Bumble’s paying users are slipping as it bets on an overhaul later this year

As Bumble prepares for a major overhaul aimed at winning back Gen Z users (who are pretty much over dating apps right now), last earnings still reports that paying users are down. In the first quarter of 2026, total paying users fell 21.1% to 3.2 million, from 4 million a year ago.

This has been the story for a few quarters now. But during the investor call this afternoon, Bumble characterized it as a deliberate shift toward higher quality, more intentional users.

So while total revenue fell 14.1% to $212.4 million (although it beat expectations) and Bumble app revenue fell to $172.7 million, overall average revenue per paying user rose nearly 9%. It also reported higher earnings: Net income rose to $52.6 million compared to $19.8 million in the previous quarter (largely from lower sales and marketing expenses).

On the company’s investor call, founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd described the decline in paid users as part of a deliberate rollback. “This has been a period of real transformation at Bumble over the past few quarters,” he said. “We executed a deliberate reset of our membership base. We made a clear choice to prioritize quality over quantity, focusing on well-intentioned, dedicated members. This decision reduced overall scale, but substantially improved the health of our ecosystem.”

However, even with this framework, it is hard to ignore a shrinking base of paying users. That’s why much of the conversation on the call was more about what’s next. Bumble is asking investors to look ahead to its massive overhaul, which it hopes will eventually reverse the trend.

“When do we start to see a rebound in the numbers that you’re all looking for? Well, the answer is very simple. When our technology and our next-generation recommendation engine can really help connect people better, more compatible and show people who they want to see and go on great dates with. That’s where the magic happens,” Herd said.

The overhaul refers to replacing Bumble’s old technology platform with a cloud-native, AI-powered one so it can improve matches and roll out updates faster. This has already started rolling out to some users and will be rolled out over the coming months.

The most noticeable changes, however, come later. Bumble said on Tuesday that its full “redesigned” member experience is now expected to roll out in Q4, with a broader rollout to follow late this year and early next year. This is slightly later than previously expected and indicates that it will be more of a gradual release than a major reboot.

And the changes themselves sound pretty significant. The company is making a big bet that the swiping model is outdated and most matches never turn into real dates. The company wants to fix this by redesigning profiles, changing the way people interact and focusing much more on getting users to meet in real life.

Artificial intelligence is a huge part of this plan. Earlier this year, Bumble introduced something called “Bee,” a built-in matchmaker that learns daters’ preferences, relationship goals, and communication style and then recommends matches based on those factors. In a feature called “Dates,” Bee can even explain why two people are a good match before they connect.

Profiles change too. Bumble has experimented with more detailed “cap style” profiles that go beyond photos and a short bio.

Plus, Bumble sees some dynamics outside of dating. Its friend-focused app Bumble BFF last year added a Groups tab where users can join chats, schedule hangouts and organize events. According to Herd, engagement is growing, especially among Gen Z women. Joining the Group nearly doubled between December and March, the company says.

Bumble is currently on hold. The hope is that by defining how people go from matching to actual meetings, it can bring users back. But until this new experience is fully out there, it’s still just a gamble.