T13:12:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T20:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/blog\/?p=2584"},"modified":"2023-10-06T13:13:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T20:13:29","slug":"coffee-meets-bagel-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socialcatfish.com\/scamfish\/coffee-meets-bagel-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee Meets Bagel Review: The Essential Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coffee Meets Bagel is a free female-friendly app (though paid options exist), which has declared war against<\/span> Tinder<\/span><\/a> on behalf of women daters. Indeed, it is said that Tinder’s male users are estimated as 58% of the site, while Coffee Meets Bagels is said to attract a majority of female users. The way<\/span> Coffee Meets Bagel<\/span><\/a> works, described more in our “How Does It Work” section, is that the app sends men’ Bagels’ to review.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bagels are female users that men can either ‘like’ or ‘pass’ on. The women then get to choose which of the users who liked them, that they want to talk to, giving the female the final say. From the moment you access the website or app<\/a>, it appears designed for estrogen fueled users and relationship-oriented quests, everywhere from the aesthetics to content, saying:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Women will choose who gets to talk to them among quality men who already liked them.<\/b><\/p>\n

That’s right. No more guessing games! #LadiesChoice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does this mean Coffee Meets Bagel’s bet will pay off or that you should use the app?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Let’s explore below.<\/b><\/p>\n

History: Coffee Meets Bagel Review<\/b><\/h2>\n

Started in 2012 by sisters Soo, Dawoon, and Arum Kang, Coffee Meets Bagel’s estimated worth is around $600 million (2017). With initial headquarters in San Francisco, Coffee Meets Bagel recently opened up a second office in Seattle, Washington, after finding new staff talent congregated in that area.<\/span><\/p>\n

One early investor in the Coffee Meets Bagel trend was Match Group, which has its hands in Match.com, <\/span>Tinder<\/span><\/a>, and many more dating sites. As founder Arum Kang explained to Geek Wire in 2017, she believes dating platforms generally have a 65 to 35 percent male to female ratio and credits her inspiration and approach to research during her MBA work at Harvard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coffee Meets Bagel seeks to retain female users, on the premise that this will help<\/span> both genders<\/span><\/i>. Also, in 2017, the Kang sisters appeared together on the popular television show, Shark Tank.<\/span><\/p>\n

There, they were offered 30 million dollars<\/a> from Shark Tank cast member Mark Cuban (to date the highest offer in the show’s history), for their entire company. Viewers were shocked when the sisters declined the offer.<\/span><\/p>\n

They later received backlash from those who felt they were “money-hungry” (an accusation the Kang’s felt was fueled by sexism since they consider their actions visionary to the site’s real future profits). The big question many viewers had was whether the Kang sisters appeared on the show solely as a promotional activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the sisters did offer Cuban a 5% share of the company in exchange for a $500,000 investment since the episode appeared, Coffee Meets Bagel attracted additional venture capitalist funding (in part from their exposure on the show). You can read all the juicy details at the<\/span> Gazette Review<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

One concern on Shark Tank, which still lingers, is why the Kang’s wouldn’t disclose exactly how many users actively use the site, other than alluding to several hundred thousand. One can only guess this is because membership numbers aren’t high.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0FEMALE FRIENDLY: <\/b>Signing up for dating apps<\/a> can be an intimidating experience. Coffee Meets Bagel knows this. While dating online or with an app<\/a> is an adjustment for all genders, women particularly worry about safety, and get tired of spam and endless swiping. Therefore, it is inspiring that Coffee Meets Bagel is trying to change the landscape of app-based dating and make it something that resonates with women.<\/span><\/p>\n

This change developed as women sometimes get frustrated after receiving unwanted comments from users they don\u2019t like on open messaging sites. Not to mention, on other apps, a percentage of male users are in search<\/a> of one-time “hookup” dates, which can leave women weeding through unsavory pictures and messages (including but not limited to the occasional dick pic, as its fondly called). The changes on CMB are also suitable for men who have felt passed over on other apps and want a quality female looking for something lasting.<\/span><\/p>\n

One can\u2019t fault the three sisters who founded Coffee Meets Bagel for wanting to improve app-based dating for women, but whether or not their changes lead to successful long term matches is still up for debate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Free is good. <\/b>There are paid options to enhance your experience (described below under our \u201cPaid Features & Pricing Breakdown\u201d section), but Coffee Meets Bagel works well as a free site. It also gives free users a way to earn paid perks without purchasing anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coffee Meets Bagel lets you avoid extended signup.<\/b> Since you connect through Facebook, the algorithm is based on your mutual friends<\/a> and interests. This means you won\u2019t have a lengthy personality questionnaire to complete for the site to work.<\/span><\/p>\n

