Chaturbate.com lives up to its name (for the most part) with hot live models performing 24/7. The site itself is a little lackluster in some places, but the models are great which more than makes up for it. It’s always about the models.

Why It’s Great

The clean cover page is user friendly so you don’t have to search too hard for a model who’s your type. They also offer a schedule of weekly shows of their most popular models. I love it they just sprawl the page with just models.

What really sets this site apart from the rest is the number of things you can do with an unpaid Premium membership (you get the upgrade once you enter your credit card information), such as messaging models and seeing action during free Party Chat. Some models also offer free recorded videos, though most really short. I’ve caught myself being on this site for hours once time because a model was just so fun and loved to dance.

With toys being so common these days you would expect them in more places. They offer the Fifi and Fleshlight toy for sale in here. So nice for them to think of the user.

I love the “girl next door” appeal this site specializes in. Nothing too Hollywood here. Some might prefer models all done up and professional, but that isn’t their specialty. They have them here but they have more amateur by a large magnitude.

Simplicity is important to some. Here they only have a few groups they let users sort of access. They are a few specific models types – female, male, couple or transsexual. Those who say less is more will like this aspect.

They also provide an SMS service that lets you know when your favorite models are online, which I find particularly handy when I have a favorite I’ve been waiting all day to see. We all expect updates about things that are important to us when we are free enough to check.

What Needs Improvement

While the site itself is really good, the billing practices are not. In order to register as a Premium member you are required to enter your credit card information, though you are told it will not be charged until you actually purchase “Gold.” Not long after doing just that I received an email from x-hookups.com, Chaturbate’s sister adult dating site, stating they had “set up an account” for me. Sure enough, when I checked my account information, I had been charged $99 for a one-year membership. Not cool.

I immediately canceled the membership, or so I thought. Apparently once you cancel, all they do is cancel the “auto-renew” feature, but not the membership itself. In other words, you get no refund and you’re stuck with a one-year membership you never signed up for. I’m still working with customer service to get a refund, which is really frustrating given I never authorized the charge to begin with.

There are a few smaller scale issues like the fact they don’t explain the chat types well, and some models spend way too much time off camera (one wandered off for a whopping 11 minutes before returning to play on her iPad silently for another five), but the billing issue is by far my biggest concern.

The Models

For the most part, I really like the models I interacted with. I bought into several Gold shows and was pretty pleased with what I got for my money. The girls are fun, attractive, and seem to really know what they’re doing. One in particular put on a 20 minute show and went all out (like ALL out), and it only cost me $4.00 to buy in. Others put on Gold shows for as little as $1.00, and again I got to watch the whole thing (5-6 minutes each).

I love fresh models and they have tons of them on this site. They seem to be mostly new upstarting models into the cam world. Some love this like me so if you like this I would say this is their specialty.

Features

Chaturbate offers the following chat options:

Party Chat -This is their version of free chat. They are mainly non-nude, but occasionally models will show their boobs when trying to collect enough to do a Gold show.

Gold Shows -These pre-arranged shows start when a model has received a set amount of “Gold” and go for a set amount of time, usually somewhere between five and twenty minutes. To watch a Gold show, simply give the model gold to reserve your spot, then wait for the show to begin. This is my favorite because you get the most show for the least amount of money.

Private Chats -Paid chats that aren’t viewable to the general public, though other members are free to join at any time.

Exclusive Chats -100% private chats that can be done cam-to-cam style if you want the model to see you as well. They also offer an additional phone service that can be used during Exclusive sessions.

Model video galleries are also available for a one-time charge, but each model determines her own price. Many will sell them during Party Chat or offer them at discounted price once you’ve paid for a show.

Cost

The site is free to join, but you must enter your credit card information in order to be considered a Premium member. You are not charged for Gold (the form of currency used on the site) until you actually start purchasing shows, which are billed on a per-minute basis. Block Sessions are also available for those who wish to buy a set amount of time (15 mins, 30 mins, etc.) at a discounted rate.

Private shows are pretty expensive, even if you’re just in the room as a spectator, with the ones I saw starting at $3.99/min and going as high as $10.99/min. The Exclusive shows cost even more, though you at least get the model to yourself.

Gold shows are the best value by far, as they allow you to view an entire show for one low price. Some have a buy in of as low as $1, for which you get a six or seven minute show which to me is totally worth it. Longer Gold shows can run $4-10, but they are much longer and in my experience, really good. Some models even give you free access to their video gallery for the day after purchasing a Gold show, which is a really nice bonus.

Customer Service

They offer a 24/7 customer support number, as well as email and live chat support. Of all the different methods, I find the live chat support to be the fastest and most convenient. I called because they doubled charged me. They handled it pretty quickly.

Billing

The site accepts most major credit cards, as well as pre-paid cards. Billing is done through Epoch, and 1-866-452-5108 ECHST.net will appear on your statement once a purchase is made.

I didn’t see a designated billing support number listed anywhere, but my billing questions were all answered when I contacted customer service.

Final Thoughts

It’s a great site, but the unauthorized charges are a huge issue for me. They should at the very least offer an immediate refund once you cancel the EroticMatch membership (provided you haven’t used it yet), or at the very least offer a trial period so you have time to cancel before your card is charged for something that has nothing to do with the original site you signed up for. Site wise the girls on here are really fresh faced so expect that style model behavior as well.