Wealthy Affiliate Review: Scam Or The Best Marketing Course?

To start on the right foot, you should know that this Wealthy Affiliate Review will not be overly positive. It won’t be one of those Wealthy Affiliate negative reviews either.

Instead, my take on this affiliate marketing educational platform will be honest and transparent.

These days, honesty and transparency are rare. Somehow, they’re almost impossible to find when a discussion about Wealthy Affiliate is happening:

People either love the platform to the moon and back or hate it with the power of thousands of suns. But not for the reasons you might think.

Going too much into one of these directions will not do anyone a lot of good, in my opinion.

So, let’s look at the facts, have an honest conversation about the Wealthy Affiliate pros and cons, and allow you to make your conclusion.

How does this sound?

If you’re on board, here is an overview of today’s talking points:

• What is Wealthy Affiliate, and how does it work?
• What does Wealthy Affiliate teach?
• Can you consider the Wealthy Affiliate education valuable?
• Will you make money online if you follow the Wealthy Affiliate training?
• Is Wealthy Affiliate a pyramid scheme or multi-media marketing?
• Why are there so many negative Wealthy Affiliate reviews online?
• What’s the deal with the Wealthy Affiliate complaints?
• The Wealthy Affiliate pricing and is paying the membership cost worth it?

And much more information that will help you understand why Wealthy Affiliate is one of the most controversial marketing courses nowadays.

Make some room in your day:

Everything I have to share with you will take much longer than a couple of minutes of your time.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. Spare a minute to read my affiliate disclosure.

The Controversy With The Wealthy Affiliate Platform

One possible explanation is the way Wealthy Affiliate introduces itself on the web.

Steal A Glance At Wealthy Affiliate

Is Wealthy Affiliate A Scam?

Call it a marketing pitch, if you will, but that’s one of the first things you’ll read about the platform if you bother to research it:

Making Money Is Easy – All You Need Is A Passion And A Website.

Now, I can understand why that first line can make your blood boil if you have years of working online experience:

Earning through affiliate marketing is anything but easy nowadays. It’s freaking hard, considering how saturated the industry is.

Nevertheless, your reaction to Wealthy Affiliate’s pitch depends on the angle you choose to look at it. It all comes down to whether you’re a glass-half-full or half-empty person.

Because the truth of the matter is that affiliate marketing as a business model is here to stay. Even more, the estimated earnings coming from this field tend to triple themselves every ten years.

So, if affiliate marketing keeps thriving regardless of its saturation, isn’t it possible all you need to succeed is a passion for learning and a website that will allow you to do that?

And if it is, is Wealthy Affiliate lying to you?

That is food for thought that aims to reach the program’s most passionate attackers!

Meanwhile, we will dive into the core substance of this Wealthy Affiliate review as this article unfolds! Before we do that, I want to address the platform’s legitimacy.

Wealthy Affiliate Review Trustpilot

Wealthy Affiliate has an excellent rating on Trustpilot – 4.8 stars, which is a great score for any online business.

There are over 600 reviews you can read – most of them are positive Wealthy Affiliate reviews.

WA answers to anyone leaving feedback, including negative opinions. Its owners are always willing to engage users in a conversation and reply to any questions.

Feel free to visit the Wealthy Affiliate BBB Business Profiles for further proof of its legitimacy.

More importantly, anyone can join WA for free – you can claim your free membership without paying anything. Since joining WA doesn’t cost you a thing, no one in their right mind can call the platform a scam.

What Is Wealthy Affiliate?

It’s unlikely this is the first time you read about Wealthy Affiliate.

If you’ve been researching different ways to make money online or building a successful online business, you probably stumbled upon the program at some point.

In a nutshell, Wealthy Affiliate is the most popular and igniting interest platform that teaches the art of earning online through affiliate marketing. This online course walks beginners through the complicated affiliate marketing journey to become financially independent.

However, such an explanation doesn’t do WA enough justice because the platform is a bit more than that:

By all means, affiliate marketing training is just a piece of the value Wealthy Affiliate provides. Every person who wants to join it can do so for free and receive a marketing education, a website, and web hosting (plus other perks).

To sum up, WA is an all-in-one affiliate marketing platform for everyone who wants to become a successful website owner and needs guidance.

