# Badoo business profile: who owns it and how it earns

Published 2026-10-16. Updated 2026-10-16. https://www.datingapi.io/insights/badoo-business-profile

**In short:** Badoo is owned by Bumble Inc and reported with its smaller apps as Badoo App and Other. That line earned $38.8 million in the three months to June 2026, down 17.1%, from 1.08 million paying members at $11.21 a month each. Founded by Andrey Andreev in 2006, it now earns far less per payer than Bumble.

Badoo is owned by Bumble Inc, which reports it together with its other small apps and advertising income as "Badoo App and Other". That line earned $38.8 million in the three months to June 2026, down 17.1% on a year earlier, from 1.08 million paying members who paid an average of $11.21 a month [1]. In 2025 it earned $182.6 million, down 11.1% [2].

Badoo is older than Bumble and was the business that funded it. Today it is the smaller, cheaper and shrinking half of the group, and from late 2026 it will sit inside a private company. This profile pulls together its history, numbers and features from Bumble's filings.

## Owner and launch history

Bumble Inc owns Badoo, Bumble and the friendship app BFF [7]. The company describes Badoo as "one of the pioneers of web and mobile dating products", founded in 2006 [7].

| Date | Event |
| --- | --- |
| 2006 | Andrey Andreev founds the group behind Badoo; Badoo launches [4][6] |
| 2014 | Bumble launches as a separate brand [4] |
| 2016 | Badoo adds Selfie Request, letting women ask a match for a live selfie [9] |
| November 2019 | Blackstone agrees to take a majority stake in MagicLab, owner of Bumble and Badoo, at a $3 billion valuation; Andreev sells his stake and steps down [6] |
| January 2020 | Blackstone funds complete the majority purchase [4] |
| February 2021 | Bumble Inc completes its stock market listing [4] |
| 2025 | Bumble cuts about 30% of its global workforce; Official shut in May and Fruitz sold in July [4] |
| 13 October 2026 | Bumble Inc agrees to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings at $6.05 a share [7] |

Source: Bumble Inc filings [4][7], Blackstone [6] and Global Dating Insights [9].

## Business model

Badoo is a free app with paid extras. Bumble's 10-K lists two subscriptions, Badoo Premium and Badoo Extra, with features such as seeing who liked you and Invisible Mode, plus Badoo Credits sold in bundles and spent on one-off features such as popularity boosts [4]. Unlike Bumble, Badoo members can message anyone without a mutual match [4].

UK App Store prices on 16 October 2026 included Badoo Premium at £4.49 and £6.99, seven days of Premium at £9.99, and 550 credits at £7.99, with prices varying by country [5].

The "Badoo App and Other" line is wider than Badoo itself. It includes Bumble's other owned apps, third-party apps that use Bumble's technology, and advertising, partnership and affiliate income [2]. Its paying member and revenue per payer figures exclude advertising, partnerships, affiliates and the Official app, so they do not reconcile exactly with revenue [2].

## Revenue and payers, 2024 to Q2 2026

| Period | Badoo App and Other revenue | Change on a year | Paying members | Reported revenue per payer, per month | Revenue divided by payers, per month (our calc) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2024 | $205.4m | n/a | 1,342,000 | $11.85 | $12.75 |
| 2025 | $182.6m | down 11.1% | 1,237,700 | $11.48 | $12.29 |
| Q2 2025 | $46.8m | n/a | 1,277,400 | $11.57 | $12.21 |
| Q4 2025 | $43.2m | down 12.4% | 1,136,200 | $11.80 | $12.67 |
| Q1 2026 | $39.7m | down 12.4% (our calc) | 1,084,300 | $11.26 | $12.20 |
| Q2 2026 | $38.8m | down 17.1% | 1,080,100 | $11.21 | $11.97 |

Source: Bumble Inc results for Q4 and full year 2025 [2], Q1 2026 [3] and Q2 2026 [1]. The Q1 2026 change is our calculation against $45.3 million a year earlier [3].

**How we calculated the last column:** revenue divided by paying members, divided by the number of months. For 2025 that is $182.6 million divided by 1,237,700 divided by 12, or $12.29 [2]. It runs above Bumble's reported figure because revenue includes advertising and other income that the reported figure leaves out [2]. See [revenue per payer](/glossary/arppu) for the standard definition.

Our calculations from the same reports show:

- **Payers are falling faster than in 2025.** Paying members fell 7.8% between 2024 and 2025, then 15.4% between the second quarters of 2025 and 2026 [1][2].
- **Revenue per payer is flat.** It has stayed between $11.21 and $11.85 a month across the period [1][2][3]. Unlike Tinder or Grindr, Badoo is not offsetting fewer payers with higher prices.
- **Badoo earns well under half what Bumble does per payer.** In the second quarter of 2026 the Bumble app averaged $27.55 a month, so Badoo's $11.21 was about 41% of that [1].
- **Its share of the group is steady.** Badoo App and Other was about 19% of Bumble Inc revenue in 2024 and 2025 and about 18% in the second quarter of 2026 [1][2].

