Ashley Madison Reviews: Is Ashley Madison Worth it?
Reviewed by sugardatingreview.com
What's Ashley Madison? Is it a hookup site, a website for extramarital affairs, or a sugar daddy website? It's all in one, actually.
In this Ashley Madison review, we are going to analyze this platform in detail to find out if it really suits everyone's needs and provides high-quality dating services.
Ashley Madison overview
Ashley Madison was initially designed for people looking for extramarital affairs, and that immediately made it one of the most scandalous online dating platforms on the web.
It was launched over 20 years ago, and at that time, this was a big event. Some liked the idea of creating such a website, and some were outraged by its existence.
That led to the scandal in 2015—the site was hacked, and the data breach happened. Surprisingly, that was not the end of the business—it only encouraged the company to create the unique, ultra-modern Ashley Madison safety system, and since that time, it's known as one of the most secure platforms for people looking for affairs, hookups, and sugar relationships.
Now Ashley Madison boasts tens of millions of members and has nearly 10 million monthly visits. What makes this platform so popular? What are the benefits of using it? Why doesn't it work for some people? In this Ashley Madison review, we are going to answer all these and many other questions about one of the most popular dating websites ever.
Pros of using Ashley Madison
So, what's good and what's bad about this dating service? Let's take a look at Ashley Madison's major pros and cons:
- Anyone can create an Ashley Madison profile for free
- Credit costs are pretty reasonable
- A very handy travel feature
- App available on Google Play and App Store
- You can stay anonymous when using the site
- Other members must request a private showcase key to see your private pics
These are not the only but most important benefits usually mentioned in all positive reviews of Ashley Madison website, and we must admit that it's really difficult not to notice them when actually using the site.
Cons of using Ashley Madison
Still, as we have noted, there are some drawbacks, too:
- Men can't use the site without paying
- There are some fake profiles (which, however, are regularly found and suspended by moderators)
- No virtual gifts
These are the main reasons why some negative Ashley Madison website reviews are written. We recommend considering these disadvantages to find out if this is something you can accept or not.
How to use Ashley Madison?
So, what should Ashley Madison users expect? How to use this online dating service properly? Generally speaking, AM works pretty much like any other dating site, but we will analyze all the most important stages and processes in more detail below.
➤ Register on Ashley Madison for FREE
Sign up process
Ashley Madison lets all adult users sign up easily, and most importantly, without paying. You only need to provide some personal details. So, the steps are as follows:
- Browse the site and click See Your Matches
- Choose your relationship status (there are options for all, actually)
- Enter a username (most are already being used, so be creative)
- Create a password
- Choose your location and enter zip code
- Choose your date of birth and ethnicity
- Provide email address
After making all these steps, you will be redirected to the AshleyMadison onboarding page with some pretty useful recommendations (add a profile picture, turn on automatic sharing of secret photos, and more).
Once you create your Ashley Madison account, you will be able to edit it. Members can add up to 12 photos and make them public or add them to their secret albums. There is the "Greeting" section for members to create catchy profile headlines and the About Me section (users usually mention what exactly they are looking for and describe themselves there). In the Vitals, users indicate their relationship goals, age, height, and weight. You can also choose the Interests & Desires hashtags for others to understand what you are into.
Ashley Madison for dating
So, how to use Ashley Madison site? How do users find matches and interact? The scheme is simple, actually. There is the Discover feature—you can just look through matches in your area or use specific filters to find a perfect partner.
➤ Find a partner on Ashley Madison for FREE
The filters are as follows:
- Basic—age range, search within the area, gender and the gender of a partner a member is looking for, availability of public photos, availability of private photos, and new members only.
- Additional—body type, height, languages, and limits (the type of a relationship a member is looking for—short-term, long-term, cyber affair, anything goes, etc.)
The Ashley Madison member profile is not always a detailed one—after all, a lot of members want to hide their identities and look for discreet dating. However, most accounts contain the essential information that a potential partner should know about them.
Once you find an attractive profile, carefully read the information and look through the photos, you can contact a member in a few ways. You can just like a profile and wait until a member contacts you first, add it to Favorites to contact them later, send a wink, request private access to a secret album, or provide a member with access to your secret album.
If you want to contact them right now, you can just click on the Message Me button, and you will be redirected to the chat.
