How Did OnlyFans Become Ingrained in Society and Culture, with the GDP of a Small Country?

The adult content industry has experienced steady growth for years, but nothing compares to OnlyFans. As of late 2025, the platform had 377.5 million registered users globally, up from $30 million in May 2020, generating $7.22 billion in fan spend. To put that in perspective, countries like Belize, Gambia, and Eswatini have at times posted similar gross transactions.

This isn’t a niche platform anymore. It’s an economy.

Not only is the platform a good source of income for anyone who can capitalize on their image, but it’s also become normalized. Whereas once, talk of adult content would send jaws to the floor, mentioning that you’re an OF creator today barely gets a reaction. And with content creators now including celebrities like Bella Thorne and Cardi B, people are downright inspired to join the club.

The question is, what’s happened? How did OnlyFans experience such phenomenal growth? When did it become ingrained in our society, and more importantly, does it belong there?

The Origin Story

OnlyFans was founded by Tim Stokely in 2016 with a £10,000 loan provided by his investment banker father, who warned him it was the last one. Stokely had already built other adult content platforms with little success, and his father was likely running out of patience- and money.

But OnlyFans would be different. Rather than a traditional adult platform, OnlyFans would allow content creators to earn money from subscribers, cutting out the middleman. It monetized what was being given away for free on social media.

Originally, the platform attracted a mix of fitness coaches, artists, and musicians. But after Ukrainian-American businessman Leonid Radvinsky acquired a controlling stake in the company in 2018, it increasingly leaned into its identity as an adult content platform.

Growth During the Pandemic

OnlyFans was off to a respectable start. In 2019, it had about 13.5 million registered users and a revenue of about $270 million- real money, but nowhere near ‘small country GDP territory’.

Then came the pandemic. With little else to occupy people, many turned to the internet and found connections through OnlyFans. Revenue jumped nearly 715% between 2019 and 2020, marking the most dramatic single-year spike in the platform’s history, while users increased by almost 510%.

What’s the Attraction?

The growth of OnlyFans is impressive, but why this platform? After all, there are tons of adult content websites all over the internet, and some are even free. Here are some factors that may make it stand out.

The Amateur/Authenticity Angle: There’s something to be said about knowing that the creators aren’t all well-known porn stars- they’re creating authentic content that reflects who they are.
Parasocial Connection: Users establish a connection with the creator that makes them feel seen, heard, and less isolated. A shout-out or simply being noticed provides a dopamine kick that can be addictive.
Entrepreneurship Angle: OnlyFans is a source of income for creators, offering somewhat of a ‘small business’ angle. Some users genuinely want to support them.

Mainstreaming and Cultural Normalization

The interesting thing is that OnlyFans has gone beyond being just a popular adult content site; it’s culturally normalized. How did that happen?

Here are some possible contributing factors:

The Normalization of Sex Work: It’s arguable whether OnlyFans has normalized sex work or whether it’s part of a trend that would have been growing with or without the site’s existence. But the fact that the U.S. alone has over a million creators, more than any other country, is pretty telling. Many are encouraged by the fact that you can now mention that you’re on the platform in everyday conversation without shocking the room.
Non-Adult Content: With OnlyFans being a platform for adult content as well as musicians and artists, people feel more comfortable using it. It also means there are no restrictions on what can go on the platform. People can post tame, beefcake-style photos or more hardcore content.
Celebrities on OnlyFans: Cardi B, Amber Rose, and Lily Allen are just some of the stars who have joined the ranks of content creators. Why? To find a platform where their celebrity generates income that’s specifically theirs? To help normalize sex work? To reinvent themselves? Whatever the reason, they are bringing the platform into the mainstream.

The Other Side of the Boom

OnlyFans has positive feedback; it allows creators to earn additional income and helps people connect with creators. But it has been criticized for the following reasons:

Unfair Revenue Distribution: While OnlyFans is an excellent source of revenue, not every creator gets an equal payout. Celebrities tend to make a lion’s share of the income, while amateur creators compete for the lower revenue shares.
The Human Cost: Various creators report emotional exhaustion and boundary violations by subscribers. While OnlyFans offers tools like geo-blocking, watermarking, and message restrictions, the burden of safety falls almost entirely on the creator. Setting up these protections requires hours of manual configuration, and even then, they’re a deterrent, not a guarantee. A determined stalker or content thief isn’t stopped by a watermark.
Exploitative Nature: While sex work is becoming more acceptable, OnlyFans operates on a system where creators monetize intimacy, and subscribers pay to fill a void of connection. The platform profits from both sides of that transaction, the creator’s image and the subscriber’s loneliness, without being accountable for either’s emotional cost.

A Nation Built on Subscriptions

OnlyFans didn’t just build a platform; it built the economy of a small nation and became a part of the world’s cultural furniture. It’s a punchline, a side hustle, a tabloid headline, a line item in a celebrity’s income statement, something that’s become as acceptable as a Netflix subscription. We know it’s big because it doesn’t need an explanation.

But ingrained isn’t the same as equitable. Just like any nation, it operates on a system outsiders never see, one where millions of creators earn next to nothing while putting their reputations and safety on the line, and bigger names take a lion’s share of the revenue. But then again, OnlyFans only normalized the idea of turning an image into income- it didn’t promise the income would be worth the risk.

So, the real story isn’t that OnlyFans got big; it’s how it became woven so deeply into our culture that it became invisible. And while we’re minimizing the stigma, we’re also ignoring the problem.