OnlyFans didn’t start out as the platform everyone knows today.
When Tim Stokely created it in 2016, the idea was to provide a space where creators could monetize exclusive content directly with their followers.
But everything changed in 2018, when Leonid Radvinsky bought the majority of the London-based company and allowed adult content on the platform. This is how the OnlyFans phenomenon ended up revolutionizing both the adult industry and the creator economy.
Before OnlyFans, a large part of the industry depended on production companies and platforms that kept most of the money. OnlyFans changed the rules by getting users to start paying monthly subscriptions, with the ability to send private messages, access exclusive content and pay per view, while creators keep 80% of the earnings. Today, this model seems normal, but at that time it was groundbreaking, and completely transformed the way we monetize content on the Internet.
The numbers speak for themselves:
• More than 377 million registered users
•More than 4 million active creators
•In 2025, the platform generated around USD $1.4 billion in revenue
•Users spent more than USD $7 billion within the platform.
• Since its creation, OnlyFans has paid out more than USD$ 25 billion to its creators.
OnlyFans didn’t just create a platform, it redefined how creators could turn their audience into a multi-billion-dollar business without relying on traditional agencies.
Sources: Sacra / OnlyFans overview
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