Jerkmate Review

Jerkmate has been advertised across just about every porn tube on the planet. 

It's comfortably one of the most famous cam sites in the world. There's just one thing that isn't made fully clear in those outrageous marketing campaigns ("Tired of jerking off alone?") - the site is built entirely on the back of the Streamate database.

Any model that you can speak to on Jerkmate, you can just as easily speak to on Streamate (or one of its many clones).

To compensate for a lack of exclusive models, Jerkmate has done one thing very well: it has skinned the holy hell out of its design. The platform looks and feels very different to your average Streamate whitelabel. 

But that isn't necessarily a good thing.

Model Selection

7

The reason companies like Jerkmate partner up with whitelabel database providers like Streamate is simple: it takes many years to build a database of models this big. 

Why go through the ordeal of recruiting thousands of amateur cam stars - when you can tap in to a database like Streamate and have them all working for you overnight? So goes the logic.

Female Performers

The first thing we noticed on Jerkmate is the curious demographics of the models, or more specifically where they are from.

Streamate clearly has a huge presence on the camming scene in LATAM. Over 60% of the female models are listed as Latina, twice as many as the White Caucasian selection. 

Ebony models make up less than 10% of the female numbers, and even this is skewed heavily towards darker-skinned Colombians rather than African Americans. Asians represent less than 3% of the total models we saw. 

Male Performers

Over 8000 male models are listed on Jerkmate. 

We accessed the site several times over a six-day period for this review: the average number of male cams online was 180.

Jerkmate is a good source of male cams and has a well-rounded selection of models, albeit with over 50% of the performers in the Latino category (once again, many of them Colombian).

The male cams are broken in to four main categories, based on age: young (18+), mature, old and grandpa. The "old" category has the most models, but this isn't reflected in the models we saw online. While female users might enjoy the action on offer, these shows are clearly targeted at a gay male audience.

Trans Performers

Jerkmate currently lists 438 trans performers in its database, and once again - the roster is overwhelmingly dominated by Colombian performers. 

If you like your ladyboys Spanish-speaking, you'll love this site. 100%. But if you're looking for TS performers from North America or Europe, it's slim pickings. We saw just one TS performer flying the stars and stripes.

Couples

We found 46 couples live on Jerkmate during our last visit, and all but one couple were from Colombia. The only exception was a solitary Mexican couple where a cougar mommy-type was teaching a young guy how to stroke his dick.

If horny Colombians are your thing, there's a decent amount of action to be had here. To our surprise, the couples are not held to the same no-nudity-for-free restrictions as the solo performers. You can see full penetrative sex without registration.

Live Shows

5

Jerkmate has a 'no free nudity' policy, which is designed to promote private shows as the one and only way of getting to the good stuff.

Unlike freemium sites where full performances in public chat are common, JerkMate has specific restrictions: models are prohibited from displaying below-the-waist nudity in free public rooms.

At least... that's what the rules say. 

During our review, we noticed a couple of models flouting the rules with brief 'flashes' to the camera - cheeky and funny, but it's really not in these girls' interests to perform for free. As noted above, the rules also did not seem to apply for couples. 

Overall, Jerkmate has the same features that you'd expect from any other Streamate whitelabel:

Free Public Shows

Given the restriction on full nudity, JerkMate's free chat areas serve as a teaser zone, where performers entice viewers with previews of the action available in private shows. 

Many of the performers we saw just looked bored.

Private Shows (That Aren't Very Private)

If you wanna see some action, a private show is the best way.

This is where you pay a set rate per minute to interact with a live streamer. Prices are set by the models themselves, and the session isn't exclusively private. In fact, unlike on other platforms where voyeurs can 'watch but not talk' - here they can talk, too. 

Exclusive Shows

If you want to go fully private (just you and the model), you can opt for exclusive shows. These are much more expensive and not offered by all models.

GOLD Shows

Streamate is famous for its GOLD shows, where you pay a set fee to enter a group chat and watch a private show with other users. Unlike the private shows that clock in at $5-$10 per minute, these actually represent decent value for money.

GOLD shows are available on Jerkmate, but only if you login through the JerkmateLive site. You can't watch GOLD shows through the normal Jerkmate interface. More on this annoying trait when we review the site design.

No Voyeur Shows

If you want to sit back and watch a model perform for other users, you can do so - but you'll be paying the same price that you'd pay to chat to her directly. There is no native voyeur or spy mode on any of the Streamate whitelabels.

Stream Quality

9

To the naked eye, most of these shows look pretty good.

Jerkmate doesn't offer any control over stream quality. However, the JerkmateLive back-end let's you switch between high, medium and low quality settings.

We found some high-quality streams that were up to 1080p, notably belonging to models in Western countries (who presumably have better Internet connections). However, many streams were restricted to 720p output.

Site Design

4

Here we have to distinguish between Jerkmate and JerkmateLive. And the fact we have to do this is already points deducted.

