The internet is packed with streaming platforms, subscription services, and user-generated content hubs. OnlyFans has quietly and profitably emerged as one of the most successful internet companies in the world. With $1.3 billion in revenue and $650 million in operating profit last year, the platform now rivals some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful players in terms of profit margin.

Its formula? A simple but potent combination: adult content, creator-driven media, and direct-to-consumer payments.

Led by CEO Kelly Blair, OnlyFans operates with an efficient and remarkably high-margin business model. Creators, numbering around 4 million worldwide, upload their own content, ranging from photos to videos to one-on-one messages. Around 300 million paying users subscribe to this material, with OnlyFans taking a 20% commission on all transactions.

It’s a model that flips traditional pornography economics on its head. Legacy companies like MindGeek, owner of PornHub and Brazzers, front production costs, staff, studios, and distribution. By contrast, OnlyFans offloads all of that to creators and focuses solely on platform infrastructure and payment processing.

The result? A 50% operating profit margin, outpacing giants like Meta (35%) and Google (27%). That kind of efficiency has made OnlyFans arguably the most profitable adult content platforms, and perhaps the most profitable user-generated content business, in existence.

Despite the financial success, OnlyFans has limitations. Payment processors and banks remain cautious around adult content. The company has also faced scrutiny over potential misuse of the platform, including trafficking and underage content. While OnlyFans has implemented verification and moderation systems, the stigma around porn still limits its mainstream visibility. Notably, it remains absent from Apple’s App Store and Google Play, which also allows it to bypass those platforms’ revenue cuts.

These challenges haven’t dimmed its shine. In fact, its profitability has inspired imitators, including, reportedly, Twitter/X, which explored OnlyFans-like models as it struggled to replace plummeting ad revenue under Elon Musk.

What makes OnlyFans particularly noteworthy is that it didn’t invent anything new. Porn has existed on the internet since its inception. So has user-generated content. OnlyFans simply monetized both more efficiently than anyone before it.

While it’s not without controversy, the company’s success underscores a broader lesson in internet economics: people will pay for content they care about, especially when it’s personal, exclusive, and direct. And when the platform doesn’t carry the cost of creating that content, it becomes one of the most scalable businesses around.

As others eye the space, OnlyFans’ success is likely just the beginning of a broader shift in how adult and non-adult creators monetize online.