How Many Users Does Ashley Madison Have?
75.90 million people joined Ashley Madison worldwide since its launch in 2002.
The following are the average registrations of both male and female accounts over time:
They do not represent the actual number of current active users (these are unknown).
Here's a complete breakdown of Ashley Madison's user growth since 2003.
Year | Member Growth Year Over Year |
|---|---|
2003 | 90,000 |
2004 | 300,000 |
2005 | 720,000 |
2006 | 1.17 million |
2007 | 1.68 million |
2008 | 3.03 million |
2009 | 5.01 million |
2010 | 7.93 million |
2011 | 12.04 million |
2012 | 17.12 million |
2013 | 23.22 million |
2014 | 31.32 million |
2015 | 43.45 million |
2016 | 50.67 million |
2017 | 57.70 million |
2018 | 60.00 million |
2019 | 65.70 million |
2020 | 71.20 million |
2021 | 75.90 million |
Source: Archive.org
Ashley Madison Statistics - Editor's Choice
- 4.7 million new members joined in 2021, averaging 389,436 monthly.
- Ashley Madison is the 8th most popular dating site worldwide by average monthly visits.
- 70% of Ashley Madison’s business is in North America.
- More men than women on Ashley Madison have had actual affairs.- 44% of men- 39% of women
- 50% of Ashley Madison users would rather cheat than leave their spouse because they love their partner but still want to be sexually fulfilled.
Ashley Madison Revenue
There are no exact recent numbers about Ashley Madison’s revenue as it’s a private company.
I found out that its revenue in 2021 jumped by 15% in the US compared to its former peak in 2015.
The revenue worldwide in 2015 was $109 million.
70% of Ashley Madison’s business is in North America.
Sources: Ashley Madison, NY Post, Venture Beat
How popular is Ashley Madison in the United States?
In 2019, Ashley Madison was the 10th most popular dating app in the US by audience size and usage.
Ashley Madison is tied with Tinder and Badoo as the second most popular dating app for paying users in the US.
Ashley Madison is the 8th most popular dating site worldwide by average monthly visits.
Active Paid Male To Female Ratio On Ashley Madison (2021)
There are 10 active male accounts per 6 active female accounts, so 37.5% (global average).
In the US, there were 10 active male accounts per 5 active female accounts in 2021, so 33% are female.
Source: Ashley Madison
Top cities in the US with the highest numbers of Ashley Madison Users
In 2020, Miami and Orlando ranked first and second, respectively as the top US cities with the most Ashley Madison users. The top 20 US cities are as follows:
- Miami, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Boise, Idaho
- St. Louis, Missouri
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Tampa, Florida
- Richmond, Virginia
- Spokane, Washington
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Buffalo, New York
- Anchorage, Arkansas
- Denver, Colorado
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Tucson, Arizona
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Source: NY Post
Ashley Madison Members’ Political Beliefs
49% of US members are Republicans, making up the largest political block on the platform.
Almost 75% of them prefer to have an affair with someone that shares their politics.
44% of Democrat members prefer Republicans to have an affair with.
Source: Insider
Ashley Madison Cheating Statistics
The rise of Ashley Madison is undeniable.
And with its growing user base, more eyes are on its users.
This increase in attention has led to more insight on the cheating behavior of Ashley Madison members and cheaters at large.
Consider the following statistics to gain a better understanding of how and why people cheat.
How many matches and affairs happen through Ashley Madison?
Over 1.4 million matches are made every month.
40,000 affairs happen every day.
Sources: Dating News, Business Insider
How many married people cheat?
Several studies show that 25% to 65% of married people cheat.
Source: Venture Beat
Why Do Ashley Madison Members Cheat?
75% of cheaters say the lack of catering between them and their partner’s dominant love language causes the lack of intimacy in marriage.
85% think having an affair is a form of self-care.
76% said affairs let them meet their sexual needs.
10% of fathers-to-be cheat on their pregnant wives because of a lack of sex.
You might also like: 127 Surprising Sex Facts and Statistics
Cheaters have reported different positive responses about why they had affairs:
- 47% felt sexy
- 45% felt excited
- 44% felt desired
- 32% felt appreciated
- 30% felt relaxed
- 28% felt confident
- 19% felt acknowledged
Married people that have affairs prioritize physical intimacy with their affair partners and quality time with their spouses.
Sources: Venture Beat, Venture Beat, Business Insider, Ashley Madison,
What counts as cheating for Ashley Madison members?
Ashley Madison users have different boundaries for cheating:
- 13% said fantasizing counts.
- 16% said staying in contact with an ex counts.
- 29% said keeping an online dating profile counts.
- 46% said sending nudes counts.
Source: Insider
What do Ashley Madison members look for?
61% of 2,000 surveyed users said they joined to find sex.
