Ashley Madison reviews : is Ashley Madison legit and worth it in 2024 ?

Embarking on the world of online dating can be a perplexing and intriguing journey. In this realm, Ashley Madison stands out with its distinctive approach, catering specifically to those seeking discreet relationships and adventurous encounters. In this review, we delve into the intricate facets of Ashley Madison, a platform that has stirred the pot in the dating world with its unique focus on extramarital affairs.

Whether you’re intrigued by its notorious reputation, curious about its features and user experience, or considering its fit for your personal desires, our comprehensive review sheds light on what makes Ashley Madison a topic of constant conversation and, for many, a go-to destination in the digital landscape of love and liaisons.

Ashley Madison Overview

To give you a quick idea of my first impressions, Ashley Madison’s interface is extremely modern, and very easy to use. Some of the less popular dating sites I’ve reviewed have somewhat dated, even old-fashioned interfaces, and aren’t always the best when it comes to intuitive design and ergonomics. This really isn’t the case with Ashley Madison: everything is so simple, there’s no extra fluff on every page, no obnoxious ads covering half the girls, it’s just simple and effective. Whereas some dating websites can quickly give you a headache, Ashley Madison takes out all the unimportant stuff to help you concentrate on what you came here for: women.

Is Ashley Madison a legitimate site?

Ashley Madison is considered a legitimate dating site. The site boasts a large user base, with over 25 million members in the US and worldwide, and it offers various features for individuals seeking extramarital affairs, casual relationships, and various types of discreet encounters

Despite its legitimacy, Ashley Madison has faced challenges in the past, including a significant data breach in 2015. Since then, the site has reportedly improved its security measures. However, as with many dating sites, users should be cautious of scammers.

How does Ashley Madison work ?

Launched in 2001 in Canada, Ashley Madison didn’t take long to be considered a successful platform. The high quality of the website itself was quickly noticed, but it owes most of its rapid success to the fact that it positioned itself as a platform particularly suited for secret affairs – a niche that was fairly unexploited back in the day. Over 20 years later, Ashley Madison has some 25 million members in more than 50 countries.

While it’s true that in this day and age, there are quite a few options for dating sites you can use to cheat on your spouse (namely Gleeden or Victoria Milan, amongst others), this was not the case 20 years ago, which is about when Ashley Madison came into being. Part of the success of this website is due to the fact that it was one of the first in the business, and has had a long time to perfect it’s business model.

With a catchy slogan – “Life is short, have an affair” – and provocative, sexy advertising campaigns based on being fun and controversial, Ashley Madison quickly became pretty well-known, and established itself as a high-ranking reference for illicit affairs throughout the world.

Where does the name Ashley Madison come from, I hear you ask? That’s a bit of a funny story: it’s simply a combination of two of the most popular girls names in 2001, Ashley and Madison. A quick and easy way to remind users that there’s plenty of fish – be they Ashleys, Madisons, or anything else – in the sea.

I remember some of the best ad campaigns they ran back in the day: you’d see a young, sexy couple having some fun, smiling and flirting. Then, a bit of text pops up to let us know that the couple are in fact married – but not to each other! It was pretty controversial at the time, some of the more… old-fashioned viewers certainly didn’t like it. Ashley Madison even ran a campaign in France showing former presidents who’d been known to be unfaithful – which was pretty ballsy, and certainly hilarious if you ask me.

What About the Ashley Madison Community?

The Ashley Madison community is, as you might expect, pretty diverse. The fact that the platform is extremely popular in a large number of countries means that people of all nationalities and ethnicities can chat online. The site even has a “travelling” option (that we’ll discuss in more detail when we get to the site’s features).

In larger cities, the number of active Ashley Madison users is pretty impressive. But in general, it’s easy to find adulterous hookups just about anywhere in the world.

More women than men

Ashley Madison is quite literally the only website of it’s kind to actually have more female users than male users, most likely because accounts are free for women. That’s right, ladies, no buying credits for you: all the site’s features and communication tools are free. Not to mention that they’ve launched quite a few ad campaigns that target women specifically – which has clearly paid off.

This is good news for men too: there’s much less competition that on some other dating sites with a worse female to male ratio. Finding a mistress is nowhere near as challenging as finding a hookup can be on some other, low quality websites – the competition can get pretty fierce.

What kind of people use Ashley Madison ?

