The League Reviews [Is This Exclusive Dating App Worth Trying?]

The League is an exclusive dating app requiring manual profile verification with 20-30% acceptance rates depending on city. Available in 160+ cities worldwide, it costs $99.99-$2,499.99 monthly for premium features, with free users getting 3 daily matches at 5pm. The app prioritizes successful professionals in consulting, finance, and tech, requiring LinkedIn integration and emphasizing ambition over appearance.

Key Review Insights:

• Exclusivity comes with limitations: Small user pool compared to mainstream apps, long waitlists (months for free users), and strict activity requirements that can result in removal
• Premium pricing structure: Four paid tiers from Member ($99.99/week) to VIP ($999.99/week), with significant feature differences and 40% higher visibility for subscribers
• Algorithm heavily favors engagement: Daily login required for optimal performance, "flaky" users penalized, and inactive free users removed after 30 days
• Geographic availability matters: Live in 160+ major cities but performance varies significantly by location and local user density
• Quality control through verification: Manual review process, LinkedIn integration, and background screening create higher-quality user base

Our dating experts have used The League since its 2015 launch, providing insights based on years of platform experience and client representation.

Advantages:

• Every member manually vetted for success and intelligence
• Exclusive singles and networking events
• Facebook/LinkedIn connections filtered out automatically
• League Groups for interest-based conversations
• Algorithm rewards daily active users

Disadvantages:

• Significantly smaller user pool than mainstream apps
• Limited daily matches (3-8 depending on membership)
• Extended waitlist times for free users
• Requires consistent daily engagement or risk removal
• $25 re-admission fee if kicked off for inactivity

Free Guest Membership:

• 3 daily prospects at 5pm
• Basic matching and messaging
• Subject to 30-day inactivity removal

Member ($99.99/week, $299.99/month):

• Same-day profile review
• 5 daily prospects
• Message read receipts
• Multi-city search capability
• Age hiding and profile privacy options

Owner ($199.99/week, $399.99/month):

• 6 daily prospects
• Unlimited Power Moves
• X-Ray Vision (see who liked you)
• Rematch capabilities

Investor ($399.99/week, $999/month):

• 7 daily prospects
• Full list of people who liked you
• 10x match feature
• Video date preview options

VIP ($999.99/week, $2,499.99/month):

• 8 daily prospects
• Instant batch matching
• Eligibility for 8 Sunday speed dates

League Tickets are available for a la carte features, starting at 5 tickets for $24.99.

Profile Requirements:

• LinkedIn and Facebook integration required
• Minimum 6 photos with high-contrast primary image
• 190-character bio emphasizing success and ambition
• 10-second video profile (optional but recommended for algorithm priority)

Application Process: The League accepts 20-30% of applicants after manual review. Free users may wait months for approval in competitive markets, while paid members receive expedited review within 48 hours. Complete all profile requirements and connect social accounts to improve waitlist priority.

Matching System: Daily prospects are delivered at 5pm based on membership level (3-8 matches). Matches expire after 21 days if no message is sent, and conversations expire after 14 days of inactivity. Your "League Score" tracks engagement - frequent unmatching or non-responsiveness results in "Flaky" status and reduced visibility.

Algorithm Requirements: The League heavily penalizes inactivity. Daily users receive 10% higher match rates, while inactive free users are removed after 30 days (requiring a $25 re-admission fee). The app tracks messaging patterns and rewards consistent engagement.

League Live Video Dating: 3-minute video dates twice weekly (Sundays and Wednesdays at 9pm) in select cities. Free for all users, though paid members receive matching preference. Each session includes 3 different potential matches with icebreaker prompts.

League Groups: Interest-based community discussions allowing conversation before matching.

GoalMates: Profile feature allowing selection of up to 10 personal goals from 100+ options, designed to show ambition and compatibility.

The League operates in 160+ cities worldwide, performing best in major metropolitan areas with high professional concentrations. US cities include New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, and 75+ others. International coverage includes major cities across Canada, Europe, Asia, and other continents.

User density varies significantly by location - larger markets offer more prospects and shorter waitlists, while smaller cities may have limited options.