Related: Sexless Marriage Advice: 10 Tips to Fix a Sexless Relationship
54% of members were only interested in short-term affairs and weren’t planning on leaving their spouses.
50% of Ashley Madison users would rather cheat than leave their spouse because they love their partner but still want to be sexually fulfilled.
44% also look for affection, while 42% seek friendship in affairs.
User preference breakdown from the 2015 hack:
- 18,336,616 — Attached male seeking female
- 12,661,807 — Single male seeking female
- 2,384,824 — Attached female seeking male
- 1,892,878 — Single female seeking male
- 777,794 — Female seeking female
- 344,955 — Male seeking male
Sources: Business Insider, USA Today, Thrillist
When do Ashley Madison members prefer to cheat?
More men than women on Ashley Madison have had actual affairs.
- 44% of men
- 39% of women
Over 25% of members prefer autumn for cheating, while 33% prefer winter.
October is the peak month for men signing up.
For women, it’s July.
How do Ashley Madison members hide their affairs?
58% of Ashley Madison members store data such as sext messages and nudes on a private or secure app.
24% of cheaters say they’re too attached to their phones to be more cautious about hiding their affairs.
Source: Venture Beat
How did lockdowns affect married couples?
Married couples’ sex lives were significantly affected during lockdown.
- 75% had less or no sex with their spouse
- 58% said their spouse was not initiating sex
- 53% still spent more time with their spouse
- 41% were less attracted to their spouse
- 25% said not having sex was the most challenging part of lockdown.
Married couples reported all sorts of pet peeves with their spouses during lockdown.
- 28% said their spouse was glued to their phone or computer
- 19% said their spouse was rude, moody, and constantly picking fights
- 15% said their spouse was messy and that they had to clean up after them continually
87% of married people that have affairs said their marriage hasn’t changed since social distancing started.
Source: Ashley Madison
How did lockdowns affect the behavior of Ashley Madison Members?
Before vaccines were available, cheaters changed their behavior when going on dates.
- 65% were more selective about who they’d go on in-person dates with
- 56% got creative with socially distanced dates
- 41% regularly used hand sanitizer during dates
- 36% avoided crowds
- 11% only went on outdoor dates
Related: 50+ Date Night Ideas
Cheaters also changed their attitudes about having sex before vaccines were available.
- 55% were likely to stop having multiple physical partners simultaneously
- 43% were likely to wait longer before having sex with someone
- 32% still had sex with their affair partner
Cheaters looked to have affairs during lockdown for different reasons.
- 64% cited sexual needs not being met at home
- 34% said it gives them something to look forward to
- 23% said it’s a great distraction
- 14% said it gives them someone to talk to
- 13% said it helps maintain a sense of normalcy
20% missed dating and casual sex the most during lockdown.
47% said that having an affair helped them get through lockdown.
95% were interested in finding or maintaining affairs during the pandemic.
80% planned on meeting their cyber affair partner once restrictions were lifted.
21% said they couldn’t wait to do in-person dates once everything is back to normal
36% were more excited to see their affair partners than anyone else after things return to normal
57% are likely to pursue physical and emotional affairs after the pandemic.
Source: Ashley Madison
What did the 2015 Ashley Madison hack reveal?
More than 15,000 email addresses from .mil and .gov domains were found.
Email addresses from Fortune 500 companies featured heavily in the hack, including Microsoft, Apple, and Bank of America.
- 804 from Microsoft
- 313 from Apple
- 76 from Bank of America
The hack also exposed addresses from US members of Congress and three Ashley Madison accounts with a Vatican.com email address.
12 emails had profiles that claimed to be Barack Obama.
The hackers claimed that 90% to 95% of users are male and that most female accounts are fake profiles.
34% of the email addresses were invalid.
Most male users were in their late 30s to early 40s, while female users mainly were younger.
Countries where Ashley Madison had the most users include:
- United States —28.6%
- Brazil — 7.2%
- Canada — 5.9%
- Spain — 5.7%
Most users in the US were from New York and Los Angeles.
45% of the site’s visitors were referrals from other sites.
Top 10 cities with Ashley Madison accounts in 2015:
- Sao Paulo — 374,542
- New York — 268,171
- Sydney — 251,813
- Toronto — 222,982
- Santiago — 218,125
- Melbourne — 213,847
- Houston — 185,795
- Los Angeles — 181,918
- London — 179,129
- Chicago — 162,444
Top 10 universities with valid Ashley Madison accounts in 2015:
- Cornell — 273
- Columbia — 167
- Stanford — 151
- Harvard — 124
- MIT — 116
- UPenn — 98
- Notre Dame — 91
- Duke — 86
- Northwestern — 72
- Washington U — 65
Sources: Wired, Blue Water Credit, Forbes, CSO Online, Popsugar, Popsugar, Popsugar
