OnlyFans, a membership platform that aims to provide a “new revenue stream” for content creators via subscription, has recently boomed in popularity. It is a new place for content creators to stop depending on ad revenue and start getting paid directly by their fans. The platform has gained quite a bit of popularity in the adult industry due to its unrestricted content policy making it a viable option for any adult performer wishing to monetize their content online.
How Does OnlyFans Make Money? is one of the most popular questions on the mind of people who have watched OnlyFans grow from a small app to the popular hub for professional adult models, celebrities, and content creators to interact with their fans/followers directly.
Fans pledge a certain amount of money per month and in return, they’ll be able to see exclusive content that’s unavailable anywhere else. It provides a better way for fans to keep in touch with their favorite celebrities.
With thousands of content creators joining the OnlyFans platform each week, it becomes even more important to learn how does this platform makes money.
There are three ways creators on OnlyFans make money: monthly subscriptions, pay-per-view (PPV) content, and tips. The fans choose the models to follow and pay a monthly subscription in order to see their exclusive content. Revenue from accounts is split 80% for the creator and 20% for OnlyFans.
OnlyFans makes money by setting up a paywall service for creators. They produce content and charge their audience to access it. OnlyFans then takes a 20% cut of each transaction. The site doesn’t charge creators a monthly service fee, opting instead to take a cut of each transaction.
What is OnlyFans?
In the old days, when content creators wanted to make money from their work, they would have to either start a business or work for someone who could pay them for their talents.
In the modern era, creatives can now just sign up on a platform and reach their audience directly while monetizing their craft. Such is the case with OnlyFans, one of the biggest and well-known content creation sites.
While OnlyFans has been around since 2016, it’s exploded in the last year thanks largely to lockdowns and quarantines. For perspective, the site had only 60,000 creators in 2019 and has over one million in 2021. Let’s take a closer look at the meteoric rise of OnlyFans and how it operates.
Technically speaking, OnlyFans is really a social platform that connects creators with their audience. However, because the site doesn’t restrict explicit adult content, it has mostly become a hub for amateur sex workers to make money from their craft. While not all creators on OnlyFans offer sexual materials, the vast majority of them do.
The features of OnlyFans are similar to what you’d find on a social media platform. The home page is a curation of content from all the people you follow (aka subscribed to). In addition, there is a messaging service that allows fans and creators to communicate, and users can like and comment on posts.
The main difference between OnlyFans and other social media sites is that users can conduct financial transactions directly through the site. For example, on Facebook or Twitter, you can’t buy content from someone else through the platform. Instead, you have to go through a third-party service.
Beyond the messaging and home page, there’s not much else available on OnlyFans.
A Brief History of OnlyFans
The website started in 2016, but its creator, Timothy Stokely, had created a few precursors in the years leading up to the launch. Stokely’s first foray into the digital world was in 2011 with a site called GlamWorship. This project was a fetish site that appealed to a specific niche within the world of adult content.
Next, Stokely developed Customs4U, a platform where sex workers could develop customized content for fans and sell it to them directly. This model was very similar to OnlyFans, except without the social media aspect.
Finally, Stokely’s inspiration for OnlyFans came when he heard about sex workers promoting themselves on social media sites like Instagram and then working under the table by selling directly to users.
As Instagram and other platforms started cracking down on sexually explicit content, Stokely decided to make a site that was open to all.
History was made.
Who Uses OnlyFans?
In recent years, OnlyFans has become something of a shorthand for adult-rated content, where users can support their favorite sex workers directly. However, there are plenty of creators who don’t dabble in XXX material.
For example, some high-profile celebrities like Bella Thorne and Cardi B use the platform to reach fans more directly than they could on other social sites.
Currently, OnlyFans has about 50 million registered users, meaning that there are many fans to go around. The website is available in most countries, giving it a global reach.
As more high-profile celebrities migrate to the site, the user base will only increase. Over time, the explicit nature of OnlyFans may give way to a more PG-friendly profile.
How Does OnlyFans Make Money?
As we’ll discuss in the next section, there are a few ways that creators can make money from their fans. Each revenue stream feeds into the OnlyFans website, as the company takes 20 percent of each transaction. So, the more money that creators make for themselves, the more money the site makes overall.
As of 2020, OnlyFans had paid creators over $2 billion, illustrating how lucrative the business model is.
Another startling statistic is that it took about four years for OnlyFans to pay the first billion to creators. It only took a few months for the second billion.
