OnlyFans

Overview

OnlyFans offers a platform in which creators can share videos, photos, and one-on-one chats (live streams) for a price. The platform’s creators mainly include musicians, actors, models, influencers, and physical fitness experts. It allows creators to post explicit content that would get them banned on other mainstream content-sharing platforms. The content shared on this platform is protected from sharing to other platforms or being copied/recorded. Fans can pay on a monthly subscription or pay-per-view basis, in addition to tipping the creators. 

Monthly subscriptions are priced between a minimum of USD 4.99 to a maximum of USD 49.99, while tips or the price for paid private messages are USD 5 and upward. The platform takes a 20% commission on the revenue earned by creators. In March 2021, OnlyFans launched “OnlyFans Creative Fund,” the platform’s inaugural accelerator program for emerging artists in the music industry. The program aims to equip four musicians with a grant of GBP 20,000 (approximately USD 28,000) each to support their careers.

In August 2021, OnlyFans launched an app “OFTV” that displays videos from a library of more than 800 videos, featuring popular OnlyFans creators including Mia Khalifa, Bella Thorne, Holly Madison, as well as original videos from pilates instructors, chefs, and podcasters. As Apple and Google did not allow OnlyFans in their app stores, the platform was previously available only on its website. The new OFTV app is allowed in the app store as no adult content will be displayed and creator content will not be monetized. As of November 2022, the OFTV app is free to use and does not include advertising. The app, available on all major devices including iOS, Roku, and Amazon Fire, was first released in January 2021 but was not promoted. OnlyFans has since begun marketing its app to new potential users as part of its strategy to rebrand itself as more of a mainstream media platform and lower its reputation for sexually explicit material. In the same month, OnlyFans announced that it would prohibit sexually explicit content effective October 1 2021, in an attempt to “ensure the long-term sustainability of the platform and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans”, while complying with the requests of its banking partners and payout providers. Nude content will continue to be allowed. However, just days later, the platform suspended the ban following a widespread backlash by its users. The platform stated that it had “secured assurances necessary” to support creators and will “continue to provide a home for all creators" regardless of genre.

The company claims that the number of creators has increased to over 1.25 million creators, has over 130 million registered users (up from 85 million users reported in December 2020) and that its growth rate exceeds 100% in 2021 as of June 2021. As of August 2021, it has more than seven million paying users.

Key customers and partnerships

 In November 2022, the company partnered with Spring to allow creators to sell personalized merchandise to their followers.

Funding and financials

The company reported that in 2020 it had generated USD 2.3 billion in total transactions (seven-fold growth) with 120 million registered users, with the platform generating a net revenue of USD 375 million and a free cash flow of USD 150 million. Moreover, 300+ creators earn more than USD 1 million annually. Sales and net revenue are forecasted to be USD 5.9 billion and USD 1.2 billion in 2021, respectively. As of March 2021, OnlyFans has paid out more than USD 3 billion to creators in total and the platform’s top 40 biggest music-focused accounts in the US generated USD 2 million in income in February 2021, an average of USD 50,000 per account. 

The company was reported to be in discussions in June 2021 for a new funding round, which would raise the platform’s valuation above USD 1 billion. OnlyFans, reported to be profitable, is looking for new backers to become more of a mainstream media platform and reduce its reputation for sexually explicit material. It also plans to attract a broader range of celebrities and athletes as creators as well as more advertisers. However, OnlyFans has been reportedly struggling to find outside investors to raise funds.