Again, you’ll gain instant access to the platform just by signing up with your name and email address. You don’t have to provide bank accounts or credit card details to start your business training.

Is Affiliate Marketing Still Profitable Today?

Assuming that many complete beginners are reading this post, I should explain some basic terms before my Wealthy Affiliate review goes further.

I’ve already talked about how lucrative the affiliate marketing sector is. But can first-time marketers still earn lots of money through this business model?

After all, there is no point in becoming a Wealthy Affiliate member if other industries can give you more opportunities for financial gain.

Nowadays, you can start many profitable businesses with little to no investment. Why should you join the affiliate marketing industry instead of an alternative one?

I can cite many important things that will prompt you to put effort into becoming a successful affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketing is still one of the best ways to make money online in 2024 (and beyond).

Generally, affiliate marketing is a business structure that involves recommending products or services to an audience. Affiliates earn commissions each time a person buys something through their referral links.

Who Owns Wealthy Affiliate?

Now seems like a good time to talk about the founders of Wealthy Affiliate. There are two of them – Carson Lim and Kyle Loudon.

These savvy Canadians created Wealthy Affiliate way back in 2005. With that said, WA at the time of its launch was very different than what we have today.

Initially, the platform was more of a keyword list database than a teaching community for future successful affiliate marketers. Over the years, Wealthy Affiliate has evolved tremendously to the point where it offers the complete start-up package for newbie promoters.

Meanwhile, the program still provides comprehensive keyword research analysis. Its keyword tool, Jaaxy, has a place in many round-up posts covering the best keyword tools available.

New members receive many other tools and resources to help them succeed (more on that later).

Currently, Wealthy Affiliate accommodates over 2.6 million members eager to learn and prosper in the affiliate marketing industry. An Interesting Fact:

One of the most common complaints about the Wealthy Affiliate program I see online is the cost of the premium membership. I wonder:

Do the people complaining know that the premium membership price has not changed since 2005?

Keeping the original cost intact is remarkable – we all know how much more expensive life has become in the past years.

Wealthy Affiliate Overview: A Closer Look

Well, you already know that WA is an online training platform. But everything I said earlier is nothing more than a look at the program from a distance.

To make this Wealthy Affiliate review achieve its purpose, we’ll need to get closer and closer to seeing what is on the inside. And that will require tons of coverage on my part!

So, I think a step-by-step approach that provides you with information is the best way to construct this article.

With that said, let’s begin with an overall look at what a Wealthy Affiliate membership has to offer:

• A walk-through on niche selection
• Web hosting + website builder
• Keyword research education + powerful keyword research tool
• Affiliate marketing training
• An introduction to the highest-paying affiliate programs to join
• Training on driving traffic to your site (free and paid)
• Necessary tools for affiliate and marketing success
• One-on-one coaching
• Extra coaching from more than 1,800 experts is available
• 24/7 access to tech support
• Nearly 25,000 people get their questions answered and issues resolved every day

All that seems more than enough to help you build a lucrative career in the affiliate marketing industry, but it’s not.

As I’ve mentioned, this is not a Wealthy Affiliate negative review, but there is no way to be sugar-coated either.

WA provides a lot – not everything, though.

The platform has distinct advantages and disadvantages that will be an excellent opportunity for some but not for others.

Inside Wealthy Affiliate Members’ Area: Training Courses Overview

Generally, Wealthy Affiliate is a teaching program that provides training, education, and guidance for anyone who wants to start their own online business.

It’s an all-in-one training package of blogging/business lessons, classrooms, live webinars, tools, support, community, and more.

According to WA, you can build a business if you go through four essential steps:

• Choose an interest
• Build a website
• Attract visitors
• Earn revenue

By all means, that’s not inaccurate.

Once you decide to become a member, you’ll gain access to the following training materials:

• Online Entrepreneur Certification
• Affiliate Bootcamp
• Site Rubix
• Live Webinars
• Wealthy Affiliate Community

Let’s talk about each in detail, shall we?

1) Online Entrepreneur Certification (50 Lessons)

By all means, the Online Entrepreneur Certification is the core training WA provides. It has five levels, each containing ten lessons you’ll receive in a written and video format.

