OnlyFans initially received mainstream attention after sex workers began using the site during the COVID lockdowns of spring and summer 2020. The subscription-based platform has since ballooned into a world of its own, where artists, entertainers, sex workers, and others can monetize their influence.
Over the course of the pandemic, as platforms like Instagram cracked down on demon time, OnlyFans became the center for all things adult—and more. A growing list of celebrities, Cardi B and Bhad Bhabie among them, capitalized on OnlyFans, selling content that, while not NSFW, wasn’t available elsewhere.
In August 2021, OnlyFans announced plans to bar sexually explicit content from the platform. Its founder and CEO, Tim Stokely, at first said that banks were to blame for the ban. But after immediate backlash from sex workers and others who used the site to make a living, the company walked back its policy changes, tweeting, “We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change.”
Thank you to everyone for making your voices heard.
— OnlyFans (@OnlyFans) August 25, 2021
We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change.
OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators.
In the wake of the platform saying it will maintain its status quo, here’s everything you need to know about OnlyFans.
What is OnlyFans?
Launched in 2016, OnlyFans is a subscription-based social media platform where users can sell and/or purchase original content. When utilized as an adult site, users will post NSFW videos and photos to their accounts, which are protected by a paywall. To gain access to the content, an individual must pay a monthly subscription fee that ranges anywhere between USD$4.99 and USD$49.99
At the height of the pandemic, the platform saw a sharp increase in users as clubs and venues closed down and its workers needed a new stream of income.
“I realized I needed to diversify my income by making my own content,” Scarlet Bloom, an adult entertainer, told the LA Times. For her, she saw OnlyFans as a reliable new business model to leverage. “That was when I more seriously got into OnlyFans.”
Who uses OnlyFans?
Some creators are professional sex workers who began in the industry well before the platform existed. Porn stars, escorts, and webcam models are among those who have expanded their services and supplemented their income through OnlyFans, while other creators had little to no sex work experience prior to the lockdowns.
“I was worried about money, about paying off my mortgage, bills, and stuff. Before lockdown I was looking after animals—pet dogs, mainly. But because it’s an independent business, my boss can’t pay me until she gets her grant from the government,” a woman who goes by Miss June told Vice. “At the minute, I’m living off savings. OnlyFans seemed like the easiest option.”
Veteran sex workers have had mixed reactions to the influx of newbies, with many cautioning amateurs to consider all consequences of their line of work, as well as urging them to shed their preconceived notions about it.
“Sure, do it, create an OnlyFans, start camming—but that means you have to support sex workers all year round now,” Portland sex worker Valentine told the New York Times. “You can’t just dip in and out of it because you think it’s easy and then trash us in the end…The idea that all sex workers make a lot of money is not true—or that we’re just simply just showing our bodies and we have no integrity and we have no brain behind us. It’s really so much more than that. We’re all people.”
Which celebrities use OnlyFans?
While sex workers make up a large portion of OnlyFans’ base of creators, many celebrities and influencers use the platform to promote content. Cardi B started her OnlyFans account to promote her song “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion. While she’s not as active on it, Cardi uses the page to engage with fans and tease new music. DJ Khaled and Fat Joe also launched a joint account at the beginning of 2021, where the two delivered inspirational speeches to their audience.
The-Dream launched an account to promote his “baby-making album of the year,” SXTP4. But don’t expect to see explicit videos or images of the rapper. He instead created the free page as a way to better connect with his fanbase, while also encouraging it to post “their own sensual choreography to his latest tracks.”
Reality TV stars like Blac Chyna and The Bachelor’s Chad Johnson also joined the platform, along with Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood couple Safaree Samuels and Erica Mena.
Tyga in 2020 joined OnlyFans and told his followers that he would use the space to share exclusive content like music, photos, and videos.
“It’s a new platform where I can talk directly to my fans and give them exclusive music, pics, videos and other BTS of my latest releases,” he said in a statement. “They can really see more inside my life than ever before, and an intimate look of what I do every day. It’s ’bout to be lit!”
The Rack City rapper in December 2020 announced the launch of Too Raww, a lifestyle and OnlyFans management company that aims to help aspiring models jumpstart their careers.
But in the wake of OnlyFans’ announcement that it would bar sexually explicit content—a move it walked back—he deleted his account. The rapper is now planning on launching his own subscription-based platform called Myystar.