There are two types of messages you can send—a regular message and a priority message that will be highlighted in a user's inbox. There is also a recommendation from the Ashley team: "Don’t just say hi, tell them something interesting about yourself, or ask them what they're into", and that's good advice, actually—AM has tens of millions of members worldwide, and members, especially members with photos receive tons of messages, and "Hi" won't make you stand out.
How much does Ashley Madison cost?
There is no such thing as the Ashley Madison subscription plan—members who want to use special features buy credits instead (you will see the highlighted Buy Credits button right on the Ashley Madison home screen). The costs are as follows:
- 100 credits—$59 (0,59 per credit)
- 500 credits—$169 (0,34 per credit)
- 1,000 credits—$289 (0,29 per credit)
As you can see, the more Ashley Madison credits you buy, the less you spend on them. There are two payment methods on the site: you can pay with your credit card or through PayPal. There is no free guest membership (women can send messages without paying, but that doesn't make Ashley Madison free for them—if they want to boost their profiles or send priority messages, they need to buy credits, too), but new Ashley Madison users can get bonuses and discounts when buying their first credits.
The costs of services are different. For example, if you want to send a regular message to a member, you will spend 8 credits on it, and if you want to send a priority message, it will cost you 13 credits—that's how the credit system on any dating site works.
Paid features on Ashley Madison
So, why are that many people purchasing credits on this site? It's easy to explain—they let members use the best premium features, which are as follows:
- The Travel Man feature—allows you to contact up to 30 women in the country that you are going to visit
- Priority Man—highlights your profile on search results and helps you get a lot more attention from other members
- Messaging—you can send regular messages or priority messages that will be highlighted in another member's inbox
- Message plus—lets you unlock conversations with members and interact for free after you spend money on one of the credit packages for up to one month
This is a standard scheme that many dating websites use—registration is free, and there are free ways to notify another user that you are interested, but actual interaction, as well as some boosts, are available to paying members.
Free features on Ashley Madison
Here is what non-paying users can do on the dating site:
- View profiles and public pictures
- Send winks
- Add profiles to Favorites (up to 100 members)
- Blur their photos, add masks to make their pictures discreet
- Use basic and advanced search filters
So, that is what the site Ashley Madison is about—there are some great premium tools to use, as well as some great free features. Messaging is free for women—that's how the company encourages real women to join the community. Men are the ones who pay for dating and considering their motivation, as well as the fact that the site has many sugar members, the system works pretty well.
Ashley Madison alternatives
Are there dating sites similar to Ashley Madison? There are plenty of platforms in the market, but only a few have that many members and special features that ease search for a sugar partner. We made careful research and chose the 6 best alternatives to Ashley Madison:
- Seeking Arrangement. Seeking.com is one of the best dating websites designed for people looking for mutually beneficial arrangements. Like Ashley, it lets sugar babies send messages for free, offers tons of specific filters to find an ideal sugar match, and has some extra privacy options for people seeking discreet relationships.
- SecretBenefits. Secret Benefits is another incredibly popular dating site with 19+ million monthly visits. This website uses the credit systems, too, and has some really great features, from good old messaging to the opportunity to upload pictures to secret albums and read the blog.
- Emily Dates. Emily Dates works perfectly for sugar daddies, sugar babies, and sugar mommas worldwide. Members can unlock conversations with others (if they have enough credits), vote for other people's profiles, use advanced search, and send virtual gifts.
- Rich Meet Beautiful. This is a European sugar website that is becoming increasingly popular in the US. Unlike most dating sites, it doesn't sell credits—members can purchase one of the premium membership plans to use special features like live chat and send virtual gifts.
- SugarDaddy. SugarDaddy.com has everything that a sugar website is supposed to have: the team of moderators, detailed profiles, real sugar members, and reasonable prices. Members who want to boost their profiles to stand out can buy credits and attract more potential matches.
- Sugar Daddy Meet. This exclusive website works only for sugar babies and sugar daddies who reside in the 20 most developed countries in the world—that's how the company ensures that benefactors can afford to pay for dating and that there are only sugar babies living in their areas. Users can use live chat, comment on other members' profiles, add them to favorites, and more.
So, this Ashley Madison review is not a promotional one—there are sites like Ashley Madison, and if, for some reason, AM doesn't meet your demands and expectations, you can always join one of the similar platforms. What is the best alternative to Ashley Madison? It depends on what you are looking for. Do you like the credit system or prefer to pay for membership plans? What's more important for you, super-detailed profiles or location of potential matches? Consider your preferences and make a choice.
