OnlyFans creators earned record $5.3 billion in 2023, platform sees massive growth

Too hot: The internet's favorite content subscription platform keeps printing money. OnlyFans, the creator-focused site that's become a household name thanks to its massive adult entertainment segment, reported eye-popping financial results for its 2023 fiscal year. The earnings left creators a collective $5.32 billion in net payouts and left the owner with a half-a-billion dollar dividend.

A recent UK regulatory filing shows that OnlyFans had over $6.63 billion in gross payments flowing through its platform last year. That's a 19-percent jump from $5.55 billion in 2022. Net revenue for the year stood at $1.31 billion, a 20 -percent increase. Despite having only 42 full-time employees on average, the company generated a massive $658 million pre-tax profit, up 25 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, creators collectively took home $5.32 billion in payouts after taxes, refunds, and other deductions.

"OnlyFans' mission is to empower content creators to own their full potential by building the safest social media platform and providing unparalleled opportunities to our user community," the company said in the filing.

It also reminded regulators that only registered users and content creators 18 and older who have completed the Creator or Fan onboarding process can access the media on the platform.

The gains trickled down to billionaire owner Leonid Radvinsky, too. The Ukrainian-American entrepreneur, who bought OnlyFans in 2018 after making his initial fortune from cam site MyFreeCams, pocketed a $472 million dividend from the platform in 2023 alone. That's 40 percent higher than the $338 million dividend he received the year prior.

Behind the numbers is incredible user growth. The platform reported having 305 million registered users as of late 2023, a 28-percent increase from the prior year. The number of active creators earning money on the platform jumped 29 percent to 4.12 million.

Forbes estimates that with career earnings of over $1.3 billion from OnlyFans since 2020, Radvinsky's net worth is now around $3 billion. The mogul is reportedly inching closer to his goal of joining the ultra-wealthy ranks who've signed The Giving Pledge to donate most of their fortunes.

While OnlyFans started as a site for adult performers to monetize racy content, it's expanded to host creators across categories like fitness, music, and podcasting. However, let's be honest – it's still overwhelmingly about the adult stuff. Under new CEO Keily Blair, appointed last year, the platform will look to keep increasing profits with its controversial but immensely lucrative business model.