• DatingScout.com released "The State of Online Dating 2026" on 10 November, based on 53,902 respondents in 18 countries.
  • 40.4% of American women online daters want a partner who owns a home, against 18.9% of American men, according to the release.
  • DatingScout's own data page says the sample is self-selected, and worldwide 70.9% of respondents are men.
  • UK women set the highest bar among 15 countries with data: 45.3% want a homeowner.

DatingScout.com, a dating-review platform, released "The State of Online Dating 2026" on 10 November, a study of 53,902 respondents in 18 countries. Its headline finding is that 40.4% of American women online daters want a partner who owns a home, against 18.9% of American men, according to the release.

The same release puts worldwide deal-breakers on a gender split. Unemployment rules someone out for 42.1% of women and 14.1% of men, while high debt does so for 52.2% of women and 31.6% of men. On first dates, 43% of men said the man should pay, against 24.5% of women, and 49% of women would rather split the bill.

The DII Take

This is useful colour on what singles say they screen for, and weak evidence about the wider market. DatingScout's own data page says the sample is self-selected and describes people actively looking for a dating site, not the general population. Operators should read the gender gaps as directional, not as benchmarks.

A sample that skews male and has moved

DatingScout's data pages show that worldwide 70.9% of respondents are men and 27.4% are women. The release says the study draws on an ongoing reader survey running since January 2025, and respondents could pick several qualities, so multi-select answers can total more than 100%.

The count has also shifted. DatingScout's UK data page, updated in October, showed 52,270 responses, against the release's 53,902. The homeowner question covers 15 countries, not all 18. In the UK, 45.3% of women want a homeowner, against 19.1% of men.

In the UK, 45.3% of women want a homeowner, against 19.1% of men.

What to watch

The survey says nothing about why paying behaviour is moving at the big platforms. Match Group (MTCH) reported Q3 revenue of $891M, down 3%, while Hinge payers rose 23% to 2.3M, according to an AWARE summary of the filing. Bumble (BMBL) disclosed in its 10-Q that Bumble App paying users fell 15.1% to 2.0M, as covered in our Q3 report. Watch whether DatingScout publishes the underlying homeowner data, and whether its sample balance changes.

  • DatingScout's survey is promotional data from a self-selected sample: its own page calls the sample self-selected and its data pages show 70.9% of respondents are men, so it cannot stand in for the market.
  • Money features heavily in the deal-breakers: high debt rules someone out for 52.2% of women and 31.6% of men worldwide, which product teams may want to test with their own members.
  • Match Group's and Bumble's Q3 results, not this survey, remain the evidence on payer trends.

Sources: DatingScout.com Releases The State of Online Dating 2026 (GlobeNewswire / DatingScout.com); The State of Online Dating 2026, UK data page (DatingScout); The State of Online Dating 2026, AU data page (DatingScout); Match Group third quarter 2026 results (Match Group / SEC); Bumble Inc. Form 10-Q for quarter ended September 30, 2026 (Bumble Inc. / SEC); Manila Times repost of the DatingScout release (The Manila Times); Match Group Reports Q3 2026 Results summary (AWARE)