Ideal Users:

• Successful professionals in finance, consulting, tech
• Users seeking equally ambitious partners
• People comfortable with premium pricing for exclusivity
• Daily app users who can maintain consistent engagement

Consider Alternatives If:

• You prefer larger user pools over exclusivity
• Budget constraints make premium pricing prohibitive
• You're in a smaller market with limited League presence
• You can't commit to daily app usage

Photo Selection: Your primary photo appears in black and white, so choose high-contrast images for maximum impact. Use photos where you're the only person in frame, showing the upper 2/3 of your body, and making direct eye contact with the camera. The League pulls photos from Facebook, allowing you to arrange them in preferred order.

Writing Your Bio: The 190-character limit makes every word count. Focus on success, ambition, and intelligence since these align with The League's core values. Emojis can help pack more meaning into limited space while making your profile visually appealing.

Video Profile Tips: The optional 10-second video gets algorithm priority, making it worth the effort. Highlight 2-3 interests that showcase attractive qualities like intelligence or adventure. Practice your delivery but avoid sounding rehearsed. Pay attention to lighting and background - natural light works best, and ensure everything visible elevates your impression.

Improving Waitlist Priority: Purchasing a full membership guarantees expedited review within 48 hours (Monday-Friday). Referring 2 friends also provides guaranteed entry. For free users, complete all requirements: add phone number, upload 3+ photos, connect Instagram/LinkedIn, complete your profile, and specify how you heard about the app. Select goals in the GoalMates section - The League found 98% of singles consider goal-driven people attractive. The app tracks time spent on applications, so invest effort to show you're serious about finding relationships.

The League Dating App Requirements

According to its founder and CEO Amanda Bradford, The League was designed specifically for successful people who value traits like ambition and intelligence above everything else.

Or as one of The League’s ads puts it, people seeking drive, not double D’s.

In Bradford’s words:

“I had seen first-hand that people who wanted an equally ambitious partner did exist. Though the dating app market was crowded, there was no app catering to singles who desired this type of relationship. So, I decided to put my MBA and my Carnegie Mellon undergrad engineering degree to use and build the app myself!”

Most of the app’s users are in consulting, finance, or tech, with some other fields like the fashion industry growing in number. The key to entry is being successful at what you do. The League is all about making power couples.

Other factors taken into consideration include your education and background. Reviewers will scrutinize your LinkedIn profile, which is also where the app will ultimately pull info for your profile from. If you pass the manual screening process, you’re in.

The League app rejection process is pretty simple, you’ll get a notification that your profile didn’t make the cut. (To avoid getting rejected by The League, check out these tips!)

According to Bradford, The League acceptance rate hovers around 20-30% depending on the city.

Bradford revealed a few tips in an interview:

As Bradford explained,

You can really tell, honestly, by what kind of effort people put into the application. We actually can see how long people spend on it… There’s a lot of signals in the data that tells you if someone’s really looking for a relationship and really wants to be there.

A minimum of 3 photos is required to be granted Guest access, and they all need to show your face.

Matching On The League

When you are accepted, you’ll receive 3-15 prospective matches, called “prospects”, every day at 5 pm. The number of matches depends on your membership level.

When you like one of your daily “5 at 5” prospective matches and they’ve already liked your profile, you’ll get a “Home Run” notification.

According to the app, the person who gets the Home Run notification should send the first message. But that’s only a suggestion - not a rule.

You can swipe left or right, and if the interest is mutual the messaging platform opens. The League also has a video chat feature.

Time Limits On The League

Either half of a match can start messaging first on The League, but if it doesn’t happen within 21 days the match will expire.

Matches will also expire if the conversation stalls for longer than 14 days. It is possible to rematch with expired matches on The League at a later date.

If you are no longer interested in someone, you can unmatch people on The League by clicking the X in the top right corner and selecting “Expire.”

Your League Score

Be selective about doing this, though - as it can make your League Score go from “Not Flaky” to “Semi-Flaky” or “Flaky” if you do it too often.

That can really torpedo your match rate, especially with people looking for a long-term relationship. (Other factors that affect your League Score include how complete your profile is, how active you are on the app, and if you’ve been reported by other users.)