You receive select match options. <\/b>This isn\u2019t for everyone, but if you\u2019re tired from swiping through hundreds of matches elsewhere, you might prefer this limited, fine-tuned approach. Some women feel this gives them less \u201canxiety\u201d, as they’ve shown a match who likes them and feels the match wants to get to know them better. Since the app is for both gay and straight matches, gay, and lesbian users will get multiple matches daily, instead of one, explained in<\/span> their blog<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discover: <\/b>For those women who don\u2019t want to wait for likes from other matches, they can make the first move in the \u2018discover\u2019 section, and browse a selection of users. They can use “Beans”. a.k.a. the paid currency on the site to TAKE a heart (a.k.a. heart icon), which lets the user know they like them instead. This is what is available for all – men, women, as well as gay and lesbian matches.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cons<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Limitations: <\/b>A site geared for women sounds good, but what matters is the quality of connections. Although Coffee Meets Bagel is more popular than it used to be, in part thanks to its Shark Tank infamy (which might mean its growth will expand even more in the future), you will have fewer match options than you would on more popular apps. You may not notice this if you mainly stick with the users you’ve connected with as “Bagel” matches.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you prefer a dating site<\/a> doing the grunt work and only want to choose from pre-qualified matches, you’ll be fine. However, if you prefer yourself as a matchmaker and are good at messaging or swiping right, the Coffee Meets Bagel process will seem slow and less enjoyable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bagels? <\/b>Perhaps a personal pet peeve, but does anyone want to be called a “bagel” while being looked over by matches? The site tries to make jokes about this, such as, “Find your everything bagel”. What was probably supposed to be a quirky joke on the name comes across as silly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Irony:<\/b> There is some irony to the methodology and message that Coffee Meets Bagel promotes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last 4 years, we came to realize that men and women have very different styles of dating<\/a> and that the best dating experience for everyone is offered through a differentiated service for men and women. Hence the new way of servicing #LadiesChoice was born.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Singles, especially single women, are becoming exhausted with the direction mobile dating is headed today. Dating has become an endless swipe of photos – a place for ghosting and being ghosted. To us, that isn’t really dating, that’s a huge waste of time. With #LadiesChoice, we are giving women more control of their dating experience. We are enabling them to re-focus their time and energy on men who are serious about taking the next step. We are hoping to inspire all singles around the world to feel good about dating again.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The reality is that men pick from more matches than women. Women mainly only see the “Bagels” who liked them. This is supposed to limit the pressure of women needing to make the first move but instead makes gender roles seem very established and traditional.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coffee Meets Bagel explains this business model as men liking “selection” and women being “selective”, stating that most women they’ve polled prefer only four quality matches a day, as they’re sick of swiping.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though CMB does have a “Discover” option, when compared to other apps such as Bumble, Bumble feels more modern and female empowered. On Bumble, both men and women are shown all potential matches. After matching on Bumble, women have to message first, or the match expires, as opposed to women only picking from men who pre-selected them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mathematics:<\/b> If there are more women on Coffee Meets Bagel than men, it gives MEN better odds of meeting a match since they are in limited supply – meaning men would get more attention, per female, while the women would get less. This makes it seem odd that the site is again promoted as an excellent way for women to date<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Slow Matching:<\/b> The “Bagel” match approach is a more gradual process where matching isn’t instantaneous. Compare this with swiping apps or the top four dating sites<\/a>, and Coffee Meets Bagel can be less bang for your buck.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Age Group is Coffee Meets Bagel?<\/h2>\n

Coffee Meets Bagel is a dating app that is aimed at people<\/a> 18 and up. It is designed to be used by adults looking for more meaningful connections. The app targets the 18-34 age group, but it is accessible to those above and below that range. Its goal is to help create more meaningful connections, by removing the superficial nature of most other dating apps<\/a>. It also focuses on quality over quantity, so users are only presented with a limited selection of potential matches each day. You can also click here<\/a> to find out which dating app is better for you between Hinge and Coffee Meets Bagel.<\/p>\n

Pricing<\/strong><\/h2>\n


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