Anyone can register on Ashley Madison, as long as you’re over 18 years old. However, since it’s targeted towards married people, that’s what you’ll find to be the majority of users. Most of the members are looking for a discreet lover or a mistress. However, single people also choose to use the site for it’s ease of use, and the fact that women sign up free, so don’t think that just because you’re single you can’t join in the fun – who knows? You could be the toy boy of some mature, sexy older woman looking for some fun.

There are in fact quite a number of singles looking to hook up with married people. Maybe it’s just some sort of taboo fetish, and the fact that it’s wrong makes it super hot, or maybe it’s just a way to keep emotions from getting involved. Either way, they’re here, and they’re horny.

Most members are between the age of 30 and 45, but it’s good to note that you’ll find users of all ages looking to spice up their daily routine. Whether you’re into barely legal babes or mature, experienced cougars, there’s a babe of every flavor just waiting for you.

What about bots and fake profiles ?

When it comes to bots, Ashley Madison is unfortunately not immune to fake profiles – no hookup site is. While moderation is taken very seriously, some scammers still manage to slip through the cracks. You have to be pretty vigilant in order not to fall into the trap – but don’t worry, they’re often pretty obvious. Fake profiles trying to scam users will usually ask for money or a “plane ticket” within a pretty short space of time. Remember to never ever give out credit card information or send money to anyone you don’t know in real life.

As soon as you come across a dubious profile, do not hesitate to report it immediately to the moderators who will determine whether or not it’s a fake.

However, something we immediately noticed about Ashley Madison vs. some other low quality websites, is that you’re not bombarded with fake messages from the get-go. Often, upon signing up, you’ll find your inbox immediately flooded with messages from “sexy girls” and you need to buy credits or upgrade to premium to see them or answer. Ashley Madison doesn’t use these kinds of tactics, since it doesn’t need to – overall, it’s a trustworthy website.

How do I register with Ashley Madison?

Before embarking on any exciting adventures, you’ll of course have to register. Registration is completely free, and takes only a couple of minutes : simply fill in some basic information (such as your age or your sexual orientation), and enter a valid email address. After that, just click on the confirmation link sent to the email address you provided.

You can then get to work filling in your profile. Take your time: the fuller and more interesting your profile is, the more likely you are to catch any woman’s eye. It’s important to be honest about what it is you are looking for: online flirting, one night stand, ongoing adulterous relationship, if you’re into anything unconventional like BDSM, etc. All your preferences and desires should be laid out clearly if you want to find someone who’s suited to you.

It’s important to make sure you have a good quality and attractive profile picture too. Make sure it shows you in your best light, while also being true to real life and not a total catfish. Girls won’t respond to guys with low quality profile pictures, and even less if they have none at all. Ashley Madison moderators have to manually check profile pictures, so if you try and use a fake picture, it’ll be flagged and taken down.

Read our review of benaughty

Ashley Madison’s best features

As we already mentioned earlier, Ashley Madison’s interface is extremely pleasant: browsing is very easy, and so is finding a hot (and horny) hookup partner. The choices are endless, and with such a large proportion of women on the site, there’s something for everyone.

Once you have filled in your profile, you can immediately start browsing the site and find profiles that appeal to you: you can also search by criteria with some fairly specific filters. You can select physical attributes you particularly like: height, build, hair colour etc. But that’s not all: you even also search by sexual preferences. On your profile, if you clearly indicate all your desires, kinks and fantasies, you can search for people who share the same ones.

Another feature I really liked was the “wink” feature. It’s great for when you feel a little intimidated by a hot girl: she knows you’re interested, and can then choose to start a conversation if she wants to.

You can contact members using the Ashley Madison integrated messaging. There’s also a webcam chat option, which is perfect for steamy online sex sessions without even leaving your home. That’s right, there’s no fine print anywhere that says you actually have to meet up with anyone – you can always just stick to hot sexting and webcam sessions if you’re a worried to take the plunge into actual cheating.

Ashley Madison is also perfect for those who travel a lot, and are looking for someone to warm their sheets: you can update your location as many times as you like, and keep searching for naughty hookups in the area you’re currently visiting thanks to the “Traveling Man” and “Traveling Woman” features

Another feature I use quite a lot is the ability to “favorite” other members. It’s kind of like making a little vision board of sexy girls in your area, and making finding their profiles again a breeze. You can add as many girls to your favorites as you like, and they’ll be notified if you do, giving them the inspiration they need to message you first.