Overall, this training program covers the basics of Internet marketing, building successful online businesses, and conquering the online space as a first-time website owner.

Training Videos Overview:

• Introduction
• Building A Traffic Producing Website
• Making Money Online
• Mastering Social Engagement
• Achieving Maximum Success Through Content Creation

2) Affiliate Bootcamp (70 Lessons)

Affiliate Bootcamp provides a steep learning curve for people who want to build a website in the make-money-online niche. This training is for everyone who can’t relate to or connect with another business niche.

Training Modules Overview:

• Getting Your Business Rolling
• Content, Keywords, and Conversion
• Giving Social Value To Your Website
• Get Visual
• Knowing Your Audience and Catapulting Your Referrals
• Bing, Yahoo, and The Power Of PPC
• How To Scale Your PPC Campaigns

Wealthy Affiliate Free Starter Membership Overall Value & Perks

At the time of writing this Wealthy Affiliate review, here is what you’ll receive when you sign up as a free member:

• One website
• Web hosting
• 30 searches with Jaaxy (the keyword research tool)
• Beginner training course
• Phase one of the Affiliate Bootcamp training (contains ten lessons)
• Daily website backups
• Access to the affiliate program
• Live help (for a week)
• One-on-one coaching (for a week)

Again, you don’t have to pay anything to get all that out of Wealthy Affiliate. There won’t be any charges to your credit card unless you decide to upgrade your membership.

One quick recap:

As a free member, you’ll receive make-money online education, choose a niche, build your site through the SiteRubix platform (also free), and perform 30 searches with a pro keyword tool.

Plus, you can start using your affiliate link and earn money from the platform’s affiliate program.

Create Your Free Account On Wealthy Affiliate

Is Wealthy Affiliate Free?

That depends on you – you can stay a free member for as long as you like. No one will kick you out of the platform if you don’t become a paid member.

To clarify, you can keep your free website, hosting, and access to the first part of the training even if you never upgrade.

The way I see it, the free trial is not a bad way to begin your affiliate marketing journey. You’re getting plenty of tools and features that will allow you to build an online business, all for free.

Sure, they won’t be enough to develop and advance your business to the next level. Still, the free WA membership will allow you to start from somewhere with no expenses whatsoever.

With that said, let’s take a look at what’s behind the premium membership:

Wealthy Affiliate Premium Membership Overall Value & Perks

Much will go into this paragraph, so you better prepare to absorb all the information!

In short, the premium membership will provide you with everything Wealthy Affiliate can offer, with no exceptions.

And that includes two separate training sections, unlimited access to Jaaxy, full access to the WA community, live events, expert educational materials, higher affiliate commissions, and plenty of other perks.

Let’s take a closer look when this Wealthy Affiliate review continues, shall we?

Inside The Wealthy Affiliate Premium Training

Is this WA premium training the best thing for anyone willing to invest in a domain name and build an online business from scratch? Will that training work for all types of people ready to become successful entrepreneurs?

As you know, premium members can access two educational platforms – the Online Entrepreneur Certification and the Affiliate Bootcamp.

All lessons will ask you to take simple steps, complete hundreds of tasks, and take action on everything you learn. In other words, the training works in a way that will allow you to educate yourself and build your business simultaneously.

Available Tools And Resources For Premium Wealthy Affiliate Members

I doubt I’ll be able to cover every perk the paid members of WA can take advantage of – features and materials are being added by members every day.

Yes, WA allows its most prominent and expert members to do pieces of training on their own:

The creators are not the only ones that reach.

1) Website Builder

SiteRubux is the website builder platform all WA members use to develop their blogs. That builder is an excellent solution for people who want to start a blog for the first time.

Creating a niche site through SiteRubux is an easy process – the platform is the right place to be if you want to build your blog foundation in minutes.

2) Jaaxy Keyword Research Tool

The training has a whole section that will teach you how to do comprehensive keyword research. Once you learn how to do that, you’ll run your chosen keywords through Jaaxy to form a final opinion.

Premium members have unlimited access to the tool – there are no restrictions on the number of searches you can do.

Effective keyword research is crucial for any affiliate marketer who wants to rank their content high in search engines. Dominating the search results will bring organic traffic to your offers, allowing you to earn an online income from affiliate sales.

