We took an in-depth look at OpenMinded and prepared a review that will provide you with our reflections on the site.

— Pros and Cons —

Pros

• Professional and discreet platform
• Ideal for those experienced in open relationships as well as newcomers
• Elegant design
• Messaging feature available to free members

Cons

• Lack of native mobile apps

— In-Depth OpenMinded Review —

Are you familiar with the term “ethical cheating”? Are you currently involved in or curious about a polyamorous relationship?

If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, chances are that you are interested in finding an online dating site that caters to the open-minded polyamorous lifestyle. More importantly, you are probably seeking a dating site that takes your lifestyle seriously.

OpenMinded.com, first launched in 2015, is a site that describes itself as “a safe and stigma-free environment that brings the ease and flexibility of online dating to the currently underserved world of open and alternative relationships.”

Is how OpenMinded.com describes itself accurate? Or is it just marketing and publicity rhetoric?

— The Context for OpenMinded —

The lifestyle that revolves around open and polyamorous relationships is not a new one. Such relationships have existed for millennia. In fact, some cultures even accept it as the norm. However, when it comes to Western culture, the topic of multiple consenting partners is viewed socially as something offbeat.

This has resulted in the polyamorous lifestyle being relegated to the status of a sexual fetish or relationship dysfunction. For the millions of people that engage in this lifestyle around the world, this sort of societal reception creates awkwardness.

Even in the online dating world — one of the most open-minded — the topic of multiple partners is usually classified as some sort of sexual experimentation. There are very few sites — aside from OpenMinded that tackles the needs of this community with professionalism, understanding, and discretion.

OpenMinded.com understands that those in the polyamorous community do not view themselves as sexual freaks or fetishists. OpenMinded does not criticize or judge, they simply help bring like-minded people together.

— First Impression —

When we first visited the OpenMinded welcome page we were pleasantly surprised by the modern and elegant design of the site. Aesthetically, it fills you with a sense of confidence that this site will take the polyamorous lifestyle seriously.

You will not find needlessly racy images or titillating phrases enticing new members to join. Instead, you are presented with information about how the OpenMinded platform functions. In our opinion, that approach is very reassuring — especially to couples and individuals new to the lifestyle.

— Registration Process —

You kick off the registration process by clicking on the “Join for Free” button on OpenMinded’s welcome page. This redirects you to a three-step registration form. The first part asks for your email address as well as your desired username and password for your new account.

The second step requires you to select the type of account that you wish to open. OpenMinded offers accounts for individuals and couples. You must provide your birthdate(s) and also specify the genders of the people you wish to meet. The third step allows you to upload profile images. This step, however, may be skipped. You may add images later.

With those three steps, the initial registration is concluded. All that remains is validating your account. To this, you must open the email that OpenMinded automatically sent you when you registered. You must click on the link “validate your account.” This automatically redirects you to the OpenMinded platform logged in under your newly created account.

You can further flesh out your profile after the initial registration process.

— The Platform —

The platform for OpenMinded is designed to be intuitive and easy to navigate. The navigation bar, located in the upper-left portion of the platform page, consists of five categories. These are: Dashboard, Messages, Members List, Search Members, and Matching.

It is impossible to get lost on the platform. The dashboard section is a convenient destination to modify your most common search filters, to check for new messages, and to see who is currently online.

Our testers only had one complaint about the platform. OpenMinded is only available for desktop browsers. We were disappointed to discover that such a sleek and modern site did not have native mobile apps. While not a deal breaker, we can see how this can be a terrible inconvenience for the upwardly mobile demographic that OpenMinded attracts.

— User Experience —

The user experience offered by OpenMinded does not emanate from saturating its users with complex and glitzy features. Rather, it comes from an ethos centered on taking the community seriously.

You will not find fake profiles on OpenMinded. Likewise, you will not encounter annoying chatbots. New users never receive the hard sell to upgrade.

When you are on OpenMinded you feel free to scroll through profiles, read the site’s blog — fully immerse yourself in the open relationship lifestyle without being hounded or pressured. You are also spared the annoyance of being exposed to gratuitous vulgarity and promotions for escorts or sex cam sites.

— Cost —

The features offered by OpenMinded are not elaborate. They consist of search and instant messaging. These features are made available to free members. A paid membership offers users the ability to browse profiles “invisibly,” unlimited message history, featured status for their profile, access to photos labeled as “private,” and they are allowed to upload 16 images instead of four.

Single women are charged $4.95 per month for membership. Couples and males are charged $19.95 per month. This can be lowered to $16.95 a month if you pay for 3 months in advance or $13.95 a month if you decide to go for the 6 month package. In our opinion, OpenMinded is well worth the cost of upgrading.