Wealthy Affiliate Review (2023): 10 Things You Need to Know!

by | Updated Sep 19, 2023 | 26 comments

By reading this Wealthy Affiliate review, you’ll get to know:

  • Is Wealthy Affiliate Legit?
  • How does it work?
  • Can you earn passive income from Affiliate Marketing?

If you’re short on time, you can read the 30-second summary of this review.

Let’s begin.

1- What Is Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate is a comprehensive platform that empowers individuals with the training, tools, and support to build and grow a successful online business.

It was established in 2005 by founders Kyle and Carson.

Kyle image
Kyle (Co-founder)
Carson image
Carson (Co-founder)

Over the past 18 years, it has evolved into an all-in-one solution for entrepreneurs looking to launch their online ventures from scratch.

It gives you access to a supportive community of digital marketers. It provides essential tools and resources, such as a website builder, keyword research tool, AI niche finder, extensive training, and weekly webinars.

Buttom-Line?

If you’re ready to commit time and dedication, Wealthy Affiliate is your ideal launchpad to kickstart a successful online business.

Quick Peek: What’s Inside for You?

Feature Benefit
Expert Training Step-by-step guides to ensure your success.
Actionable Tasks Actionable milestones to keep you on track.
Community & Chat Connect with experienced marketers.
Free Trial Begin your journey without any cost.
Fresh Webinars Stay ahead with weekly insights.
All-in-One Website Domain, design, and hosting – fast and secure.
AI Niche Finder Brainstorm niche ideas with the help of AI.
Keyword tool Find top-performin keywords.

Try for Free Now!

Note: Without dedicating time and effort, even the best training won’t lead you toward success.

2- What’s Included in Your Wealthy Affiliate Membership?

AI Niche Finder

Leveraging the latest AI advancements in marketing, Wealthy Affiliate integrates cutting-edge AI technologies.

The AI Niche Finder was recently added to the membership suite: an innovative tool powered by artificial intelligence designed to pinpoint the ideal niche and craft a fitting brand for your selected niche.

Wealthy Affiliate AI niche finder

Comprehensive Internet Marketing Training

Wealthy Affiliate provides detailed, step-by-step video courses that guide you in building a profitable online business. Each module includes actionable tasks to keep you focused and on track.

The primary training is divided into “Online Entrepreneurship Certification” and “Affiliate Bootcamp“.

The Online Entrepreneurship training features five levels:

Online Entrepreneurship Certificate topics

The Affiliate Bootcamp training consists of seven phases:

Affiliate Bootcamp topics 1
Affiliate Bootcamp topics 2

Live Training (Webinars) and Q&A Sessions

Depending on your membership level, you can attend live webinars to enhance your learning further. Here’s a glimpse of some recent classes:

Wealthy Affiliate classes

Supportive Community

Wealthy Affiliate has an incredibly supportive community, including its founders, Kyle and Carson. You can ask questions through live chat, forums, or private messages.

Weatlhy Affiliate support

Here’s a snapshot of an active chat session:

Live chat session

Integrated Site Builder and Hosting Service

Wealthy Affiliate enables you to build and host your websites on their platform.

Free members can create one website on the SiteRubix subdomain.

Premium members can host up to 3 websites (each up to 250,000 monthly visits), Premium Plus members can host up to 10 websites (each up to 1,000,000 monthly visits), and Premium Plus Dedicated members can host up to 50 websites (on a dedicated server):

Membership comparison - Hosting service

Enhance your website’s security and speed with the platform’s Speed and Security tools:

Website security and speed

Site Domains

Register domains directly within the Wealthy Affiliate platform. The domain service is simplified with no upsells and includes essential features like email accounts, WHOIS privacy, and domain security:

site domains

Site Feedback

Get valuable feedback on your website from the Wealthy Affiliate community through the Site Feedback feature.

Wealthy Affiliate site feedback

Site Comments

Receiving comments on your website signals engagement and keeps your content fresh. This is an important factor for search engine rankings.

Earn $1 worth of credits for every two comments you submit on other websites. You can then use these credits to get comments on your blog posts or cash them out.