3) Site Feedback And Site Comments

Each premium Wealthy Affiliate member can ask for comments from the other users. Besides, students can demand feedback from more experienced marketers to help them improve their sites.

4) Live Webinars

Once you become a premium WA user, you can benefit from the hard work of your fellow members. Feel free to spend a long time watching and rewatching all available live webinars.

There is a lot of good stuff to take away from the live webinars – they happen daily and cover a variety of subjects, all aiming to improve your marketing strategy and develop your online business further.

5) Wealthy Affiliate Supportive Community

WA offers great support to all its members – most positive reviews state that, and my Wealthy Affiliate review will confirm it:

One thing is sure when you join the platform – its online community will be there for you constantly, no matter what you need.

You can use the Live Chat feature to talk with others on any subject you want to discuss – the private messages system will take the conversation even further.

By all means, the WA community is a community of help – ask for assistance, and you’ll receive it in minutes.

6) Top-Notch Technical Support

Generally, the WA community is not the only one to offer its help – the tech support is a good place to ask for such as well.

All WA premium members have access to 24/7 customer service that assists them with any tech or website issue they might have.

Wealthy Affiliate Hosting Review

OK, I’ll talk about the web hosting WA provides separately – there has to be a whole paragraph. Here are a couple of essential facts about that hosting:

Firstly, it’s a managed WordPress hosting – that is way more secure than the unmanaged one. When you host a blog on WA, the platform manages everything.

In other words, you won’t have to deal with data protection, spam protection, backups, security, or loading issues.

For comparison, most unmanaged hosts offer packages that cost you between $3-$10 monthly. But you’ll get basic hosting, and if you want better service, you’ll have to pay way more for upgrades.

Secondly, web hosting is a part of the deal when you have a premium membership in Wealthy Affiliate. You don’t have to pay anything extra for it.

Most importantly, every premium member can host up to 10 websites on WA. How much does hosting ten websites cost you elsewhere?

Let’s see – $115/month if you choose WPEngine and $200 per month if you go with Kinsta. Do the math yourself once you check the plans of other popular web hosting providers.

In addition, the Wealthy Affiliate hosting will provide you with instant DNS setup, Amazon c.3 large speed, and unlimited domain email addresses.
One more word about the hosting:

A common complaint about WA I see online is the hosting’s speed. While the blogs hosted on WA might have had fast-loading issues before, that is no longer a problem:

Recently, there was a massive upgrade in the quality of hosting services, which improved website speed tremendously.

Start On Wealthy Affiliate For Free

Wealthy Affiliate Member Success Stories

A lot of people refuse to see Wealthy Affiliate as one of the best affiliate marketing courses because they consider the student’s results and accomplishments as not impressive enough.

While I can tell you many good things about the success level many Wealthy Affiliate students experience after joining the platform, I will not do that here and now. Instead, I’ll let you see for yourself:

Spare as much time as you need to read the top 15 successful Stories of WA members. Alternatively, you can research the topic further on Google, social media, or by watching relevant YouTube videos.

How Much Wealthy Affiliate Costs?

Alright, let’s talk about money and the cost of being a member of the platform:

As you already know, everyone starts as a free member. So, you’ll not pay anything unless you upgrade your membership.

Yes, Wealthy Affiliate is free to join, and it will stay that way for as long as you need it to be (way beyond your first month on the platform). With that said, it’s time to discuss the cost of the premium membership:

As you can see, a Premium WA membership costs $41.58 monthly. Premium Plus Memberships are available for $58.08 monthly.

What you probably don’t know is that you can get even better deals if you wait for the annual Black Friday at Wealthy Affiliate. Taking advantage of it will reduce the WA costs to less than a dollar a day.

That money buys you hosting with all the bells and whistles, a professional keyword tool, 24/7 tech support, over 2 million people willing to help you, and everything else we covered up until now.

Is Wealthy Affiliate legit then? Is everything that is offered worth the price?

I’ll let you be the judge of that once you read this Wealthy Affiliate review to its very end.

How Much Money Can You Earn With Wealthy Affiliate?

Isn’t that what everyone wants to know?

First and foremost, the most prominent line in the Wealthy Affiliate reviews complaints is that most members never earn a dime after taking the training.

