We all want to live life as a duet. To find that special someone to harmonize and dance with through the years. There are already dozens of dating apps out there that promise to match you with the soprano to your alto, but Duet thinks it can do it better.
And after downloading the app, they might just be on to something.
We took Duet for a test drive and here’s what we found.
Duet Dating App
What Makes It Stand Out
Duet’s tagline is, meet people you resonate with.
They do this by using what they call their Smart Tag function.
When you’re filling out your profile, which can take anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes, you’re asked to provide tags.
You can choose from a seemingly infinite list of tags, but you can also create your own. Tags are nothing more than a way to list your interests. These interest tags will then be displayed on your profile, but here’s the cool part.
Tags are used to pair you with singles with similar interests. When Duet says that it wants to help you find someone that resonates with you, this is the special sauce they’re using to do it.
It’s a simple but brilliant idea. Instead of swiping for hours, Duet will use these tags to shepherd you towards singles you’re interested in. They also have a For You section comprised of singles Duet thinks you’re most compatible with based on these tags. Once in this portion of the app, you can further filter based on things like:
- Verified User
- Online Now
- New Singles
- Most Popular
- Exercise Habits
- Height
There’s just one issue…
No One Is On The App
I think Duet launched a few years back, but there still aren’t many users on the app.
Just take a look at how many Apple users reviewed Duet compared to Tinder for example:
- Duet: 35,677
- Tinder: 1,477,979
While we don’t have official data, we can assume Duet is still struggling to amass users.
The stats are backed up by personal experience.
When I searched for singles just outside of NYC, despite putting my distancae preference at 5 miles, I kept seeing singles that were at least 15-20 miles away. In my mid-size city there seemed to be only a handful of Duet users.
This of course doesn’t mean you shouldn’t download the app, but it definitely shouldn’t be the only dating app in your arsenal.
If you do download the app, do so with the hope of meeting singles in their 20s. From the look and feel of this app, it’s geared towards Gen Z. Not to mention that, despite setting a filter for singles between the ages of 25 and 35, after swiping for 10 minutes or so, those under 25 somehow started making their way into my swipe queue.
The Features
The most unique feature of Duet is the interest tags, but it does offer some cool features here and there that may confuse, or convince the swipe-happy single person to give it a drag.
For one, there is the Nearby feature that allows you to swipe for singles nearby. Of course, you can just do that by changing the distance search filter, the difference is that the Nearby section lays out singles nearby, shows their photos, age, and basically gives you a quick summary of a range of users in close proximity without having to swipe through dozens of profiles.
Here’s the issue. Like so many featues on this app, in order to use them you have to pay.
It’s a little curious that Duet is asking me to pay up $59.99 a month when there are really only a handful of users on the app. I’d think that for an app struggling for users, Duet might offer these features for a nominal fee, for free for a limited period of time, or hell, just give them away for free as it tries to ramp up downloads.
This is kind of a theme with this app. You see a cool feature, want to give it a whirl, but whoops, that’ll cost you a gob of money for an app that has yet to prove its worth.
But I digress.
Duet also allows singles to call each other after a few messages have been exchanged. It’s a feature like this that while it may not be used very often, is a great way to take a fledgling relationship to the next level.
I also actually really enjoyed creating my profile. It took me about 20 minutes, and I haven’t even added all my photos or answered all the written prompts, but in that time, I was asked about my political beliefs, how much money I make, my hobbies, what I’m looking for, to verify my photo, and about 15 other things.
I’m a big believer that the more information I can post on my profile to convince someone to go out with me or give to a dating app to be used to pair me with a compatible single, the better.
I’m all for it.
Except when it comes to sharing my income, which I learned will not be displayed on my profile – thank god. The app will also ask you a series of questions to learn about who you are and, just as importantly, what you’re looking for. You’re given the option of choosing a series of dealbreakers. Ideally, these would then be used to steer you away from incompatibles, but again, the issue is that when the dating pool is shallow, you’ll quickly find that you can’t avoid singles that just aren’t your style.
Some other features I like, which have become pretty standard for dating apps at this point, include:
- Likes Me feature, which displays singles who have already liked your profile
- Boost to make your profile more visible
- Curated Daily Picks
- Rewinds
- Read receipts
- Super Like
I should note that you need to pay for most of these features.
More Female Than Male Users?
Here’s the deal, guys.
Apps like Tinder have 9 men to every female user.
Bumble has 7 women to every three male users.
Duet just doesn’t seem to have such lopsided numbers.
Sure, I’ve only been using the app for a short period of time, but it took me an hour to score two matches despite having a half-finished profile.
And no, she’s not a bot… I mean, I hope not.
The app feels like it’s made for Gen Z women. It’s bubbly, purple, and has more emojis than my family’s group chat.
The app also makes it clear that new users get a profile boost. For guys who struggle to score matches -so like 90% of dudes- this is a welcome perk.
I can’t say for certain what the ratio is, but the fact that I already have a few matches in a matter of hours is a pretty good sign that Duet isn’t another virtual sausage fest.
But before you go downloading Duet, how have you performed on other apps?
Downloading Duet won’t solve all your problems. To crack the code and start matching with singles, you need to talk with our team.
We teach men how to revamp their profiles, chat with women online, and then how to pivot online romance into the real world. We also show you how to meet women IRL so you don’t become overreliant on dating apps. Our team of mock dating coaches will sit down with you either online or IRL and go on practice dates with you until you feel like you’re ready to for the big leagues.
Don’t think you can ever find love?
That’s what these guys thought too, now look at them.