Finally, you can also see who has viewed your profile recently. This is a good way to track people who may be interested in you and start chatting with no pressure.

Privacy and Discretion: The Heart of Ashley Madison

As you know, Ashley Madison is primarily aimed at cheating couples, so it’s fairly normal to see a few, let’s call them, “discretion-enhancing” options. Here are a few of the features Ashley Madison offers to help you keep your affairs private.

Firstly, Ashley Madison doesn’t send any emails, except for the verification one upon signing up. This means you’ll never receive any damning notifications in the night when you get incoming messages from hot women in your area.

They’ve also used a different name when it comes to payment: your secret is safe, since Ashley Madison’s name won’t appear on any bank statements.

You even have the option to blur, or partially cover your photos: this way, you can choose who has the right to see them, and even if someone that you didn’t want knowing about your little hobby came across your profile, they wouldn’t necessarily know it was you. Also, who can view your photo albums (as well as any other information you choose) can be customised, and you can select manually who can see the different parts of your profile.

Users can also choose to temporarily hide their profile if they’re in a tough spot and are maybe facing scrutiny, or even permanently delete it very easily. Ashley Madison has a good sized member base, and doesn’t need to resort to desperate tactics to keep users around.

Ashley Madison cost, pricing and credits

As we have already mentioned, Ashley Madison is totally free to use for women. However, men have to buy credits in order to take full advantage of the platform.

The Credit System: How Does It Work?

Only the act of actually creating your profile is entirely free: in order to exchange messages with other members, you’ll have to bust out your wallet – and the system Ashley Madison uses is pretty different from most websites. There are no subscriptions, long-term commitments, premium memberships, etc. Instad, there’s a rather well-designed credit system.

Every action on Ashley Madison costs a few credits, which is the websites own virtual currency. For example, chatting for 1 hour will cost you 60 credits, sending a first simple message will cost 5 credits, as will sending priority messages, and you can also send virtual gifts to users for 10, 20 or 30 credits.

Here’s the prices listed on the Ashley Madison website for different credit packages:

• 100 credits ($0.60 per credit): $59.99.
• 500 credits ($0.34 per credit): $169.99
• 1000 credits ($0.29 per credit): $289.99.

Often, Ashley Madison will double your credits for the same price: check back often to see if you’re eligible for bonus credits. You’re always eligible for bonus credits immediately after signing up, so why not grab a few and see how far you get?

These prices may seem very expensive at first glance, but if you consider the time it will take to use them all compared to how much people spend on recurring subscriptions to other similar websites, Ashley Madison can actually be quite economical. Many low quality dating and hookup sites ask upwards of 50$ a month for not a lot of features, and you end up talking to bots for a month before trying to cancel and getting nowhere.

The best thing about this system is that if you use them all up too fast, you can easily grab some new ones – but also, and maybe even more excitingly, there are no surprising reoccurring payments that you can’t get out of. Start by signing up for the Ashley Madison website for free to check out profiles near you, before you get any credits.

Ashley Madison Prime

Ashley Madison has recently rolled out a new, subscription-based service for those who prefer to not have to manually purchase things every few weeks, called Ashley Madison Prime.

Ashley Madison Prime is an excellent add-on, but is pretty useless by itself. When you purchase credits, and are able to message girls, send them winks and all that, Prime really does become useful. Basically, Prime serves to keep your profile looking its best by giving you a “prime” banner, keeping you at the top of search results, highlighting you as much as possible, and generally increasing your views and chats. They say that by adding a Prime subscription, you’ll get 25% more messages, which is pretty good considering it’s jusst $59.99 a year (or $27.99/month).

Check out our review of adultfriendfinder too.

Is the Smartphone App Any Good?

In 2023, any good website is only as good as it’s smartphone app – and the Ashley Madison smartphone app is very popular.

The Ashley Madison app for iOS and Android is rated #1 for “Affairs & NSA Hookups”, and #90 in Social Networking. The app has over 50k ratings on the App Store, and 4/5 stars. The app itself it totally free to download, but much like the website, isn’t much use without purchasing credits.