## Safety and verification

Badoo was early to several safety tools. In 2016 it added Selfie Request, so women could ask a match to prove they matched their photos [9]. In 2020 it introduced Private Detector, which blurs images in chat that may contain nudity and lets the recipient choose whether to view them [8]. Bumble's 10-K also describes a Rude Message Detector that flags potentially abusive messages and lets members dismiss them [4].

Badoo's App Store listing describes a three-step photo verification process, an option to talk only to verified profiles, and a Deception Detector that aims to block fake, scam and spam accounts [5]. The listing is rated 18+ and lists age assurance among its controls [5]. For the regulatory side, see [age assurance](/glossary/age-assurance) and [ID verification](/glossary/id-verification).

## Recent changes and the Ithaca deal

Badoo has had little separate attention in Bumble's recent reports. The second quarter 2026 release gives Badoo's numbers but no Badoo-specific strategy, while Bumble's chief executive talks about completing a platform migration and rebuilding matching for the Bumble app [1]. Group marketing spend fell to $56.2 million in the first half of 2026 from $91.8 million a year earlier [1]. Bumble booked a $169.3 million impairment charge in the second quarter of 2026, after $404.9 million a year earlier [1].

The Ithaca Holdings deal values Bumble Inc at $1.3 billion, and Ithaca's co-founders will become co-chief executives on closing [7]. The announcement does not say what the deal means for Badoo [7]. A private owner will not have to publish Badoo's numbers, so the Q3 2026 results, due in November, may be among the last public figures for the app.

## What it means for dating app operators

- **Flat prices plus falling payers is a slow squeeze.** Badoo held revenue per payer steady while losing about 15% of payers in a year [1]. If your payer base is shrinking, decide early whether price, product or audience is the lever, because standing still does not hold revenue.
- **Free messaging changes what members pay for.** Badoo lets anyone message anyone, so paid features centre on visibility and attention, sold as subscriptions and credits [4]. Credits suit members who will not commit to a subscription, which matters in lower-income markets.
- **Early safety features age.** Selfie Request and Private Detector were early moves [8][9]. Members now expect photo verification and scam filtering as standard, so audit your safety tools against today's market, not the year you built them.
- **Second brands need their own plan.** Inside a group focused on its lead app, a second brand can drift [1]. If you run a portfolio, give each app its own roadmap and numbers. [Who it's for](/who-its-for) covers how we work with operators that run more than one brand.

See also the [Bumble business profile](/insights/bumble-business-profile) and our [Q2 2026 revenue scorecard](/insights/top-dating-apps-by-revenue).

## Questions

**Who owns Badoo?**

Bumble Inc, which also owns Bumble and BFF [2]. On 13 October 2026 Bumble Inc agreed to be taken private by Ithaca Holdings for $6.05 a share, valuing it at $1.3 billion [7].

**How much money does Badoo make?**

Bumble reports Badoo with its other apps and advertising. That line earned $182.6 million in 2025, down 11.1%, and $38.8 million in the second quarter of 2026 [2][1].

**How many people pay for Badoo?**

Badoo and Bumble's other apps had 1.08 million paying members in the three months to June 2026, against 1.28 million a year earlier [1].

**Who founded Badoo?**

Andrey Andreev, who founded the group behind Badoo in 2006 and sold his stake to Blackstone in a deal announced in November 2019 [6].

## Sources

1. Bumble Inc. second quarter 2026 results, Bumble Inc (SEC filing), 2026-08-05. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001830043/000183004326000099/bmbl-ex991prxq22026.htm
2. Bumble Inc. fourth quarter and full year 2025 results, Bumble Inc (SEC filing), 2026-03-11. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1830043/000183004326000018/bmbl-ex991prxq42025.htm
3. Bumble Inc. announces first quarter 2026 results, Bumble Inc via Nasdaq, 2026-05-05. https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/bumble-inc-announces-first-quarter-2026-results-2026-05-05
4. Bumble Inc. annual report on Form 10-K for 2025, Bumble Inc (SEC filing), 2026-03-16. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1830043/000183004326000027/bmbl-20251231.htm
5. Badoo Dating App: Meet and Date, Apple App Store (UK), 2026-10-16. https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/badoo-dating-app-meet-date/id351331194
6. Blackstone to take majority stake in MagicLab, owner of Bumble and Badoo, at $3 billion valuation, Blackstone, 2019-11-08. https://www.blackstone.com/news/press/blackstone-to-take-majority-stake-in-magiclab-owner-of-bumble-and-badoo-at-3-billion-valuation/
7. Bumble to be acquired by Ithaca Holdings, Bumble Inc (SEC filing), 2026-10-13. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001830043/000095010326015480/dp254907_ex9901.htm
8. Private Detector AI software released on Badoo, Global Dating Insights, 2020-07-01. https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/featured/private-detector-ai-software-released-on-badoo/
9. Badoo introduces selfie request to improve user safety, Global Dating Insights, 2016-07-13. https://www.globaldatinginsights.com/news/badoo-introduces-selfie-request-to-improve-user-safety/