Stars like Amber Rose, Jordyn Woods, Tyler Posey, Aaron Carter, Austin Mahone, and Chris Brown are also among OnlyFans’ celebrity users, but they’ve each used the platform for different purposes.
In September, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee announced that he too would be joining OnlyFans. For fans of the rock musician, the move marked an expected one given that Lee had weeks earlier inspired a slew of headlines after sharing a nude photo to social media.
Celebrity controversies
Though OnlyFans initially launched as a subscription-based platform for exclusive content, it didn’t take long before it became synonymous with sex work. As previously mentioned, many people who worked in the adult entertainment industry took to the platform as a way to make money amid the coronavirus lockdowns.
Once well-known figures like recording artists and actors began creating accounts, the sex workers who helped establish OnlyFans found themselves falling in the site’s rankings.
These challenges were further highlighted by the Bella Thorne controversy. Last year, the 23-year-old actress created an account and reportedly raked in USD$2 million in the first two weeks. Many slammed Thorne and other celebrities for using OnlyFans as what they perceived to be a hobby, which caused financial losses for those who rely on the platform to make a living. They also took issue with the fact that early OnlyFans users were chastised for using a platform known for adult content, while celebrities were subsequently praised as “entrepreneurs” when they chose to join.
Sex Workers are unable to get pandemic relief because of criminalization and are struggling to get people to spend USD$5/month on their content, meanwhile, a rich celebrity makes USD$1 million in a day cosplaying as one. Give money to working-class sex workers, not celebrity LARPers.
Thorne was also criticized for seemingly misleading subscribers who paid up to USD$200 for a “naked” photo, which turned out to be relatively tame. Following that controversy, OnlyFans put a limit on what creators can charge; the platform insisted the change had nothing to do with Thorne.
The actress, who has an estimated net worth between USD$5 million and USD$12M, issued an apology the same month, claiming her intention was to destigmatize sex work.
I wanted to bring attention to the site, the more people on the site the more likely of a chance to normalize the stigmas, And in trying to do this I hurt you. I have risked my career a few times to remove the stigma behind sex work, porn, and the natural hatred people spew…
— BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) August 29, 2020
How much can you make on OnlyFans?
OnlyFans has set a minimum subscription price of USD$4.99 per month and a maximum of USD$49.99 per month. Creators can also charge a minimum of USD$5 for tips or paid private messages, which can significantly boost earnings for those with a large and loyal subscriber base.
“Your earning forecast really depends on the quality and quantity of the content you upload,” OnlyFans writes. “The more you post, the more incentive there is for your fans to subscribe (and remain subscribed) to your profile.”
As previously noted, many online sex workers have emphasized just how difficult it can be to make bank off OnlyFans. Think of it like any other social media platform, like Instagram or YouTube: It’s rare for someone to rack up thousands or millions of subscribers/followers immediately after signing up. One must produce quality content on a consistent basis for weeks, sometimes months before their account becomes lucrative.
Monica Huldt, AKA “Miss_Swedish_Bella,” is said to be one of the top-earning creators on OnlyFans, charging USD$6.50 for a monthly subscription and larger fees for commissioned work sent through private messages. According to Business Insider, Huldt garnered more than 1,100 subscribers and was making more than USD$100,000 a year on OnlyFans as of March. Though she already had a large Instagram following prior to joining OnlyFans, she told the publication she works on the platform seven days a week to earn a six-figure income.
“I would never advise someone doing it if they only wanted to do it like two days a week or something,” she said. “It’s not a part-time thing in your mind. You wouldn’t make enough money.”
To help creators keep a close eye on how their content is performing, OnlyFans launched a new statistics page in the summer of 2022.
The feature is comprised of multiple tabs aimed at easing the process of tracking one’s growth on the platform, including via the Statements tab, which can show a creator everything from their overall earnings of the current week to how much they pulled in for a specified time period in the past.
In fact, OnlyFans goes so far as to say this aspect of its overhauled statistics page is similar to having “your own little accountant.” Also included in the stats section of one’s page is the Overview tab, which gives creators a behind-the-curtain look into how different types of content are performing for them, allowing one to adjust their approach to maximize benefits.
This article was originally published on complex.com.
