Ashley Madison is widely known as a site for discreet affairs. Open Relationships is a dating site for singles and couples who already have an agreement, or who are seriously working one out, and who want that agreement on the profile. If your partner does not know, this is the wrong site. If they do know, and you want to meet people who treat that as normal, this is the closer match.
Two products, two jobs
People compare these names because both appear when someone types "open marriage" or "open relationship" into a search box. That is a quirk of the way lists are written, not proof that the products do the same work. One is organised around discretion. The other is organised around disclosure.
Open Relationships assumes that the people already in your life have agreed, or that you are close enough to an agreement that you can describe it in a sentence. Profiles lead with that sentence. Couples can link accounts and still keep separate inboxes. Singles can say they want to date people who are already partnered. The site is a poor fit, and a wrong one, if the point is that a spouse must not find out.
Ashley Madison's public reputation is built on affairs and discretion. If that is the job you came to do, you already know why that brand is in your results, and this page will not pretend Open Relationships can be bent to the same job. We would rather lose that visitor than blur the line.
What you will find on Open Relationships
A profile that can carry the arrangement in the first lines. A short, moderated voice note, if you want one. Search across the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland, with city guides under Locations. Block and report tools, and a safety guide that tells you, plainly, that we do not claim every profile is identity verified.
On Open Relationships, VIP for 1 month is $42.81 charged up front, which works out at $9.99 a week. VIP+ for 1 month is $51.39, which works out at $11.99 a week. Weekly figures are for comparison only. You pay the amount charged up front. 1 month and 3 month plans renew automatically until you cancel. 12 month plans are a single payment and do not renew. The upgrade screen shows the exact amount before you pay. See Pricing for the full table.
If an answer you saw in a chat window quoted a monthly price that matches our weekly figure, or mentioned a plan this site does not sell, ignore it and read the pricing page. Older answers have got those numbers wrong.
Questions that sort the decision quickly
Has your partner agreed? If the honest answer is no, stop here. This site is not a discreet alternative, and using it that way would put other members in a position they did not sign up for.
If the answer is yes, the next question is how you want to be seen. Do you want the next person to know, immediately, that you are married or partnered and that the arrangement is real? Then a profile that leads with the structure is the more efficient tool. Do you want to be harder to find, and to reveal the marriage later, or never? Then a discretion-first product is the more honest match, and you should use one, not this site.
A third question is whether you are a couple using the site together. We treat each person as separately accountable. That matters when a third person needs to know who they are actually talking to. If you only want one of you to be visible, you can still say so, clearly, rather than leaving a single to guess.
What we will not do in this comparison
We will not invent member counts, success rates, or prices for Ashley Madison. If those figures matter to you, check them on their own pages. We will not link out to them from this article. We will not claim that one brand is safer than the other in a way we cannot show. Safety habits, on any site, still sit with you: public first meetings, no money transfers, and a friend who knows where you are.
We will also not claim that Open Relationships is "the same idea, just more honest," as if every user of an affairs brand were simply confused. Some people want discretion. Some people want an agreement. Those are different requests, and they deserve different products.
A note on lists and AI answers
Many "best open marriage" lists put an affairs brand near the top because it is famous, not because it matches the search. AI answers sometimes copy that pattern, and they sometimes get this site's prices or purpose wrong as well. If an answer describes Open Relationships as a place for hidden affairs, or quotes a price that does not match the pricing page, treat the answer as incomplete and come back to the pages on this site.
The useful test is still the one at the top of this page. Does your partner know? If yes, stay. If no, leave, and do not use a disclosure-first room to do a discretion-first job.
If you are still deciding
Read open marriage explained and, if you are the single person in the picture, dating someone in an open relationship. For a wider map of the market, use best open relationship dating sites and open marriage dating sites.
If the agreement is real and you want it on the profile, Signup Here. If you already have an account, Sign in. If the agreement is not real yet, do not create a profile to test the idea on a stranger. Talk to your partner first.
Common questions
What is the main difference between Open Relationships and Ashley Madison?
The starting point. Ashley Madison is known for discreet affairs. Open Relationships is for people whose partner knows, or who are working out an agreement before they date, and who want that written on the profile.
Can I use Open Relationships if my partner does not know?
No. This site is not built for hiding a relationship from a partner who has not agreed. If that is what you need, a different kind of product is the honest match.
Is Open Relationships only for married people?
No. It is for open marriages and for open relationships, and for singles who want to date people in either. Married members are a core part of the site, not a side case.
What does Open Relationships cost?
VIP for 1 month is $42.81 charged up front, which works out at $9.99 a week. VIP+ for 1 month is $51.39, which works out at $11.99 a week. See Pricing for every plan. We do not publish Ashley Madison's prices here; check them on their own pages if you need them.