Chaturbate is one of the newest adult webcam sites on the Internet and it is quickly becoming a popular stop for webcam enthusiasts.  Chaturbate, which the site operators proudly claim is the act of masturbating while chatting, uses a different business model from most adult cam sites.  The site touts itself as a “free” service and indeed one can spend a great deal of time on Chaturbate without spending a dime.  The site caters to amateur performers and exhibitionists and can be thought of as a virtual strip club. If this sounds like your type of site, then read on for the details.

Performers

As soon as you go to the Chaturbate site you will be able to see that they play by different rules.  Unlike most adult webcam sites, the performers on Chaturbate are often giving shows in a public chat forum.  You can watch these shows for free, which is what makes this site so different from most others. Chaturbate does not have as large a number of models on their site as compared to many sex chat services.  There are typically 100 – 200 performers online at any time, which is usually enough to keep you interested, but not as many as some of their competitors. The performers are also not always as attractive as those you will find on the more traditional sites who employ professional models, but there are still plenty of good looking women and men if you are willing to look around.

Another big difference with Chaturbate is that you can find couples, men, trannies and just about any other type of performer you are looking for.  Frequently you will see couples having sex in a public chat room, again, free for all to view.  While most sites are geared toward heterosexual male viewers with mostly female models, Chaturbate is clearly caters to everyone. Moreover, Chaturbate encourages anyone and everyone to be a broadcaster. This site is a community for performers, exhibitionists and anyone who enjoys playing online while others watch. We find that there is always a lot of action on this site and you can easily spend hours Chaturbating.

Site Features and Ease of Use

Chaturbate is simply designed and easy to use.  The home page shows a thumbnail of each performer with a real time snapshot of their current show. This is a great feature as it gives you an idea of what to expect when you open the chat window. There are also tabs for male, female, tranny and couple categories allowing you to quickly filter to just those types of performers you are looking for.  The site allows (and even encourages) cam-to-cam interaction so feel free to join in the fun.

When you select a performer and enter their chat room, there is biographical information about the performer including their age, location and various other personal stats.  You can also chat with the performer and the other viewers in the chat room.  And unlike other sites, you will likely be able to see a good show without having to pay a dime.  Of course, if you want to be able to engage with the model in private or request particular acts, you will need to either tip them or take them to a private show which does cost money.

Show Quality

The video quality on Chaturbate is not as good most other sites we have reviewed.  At times video feeds can be slow to load and occasionally the video stream will freeze.  This appears to be more common in the evenings than during daytime hours which is an indicator that performance degrades as more viewers are on the site.  This is probably the biggest negative of the site and one which may be unacceptable for some.  On the positive side, the site does support full screen mode and allows you to dynamically resize the video window.

Price and Value

As has already been mentioned, Chaturbate is completely free as long as you don’t want a private show.  Models make money from tips and they work hard to earn them.  This is why they provide live nude shows in public chat rooms.  Their goal is to earn tips and entice viewers into a private show, much as is the case in a strip club. They also earn bonuses by having the most viewers on their cams.

If you desire to interact with a model in private or give them a tip, you will need to purchase tokens.  Tokens cost a maximum of 10 cents each, but get slightly cheaper if you buy in large quantities. Chaturbate also offers a monthly subscription for $19.95 which will provide you with additional features including removal of ads. You will also receive 200 tokens when you sign up which is a $20.99 value. This essentially makes the first month’s premium membership free.

Conclusion

If you are on a budget and looking for a good time online, Chaturbate has plenty of a free action to keep you entertained. It is geared toward amateurs performers who like getting naked online and viewers who like these types of shows. However, if you are looking for a more personalized experience, truly gorgeous models, or advanced features, you should consider using a more traditional site such as Flirt4Free or Imlive.  If Chaturbate can continue grow their cadre of models, improve site performance and offer additional features for members, they will be able to attract more and more viewers.  We recommend giving the site a try as you have nothing to lose and spending time on Chaturbate can be a lot fun, which is the primary reason we have given it our number 4 position in the CamSite Advisor top 10.