Well, here is a screenshot of some of my monthly earnings:

Want another one? Have a look:

There are a lot more where these came from. Take a minute to read more about the best ways to earn with Wealthy Affiliate.

The bottom line is that the platform’s members know how to make money online with affiliate marketing. And many earn more than a full-time income once they complete the training.

How Much Money Can You Earn With The Wealthy Affiliate Affiliate Program?

That is not bad for an income from a platform that lets you earn while you learn!

You might want to acknowledge the fact that you’re looking at a recurring type of affiliate commission. Members can keep getting paid for as long the person they introduced to WA chooses to stay a premium member.

Yes, this affiliate program is a source of passive income you can utilize to benefit from the platform even further.

See Also: 70 Best Recurring Affiliate Programs To Join

7 Biggest Wealthy Affiliate Complaints

As mentioned at the beginning of this Wealthy Affiliate review, my take on the platform is both positive and negative.

We have to discuss why many people complain about Wealthy Affiliate and the services the platform provides.

Some of the complaints have merit, others – not so much. Eighter way, you’ll see all of them right here:

1) Wealthy Affiliate Pushes Its Members To Write Bad Reviews On Competitive Products

First and foremost, there are over a million people inside Wealthy Affiliate. There is no way I could check the content each of those people uploads online and tell you if it’s overly negative.

With that said, I could only speak for myself:

Yes, I’m a member and have been one since 2018. Product reviews are one of the categories I have on my blog.

Here is the thing from my perspective:

While I have many bad reviews on this site, they are bad for a reason. Escaping a negative review is not an option while doing my best to be as transparent as possible with my readers.

When a product is full of fake promises and unrealistic claims, should I not say that just because I would take the blame for calling out scams?

Blame all you want – a bad review goes where it must go. Even more, I’ve written reviews on competitive programs that are more than positive ones.

For example, check my opinion about 12 Minute Affiliate, Human Proof Designs, or 1K A Day Fast Track. One could argue that these systems are WA competitors, and I gave them good reviews anyway.

The bottom line is – the truth is absolute. Producing a negative review has to do only with a product’s abilities and nothing more.

No one has ever pushed me to create content in a way that makes me uncomfortable. My business is my responsibility, and that’s how I build it up.

2) Wealthy Affiliate Influences The Members To Heavily Promote It

Next, I’ll discuss how hard the platform pushes its members to promote it.

It may be hard to believe, but the creators don’t hold a gun to our heads to convince us to promote WA. Recommending the platform is a choice you would be able to make freely.

I don’t see anything wrong with promoting a product I find valuable. Isn’t that how affiliate marketers worldwide earn their money?

Once you become a member, you’ll find hundreds of referral programs you can promote on the platform. Wealthy Affiliate is just one of the options.

Whether you’ll take advantage of it or not, it’s up to you and no one else.

3) Wealthy Affiliate Offers Outdated Training

That used to be a valid point you could find in any Wealthy Affiliate review available online.

For a long time, different pieces of training were not the latest information you can find. However, WA has existed since 2005 and contains enormous educational materials.

Updating each one of them takes time! Nevertheless, the issue of outdated content is no longer an issue:

As you can see, the training sessions are getting their refreshments.

Every training material has an option that will allow you to ask for an update. We did ask, and we did get those updates!

4) WA Members Don’t Make Any Money

No day goes by without a member blogging inside WA, excited about the paycheck they did wake up to. Sure, results vary.

But isn’t that how it is, no matter what affiliate marketing course you take? How could we compare the results when many factors come into play, such as time, effort, background, family situation, and work obligations?

The way I see it, everyone has their journey. And people do the best they can with what they have.

Furthermore, some complaints say that members earn money only from promoting WA.

If you go back and look at the screenshot of some of my earnings, you’ll see that I promote plenty of other affiliate programs.

One of my top-earning affiliate promotions happens to be about Shopify. Do you think Shopify has something in common with WA?

5) Wealthy Affiliate Is Too Expensive

That one is just gold! Let’s do some math together, shall we?

I pay $0.80 per day as a premium member of WA to use everything – the keyword research tool, web hosting, training, live webinars, new daily training from fellow members, tech support, etc.

