How Do Bumble Compliments Work (And Are They Actually Worth It?)
The feature that lets you message before matching. What it costs, how many you get, and whether throwing money at it actually helps.
- Bumble Compliments let you attach a 150-character message to someone's profile before you match. Think of it as sliding into DMs before the DMs exist.
- Sending one counts as a right swipe. Your words show up front and center when they review your profile. No pressure.
- Free users get roughly 2 per week (varies by region). Purchased packs run $10 to $60 depending on how much disposable income you want to light on fire.
- They work better than a plain right swipe. But only if your message is specific. "You're gorgeous" is a guaranteed waste of money. You might as well Venmo Bumble directly with a note that says "I didn't try."
- For most people, nailing your bumble prompts and fixing your photos will do more than any number of Compliments ever could. At SwipeStats, we've analyzed 294 million swipes across 7,000+ profiles. The data doesn't lie, even when your bio does.
What Is a Bumble Compliment, Exactly?
Back in 2022, Bumble decided that simply swiping right wasn't desperate enough. So they introduced Compliments. A feature that lets you attach a short message to a specific photo, bio line, or prompt on someone's profile. Before you match.
Read that again. Before you match.
This is not the same as matching and then messaging. This is the "I saw you across the crowded bar and wrote a note on a napkin" move. Except the bar is your couch and the napkin costs five bucks.
Here's how it works. You see something on their profile you like (or pretend to like). You tap the yellow heart icon on that specific photo or prompt. You write up to 150 characters. You hit send. Done. They see your message highlighted on your profile card when they're swiping. If they swipe right back, congrats. You've matched, and your Compliment becomes the conversation opener.
One important detail. On Bumble, women normally have to message first after matching. But if a woman sends a Compliment, that counts as her first move. So the feature actually bypasses Bumble's own signature rule. Which is either progressive or a sign that even Bumble knows their core mechanic is annoying. Your call.
Oh, and sending a bumble compliment counts as a right swipe. So if you're rationing those precious daily likes on Bumble, keep that in mind.
How to Send One (This Is the Easy Part)
Let's be real. If you need step-by-step instructions on how to tap a button and type words, online dating might be the least of your problems. But here you go.
- Open a profile you're interested in (or at least mildly intrigued by).
- Find a photo or prompt you want to compliment. Tap the yellow heart icon on it.
- Write your message. You've got 150 characters. That's roughly two tweets from the pre-Elon era. Make them count.
- Hit send.
The recipient gets a notification that someone sent them a Compliment. Your message shows up prominently when they look at your profile. It's basically a neon sign that says "I put in slightly more effort than the average person." Which, on dating apps, is like being the tallest guy in a room full of hobbits.
If they swipe right on you, boom. Match. Your Compliment is already sitting there as the conversation starter. No awkward "hey" needed.
How Many Bumble Compliments Do You Get Per Week?
Here's where Bumble gets stingy. And confusing. Because they refuse to publish exact numbers like a company that's definitely not making this up as they go.
Free users: Roughly 2 Compliments per week. Some regions report getting 1 per day. Some get nothing. Bumble treats this like classified information for reasons nobody can explain.
Bumble Premium+ subscribers: 5 Compliments per week included with your subscription. An upgrade from the peasant tier, but still not exactly generous for what you're paying.
Purchased packs: These don't expire on a weekly reset like your free allotment. Buy them and they sit in your account until you use them. This is the one actually reasonable thing about the whole system.
Receiving Compliments: You can reveal up to 2 received Compliments per day for free. Want to see more? Bumble Premium or Premium+ lets you see them all. Because of course it does.
The weekly reset for free Compliments happens on a rolling basis. Not Monday morning. Not the first of the month. Just whenever your last batch refreshed. Bumble really said "let's make this as confusing as possible and then charge people to not deal with it."
What Bumble Compliments Cost (Brace Yourself)
If the free Compliments aren't cutting it (they won't), you can buy more. Here's the damage:
| Pack | Price | Per Compliment |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Compliments | ~$10 | $5.00 |
| 5 Compliments | ~$20 | $4.00 |
| 15 Compliments | ~$40 | $2.67 |
| 30 Compliments | ~$60 | $2.00 |
Yes, you read that right. Two bucks per Compliment at the bulk rate. Five bucks each if you're buying the small pack. That's a Starbucks latte. For 150 characters. Shakespeare is rolling in his grave and he doesn't even know what an app is.
The silver lining? Purchased Compliments don't expire. So at least Bumble isn't running a "use it or lose it" racket on the ones you paid actual money for. Small mercies.
Pricing varies by region, age, and probably what Bumble's algorithm thinks your desperation level is. (I'm only half joking.) If you have Bumble Premium+, you already get 5 per week included, so do the math before buying extra packs on top of your subscription.
Do Bumble Compliments Actually Work? (The Honest Answer)
Bumble's official marketing says Compliments lead to a "statistically increased likelihood of matching and more likely to have a good chat." Notice how they didn't give you a single number. Classic corporate non-answer. "Statistically increased" could mean anything from "doubles your chances" to "0.3% improvement." We'll never know.
Here's what we do know from our SwipeStats data and what the internet has collectively figured out.
The baseline is rough. Our analysis of 7,000+ dating profiles found the average man matches on roughly 3% of right swipes. Women sit around 45%. So anything that moves the needle even slightly is technically helpful. The bar is underground.