Something we love about the Ashley Madison app is the discreet icon: just a black square with a white line, nothing suspicious about that. This means that if your wife or girlfriend needs to use your phone, she has no reason to suspect this is any kind of dating app.

As is the case with most apps, the best thing about it is that you can “take your affair on the go”. Let the app access your location, and keep chatting to girls wherever you go, whatever you’re doing. Much like the “Traveling Man” option mentioned earlier, downloading the app makes those of us who move around a lot have a much easier time finding a hookup partner wherever we go.

Ashley Madison Pros and Cons

Considered one of the most successful platforms for cheating and infidelity in the dating world, the Ashley Madison website has many strengths, and a few weaknesses that we’ve listed below.

As you can see, the pros far outweigh the cons in my opinion. Ashley Madison is a safe and reputable website that I thoroughly enjoyed using.

Ashley Madison User Reviews

It’s all very well and fine getting my opinion, but I’m just one man. As we always say, it’s best to get a fair and balanced opinion of any website by reading honest user reviews. Here is an overview of the most popular and balanced Ashley Madison reviews.

Ashley Madison Website Reviews

On most independant review sites, the website is highly regarded. Of the popular opinions, many are written by women, since they have managed to find plenty of hookups without spending a penny. However, you’ll also find a good amount of satisfied men too.

People cite the websites ease of use and large user base as two of the main perks, as well as the lack of bots and fake profiles. Something people are pleased with is the transparency of payment too, and the fact that unlike some other websites, there’s no hidden charges or surprise payments. Mostly, people say that if you’re willing to spend a little money, you’ll get what you came for.

When it comes to the negative reviews, as is often the case with dating websites, a lot of them are from jaded guys who haven’t had any luck due to user error (incomplete profiles, unwillingness to spend money…). If you follow all the tips in our Ashley Madison review, you should have no issue at all finding a hookup. Many of the negative reviews simply say they’re disappointed that using the site costs money, which we understand can be annoying, but unfortunately, that’s the case with every website nowadays.

Ashley Madison Smartphone User Reviews

When reading the user reviews on the App Store and Google Play, the verdict isn’t much different. However there are a few key points to mention.

People mention that the app is extremely easy to use and ergonomic, which is always a plus. Also, the “stealth mode” that allows the icon to be a simple black square with a white line is a fan favorite. Overall, users say that the app is a good companion for the website with it’s vast features, and is very useful for guys who travel and like to meet girls on the go.

Final Thoughts: is Ashley Madison worth it ?

Yeah, sure, plenty of people will call you out for the morality of using a website like Ashley Madison. But I mean, if you’re going to cheat, do it right, and do it discreetly. That’s where Ashley Madison comes in.

This platform offers a huge amount of opportunities when it comes to extra-marital fun and games: motivated users will have no trouble finding partners for a night of pure fun, or even for a month, a year or more of repeated sex. The women registered here are open-minded, and often are open to satisfying some of the most depraved fantasies you have – and they often have some pretty hardcore desires of their own that their husbands can’t manage! The men are courteous and respectful, which makes the atmosphere on Ashley Madison feel safe for women too.

Apart from the prices, which can quickly become a little high for men, there’s really not much to complain about on this extramarital affair platform. Those who want to spice up their love and sex life would do well to try out Ashley Madison!

Frequently asked questions

Can you use Ashley Madison without paying?

Yes, you can use Ashley Madison without paying, but it varies by gender. Women can use the site for free, including messaging. Men can browse profiles and send one free message upon registration, but further communication requires purchasing credits.

How much does Ashley Madison cost per message?

On Ashley Madison, the cost per message for men is generally around five credits. The actual cost can vary depending on the type of message and other factors like whether it’s a priority message. Remember, the site operates on a credit system, so users purchase credits in packages and then use these credits to engage in various activities, including sending messages.

How Do You Delete Your Ashley Madison Account?

If, for any reason, you decide you want to delete your account on Ashley Madison, the procedure is very simple. It’s also possible to temporarily deactivate your account, if you plan to come back to it later, or if you’re unsure.

Either way, here is the procedure:

• Log in to your profile
• Click on the “Settings” tab
• Click on “Account”
• Scroll to the bottom of the page, and select either “Deactivate Account” or “Delete Account”.

And that’s all there is to it, your profile will be deleted. However, don’t be alarmed if it isn’t deleted immediately – deletion can take up to 48 hours.