Wealthy Affiliate site comments

Site Content

The Site Content feature lets you write and publish content directly to your website.

Though not everyone’s favorite, it offers three main benefits:

  1. Set content creation goals.
  2. Access a free image directory within the tool.
  3. Create content templates for faster future content production.

In summary, here’s a list of the main website tools included with your Wealthy Affiliate membership:

Website tools

Affiliate Program Search Tool

Find the best affiliate programs across multiple networks.

Affiliate Program Search

And discover top-rated offerings.

Affiliate Program Search top rated

Jaaxy Keyword Research Tool

Your Wealthy Affiliate membership includes access to Jaaxy, a premium keyword research tool that helps you find high-potential, low-competition keywords for SEO.

You can explore these tools with a no-cost starter account:

Click Here to Create a Free Account

3- How Do You Make Money With Wealthy Affiliate?

You have two main ways to make money online with Wealthy Affiliate:

One: Online Entrepreneurship Certificate

A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Affiliate Site with Wealthy Affiliate

Follow the Wealthy Affiliate training to create a successful affiliate website using this straightforward four-step business model:

Online Entrepreneurship Certificate - 4 Steps
  1. Choose your niche and conduct market research: Pick a topic you’re passionate about and research the market to identify potential opportunities.
  2. Build a website around your chosen niche: Use the Wealthy Affiliate platform to create an attractive, user-friendly website focused on your selected topic.
  3. Attract visitors through content creation: High-quality, engaging content is crucial for attracting visitors to your website. Consistently create informative and valuable content that appeals to your target audience.
  4. Monetize your website with affiliate offers: Place affiliate links on your site, so you’ll earn a commission when visitors purchase through these links.

Enhancing Your Strategy

You can further refine your approach by incorporating tactics such as email marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and advanced market research tools.

How Much Can You Earn with Online Entrepreneurship?

Earnings from affiliate marketing vary depending on factors like your chosen niche, the time you invest, and your ability to analyze competitors and optimize your content.

Theoretically, the potential is unlimited, and the level of your success is up to you.

Investing in Your Success

Once you start generating profits, consider reinvesting in your business by outsourcing tasks like content creation or running PPC advertising campaigns.

This approach can help you scale your online business and achieve even greater success.

Two: Affiliate Bootcamp

Building a Business Around Wealthy Affiliate Promotion

In the Affiliate Bootcamp, you’ll learn how to establish an online business within an affiliate marketing niche.

Wealthy Affiliates offers a generous 40% affiliate commission, enabling its affiliates to help and guide their referrals.

For instance, starter members can earn monthly affiliate commissions of $11.75 for each premium referral, while premium members enjoy a higher rate of $23.50 monthly.

Regarding Premium Plus and Premium Plus Dedicated plans, you can earn $46.50 and $60 for each referral who upgrades to these higher-tier memberships.

What Can You Earn with Affiliate Bootcamp?

Like online entrepreneurship, your earnings from Affiliate Bootcamp will depend on your skills and expertise. For experienced bloggers who know how to drive traffic, there is essentially no limit to potential income.

You can use the income calculator on the Wealthy Affiliate website to estimate your earnings based on conversion rates, referral numbers, and retention.

For example, with five referrals boasting a 12% conversion rate and an average retention of four months, you could generate approximately $1,500 monthly in residual income.

Recently, I read a case study from an affiliate going above $30,000 in monthly revenue. Of course, not overnight. In this case, after four years of launching the website.

Is Affiliate Bootcamp the Right Choice for Beginners?

Affiliate Bootcamp is not the best option for beginners, as the competition in this market is relatively high.

As a newcomer, you might struggle to make significant headway in such a competitive environment. Instead, consider building a business in a niche you’re passionate about and leveraging Wealthy Affiliate’s resources to develop your skills and expertise.

4- Who is Wealthy Affiliate For?

Wealthy Affiliate caters to anyone interested in starting or growing an affiliate marketing business centered around their passion and willingness to invest the necessary time and effort.

Both beginners and experienced users can gain valuable insights and benefits from the platform.

Wealthy Affiliate is a secure environment for those new to internet marketing to learn the ropes of making money online.

