More than 60,000 people joined the subscription-based platform OnlyFans in 2024, many hoping that they would become the next instant millionaire like Sophie Rain. The twenty-year-old shared on X (formerly Twitter) that she made over $43 million in one year on OnlyFans.
But Rain is in the top 0.1 percent of creators making that kind of money. Most creators make much less.
Based on reports filed by OnlyFans parent company Fenix International, the top one percent of creators make an average of $43,000 a year. Not a bad annual salary for some areas of the United States, but not what most people dream of making.
Obviously most creators don’t fall in the top 1 percent. The mean average income per creator is less than $1,300 a year — or about $108 a month. Not exactly enough to live on by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s not typically the brand-new creators who are able to launch an OnlyFans account and make a small fortune. At least, not without a built-in audience ready and waiting with their credit card in hand. Before launching her account, Rain built up a social media following on Instagram and other platforms. She had millions of people waiting with bated breath for her to launch the account. One of the rare accounts on the platform that stays (mostly) safe for work.
Most of the other creators who are making that kind of money are taking it all off, usually for fans who have followed them for years. Celebrities like rappers Cardi B and Iggy Azalea (both of whom allegedly earn around $9 million a month) are much more explicit in their content than Rain. And it’s that content that has led the company to make so much money since it began in 2016.
The OnlyFans CEO spoke Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles and shared that the company has paid more than $20 billion to its creators over the last nearly 9 years.
“Porn is free on the internet. I think the reason why people pay for OnlyFans is because they want to engage with those particular creators. It’s because of the ability to customize as well as to ask for a specific content.”
The CEO speculates that it’s not just the adult content that keeps people flocking to the platform.
“Everyone assumes it’s sexy content. Some of it is sexy content and we’re very happy with that, we’re an inclusive platform, and we’re that way for a reason.”
Perhaps that’s why creators like Rain can succeed just as much as incredibly explicit creators like Bonnie Blue (who has gone viral for her marathon sex session with over 1,000 men.) And why so many people continue to try their hand at creating content on the platform. Even though the odds of making it to that exclusive 0.1 percent level are low, they aren’t zero. And for many, that simply means they still have a chance.