Grindr vs Scruff — Which One Is Better?

Having many contacts, an audience in front of which you can show off, and receiving matches corresponds to a specific purpose of many users of Grindr and Scruff applications. Being liked by several people, having the profile visited are actions that accelerate certain competitive pleasures and promote the subject. Gays around the world experience real enjoyment when they interact in a friendly environment and feel leadership. Winning a top place in seduction and popularity rankings is also consistent with the logic of hyper-consumption. Our comparison will shed light on the differences between Grindr vs Scruff.

The brand’s percept every action of modern Internet users. Therefore, relationships, affections, love, and sex become transactions provided by applications. The bodies that are exposed on the screens crave a demand for consumption. Being consumable has become the most significant source of enjoyment. But are all gay apps about quick sex, or you can truly meet the love of your life on them? This Grindr and Scruff review will answer your questions.

What Is the Difference Between Scruff and Grindr?

Created in March 2009 by Israeli Joel Simkhai, Grindr was the first app to be successful among gay, bisexual and related audiences looking for practical and quick sex. In an interview with G Magazine, a publication aimed at the Brazilian gay public, Simkhai (2012) stated that he created Grindr to solve a personal issue of not meeting other guys around him. Initially, the application was launched in only six countries, but it was so successful that it is currently present in 192 countries, totaling 5 million mobile users. Every day 10,000 people create profiles on the site.

The name Grindr comes from the word “grinder”. Each subject can grind and let themselves be ground in the dating market as they wish, as with the various coffee beans. Grindr and Scruff are similar in this matter. Everyone can mix the beans and get the coffee they want. But instead of coffee, people become grinders of affection, love, and sex.

Scruff was created in 2010, a year after Grindr, by Johnny Skandros Scruff. The application was developed incompatibility with both the Android system and the IOS platform for iPhone and iPad. This ease of access on any mobile device is one factor of its quick rise and an additional point for the app in the Grindr vs Scruff comparison. To use Scruff, you should register and create a profile with personal information and photo. Scruff, unlike Grindr, allows the user to check-in at any location through Facebook or Twitter. When doing this operation, users leave a trail symbolized with the “bear’s paw” design when visiting a profile.

Which One Is Better for Men?

The Grindr and Scruff apps expose the culture of hyperconsumption present in all segments of the present society. The eroticized bodies that cover introductory pages, as merchandise exposed for consumption, corroborate this logic. The essence of our exchanges tends to become market relations. It is almost all of our existence that brands and the market colonize. These applications, which serve the current demands, do not escape the immediate imperatives of visibility, consumption, and enjoyment. Because both Scruff and Grindr are for men, they shouldn’t puzzle over which one to choose. Their community will eagerly welcome men, gender-fluid people, queer persons, and everyone whose orientation is not “straight.”

Exposing yourself through photos and having seductive conversations with quick and easy phrases are considered efficient ways to gather many contacts on these platforms. If you like younger men and seek easy connections, you should stick to Grindr. If mature bears and serious relationships are your priority — choose Scruff. According to Simkhai, the central concept of Grindr is to provide the interaction and management of social life in the palm.

Grindr and Scruff aim to facilitate the meeting at a time when men are on the move, creating opportunities for face-to-face conversations. The subjects who use Grindr stay involved for an average of one and a half hours a day. This fact makes its creators invest ostensibly in advertising partnerships. You can notice many attempts at the apps despite the way they already simplify something complex. Grindr, for instance, offers one of the simplest matching algorithms that was inherited from traditional Tinder. It is already known under the unofficial name of the “Tinder-swiping” system.

The system assigns each user a rating of “desirability” according to the people attracted to your profile. But this is not the only criterion of the Grindr algorithm as it also manages to hold up a mirror to our illusions. The Scruff algorithm is less complicated and more straightforward — you get matches based on preferences and personality traits. Finally, use the app that appeals more to you. Scruff or Grindr are both practical and suitable for men.

Grindr vs Scruff — Target Audience

After Grindr’s four years of existence, Brazil occupies the 9th position concerning the countries that use the application. There are 157 thousand users, with the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, who mostly use the country’s application (154 thousand). Brazil is the leader in terms of activity among Southern American countries.

Although the application is intensely sexual, Simkhai supports that Grindr’s primary purpose is the search for a stable relationship, even a marriage. After all, quick sex does not exclude the desire for romantic and stable relationships. Quick sex can be the first and essential step towards a passionate relationship. As human beings, we always hope to find that particular person, and Grindr or Scruff users are no different.