The League strictly adheres to the criteria you set for your ideal partner. So if your preferences are uber specific, you may get few (or no) matches.

If you’re not getting many matches, you can spend 5 League Tickets to “Boost” your profile. Each boost shows it to an additional 50 people who fit your preferences. Otherwise, your profile is shown to only 3-5 other users.

How The League’s Algorithm Works

While the exact workings are a closely held secret, The League isn’t shy about letting members know what behaviors will boost (or hurt) your rating:

• Members who log in daily are rewarded with a 10% higher match rate, and users who don’t are demoted. In the words of The League’s concierge, “We play favorites, and we’re proud of it.”
• Members deemed “Flaky”, i.e. who match but don’t message, or don’t respond to messages they receive, will also be penalized by The League’s algorithm.
• If you’re a “Guest” (free) member, The League’s “kick-out algorithm” will kick in and boot you off the app if you don’t log in for 30 days.
• Guests will also be kicked out of The League for consistently failing to respond to first messages. If you’re a Guest removed for either flakiness or inactivity, the only way back in is upgrading to a Member subscription.

Video Dating With League Live

League Live is a feature that allows singles to participate in 3-minute video dates. It happens twice a week, on Sundays and Wednesdays at 9 pm in select cities.

If you opt-in and are selected, each Sunday and Wednesday evening at 9 you can have a 3-minute conversation with 3 different potential matches, chosen by the app based on your preferences and location.

At the start of each video date, you’ll both be shown an icebreaker to get the conversation started. You can tap the “heart” to “like” the person at any time during your date, or afterward.

If there’s mutual opt-in, you’ll match and the messaging platform opens up.

The feature is available to both paid and free users, although League Members will get preference during the matching process. League Live is free, for now. But a low League Score will keep you from being able to access it.

According to Bradford, video dates are a way to help guarantee authenticity as well as a way to get to know a potential match before investing time on a first date.

"2020 is the year of authenticity, which is why we built League Live, the only functionality in any dating app that emulates meeting randomly in real life, but within a protected environment with verified users."

PRO TIP: How To Prep For Your League Live Date

Speed dating is all about making a good impression. The fact that you’re doing it via a screen instead of in person means you need to do a little prep work.

The whole point of League Live is to turn a potential match into an actual match - and hopefully speed up the process of them wanting to meet you in person.

Here are 3 League Live dating tips:

#1: Consider the lighting.

Natural light is generally the most flattering, but that’s usually lacking at 9 pm. Make sure the room you’re in is well-lit, and that your light source isn’t fluorescent. Position yourself and your camera where you aren’t cast in shadow - the whole point is for your match to get a good look at the “real” you.

#2: Go to your quiet place.

Everyone knows how frustrating (not to mention annoying) it is to be on the phone with someone whose kids or dogs are going nuts in the background, or their TV is blaring. Try your best to keep the background noise to a minimum for the 9 minutes you’ll be video dating.

#3: Look your best.

Unlike a Bumble video call, League video dates are a scheduled event - so don’t look like it caught you by surprise. Make sure you’re as presentable to your potential matches as you would be if you were meeting for drinks.

For more expert advice on how to prepare for your video date, check out these video chatting tips!

One of the most popular exclusive dating apps, The League was acquired by Match Group for a reported $29.9 million in 2022.

It’s jam-packed with the kind of high-quality matches you’re looking to meet. But keep in mind your competition is just as successful and ambitious as you are. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have gotten past those metaphorical velvet ropes, right?

You’re up against the best of the best, so that means you need to bring your A-game at every level, from your profile to your photos to your messages. And remember, you get penalized for not checking the app on the daily… so better set that reminder now.

Wishing there was a way to meet the most attractive, intriguing people The League has to offer without devoting a ton of time you don’t have to the app?

Enter VIDA Select. Our team of online dating experts will handle everything for you, from writing a profile that sets you apart from your toughest competition to choosing your most attractive photo lineup using our data-driven, proven process.

We’ll even check the app for you every day, and handle all the back and forth messaging with the matches you want to meet most!

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