Experienced online marketers can use the affiliate program, community network, hosting, tools, and live training to enhance their existing skills and grow their businesses.

5- How Long Does It Take to See Results with Affiliate Marketing?

The time it takes to see results varies depending on your background and individual effort.

However, with consistent hard work and dedication in the right direction, you will eventually achieve success.

Based on my personal experience, it will take you 4 to 9 months since you build your website to see meaningful results from organic traffic.

The good news is that:

You can work on your online business at your own pace.

Start by dedicating your free time to building your business and gradually shift more focus to it as it begins to generate profits. This flexible approach allows you to grow your online venture while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

6- Is Wealthy Affiliate Free?

Wealthy Affiliate offers both free and paid options.

Yes, you can join Wealthy Affiliate for free.

However, with the free membership, you won’t be able to move your website to your domain.

Additionally, free members only have access to introductory training and do not receive access to premium communication features and live webinars.

In other words, a free account is a valuable starting point for learning and working hands-on with websites.

That being said

If you aim to create a sustainable blog or website, the Wealthy Affiliate free membership may not be sufficient.

To fully realize your online business potential, you must utilize other hosting services, market research, and training or consider upgrading to Wealthy Affiliate’s Premium or Premium Plus memberships.

7- What Are the Costs of Wealthy Affiliate Membership Plans?

Wealthy Affiliate offers three membership levels:

Wealthy Affiliate Membership comparison

* Starter Membership – Free

The lifetime free Starter membership grants you access to the following:

  • One free website on the SiteRubix subdomain
  • Certification core training Level 1
  • Bootcamp core training Level 1
  • Seven days of access to premium communications
  • Jaaxy Starter keyword research tool
  • Affiliate Program Search

The free membership is an excellent starting point for learning the basics of affiliate marketing and understanding how to make money online.

You can create a free starter membership here.

It is worth mentioning that while the free membership is lifetime, you cannot roll back to the free plan if you upgrade to premium.

** Premium Membership – $49 per month

  • Private communication and live chat
  • All levels of core training sessions
  • Hosting for up to 3 websites (up to 250,000 monthly visits)
  • 52+ expert classes per year
  • Jaaxy Lite keyword research tool
  • Feedback platform

*** Premium Plus Membership – $99 per month

  • Private communication and live chat
  • All level core training sessions
  • Hosting for up to 10 websites (up to 1,000,000 monthly visits)
  • 200+ expert classes per year
  • Jaaxy Enterprise keyword research tool
  • Feedback platform
  • Instant competition analysis
  • Priority expert private help

8- What Are the Drawbacks of Wealthy Affiliate?

Overwhelming and Potentially Confusing Platform

The Wealthy Affiliate platform offers numerous tools and an extensive video training library, which may be overwhelming for some members.

In particular, the platform may not be very user-friendly, as it has many tools and sections to navigate, making it challenging for users to find their way around.

Some Outdated Training

Although the core training is solid and well-focused, some parts may be inaccurate or outdated. Wealthy Affiliate does try to update its training materials regularly, but occasionally, it takes time to replace or update outdated videos.

Update: In the interest of fairness, it’s worth mentioning that during the most recent update of this review, I observed that most of the previously outdated training materials have been updated.

Dependency on Hosting and Domain Services

Wealthy Affiliate simplifies the process by offering domain registration and hosting services. However, if you discontinue using the platform, you must transfer your websites before your membership expires. This dependency can be a concern for some users.

9- What Are the Advantages of Wealthy Affiliate?

All-in-one Approach

Wealthy Affiliate provides a comprehensive suite of tools and training, making it especially helpful for beginners in affiliate marketing.

Solid Core Training

The platform’s well-structured core training guides users in the right direction, setting them up for success in their online business ventures.

Community Support

Many people struggle to succeed in online business due to a lack of motivation or inaction. The Wealthy Affiliate community’s progress and success stories inspire and encourage members to take action and persevere.

Progress Tracking

The step-by-step training approach allows users to monitor their progress, providing a sense of accomplishment and motivation to continue learning and growing their online business.