Jerkmate has the glossy modern interface with the roulette matchmaking homepage. It's where you end up if you click one of the many banner or video ads for Jerkmate.

JerkmateLive sits on the back-end and lets you browse through the models via the native Streamate design (with a different banner).

From a site design perspective, what applies to Streamate also applies to JerkmateLive - since those are essentially the same design.

Jerkmate, however, has several add-on features that aren't tied to the Streamate platform. Instead they are exclusive to Jerkmate alone. The first change that you'll notice is the solitary random cam that loads on the homepage.

Roulette Matchmaking

Jerkmate is famous for its roulette-style approach to 'finding your jerk partner'. The homepage contains a random stream and the option to select what you're looking for. A stream is then randomly served up based on your criteria.

While this is a novel approach to browsing through their database, it's a pretty transparent take on the infamous "ChatRoulette" gimmick. And one that doesn't really work - because these girls want your money.

JerkmateLive > Jerkmate?

Jerkmate has tried to spruce up the platform and offer an innovative approach to browsing cams, but on most objective metrics, the original Streamate design is better. 

Which means JerkmateLive is more intuitive than Jerkmate.

Some of the most basic functionality - like activating sex toys, previewing live shows, or accessing GOLD shows - is only available through JML. For a better UX, just use Streamate.

Mobile UX

5

JerkmateLive has a decent mobile experience, complete with all the useful add-ons you'd expect from a major cam site: interactive games, tipping, flexible chatting and vertical streaming. The load-times are decent throughout.

But that's JerkmateLive - the direct clone of Streamate.

The custom design on the native Jerkmate site lacks basic accessibility, as well as the core features that are only available on JML.

Extra Features

6

By now, you're probably wondering why Jerkmate even exists if the whole site could be rolled in to JerkmateLive.

The reason it doesn't is so that it can continue to roll out unique features that are available outside of the Streamate database.

Interactive Games and Videos

We've got to give props to the PR team at Jerkmate. They've done a phenomenal job collaborating with major porn stars, like Amouranth, Beth Bennett and Riley Reid, to help lend some credibility to the platform.

Various A-list stars have recorded interactive videos (promoted as games) where you can strip and play with their digital avatars. The games work like point-and-click cam shows. Remove a piece of clothing. Shake an ass. And so on...

While they're fun to play through a couple of times, you're not actually going to find these performers camming on the site. 

It's just a smart marketing ploy -- relevance through association to famous porn stars.

"Smart marketing ploy"

That's pretty much Jerkmate in a nutshell.

VR Functionality... Or Not?

This is a strange one. 

Jerkmate has a dedicated VR category with live shows listed, but if you actually access the shows, they don't appear to be fully functional.

The parent database (Streamate) is not known to offer VR shows, so we're left wondering whether this is just a sneaky ploy to attract more eyeballs from customers looking for a service that is "in demand"... even if it's not actually available on Jerkmate.

Or maybe the VR cams actually work. Please correct us if we're wrong. ;)

Action-to-Spend

3

When we talk about our Action to Spend ratio, we're referring to the amount of action you can see on the site without a) reaching for your wallet and/or b) breaking the bank once you've reached for it.

In Jerkmate's case, you're not going to see much action for free. The rules on Streamate specifically ban models from getting down and dirty outside of paid chats.

Looking at show cost averages, JerkMate is expensive. You can expect to pay anywhere between $5 to $10 per minute for a private show.

Head over to JerkmateLive and you will note the GOLD shows offer much better value for money. Starting at just 5 gold ($5), you can watch an entire performance for the same cost as 60 seconds chatting alone in private.

Payment Options

4

JerkMate has a weird dual currency system, using both traditional currency and 'gold' for transactions. 

Tips to performers require gold, which is priced at $1 per unit, while private sessions are billed per minute in your local currency. Unlike other cam sites, JerkMate doesn't offer the option to purchase gold in bulk; charges are applied at the time of transaction. 

We couldn't find a way to filter shows by cost, so you have to check each performer's rate individually by clicking the 'private' option on her stream.

Payment methods:

• Credit cards
• Debit cards
• PayPal

No payments by Crypto. No refunds.

We checked our bank statement after making several purchases for this review. The billing trail can be described as semi-discreet. 

The details provided could be linked back to a cam site (damn those nosey GFs posting on Reddit!), although it's not immediately obvious unless you do some extra digging. 

CamsRank on Jerkmate

Jerkmate tries very hard not to be just another Streamate clone, but the parts of the site that work well are the parts that stick to what Streamate does best.

We understand why Jerkmate has taken its chosen path - marketing. The bells and whistles.

And to be fair, they've nailed that part. Their gimmicks continue to attract massive numbers of eyeballs. Our question is: do you really care about the gimmicks?

Because if you don't, you might as well head over to Streamate instead.