OnlyFans Revenue and Growth Statistics
It’s not often that we get to see behind the scenes of something that’s so new and growing so fast. But here you can find out exactly what’s happening with OnlyFans and the growth that it’s had since its inception.
| Year | Number of Users | Total Transaction Amount | OnlyFans’ Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 60,000 | N/A | N/A |
| 2018 | 7 million | $28 million | $5.6 million |
| 2019 | 20 million | $65 million | $13 million |
| 2020 | 85 million | $2.7 billion | $544 million |
| 2021 (Till July) | 130 million | $3 billion | $600 million |
How Do Creators on OnlyFans Make Money?
There are three primary methods for creators to make money. Here’s a quick rundown of each one:
Subscriptions
The vast majority of OnlyFans creators set their profiles behind a paywall. So, for users to see any content, they have to pay for access. Monthly subscriptions can range from $3 to $50, depending on the creator and the type of content.
As a rule, high-profile creators with a massive following will charge a higher subscription. Average OnlyFans accounts will hover around the $10 range.
The default option for subscriptions on OnlyFans is for a one-month signup. So, if users want to stay subscribed to a creator, they have to activate their rebill setting.
Pay-Per-View (PPV) Content
There are actually two ways that creators can offer PPV content to users.
First, they can post it on their wall, meaning that any subscribers can pay instantly and access the material. The second option is to send the content to users through direct messages.
Either way, once a subscriber pays the fee, they can access the material, which can be a photo, video, or audio file.
Tips
Fans can tip creators at any time for any amount. However, for amounts under $5, OnlyFans requires users to use funds in their digital wallet (more on that later). Sometimes, fans will tip under a post, or they can send tips through messages.
In many cases, a creator will ask for a specific tip amount and then send content once the money comes through. This system is different from PPV content because the material is not directly locked behind a paywall.
New users can tip a maximum of $100 at a time for the first four months. Afterward, the limit goes up to $200.
How Users Pay Creators
When setting up a profile, users can connect multiple credit cards for payments. Creators can also link a bank account to receive those payments. Once a credit card is connected, users can buy content or make tips and get charged accordingly. Alternatively, they can add funds to their digital wallet.
With this option, users can only add $10, $20, $50, or $100 at a time. From there, all transactions come out of the wallet. So, instead of 10 separate charges on a card, a user can pay $100 upfront and use it however they like. Once the funds in the wallet run out, users will get charged per transaction again.
How Creators Earn More Money
On the surface, it would make sense that the website would want to make it easier for creators to sell content. After all, that’s how OnlyFans makes its money.
However, the platform hasn’t really made its interface more user-friendly on either side. So, much of the work falls onto the creator’s shoulders, and they have to get creative about how they monetize their content.
Here are some money-making methods used by top creators:
- Social Media Integration – While OnlyFans doesn’t link directly to social sites (although you can connect your Spotify account), many creators leverage their social following to earn more money. In many cases, creators will use platforms like Instagram or Twitter to promote their OnlyFans account, usually by referring their followers to the “link in bio.”
- Video and Content Editing – Since OnlyFans doesn’t have a creative platform, creators must make their content on a third-party service and then upload it to OnlyFans. So, creators need to learn how to edit videos and photos, meaning that most of these people are getting much more tech-savvy by necessity.
- One-on-One Chats – While users can message creators directly, there is no instant chat or video chat function. Again, creators have to utilize third-party resources like Snapchat, FaceTime, and WhatsApp. According to creators, many users come to OnlyFans for personalized connections. So, creators have to form relationships with their fans if they want to keep earning money from them.
Because the platform isn’t designed for creating, most creators have a hard time monetizing their following. An average account can make less than $145 per month. However, creators can easily work full-time on content and marketing, acting as their own media company.
Conclusion: How Does OnlyFans Make Money?
Today we covered how OnlyFans makes money, how it’s used to help adult entertainers and influencers make money online. We broke down the pricing, the conversions, and how OnlyFans is changing the way this niche makes money. In addition, we showed detailed instructions on how you can start your journey as a content creator and start earning through Onlyfans.
As a relatively young company, OnlyFans has yet to disclose much more information about its earning methods. It’s clear by their transparency over social media and willingness to talk that they are in the industry with developing a loyal following and long-term profitability in mind.
It is true that platform like Instagram provides people with a chance to feel good about themselves. However, they can gain even more satisfaction using Onlyfans. That is because it offers them income opportunities as well.
With OnlyFans’ meteoric rise, it will likely continue to dominate the amateur adult industry. However, with more celebrities joining, the platform’s days as an XXX-rated site may be numbered. We’re curious to see if OnlyFans will become more advanced or user-friendly or if some other competitor will come along and steal the spotlight.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. We hope you found it informative and interesting. We tried our best to provide as much information as possible regarding their business model and how they generate revenue.
Have a nice day!
OnlyFans is the most popular option but it wont keep up with it’s competition.