10- How to Maximize Your Wealthy Affiliate Membership?

Commitment: To succeed in affiliate marketing, dedication is crucial. Allocate consistent weekly time to work on your online business and monitor your progress.

Maintain Focus: Many people struggle in online marketing because they prioritize making money quickly. This mindset often leads them down the wrong path.

Instead, focus on learning how to attract more traffic by providing value to your audience.

As you do this, financial success will follow.

Upgrade Wisely: It’s recommended not to upgrade to a premium plan until you’ve completed the Level 1 course.

This ensures that you fully understand the basics and are ready to make the most of the advanced features and benefits with a premium membership.

Wealthy Affiliate Review Summary

  • Legitimate platform for building an online business from scratch
  • Over 17 years of experience in the market
  • Not a pyramid scheme or get-rich-quick scheme
  • Offers comprehensive internet marketing video courses and live training (webinars)
  • Provides an all-in-one suite of tools:
    • Site Builder | Site Feedback | Site comments
    • Affiliate marketing training | Keyword tools | AI niche generation
    • Hosting service | Domain Registration | Live community support
  • Free account to start learning and create your first website
  • Premium membership: $49/month
  • Premium Plus membership: $99/month
  • The primary focus on providing value to visitors
  • An excellent starting point for beginners

Consider creating a free account, exploring the training, experimenting with the tools, and evaluating the platform based on your experience.

=> Create Your Free Account

Ultimately, you are the best judge of whether Wealthy Affiliate is the right choice for you.

In my opinion:

Despite the mixed reviews across the web, Wealthy Affiliate does deliver on its promises.

The primary focus of the training is on providing value to visitors, which is the right approach to building a successful business. Alongside the platform’s tools and community support, it is an excellent starting point, particularly for beginners.

What’s Your Take on Wealthy Affiliate?

Now, it’s time for you to share your thoughts with us.

Have you ever participated in the Wealthy Affiliate program? What are your impressions?

Please feel free to leave your comments and questions below.

26 Comments

26 Comments

  1. Sarah

    Hi ! I just wanted to share my own experience within Wealthy Affiliate =) I have been working from home since 2009, I’ve had ups and downs but overall I make a full time income running my own business, which is absolutely a dream come true. However, I can say that Wealthy Affiliate has literally changed my business and my life. How? Well, like you said Kyle & Carson really want to help and to give others their tips and advice on how to build a successful business online. Like I said I was already working from home and earning a living but wealthy affiliate has boosted my business so much! Within four months in the community I was able to take it to another level : created three websites, generated enough traffic to earn money with google adsense, got more focused on my work and goals, met awesome people on Wealthy Affiliate, learned many things I ignored… I could write tons about WA lol… but the thing I love most is the help you get from others and the help you can give back… all the time! I truly believe the positive energy on this platform makes it impossible to fail. So + 10000 for WA lol, anyone who is serious about working from home wants to join and get started!
    Even the cons you mentioned are not really cons lol… it does get overwhelming sometimes because of the amount of information and the active community… but if you keep focusing on your goals and find the right balance between working and communicating with others, your business will grow steadily! Don’t you think?
    All the best
    Sarah

    Reply
    • Ash

      Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us Sarah. I totally agree with you, the positive atmosphere inside the community and the unbelievable support they provide are priceless.
      Yes, those are not really cons but, I mentioned it to set the mindset of our readers to focus on the training after they join and to move toward their goals step by step so, they don’t get lost in the wealth of information. I’m happy to hear about your success and I hope you achieve more and more each day. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Maureen

    Wealthy Affiliate sounds like one of the better places to start to learn how to start an online business. One thing that does concern me is since they have been around for a long time they have accumulated a lot of information. I realize they keep everything updated but do they actually get rid of outdated material? Having outdated material around could create some confusion.
    One thing that really caught my interest is the live Q&A weekly training. I know other sites do offer Q&A training but not on a regular consistent basis. To me this shows that WA is truly concerned about their members.