If you go and start paying for all these tools separately, how much will that cost you?

Professional hosting providing fast loading time can not be yours for less than $30 per month. No, the basic $3,95 plans are not doing a good enough job.

In other words, I’m getting so much for less than the price others must pay for hosting alone.

And what about the community? Can you put a price on getting help and answers to all your questions in minutes?

6) The Ranking System Has No Purpose

I’ve never paid attention to my ranks inside WA because I don’t have to:

It doesn’t harm my membership in any way.

Above all, the ranking system is just a measurement of your engagement with the platform. Commenting and being active will increase your rankings.

But not doing it if you don’t want to doesn’t make any difference to the quality of service you’ll receive on Wealthy Affiliate.

7) Wealthy Affiliate Is A Cult

Wouldn’t the people badmouthing the platform love that? Unfortunately, that’s not true.

If an encouraging environment where like-minded people support and lift each other is a cult, then sure, WA is one.

Do you see anything wrong with members welcoming other members with warm messages? Is that how a cult operates nowadays?

I’ve never been a part of one, so please – do let me know!

Wealthy Affiliate Pros And Cons

Pros:

• An opportunity to start affiliate marketing training for free – you can stay a free member for as long as you want.
• Easy to follow lessons – read the material or watch the videos. Plus, the training gets updated more often than ever.
• Affordable premium package – you can use all tools and resources for less than a dollar a day.
• Many extra learning materials – there is a new webinar on different topics every day.
• Engaged community – get all the help you may need from like-minded people.
• Professional tech support – you’ll have access to the tech team 24/7.
• 50 Websites – that’s how many businesses you can host in WA with no additional charge.
• Direct messaging – write to the creators if you wish!

Cons:

• There is no training on backlinks or email marketing from the platform. Thankfully, experienced members are providing education on these topics.
• There are no refunds – I don’t appreciate that either, but it is what it is for now.

Start Learning With Wealthy Affiliate Free Of Charge

Is Wealthy Affiliate A Pyramid Scheme?

No, it isn’t.

On the contrary, it’s a legitimate learning platform that will introduce you to the business of doing affiliate marketing online. More importantly, it has nothing to do with pyramid or get-rich-quick schemes:

Considering all the tools and resources you’re getting as a premium member, I think the price of $1 a day is more than reasonable.

Is Wealthy Affiliate the best marketing course?

In my opinion, it’s an excellent option for complete beginners but not for more advanced marketers.

If you’re starting to work online and want to be an affiliate marketer, WA is a suitable opportunity.

Alternative Affiliate Marketing Courses:

• Six Figure Success Academy
• Passive Profit Pages
• Simple WiFi Profits
• Stack That Money
• Six Figure Mentors
• Authority Hacker

Wealthy Affiliate Review FAQs

Is The Wealthy Affiliate Legit?

I’ve just answered this question, but let me do it once again:

WA is not a scam but a legitimate teaching platform where you can learn the basics of affiliate marketing.

The fact that you can stay a free member without paying anything at all speaks volumes.

What Does Wealthy Affiliate Do?

It teaches the craft of affiliate marketing inside and out.

Plus, it provides training on getting free blog traffic, keyword research, and many other topics that will allow you to make money blogging.

Feel free to see it as an all-in-one training package that will jump-start your affiliate marketing career online.

And What About The Wealthy Affiliate Pricing?

There are two membership options – free and premium.

The free one is self-explanatory, and the premium will cost around $1 a day.

Can Wealthy Affiliate Make You Rich?

In all fairness, that depends on you and how much work you’re willing to put into your education.

While WA provides high-quality training, it will not do the work for you. Only you can make yourself rich, so you might want to keep that in mind before you arrive at the Wealthy Affiliate login!

My Closing

Do all of your questions get their answers?

We can talk about WA all day and still not cover it.

So, maybe you want to tell me what aspect is missing in this article. Drop your comments in the section below, and I’ll have a look.

Don’t forget to tell me if you enjoyed this Wealthy Affiliate review!

Similar Ideas From Cash Embrace You May Love:

• How I Made My First $130 Blogging
• 50 Affiliate Marketing Tricks To Earn Extra Money
• Best Ways To Make Money On ClickBank