OnlyFans is a content subscription service. OnlyFans, founded in 2016 by British tech entrepreneur and investor Timothy Stokely in London, is a place where content creators offer exclusive content. Typically, their target audience can pay higher prices for this content. Creators can lock their content behind a paywall, giving fans access for a monthly payment or a one-time tip. Today, OnlyFans has more than 50 million registered users and more than one million content creators.
Creators on OnlyFans can post various types of content that appeal to their target audience. OnlyFans has few restrictions, making it easier for content creators to post adult material, which is what the website eventually became known for. When people hear about OnlyFans, they typically think of adult material – sex workers, models sharing NSFW content, and others. However, that is not what the website was created for. Anyone can post whatever they want there. You can also share photos of your pets or meals you prepare with your “special fans.”
How the OnlyFans platform works
The purpose of OnlyFans is to create a platform for creating and distributing valuable, premium content that cannot be found anywhere else. Creators can set their page to free or paid, and fans then pay for access to exclusive content. Creators make accounts for free, and when they earn money on the platform, OnlyFans pays out 80% of the earnings, keeping 20% as a fee.
Since most content on OnlyFans is explicit, users must be at least 18 years old and need a government-issued ID to sign up. Each creator’s branded content is also protected by OnlyFans, which ensures it cannot be shared outside the platform. If a user attempts to take a screenshot on the website, the content will appear blurred. Users are also subject to a ban if caught attempting to take a screenshot or record what is happening.
Who uses OnlyFans
Anyone can use OnlyFans. OnlyFans is home to writers, poets, motivational speakers, authors, artists, chefs, and others. But the site is best known for being a hub for sex workers, porn stars, and the like.
Because OnlyFans allows people to post content that would be censored on other social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram, it is also frequently used by sex workers and amateur pornographers who upload videos and images to the platform and interact with their fans through direct messages.
According to analytics published by OnlyFans for the past year, the average user is 29 years old, while the average age of a user who pays for an OnlyFans subscription is between 35 and 44 years old.
How much can you earn on OnlyFans
OnlyFans sets a minimum and maximum subscription rate. The minimum subscription price is $4.99 per month, and the maximum subscription price is $49.99 per month. Creators can also set tips or paid private messages starting at a minimum of $5. Paid tips and private messages can not only increase earnings but help creators engage with their fans and build a loyal following.
Swedish Miss Bella (or Monica Huldt) is one of the highest-earning creators on OnlyFans despite the fact that her monthly subscription is $6.50. She earns most of her money through fees she charges for commissioned work sent via private message. Business Insider reports that the beauty has gained more than 1,100 subscribers, enriching her wallet by more than $100,000 per year from the OnlyFans platform alone.
Although Huldt had many followers on Instagram before creating her OnlyFans account, she revealed to Business Insider that she creates content on OnlyFans seven days a week to maintain her level of earnings. She offered some advice for creators considering setting up a profile on the platform to earn money: “I would never advise someone to do this if they only wanted to work two days a week or something like that. This is not part-time work. You don’t earn enough money that way.”
This is echoed by many online sex workers who are present on the OnlyFans platform. Many of them talk about how difficult it is to earn decent money on the platform, as a large part of it is wrapped up in the ability to gain followers. In addition, you need to invest quite a bit of time and energy into consistently creating content before the account starts generating a sufficiently large profit.
OnlyFans creators can sell customized or interactive content on the website for an additional fee. Some creators have created a tip menu that details the content and interactions they offer, along with their prices. OnlyFans also retains 20% of the amount that creators earn. “Your earnings forecast really depends on the quality and quantity of content you upload. The more you post, the more incentive there is for your fans to subscribe (and stay subscribed) to your profile.”
Get Paid for OnlyFans Referrals
OnlyFans also offers a referral program, through which those who refer a creator to the platform can earn 5% of the referred creator’s earnings in the first 12 months, up to the first million dollars that creator earns. There are no limits on the number of referred creators or total referral earnings. Referral payments are made monthly on the first business day of the month.
The referral program previously paid out 5% of the referred creator’s earnings for life, but due to the platform’s popularity, referrals are now limited to one year after sign-up and up to the first million dollars earned by the referred creator. Some creators have taken to creating and supporting a petition to encourage OnlyFans to reinstate the old system, especially since many sex workers rely on the OnlyFans platform for their income.
Subscription-Based Social Media
Subscription-based social media is a new earning opportunity for tech and creative entrepreneurs. On a subscription-based social media platform, users pay and subscribe to receive and use a specific product or service for a set period of time.
Although subscription-based models are more common and popular outside of the internet (such as gym memberships, newspaper subscriptions, and streaming popular shows on Netflix and Hulu), their popularity is also growing daily for many online businesses.
Social Networks and Subscription Businesses
Companies and growing brands can benefit from subscription-based social media platforms in several ways:
- Companies can start conversations about the products and services they offer online. This can encourage communication and establish a growing community for your business. This strategy can also be beneficial in helping a company differentiate itself from its competitors to existing and potential customers. Through a subscription-based social channel, companies can increase excitement about their offerings and boost demand.
- Subscription-based social media platforms help companies provide real value to their customers and brand advocates. Thanks to the excitement and convenience of subscribing on social media platforms, customers can become ambassadors for your brand and inadvertently help you with your marketing efforts.
- When a customer subscribes to your company’s account, they are investing in your long-term success. A subscription is a (relatively) long-term commitment. People want to see more of your content every month. It is repeat business.