    Reply
    • Ash

      Yes, I believe Wealthy Affiliate is the best place for learning how to start and grow an online business not only because of its great training, but also because of its active community. The support in the community is by far the best, especially considering that Kyle and Carson are both super active members
      It’s been a long time since WA has been launched, but the fact is that all these years they were changing for the better. For example, just in the past year, they’ve added some big improvements such as site feedback system, site commenting system, tools for creating custom affiliate campaigns and….
      They do update their material constantly, but it is possible to find some outdated content in the archive. You should know that the core strategy of WA is never going to be considered as outdated because it’s focusing on adding value instead of making money and this approach is reliable in any online or offline business at any time.
      Q&A weekly training is awesome and keeps members up to date. They also have classrooms where you can ask any question and get your answer from experts( Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes till someone in the community answers your question. ) and LiveChat where you can chat with professionals and get your answers almost instantly.
      In summary, WA is more of a community rather than a training program but it provides regularly updated content and cutting edge tools to ensures its member success.

      Reply
  3. RPirant

    Wonderful site and Wealthy Affiliate is no joke. i can personally attest to that fact. Have your content been effective as i think it should? Anyway keep up the great work and by the way I love your lay out. It is great helping other folks. I love mentoring!
    Is there a special way to monetize a site when it is the real deal?

    Reply
    • Ash

      Absolutely Wealthy Affiliate is no joke. To my knowledge, it’s by far the most active and helpful community in the industry. Kyle and Carson are really active and they really care about WA members.

      Thanks for the good words about the layout, it took me time to make it like what it is now.

      Yes there are multiple ways to monetize a site if it provides value to its visitors such as:

      1. Using Google Adwords or similar products

      2. Direct advertising like putting banners on your site

      3. Promoting affiliate products from Ebay, Amazone, etc….

      4. Making a related product such as online courses, e-books, case studies, etc… and selling them to your visitors

      Reply
  4. Edy

    There is no doubt that WA works. and it works Awesome! To be honest, I had been to numerous online marketing platforms out there, but found no success.
    Other places have expensive upsells, training that hard to follow, and no support.

    BUT when it comes to Wealthy Affiliate, those massive weight are lifted from my shoulders. I can’t imagine my life would be if I didn’t find WA sooner. I think I might have lost thousands of dollar to other programs.

    Reply
    • Ash

      Most online products are focusing on making more money rather than creating high-quality products and that’s why they usually have lots of upsells while not offering a that much of a quality.

      But as you mentioned WA has the best training and support, yet it has a reasonable price without any upsells because their main focus is helping its members.

      Reply
  5. Jovo

    I am one of many who started at Wealthy Affiliate as a complete beginner. So for me it worked perfectly well, I built 2 sites already. I believe visitors to your site might like to hear an extra opinion about WA.

    Therefore, what you write in your review looks fair and balanced point of view. What you mentioned in your text as ‘free’ is indeed free, there is nothing hidden behind it. And regarding the community, which you also rightly mentioned, it is absolutely wonderful and essential for a good progress in this activity.

    Reply
    • Ash

      Awesome that WA worked for you and you have built your websites Jovo. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, our visitors would definitely like to hear different opinions.

      Reply
  6. Lynne

    My personal experience is that Wealthy Affiliates is absolutely incredible! I set up 2 websites with content, all ready to go in less than 1 week!
    The training and support is amazing. I couldn’t believe my luck when I stumbled across their website.
    I would advise anyone interested in starting an online business to at least have a look.
    Anyone can work their system and follow their easy training courses so no experience is necessary.

    Reply
    • Ash

      The training of WA is step by step and it teaches how to start an online business from basic so like you said, people with no experience can learn and implement it. Congrats for your two websites Lynne, and thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

      Reply
  7. JohnCWS

    I’ve read numerous reviews about WA and I must say. I really enjoyed yours. You didn’t just draw out the article about stats and post loads of pictures. You gave examples of what you can do, and where you can do it. Very awesome information! If I wasn’t a member already I would defiantly have to check it out. Keep up the great work.

    Reply
    • Ash

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us John. I’ve made every effort to illustrate a clear picture of inside Wealthy Affiliate community and I’m glad that you’ve enjoyed it.

      Reply
  8. Chris

    Well, it seems like a legit place to earn money online but I have to ask you a few questions first.