Safety tips on Ashley Madison
Everyone who uses online dating services should follow the safety rules, and here are the most important of them.
Don't share any personal details in your profile
You don't need to provide details like address or a phone number when signing up to this dating website, and you shouldn't provide them in your profile, either, even if it's just a number/login on another messenger. It seems obvious, but many people think that members are more likely to contact them somewhere else instead of spending credits on the Ashley Madison app or site. Just remember it isn't worth the risk.
If you're getting closer really fast, it's not always a good sign
You should know that a scammer tries to earn your trust 1) fast 2) at all costs. Users are usually a bit skeptical about strangers they meet, even if they do like them and are motivated to start a relationship/have an affair/have a mutually beneficial arrangement. It's just natural. Scammers, however, often start sharing too much personal information, are available 24/7, send tons of messages an hour and give tons of compliments, tell you that you are special just to make you fall for them, and therefore, start trusting them, and that usually doesn't end well.
No need to worry about another member's "emergencies"
Okay, we understand that people get close online, and some prefer to do it fast. But there is one thing that always makes you realize that you were "getting close" with a scammer all that time. It's called the "emergency". An attractive member just says that something horrible happened and that they need your help ASAP. Guess what happens next? Yes, that's right. Your potential partner will ask to help them and send some money. Just ignore such requests, block a user, and report scams. Don't let doubts make you change your mind. What if the person you like is desperate and really needs help? What if it's not the case? Well, it's always the case.
Never send money and disclose your financial information to anyone
Again, you shouldn't send money to anyone, under any circumstances. If you are looking for sugar relationships, don't send any payments in advance, and don't receive any payments—the thing is, scammers can send you fake emails and messages that look like letters from payment systems and ask you to pay a small fee (of course, you will just lose your money). Don't follow the links that others send you, or at least make sure that they are safe.
Ashley Madison makes a lot of effort to protect its members from any threats, but the thing is, members should care about their own safety, too. There is always a chance to meet a scammer just because they exist and can create profiles on dating sites. Just be careful, follow the safety rules, and report scams if you notice any suspicious activity.
Conclusion: Is Ashley Madison worth it?
There are a lot of Ashley Madison dating site reviews, but nearly all of them state that for most people, it works well, and our review is not an exception to this rule.
So, is Ashley Madison worth it? Currently, this is one of the best online dating sites for people looking for casual relationships, extramarital affairs, and mutually beneficial arrangements. It's completely free for women, which attracts a lot of sugar babies to the website, and prices for male members are pretty reasonable for plenty of useful services that Ashley Madison provides.
F.A.Q. about Ashley Madison website
What is Ashley Madison?
Ashley Madison is one of the all-in-one online dating sites created for people looking for hookups, extramarital affairs, or mutually beneficial relationships. However, it doesn't work for people looking for long-term serious relationships. Members who join this community can use some great free, as well as premium tools, like messaging, the Discover feature, the Travel Man feature, and more. Premium services are available only to paying members who have enough credits (messaging is free for women, though).
Is Ashley Madison legit?
Yes, it is. Ashley Madison provides dating services without violating any rules, laws or promoting sex work. This online dating platform allows single and married members to find a date someone they've always been looking for and enjoy discreet dating. The company just provides them with all the tools they need to meet someone—the rest is up to users. Suspicious accounts, as well as the accounts of sex workers (not to be confused with sugar daddy or sugar baby profiles), are suspended.
Is Ashley Madison safe?
Yes, this site had safety issues in the past. In 2015, hackers have stolen Ashley Madison members' data, and some people believe that that happened because of the website's niche—there were people who weren't happy about the fact that such a platform exists. However, this only encouraged the company to improve its security system—now the members' data are super-protected—Ashley is using the most modern technologies and data encryption systems to avoid such problems, and since 2015, there has been no data leak or any other issues related to safety. Moreover, all the accounts are carefully moderated.
How does Ashley Madison work?
Here is how the Ashley Madison dating site works: members looking for hookups, extramarital affairs or sugar relationships join the community. Female users can send messages for free, while male members need to purchase credits to interact with others and use special features, in particular, to boost their profiles. Members can use the Discover feature (search) and apply filters to find perfect matches, interact with them in chat and then meet in real life.