- The internet has evolved into a platform with countless offerings – from social media to e-commerce, to name just a few. Social media has evolved from a simple channel for people to communicate with each other into a marketing tool that businesses can use. Similarly, we see how online businesses are implementing an entirely new business model – the subscription model. The online subscription-based industry is performing well, with strong growth for most companies. This can also be attributed to how businesses use social media not only as a marketing tool, but also to gain customer insights.
OnlyFans is just one of the subscription-based social media platforms. MeWe, a subscription-based social network that presents itself as an anti-Facebook platform, has launched a premium service that gives platform users the option to pay for services such as adding a business page, adding voice and video calls, and adding cloud storage space. For $4.99 per month, users can get access to all premium features. MeWe has already gained millions of users on its platform who are looking for an alternative to Facebook.
Since the global COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, Google searches for “OnlyFans” have increased dramatically. OnlyFans reports that between March and April, approximately 200,000 new people created a profile on the site every day, resulting in a 75% increase in new users. Only time will tell whether this growing curve for OnlyFans will continue, but it is clear that subscription-based social media is a viable and successful response to social distancing and our increasingly digital world.
Interesting Statistics
1. OnlyFans has paid out more than $2 billion to creators.
At the time Bella Thorne created an account on OnlyFans (in August 2020), Variety reported that OnlyFans had paid out more than one billion dollars to creators. By November 2020, The Information reported that this number had climbed to $2 billion.
2. Bella Thorne earned more than one million dollars in the first 24 hours.
Actress, singer, and model Bella Thorne made a significant impact during her brief time on the OnlyFans platform. Her time on the platform may have been short, but it was clearly eventful.
In August 2020, she joined OnlyFans and set a platform record in her first 24 hours, earning more than one million dollars in revenue. She did this by announcing her plans in a video montage on her Instagram account, where she has 24.3 million followers.
Her earnings soon doubled to $2 million. She set her OnlyFans subscription at $20 per month (with a limited-time 20% discount for a one-month subscription and a 15% discount if fans purchase three- or six-month access).
Thorne later claimed she had opened her OnlyFans account as an experiment for a documentary by director Sean Baker. Baker, however, firmly denied this.
Ultimately, Bella Thorne only stayed on OnlyFans for a short time. She caused controversy by charging $200 for “nude” photos, but was wearing underwear in them. This led to numerous refund requests, which reportedly caused OnlyFans to change its rules regarding payment tiers and chargebacks. Sex workers on the platform complained that Thorne’s actions had reduced their earnings.
3. The majority of accounts take home less than $145 per month.
Most creators on OnlyFans do not earn a fortune. In fact, the majority receive less than $145 per month.
However, it should be noted that one of the reasons for this inequality is that most accounts on OnlyFans have no fans at all.
4. The top 1% of accounts earn 33% of all the money.
However, as XSRUS notes, content creator revenues follow a classic power distribution. The most successful earn significantly more than everyone else. The top 1% of accounts generate 33% of all revenue, while the top 10% of accounts generate 73%.
Of course, influencers and celebrities have a natural advantage when it comes to earning on OnlyFans. They bring a ready-made audience with them. It’s probably not difficult to bring a portion of an existing Instagram following over to OnlyFans and earn from them.
5. The average earnings on OnlyFans are $180/month.
XSRUS examined the numbers to estimate creator earnings on OnlyFans. The results showed that average accounts earn approximately $180/month. However, they note that their calculations exclude tips, as OnlyFans does not make information about tips received available.
6. OnlyFans takes a 20% cut of its users’ transactions.
The OnlyFans business model is simple – they provide a platform for paid content. Creators create and publish exclusive content that their subscribers pay for. OnlyFans takes a portion of these payments. The more you charge and the more subscribers you have, the more money OnlyFans makes. And this applies to all payments on the platform, not just adult content.
As XSRUS notes, OnlyFans has a better model than Uber or Airbnb. An Uber car owner or Airbnb property owner can only serve one group of customers at a time. There is no such channel limitation on OnlyFans. You can add subscribers at any time and they can all watch content simultaneously. “OnlyFans is multiplicative – the same selfie can serve 10 or 1,000 fans.”
7. 500,000 new users per day and a good 15 million new users per month!
OnlyFans founder Tim Stockley was quoted in The West Australian in 2019, stating that OnlyFans registers 1,000 new users every hour.
At the time, that probably sounded like a lot. However, users continued to flock to the platform. Especially during the covid-19 pandemic, the number of users on the platform increased significantly.
On average, OnlyFans gains 500,000 new users per day.
8. 7,000–8,000 new content creators per day
In early 2019, OnlyFans founder Tim Stockley told The West Australian newspaper: “We are currently onboarding more than 3,000 new content creators every week.” Of course, this was before the covid-19 pandemic was declared. Since then, more and more content creators have signed up to OnlyFans.
By May 2020, the site was gaining 7,000 to 8,000 new content creators per day, according to the site’s Chief Operating Officer Thomas Stokely.
9. 50 million registered users
With the lack of official registered user numbers, we face the same problem as with content creators. We can only draw conclusions based on articles published over time. In 2019, OnlyFans apparently reached 7 million registered users. An Economist article from January 2020 states that by that point, OnlyFans claimed to have 12 million registered users.
In March 2020, Mashable reported that OnlyFans had 26 million registered users.
However, by the end of August 2020, Variety reported that OnlyFans now had more than 50 million registered users. It is clear that many people turned to OnlyFans to pass the time during the covid-19 lockdown.
In summary, the OnlyFans platform is certainly a very interesting platform. You can earn a lot, but only if you are consistent and have the desire to work every day of the week. Of course, it is up to the individual to decide what kind of content they will post and how they will earn their money.