    First of all – surely this isn’t free, I mean how do these owners you talk about make any money?

    Secondly, how often am I going to have offers thrown in my face for upsells etc – I can’t stand that!

    Reply
    • Ash

      Good questions, Chris,

      First: WA has both free and premium memberships. The free membership alone gives you two free websites. They also give premium access to new members for 7 days so they can check it out. The owners give you everything possible for free before you buy the premium membership so, you can decide whether it’s a good program for you or not and that’s how they are making money.

      Second: Like you, I’m sensitive to upsells but I have to admit that since more than a year ago that I became a premium member till now, they have never thrown any upsells in my face in this period.

      Reply
  9. Stephen

    Hi,

    Great website you have made. I really like how you’ve designed your site. It is easy to navigate. Also, the format of your site is nice and easy to read. I will be bookmarking your site to refer back to for future cases. Best wishes to you in your future endeavors.

    Cheers

    Reply
    • Ash

      Thank you for bookmarking, Stephen. It took me a while to make it like what it is now. Wish you the best 🙂 .

      Reply
  10. Angel

    Dear Ash,

    This is a fantastic Wealthy Affiliate Review! I simply just love this place of all the other areas I was on the Internet. This is like my 2nd home to me. I love the online community and support here. At times when I was lacking confidence in my own abilities, Wealthy Affiliate members sought to encourage me to keep moving on. 🙂 They told me that it take patience and effort to turn a website into a thriving business. 🙂 It is true, they have helped me out in more ways than one and I simply can’t thank them enough for all they do and say to me and others at WA. 🙂

    Wishing you all the best above and beyond the horizon,

    ~Angel

    Reply
    • Ash

      Hi Angel,

      Thanks for sharing your personal WA experiences. You are absolutely right and members of the community are so encouraging and some of them are professionals with years of experience who are ready to help new comers!

      Wish you much success with your online journey 🙂

      Reply
  11. Joseph

    Hey Ash, I just wanted to thank you for this exceptional and thorough review on the Wealthy Affiliate platform. The ten things that everyone needs to know about WA were a novel approach and I’m sure it will be helpful to those browsing the web trying to discover just what they need in order to succeed in creating an online business that will thrive.

    The most common question I hear and perhaps the most important to new online entrepreneurs is how long will it take to succeed. I love the answer you have that the pace can kind of be customized and adjusted as success comes because so many people are working on it in their free time away from an existing job. This gives those folks a foot in the door and hope.

    Reply
    • Ash

      Hey Joseph, Thank you for your message.

      I’m glad you enjoyed the review on the Wealthy Affiliate platform and found it helpful. As you mentioned, the pace of success in creating an online business can vary from person to person, and it’s essential to remember that effort and dedication play a significant role.

      Reply
  12. John

    Hey Ash,
    Great review of Wealthy Affiliate here.  I think you have made an honest review here and love the way you answer the common questions for anyone considering an online business support community.  I think Wealthy Affiliate is very good for beginners and agree with you that consistent and hard work is required to achieve success.  This is like anything in life, like studying to start a profession or trade to work in the job or building a traditional bricks and mortar business.  They all take time and consistent effort to excel at, so why should building an online business be any different?

    I also agree with the drawbacks you raise but they can be overcome with focus and consistent effort.  Well done!

    Reply
    • Ash

      Hey John, Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment on my Wealthy Affiliate review. I appreciate your kind words and am thrilled that you found it helpful and informative.

      You nailed it about focus and consistent effort. I think that’s exactly what it takes to achieve success online.

      Reply
  13. Dominic

    Hi there, thank you for sharing updated information on Wealthy Affiliate (WA). As a long-time WA premium member, it has been a great experience for me and I am still learning until now on how to make use of all features in the WA platform. I feel like I’m leaving money on the floor by not utilizing them all. 

    Reply
    • Ash

      Hello!
      Thank you for reading my review on Wealthy Affiliate and sharing your experience as a long-time premium member. I’m delighted to hear that you’ve found Wealthy Affiliate to be an excellent platform for learning and that you’re still discovering new features.

      Reply

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