I often think of Playboy as a brand that needs no introduction, but lately I’ve been wondering if that attitude shows my age. Sure, they long held the crown as the biggest, most popular American skin mag, but honestly? It’s been years since I held a physical copy. Earlier today, it occurred to me that I’m not even sure what Playboy is up to these days. Hugh’s been in the ground for over half a decade now, and the modern world of adult entertainment just ain’t the kingdom he once he ruled.
You may not even realize this, but Playboy hasn’t put out a hard copy magazine since 2020. I knew that much, but expected the website to be a modernized version of the format the oldies in the audience remember. Turns out, I was wrong: Playboy.com is now home to the Playboy Club, a freemium adult content platform that has more in common with OnlyFans than the nudie mags under your grandpa’s mattress. Click the link to follow along at home as I take a closer look at this iconic brand’s rebirth.
Not Quite Your Dad’s Porno Mag
What comes to mind when you hear the word “Playboy?” For generations of dudes, it was often the go-to for nudes, though there was a certain classiness to it that you didn’t get from glossy truck-stop rags with names like Big Boobie Butt Sluts. Your dad may have had a pass from your mom to subscribe, even if she didn’t like him reading Hustler or Penthouse.
Part of that high-class vibe came from the relatively softcore nature of their photography; they showcased the beauty of the female form without any real sex acts, a style I’d compare to current erotica outfits like MetArt. The bookish nerds out there, yours truly included, also remember Playboy’s surprising legacy of literature, printing works by authors like Arthur C. Clarke, Vladimir Nabokov, Margaret Atwood and Chuck Palahniuk.
In an era of increasingly hardcore pornography, I wonder if that luxurious vibe helps or hurts the brand. The front page of Playboy.com feels like parting the velvet curtains of the classiest gentleman’s club, a far cry from the cum-drenched preview pages of your average paysite. While I do like what I saw and couldn’t wait to get in the door, the traffic ain’t what you expect from such a legendary company. They’re currently pulling about 3 million visits a month, a teeny tiny little drop in the hat compared to what I get here at ThePornDude.
Perhaps their lukewarm popularity is why they’re so generous with the freebies. The Playboy Club offers a free Guest membership that lets you follow creators, send and receive private messages, as well as tune in to live streams. The free perks honestly make it sound a lot like any decent webcam site or OnlyFans knockoff.
If you like what you find in the free area, memberships are technically cheaper than your average paysite, but there is a catch. Most premium porn sites, like my own PornDudeCasting, will cost you $30 a month. Playboy.com is only about a hundred bucks a year, but you have to sign up for the full trip around the sun. The paid membership earns you perks like 1-on-1 video calls, behind-the-scenes content, and $25 in Bunny Money to spend as you see fit.
What If Hefner Had Designed OnlyFans?
I signed up instantly using my Google credentials, and was immediately shuffled inside. Since I hadn’t yet followed any bunnies, my starting feed was empty, but they did have a couple featured items to show me. At the top of the page, I was invited to come check out the Centerfold of the Day. Beneath that, a row of sexy live streamers gazed seductively from their thumbnails, doing their best to entice me toward the show.
Here where I ran into what might be the biggest disappointment about Playboy.com: you don’t actually get to enjoy any of that free content until you enter your credit card digits. “You will not be charged until making a purchase,” they tell you, and let’s be real, this is a challenge of willpower. I see this setup all over the place from services both NSFW and otherwise, and the reason it’s so common is that it makes money.
Once I’d parted with my precious string of numbers, that Centerfold of the Day got hotter, but not as hot as I’d expected. I really thought I was going to get an old-school, wide-orientation nude some of you remember folding out of the magazine. The gal had a lot of lingerie and bikini shots in her free feed, but it looks like the nudes are all paywalled, available for around $6 to $20 a pop.
There’s a fair amount of free content to gawk at, but it tends to be pretty soft. It feels in this respect like any number of OnlyFans clones with an ample free section, as the freebies are largely meant to lure you toward the more expensive, more explicit material. Still, I spent a few minutes clicking the Follow button, stocking my Playboy.com Home screen with something to shake my dick at for free.
There is legit free T&A to see, but it takes a little digging to find. I seemed to have better luck with random chicks I found with the search function versus the Featured chicks they’re promoting. As elsewhere, the small-timers have to try a little harder to get your attention, and sometimes that means topless shots while all the other babes are still in their bathing suits.
As far as variety, there’s a decent range of women getting naked at the Playboy Club. That said, it’s a smaller range than you find on OnlyFans or its better copycats. It’s not a surprise to me that the platform focuses on traditional hotties, because that’s what Playboy always did, but they’d probably get more traffic with more freaks and kinksters on the menu. I only got 3 search results for “Cosplay”, 1 for “Dominatrix”, and zero for “BDSM”, so the fetishists might feel a little left out.
The Playboy Version of LiveJasmin
Next, I decided to check out Playboy.com’s Live section. I’m whipping up this review in the afternoon on the day after Christmas, and maybe it’s a holiday slump, but the pickings are a little lackluster. There are only 7 women Live right now, though I do like the extensive schedule of upcoming shows later today and tonight.
Unlike most cam sites, the thumbnails are so small you can’t really see what the women look like except for maybe their hair color. I mainly chose my first show based on the little blurbs, and this chick named Mya sold herself very well with a simple call of, “Get in the shower with me!” I clicked the Join button for a peek.
Here’s where I ran into my next big disappointment about the Playboy Club: while they do have some free webcam shows, most of them demand a few bucks at the door. I couldn’t get into Mya’s show for free, nor the second, third or fourth models I tried. Finally, I was able to tune in to a cute, tatted-up ginger chick in a sports bra and little pair of panties. She’s a chatty girl, flirting with her viewers as I tuned in. After watching for about 30 seconds, she turned around and shook her ass for the camera.
I had high hopes for the Playboy Club going in, and frankly, I still have high hopes. They just haven’t been met yet. Playboy ain’t the powerhouse it once was, but they’ve still got a hell of a lot more resources than the average adult startup trying to bust into the OnlyFans market. The whole site looks and functions beautifully, but I was bummed out to find so much of the content paywalled. That ain’t unusual for an OnlyFans competitor, but it’s really weird for a Chaturbate competitor. Playboy doesn’t seem like they’ve figured out which lane to drive in just yet.
Playboy.com is an easy recommendation for old-schoolers who loved the brand before and want to see what they’re up to these days, but it’s a harder sell for modern masturbators who are used to copious volumes of free hardcore porn. The free Guest membership is good for exploring the site and seeing who’s going to take off her clothes next, but I’m not sure the $99 yearly membership is worth it at this point. Until they improve the membership perks, I’d recommend just buying your favorite model’s content when it pops into your feed.