Summary
This is definitely not an ordinary dating site, as it is heavily tilted towards unusual sexual practices, including various types of BDSM relationships and kinky fetishes. Members of fetlife.com share a very tolerant attitude towards others and a passion for sexual exploration, so people of any orientation are welcome to join this free site and have some fun.
Expert’s summary of website’s features
The uniqueness of this website alone is enough to put it on the radar of every BDSM enthusiast, but in strictly technical terms, it’s a pretty good site, too. It has been around since 2008 and has a stable membership base, and can be accurately described as the cornerstone of the kink community on the web.
Most of its features are free for all members (including sending private messages), which is a welcome surprise considering most of the top sites charge membership fees for their services. FetLife also has a dedicated mobile app, but it works only on Android phones.
Pros and cons of this site
This review of FetLife pros and cons will give you a better idea of what you can expect if you decide to join this dating site and try finding someone to share your BDSM fantasies with:
Pros
- Niche website with a clearly defined yet very diverse audience
- Community-driven project by BDSM lovers for BDSM lovers
- Large number of features available without payment
- Simple and effective search function
- Discussion groups for learning about BDSM and making new friends
- Social networking features integrated into a concept of a dating site
Cons
- Not suitable for people looking for vanilla relationships
- Explicit photos and conversations are common on this site
- Only Android app is available, no iPhone app
- Not possible to use the existing Facebook account for verification
- Nearly 75% of all accounts belong to men
- Limited special features
Member structure at fetlife.com
With around 8 million members worldwide and nearly 100,000 new accounts every month, fetlife.com is among the largest and best-known dating sites today. More than half of all members come from the United States, most of them men between the ages 25 and 35.
Female accounts are well distributed across all age groups, with a significant number of younger ladies under 25 present on FetLife. Practically all users of this site are either curious about BDSM or actively practice it for some time, and they may be of any sexual orientation and enjoy a wide variety of fetishes, which gives the site a unique flavor.
Matchmaking tools available
The quality of matchmaking features on fetlife.com is more than solid, so it’s pretty easy to find a suitable partner for almost any type of relationship. There is a search bar to help you find people who match your criteria, while you can also connect with other members through groups.
The profiles contain a lot of information and often include some quite explicit and perhaps extreme photos, so be sure to check what type of sexual role someone prefers before you contact them. On the other hand, an abundance of details about the sexual tastes of other members makes matchmaking much easier, even without premium tools you can find on some similar sites.
Sign up and login process overview
You can register very easily for FetLife in no more than 10 minutes total. Some basic information, including your age, location, gender, and sexual preference, is required in order to open a new account, but you won’t have to answer any detailed questionnaires right away.
Unfortunately, you can’t import this information from another social media account, and you must enter it manually when prompted. It’s also necessary to provide a mobile phone number in order to complete the verification step and confirm your identity.
Membership on fetlife.com is completely free of charge, although you can make a donation and receive some additional perks in return, including a badge on your profile.
Special features on fetlife.com
FetLife isn’t as well equipped as some of the general-purpose dating sites on the net in terms of premium features. However, it has some unique features relevant to the BDSM community that you won’t find anywhere else.
It’s possible to choose between 60 different fetishes and thus signal to potential partners very clearly what kind of action you are interested in. It’s also possible to post messages on someone’s public wall, which is a feature more frequently associated with social networks than dating applications.
Finally, the site has a very user-friendly 7-day money-back guarantee for those who decide to purchase FetLife credits, basically offsetting any risk.