OnlyFans has become a household name in the creator landscape, especially when it comes to content monetization. The platform has gained global recognition, with content creators from various different niches across the board leveraging the platform for its unique subscription model. 

Only Fans now has over 210 million users and is fast becoming a cultural phenomenon, breaking barriers with innovative features that allow creators to earn a living through monetization.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll be dissecting the data from a survey conducted by Only Fans in order to get a better understanding of the popularity and data of the platform. We’ll also be looking at newly compiled data and insights that we’ve put together by implementing a multifaceted approach. This includes but is not limited to analyzing publicly available data sources from credible outlets such as Google and Statista, acquiring direct data from creators, and platform-independent analysis. 

Key Takeaways OnlyFans:

1. User Growth and Pandmic Correlation

OnlyFans has an impressive number of 210 registered users in 2023. This is unique because the company is still in its infancy and acquiring this amount of registrations proves not only that the platform has a place in the digital landscape but also that its innovative approach to monetization is working. 

This mass adoption can be tied to the shift in people’s internet usage during the global pandemic. As many saw themselves quarantined and left without stable jobs, they turned to new and innovative approaches to earn an income from home. And what’s crazy, is that the data supports this simple fact, by showing that a whopping 500,000 new users where joining the platform daily during this time period, impacting the entire landscape of how individuals consume content. 

2. Referral Programs and Creator Incentives

The platform is a great example of how online communities and subscriber features can function. One of the key factors in their growth as a platform is their referral feature which allows creators to onboard more users at the same time as being rewarded with great benefits, some of which include 5% first-year income of any new user that they onboard. 

This bonus is known to have contributed to the popularity of the platform – the incentives offered to creators help to foster a sense of community with individuals striving to collaborate and promote each other in an ecosystem. Some might even say that this was how social media was envisioned, with hopes of flourishing communities and positive growth.

3. Income Disparities and Potential

There’s a massive discrepancy when it comes to the financial success of creators who are using the platform. The challenges faced by many can be primarily blamed on a lack of strategic marketing and the fact that most of the successful creators on the platform already had an audience that they thoughtfully migrated over to OnlyFans with the hopes of continued monetization. 

Individuals who lack influence on other platforms such as Instagram or TikTok have found it hard to grow and monetize their subscription model, with the data showing that there is a massive discrepancy in income potential and earnings.

Some of the platform’s leading creators are making over six figures per month, and approximately 1% of top creators are earning more than that figure in a single day. Although those scenarios are the exception, not the rule, and are primarily accounted for by celebrities such as Bella Thorne. 

This is still social media at the end of the day, someone can go from nothing to a total start overnight and if you plan it right and capitalize on the opportunity, you can make life-changing money. It goes without saying that this is extremely volatile and isn’t an equal playing field in regard to payments for creators. 

Approximately 1% of all accounts are taking in 33% of the platform’s earnings, and the top 10% of accounts are accounting for around 73% of total income.

On average, the middle-of-the-road content creator will make around $151 a month. This conclusion can be made due to the fact that the average user subscriber count is in and around 21 and the average cost per subscription is $7.20. The vast majority of creators operating at a loss due to the cost of content creation and emerging content creators.

4. Innovative Features for Monetization

Onlyfans subscription model is as follows, 20% is taken by the company and 80% is given to the creators. This structure has proven to work and is extremely lucrative for the business model while paying out close to 5 billion dollars to its creators just last year. 

Features such as pay-per-view and subscription fees set by creators have also made this already flexible platform more lucrative and empower creators to manage their marketing strategies and experience.

The founder of OF, Timothy Stokely, stated in an interview that the platform pays out over 200 million a month to creators. 

5. Celebrities and Macro-Influencers Love OF 

Many A-list celebrities have also embraced the platform publicly as a source of income, which created ripples across the entertainment industry and gave them legitimacy. Bella Thorne, Cardi B, and Amber Rose have all admitted to joining the platform and have made headlines doing so, giving the company more press and helping them snowball into the behemoth they are today. 

In part, this is also due to the fact that many of these celebrities have brought their fanbase with them. For instance, Bella Delphine joined and made it publicly known that she makes in and around 1,000,000 a month in online revenue from the site, proving that the company has benefitted from its structure and has been successful in acquiring top talent to its platform.

Another example of celebrity income is Cardi B, who was reported to earn a whopping nine million dollars per month just from OnlyFans.

6. Niche Subscriptions and Communities

Despite what most people assume, OnlyFans doesn’t only cater to creators who are hosting adult content. The data suggests that there’s a wide array of niches present on the platform, with creators sharing content within the health and wellness, beauty, lifestyle, sports, fashion, and beauty niches as well. 

There is some truth to the popular claim that OF is primarily adult content, seeing as in 2020 the platform NSFO content skyrocketed to over 70%. Again, this massive increase is primarily due to the fact that individuals were seeking out alternative forms of income or side hustles during the global pandemic. 

Conclusion

This company has not only become a household name but an industry standard of how social media platforms should be promoting content creators to make money. In order to be successful you need to have a product that works with the people in your demographic and this platform does that beautifully. 

They have a lucrative structure that is a freight train due in part to its client acquisition strategy and with more publicity and stories of how much people are making and how they are making it, it’s only a matter of time until more people begin to adopt this platform and make it more popular.

As the platform evolves it remains the new force to be reckoned with in the industry. Challenging the stagnant world of old outdated applications that are less creator-friendly, There is definitely more to come from OnlyFans. While they have become the innovators of the new age of social media it’s important to remember that they stand for absolute entrepreneurship and are reshaping the way we produce and consume content on a global level, all while making sure that creators are taken care of properly.