Specific Compliments work. If you reference their dog, that hiking photo from Torres del Paine, the book on their shelf, or their answer to a prompt, you're giving them a reason to look at your profile twice. Reddit threads are full of people confirming this. Specificity signals effort. Effort is rare. Rare things get attention.
Generic Compliments are a money bonfire. "You're so pretty." "Beautiful smile." "You seem fun." You might as well flush a five dollar bill down the toilet. These messages tell the recipient exactly one thing: you didn't actually look at their profile. You just carpet-bombed everyone with the same line. And they know it.
Profile quality is the multiplier. This is the part nobody wants to hear. A Compliment on a bad profile is like putting a cherry on top of a dumpster fire. If your photos are blurry bathroom selfies and your bio is emptier than your social calendar, no amount of clever 150-character messages will save you. Fix the foundation first. Write a funny bumble bio. Then worry about Compliments.
Bumble Compliments vs. SuperSwipe: Which Is the Lesser Waste of Money?
Bumble gives you two ways to tell someone "I like you more than the average swipe." Let's compare these two flavors of paid desperation.
| Feature | Compliment | SuperSwipe |
|---|---|---|
| Message included | Yes (150 chars) | No |
| Personalization | High | None |
| Gives them something to respond to | Yes | No |
| Cost (standalone) | ~$2-5 each | ~$1.50-3.50 each |
| Counts as a right swipe | Yes | Yes |
| Worth it? | Sometimes, if specific | Rarely |
SuperSwipes are the participation trophies of dating apps. You tap a button and the other person sees that you "really liked" them. Cool. But there's no context. No personality. No hook. It's the digital equivalent of making intense eye contact across a room and then just standing there. Breathing heavily.
A Compliment at least gives the other person something to respond to. It says "I really like you AND here's evidence I looked at your profile for more than 0.3 seconds." That second part is what separates a match from a meh.
I'll put it this way. If you've got money to burn on Bumble features (and the fact that you're reading a guide about bumble compliments suggests you might), Compliments are the better investment. But only if you write ones that don't suck. Which brings us to the actually useful part.
How to Write a Bumble Compliment That Doesn't Get Ignored
You've spent your hard-earned money (or precious free allotment) on a Compliment. You've got 150 characters. The clock is ticking. And you're about to type "hey gorgeous."
Don't. Please. I'm begging you.
Hall of Shame: What Gets You Immediately Ignored
- "You're gorgeous" (so is a sunset. Neither of you will respond.)
- "Beautiful smile" (her dentist already told her.)
- "You seem fun" (congratulations on saying nothing with three words.)
- "Hey there!" (this isn't a Compliment. This is a cry for help.)
Hall of Not-Terrible: What Actually Works
- "Your dog looks like he judges everyone at the dog park. I respect that." (specific, funny, opens a door)
- "That photo from Japan. Did you try the vending machine ramen? Life-changing." (shows you paid attention and have actual life experience)
- "Your prompt answer about pineapple on pizza. You're wrong but I admire the confidence." (playful disagreement is catnip)
- "I also think The Office peaked at Season 3. Finally, a person of culture." (shared opinion, slight humor)
See the pattern? Every good Compliment does three things. It references something specific on their profile. It reveals a sliver of your personality. And it gives them something to respond to that isn't just "thanks!"
You've got 150 characters. That's tight. Get to the point. Be specific. Be a little bold. And for the love of everything holy, do not ask a yes-or-no question. "Do you like hiking?" gets a "yeah" and then silence. "What's the scariest trail you've done?" gets a story. Stories become conversations. Conversations become dates. Dates become, well, that's on you.
You already spent a Compliment credit. Don't waste it on something you'd send to literally anyone.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bumble Compliments
How many Bumble Compliments do you get per day?
Free users get approximately 2 per week, not per day. Bumble Premium+ subscribers get 5 per week. Bumble doesn't publish exact figures and the numbers vary by region, so your mileage may literally vary depending on where you live.
Do Bumble Compliments refresh?
Yes. Your free Compliments refresh on a rolling weekly basis. Purchased Compliments don't refresh because they don't expire. They just sit in your account like a gift card you forgot about, silently judging you.
Can you get Bumble Compliments for free?
Yes. Free users get a small weekly allotment (roughly 2). You can also earn them occasionally through promotions or Bumble's rotating feature experiments. But "free" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Two per week is barely enough to compliment your own mother.
Do Bumble Compliments expire?
Free ones reset weekly whether you use them or not. Purchased Compliments do not expire. So if you buy a pack of 30 and only use one per month, the other 29 will be waiting patiently for you like a loyal golden retriever.
Can men send Bumble Compliments?
Yes. Anyone can send Compliments regardless of gender. The feature works the same for everyone. And if a woman sends a Compliment to a man, it counts as her first message, bypassing Bumble's women-message-first rule.
Are Bumble Compliments worth it?
Depends entirely on what you write. A specific, thoughtful Compliment that references something on their profile? Worth considering. Generic flattery you could copy-paste to 500 people? You're subsidizing Bumble's office snack budget for nothing. Fix your profile first. Nail your Bumble prompts. Then consider spending money on Compliments as a bonus, not a crutch.
Want to know how your dating app activity actually stacks up? Upload your data and find out where you're really at.
Sources
- Bumble Help Center: Sending Compliments
- Bumble Compliments Feature Page
- SwipeStats Analysis of 7,000+ Dating Profiles — 294M total swipes analyzed
