Upward Dating App Review

Modern dating has a lot to recommend it, what with the ease of meeting new people and the relatively low-risk environment provided by sites and apps, but it has a frustrating side, too, exemplified by low-commitment, low-effort interactions, ghosting, and the frustrating experience of trying to find someone who shares your vision of love and life. That problem is particularly acute for Christian daters, who might not only want a partner in search of a serious and long-term relationship, but also a shared faith commitment.

Upward addresses these concerns by targeting itself to Christian daters, of all denominations, who are experiencing major “swipe fatigue” and eager for a different, more serious approach to modern dating. Through internal polling, Upward reports that over 90% of its users are looking for either a long-term relationship or marriage, and more than 50% “would get married tomorrow if they met the right person today.”

Numbers like that separate Upward from the mainstream dating apps, where casual daters and people unsure of what they’re looking for are much more common, so if you’re sick of the same-old, same-old, give Upward a try.

Key Features

• Faith denominations are featured prominently in bios
• Users have the ability to filter by faith, as well as the usual variables
• Upward’s users are disproportionately serious about dating, rather than oriented towards casual or short-term.

Upward Review

Upward is the ideal dating app for younger Christians, of all denominations, looking for love and romance rather than go-nowhere flirtations or casual dating. Its interface will be familiar to users of Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, so there won’t be much of a learning curve, but the substantive changes are all going on beneath the surface, thanks to Upward’s approach and ethos.

Upward users are overwhelmingly focused on serious, long-term dating with the prospect of marriage, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re much more likely to find that on Upward than on more mainstream rivals like Tinder and Bumble. Their internal polling has revealed that the majority of their users are oriented towards long-term relationships and marriage, and fully 60% are open to a long-distance relationship (defined using a minimum of two hours of travel time).

In terms of its features and interface, it isn’t massively innovative or overwhelmingly feature-rich, but in this case, simplicity is an advantage: the app is designed to foreground faith and connection, and most of the bells and whistles offered by competing apps detract from this mission. Users of Tinder and Hinge will be right at home with Upward: you will “like” potential matches, and a mutual “like” opens the possibility for direct messaging. And, like Tinder, Upward also offers Super Likes, that notify the person you’re liking that you’ve expressed interest.

How much you enjoy Upward will depend on what you’re looking for, but if you’re out for serious, faith-centered dating, this is a must-try app designed with you in mind.

Signing Up

Most of the signup process will be recognizable to online dating veterans: you sign up using your phone number and by entering a verification code that will be sent to your phone. You’ll then be asked to provide your name, gender, and birthday, and to fill out both an “About Me” section and a faith statement, which is sort of a testament of what you believe or how you identify.

What it costs: The basic membership is free, and thankfully it offers enough abilities to make it worthwhile: you don’t need to pay for a membership to speak with other members, for example. But if you do want to drop some coin, you have two options: a Premium or Elite membership.

The Premium membership costs $9.99 for one month, $14.99 for three months (or $4.99/month), or $23.99 if you commit to six months ($3.99/month), and gives you the ability to see who has been liking your profile. The Elite membership is more costly and more extensive: it will set you back $19.99 for one month, $29.99 for three months ($9.99/month), and $47.99 for six months ($7.99/month), but unlock unlimited swipes, likes and rewinds, eliminate ads, gift you 5 daily Super Likes, and one free “boost” per month, to make your profile more visible.

Sign up for Upward here

How Does Upward Work - Searching for Matches

The search process is very similar to other apps, in that you can like or super like profiles in your area, and can only start talking if someone you liked reciprocates your interest. But, since this is a faith-based dating site, you also have the option of filtering users by their faith, so if you’re looking for something particular, you can find it that way.

How to Start a Conversation on Upward

At present, there are no methods of communicating outside of the mutual like, so we recommend you put some serious effort into your bio and photos.

Safety & Security

As with most dating apps, Upward will require some personal information to help you find matches, including your location, your age, your gender, and your personal phone number. That having been said, they’re transparent in their usage of your info, and offer more information, for those interested, on their privacy policy.