Scruff is a social network for gays, bisexuals, and related people. At first, it seemed to be aimed at the fat and furry gays, the so-called “bears,” but soon it started to be used by what came to be known as the “Scruff boy” (or “s/b” in slang). The “Scruff boy” can be a bear, military man, player, fireman or student. It could be a guy like “me, you, any of us.” The app says this: a Scruff boy may be sitting next to you, he may be from your house block, he may be right at the destination of your trip. Find him and be happy. For many users, using Scruff is part of building the model of a thriving gay, one who has the latest iPhone, who is well connected, and has several profiles and photos that can be accessed and displayed to closest friends.

On Grindr and Scruff, most connections and interactions are aimed at encounters for affective and sexual exchanges quickly. The idea is to effortlessly locate the possibilities, the most desired targets, not waste time in long flirtations and with no chance of success. In that sense, acceleration is a privilege of our time. When we and the other put ourselves on the market at the disposal of encounters and pleasures, falling in love, we have little time to weigh things out. The hedonistic objective is provided by the numerous options exposed, the erotic bodies displayed on the screens, which are easily located by the devices’ GPS. If you hesitate, which one is better — Scruff vs Grindr, both offer enjoyment at your fingertips, without commitment, permanence, or duration.

Interface and Usability

On Grindr, unlike dating sites that require you to fill out tedious profiles or answer countless questions that will lead to a match, you are your matchmaker. This aspect also appeals to men. The challenge is to select one or more images of yourself that are supposed to reflect your personality. Your self-promotion may leave everyone a little clueless, even though user recommendations are drawn from the data analysis. Grindr vs Scruff? Using both these apps, always think about whom you want to meet and then form the image they would likely notice.

Grindr uses GPS technology and smartphones, and the person needs to create a profile with a photo and fill in information such as age, height, ethnicity, and a brief personal description. By being interested in someone and clicking on the person’s profile, the user gets information about the approximate location, in kilometers and meters. In the free version, most used, it is possible to view the profile of up to 100 people around you.

The main proposal of Scruff is similar to that of Grindr: a social network that facilitates the intertwining of people seeking friendship, an affective relationship, or just instant sex. The Grindr or Scruff users act with intentionality. Therefore they have the autonomy to establish a relationship with each other, being responsible for the actions taken. The contact between the latter network users is constituted depending on the affinities, needs, circumstances, and preferences.

Pricing: Which Service Is More Affordable?

Straight men are more likely to pay to be visible, while gays decide to use Grindr and Scruff’s standard features. In terms of competition, it’s tough to stand out. Using special boosts, you can have more than 100 matches in a few hours. For men, if you don’t pay, you don’t get seen. You divide your chances by 10. Girls don’t have to pay for the app to work. But this statistic doesn’t apply to gay sites. The latter provides more equity and equality.

In terms of Grindr vs Scruff prices, they win in different categories. The Grindr services are cheaper in the long-term perspective, but if you want to join for one month to try, choose the second platform. Here are the subscription costs for Grindr:

• One Month for $24.99;
• Three Months for $6.99 per month;
• Six Months for $4.99 per month;
• Twelve Months for $3.99 per month.

As for Happn:

• One Month for $14.99;
• Three Months for $13.33 per month;
• Twelve Months for $10 per month.

Pros and Cons

According to the Grindr app creator, it is necessary to consider that people can use it for many purposes, such as making friends, finding casual partners, and even discovering love. This aspect applies to both Scruff and Grindr. The more users they have on the app, the better it will be for all, as users are more likely to find their dream partner.

Grindr

Scruff

And the Winner Is?…

The user behaviors described and analyzed in the review allow us to draw a set of conclusions, of which we want to highlight two. The first is this mix of love and sex that seems to resist where only casual sex prevails. This paradox makes Scruff or Grindr pretty similar as they also incline towards sex and not traditional relationships.

As much as the scope is strictly sexual, loving fantasy — meeting the man of your life — can be present, even if it only serves as a speech to sell a product. The loving ideal inhabits the collective imagination, and it is humanly possible to achieve it through the quick sex promoted by these applications, as in any other social environment. However, as evidenced in the founder interviews, the primary purpose is sex. Fast pleasure is sought in the taps’ speed on the touch screens.

The second conclusion is that modern cyberculture promotes a tireless search for an instant, fleeting, and disposable pleasures amplified by digital technologies. When choosing, you should focus not on hyper-consumption or advertising. We have compared Scruff vs Grindr and can say that both apps offer similar facilities, and you should decide which one you want more: a modern platform with a young audience (which is Grindr) or a site used mainly by gay bears (which is Scruff).

Finally, both sites are reputable and have their competitors. The list of their advantages is continually growing as the platforms develop and do not cease to upgrade. Paying for the premium subscription, you can be sure that you get maximum safety and the best tools. If audience size is an essential criterion for you, choose Grindr as it has almost two times more users (28 million versus 15 that of Scruff). If you prefer using the app, between Scruff and Grindr, choose the first, as its app rating is higher.