What is Wealthy Affiliate? It’s a training platform that’s been teaching people how to build a website and earn online through affiliate marketing since 2005. Whether you’re a complete beginner or you’ve tried this before without much luck, you’ll find the tools, training, and support here actually to make it work.
I’ll say this upfront: Wealthy Affiliate isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme, and you won’t be earning big money overnight. There are no guarantees, no yachts, no hidden upsells once you’re in the door. If that’s what you’re after, this isn’t it. But if you want to learn the right way and build something real over time, keep reading
If you only take one thing from this post, here it is:
Key Takeaways
- Wealthy Affiliate has been running since 2005, making it one of the longest-standing affiliate marketing training platforms around.
- The community has grown to well over 2.5 million members worldwide.
- You can start completely free as a Starter member, no credit card required, and see if it’s for you before spending a cent.
- Premium Plus is the current paid tier, at $99/mo billed monthly or $49/mo billed yearly at $588.
- Training runs across four phases, from the basics through to scaling a business, with Phase 1 open to Starter members and Phases 2 through 4 unlocking once you upgrade.
What Is Wealthy Affiliate, Exactly?
I’ve been burned in the past by fake gurus promising the world, only to fall for their scams and false teachings, so I know how it feels to get taken advantage of, and I don’t want that happening to you. That’s really why this post exists.
Wealthy Affiliate has been operating since 2005, which is rare in an industry where most training programs come and go within a few years. It’s widely considered one of the top affiliate marketing training platforms worldwide, with a community that’s grown past 2.5 million members.
Kyle and Carson are the two friends behind it. They’d already found success online in their own right, running a keyword research tool together, before realising there was real demand to teach others how to do the same. That’s how Wealthy Affiliate came about.
They still show up in the community themselves, answering questions and staying involved, not just running things from a distance.
You’ll find plenty of negative reviews out there, and plenty of positive ones too, worth checking for yourself on Trustpilot, which is independent of Wealthy Affiliate itself.
A lot of training programs fall apart because of poor teaching or hidden costs that only show up after you’ve joined. Here, the training is laid out step by step, and they’re upfront about what the paid membership options actually include.
Done For You Programs Aren’t the Same Thing
It’s worth mentioning the DFY (done-for-you) systems floating around, since they often get lumped in with legitimate training.
These usually come with misleading claims, hidden upsells, and costs well beyond what you’re first told. A few I’ve covered before:
- What Is Click Wealth System About?
- What Is Perpetual Income 365 About?
- Is the 3-Step Method a Scam?
- Copy, Paste, Money System
Don’t fall for the promise of thousands by the end of the week. That’s not real affiliate marketing; it’s a sales pitch aimed at your wallet, and there are still plenty of them around.
Why Does Wealthy Affiliate Offer a Free Starter Membership?
There’s a simple, honest reason for this, and I’ll lay it out plainly since I’m not a fan of scams myself; if this were one, you wouldn’t be reading this from me.
- It’s a real business, and like most memberships, there’s an option to go further if you want to.
- The Starter membership works as a test run, giving you a genuine feel for the training and how things work before you commit to anything.
- It lets you dip your toes in and decide for yourself whether this is the right fit, with zero financial risk.
- The free training is fairly basic. The real depth kicks in once you move into Premium Plus.
- Even at the basic level, you’ll cover real first steps, like what a niche is and how to choose one before setting up your website.
- It gives you the building blocks to get started, without pressuring you into a paid membership before you’re ready.
- Once you’ve had a proper look, the choice to upgrade is entirely yours.
What You Get With Each Membership
Wealthy Affiliate currently offers two memberships to new members, Starter and Premium Plus.
If you’ve read older reviews mentioning a middle “Premium” tier, that’s a legacy option still held by long-time members (myself included) who joined before Premium Plus was introduced. It’s no longer offered to new sign-ups, so I’ll focus on what’s actually available to you today.
Starter Membership (Free)
Starter is a genuine test run, no credit card required. You’ll get groundwork training to understand how affiliate marketing actually works, and the basics of building a website foundation.
Every lesson comes with tasks to complete before moving on, which keeps you from rushing past something you haven’t actually understood yet.
You can also ask questions right at the end of each lesson while it’s still fresh, and lean on a genuinely active worldwide community for help along the way.
Premium Plus (Paid)
This is where the real depth and tools open up, along with extra resources and further training aimed at helping you regardless of your current skill level. There’s always something new to learn here, and training gets updated to keep pace with current times, rather than sitting stagnant for years.
The Four Phases of Core Training
- Phase 1, Getting Started (Starter members): covers the basics, from how the “make money online” process actually works, to setting your goals, choosing your niche, and crafting your first piece of content.
- Phase 2, Your Brand & Content: getting your own branded domain, keyword research with Jaaxy, and creating content built to rank.
- Phase 3, Growth & Momentum: SEO fundamentals, site speed, and using AI tools like ChatGPT within your business.
- Phase 4, Making Money & Scaling: affiliate links and disclaimers, social media, and scaling out your business long term.
How Much Does Wealthy Affiliate Membership Cost?
Starter membership is completely free, no credit card required, and by around lesson four you’ll already understand how to build a website foundation.
Premium Plus is $99/mo if you pay monthly. Paid yearly, it works out to $49/mo, billed as $588 for the year, a solid saving over paying month to month.
Both tiers include AI credits and website hosting, with Premium Plus scaling up significantly on credits, number of websites, private mentorship, and priority support. You can compare the two side by side here to see more of what each one offers.
Personally, I’d suggest starting as a Starter member first, learning the ropes, and making your own informed call on how far you want to take it. You deserve that chance to decide for yourself.
Final Takeaway
Once you see the genuine benefits on offer, and you’re serious about learning to succeed online, upgrading tends to make sense on its own. Premium Plus members also get access to live training from experienced affiliates within the community, many of whom have built real, substantial incomes from what they learned here, and now pay that forward by helping others do the same.
So, what do you say? Would you give it a go, for free, and see if it’s for you? If you decide it is, upgrading later is always your call to make, not mine.
.So if you want to Learn The Right Way, Wealthy Affiliate is for YOU
If you have any questions for me, feel free to drop them in the comment box below
Copyright Learn Earn Grow Online Affiliate Marketing – 2014-. All rights reserved.
