Social media has become a practically limitless frontier for content creators to make a living. Unfortunately, rules and guidelines on not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content limit which platforms adult creators can utilize. 

OnlyFans and Fansly are the top subscription-based platforms for sharing explicit content. However, you must learn the difference between Fansly vs. OnlyFans before creating your account. 

What Is Fansly and What Makes It Popular?

Fansly is a popular subscription-based platform for various types of content creators. Like OnlyFans, Fansly allows explicit content and different subscription tiers for users. It’s not quite as popular as OnlyFans, but it’s a close second when it comes to adult content, thanks to its unique features. 

Pros of Fansly

Fansly offers several functions you won’t find on OnlyFans, such as a better algorithm and designated subscription tiers. Below are the most significant benefits of Fansly accounts. 

Earnings Through Monthly Fees

Sales and subscriptions are the two primary ways to earn income from your Fansly content. Some models only post content for subscribers, some primarily post premium content, and others combine both strategies. 

Fansly offers relatively simple and reliable payment methods via bank transfers, Paxum, or cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, Fansly sometimes experiences technical disruptions due to its third-party partners, but they’re still more reliable than many other platforms. 

Free and Paid Following Options

Depending on your Fansly account’s settings, you can make different types of content available to non-paying followers or paying subscribers. This is a serious improvement over OnlyFans’ subscription tier model, which requires you to create a separate account for free content. 

You can still usually make decent money from followers, even if they never subscribe to your account. Followers can still send tips and pay for premium content, which may be higher than your standard subscription fees. 

Data Privacy and Security Measures

Privacy and security are among the top concerns facing models and content creators, especially on subscription-based platforms. Proper cyber protection helps ensure your Fansly account remains the exclusive platform for your private content. Fortunately, Fansly has dependable data privacy practices with various security measures in place to ensure only active users can access your posts. 

Extra Features

Though the content platforms are similar, Fansly offers various features and functions that aren’t available on OnlyFans. Fansly offers more optimized subscription tiers, so you don’t need multiple accounts. The platform also lets you utilize watermarks to better protect your content from being shared elsewhere. 

However, Fansly’s most standout feature is its algorithm. The platform’s algorithm promotes better internal traffic by suggesting more posts and accounts. OnlyFans typically only recommends “celebrity-like” users with high subscriber counts. This makes Fansly ideal for content creators still trying to make an impression, as your account is more likely to be recommended to users. 

Cons of Fansly

Fansly also has a few disadvantages that content creators must be aware of. 

Potential Hidden Charges

Fansly charges 20% commission fees for all transactions, including subscriptions and sales. Though this percentage is straightforward, Fansly’s payment processes have not always been reliable. 

In the past, users have reported payments going missing, not going through, or being smaller than they should be. Many of these users had difficulties getting their payment issues resolved, sometimes waiting weeks before hearing back. So, Fansly is not the most dependable with payments and may not be transparent about hidden charges. 

Occasional Media Quality Issues

Though the platform is usually operating and accessible, Fansly experiences occasional dips in media quality, which can directly impact your content. For example, you don’t have much control over image resolution. As a result, videos with longer runtimes, larger file sizes, or limited lighting may look grainier and more pixelated after you upload them. This can negatively impact your earnings because most users won’t pay for low-quality premium posts. 

Poor Support System for Adult Content Creators

Like most social media platforms, Fansly doesn’t have an around-the-clock customer service team. So, you may have to jump through multiple hoops or wait weeks to hear back regarding an issue with your Fansly account. This obviously isn’t ideal if you depend on the site for income, as losing access to your account for days or weeks can seriously impair your earnings.

Low Popularity Compared to Its Competitors

Fansly didn’t launch until 2020, which was four years after OnlyFans and several months after that site’s pandemic-fueled surge in popularity. Even though Fansly has gained a lot of attention, it still doesn’t match OnlyFans’ user base. 

Nevertheless, the platform’s 130 million active users make Fansly a fantastic market for sharing private content. Current users can easily subscribe to your Fansly account, and other fans should have no issues following their favorite creators to new platforms. 

Restricted Access in Certain Countries

Due to its adult content and payment methods, Fansly is unavailable or restricted in many countries, including Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, and Syria. While it’s still available in many larger countries, these international restrictions limit the number of users you can reach. Additionally, specific countries’ content policies may change at any time. 

What Is OnlyFans and What Makes It Popular?

OnlyFans is the most popular subscription-based platform for adult content creators, with up to 420 million active monthly users. This massive user base has helped many content creators earn thousands of dollars, views, and fans.

Pros of OnlyFans

OnlyFans has been operating for several more years than Fansly, so it’s much more fleshed out and reliable for users. Below are the greatest advantages of OnlyFans accounts. 

Monetization Through Monthly Subscription Fees and Tips

OnlyFans offers multiple options to monetize different types of content, including subscriptions, locked posts, and tips. These give you various mediums and sources of income from just one platform — not including any other sponsorships or affiliate programs in your content strategy.

OnlyFans’s payment system is compatible with most banks, making it easy to transfer your funds without third-party apps. Most transactions are visible from the OnlyFans wallet, which accumulates payments from subscriptions, tips, and posts. You can generally request a payout at any time, though the minimum to withdraw is $20, and bank transfers can take up to seven business days to complete. 

Below are the primary ways OnlyFans content creators monetize their accounts:

• Subscriptions: Paid OnlyFans accounts can charge subscribers $4.99 up to $49.99 per month with automatic renewal. Plus, you can easily offer promotions on monthly prices or create multiple accounts with different subscription tiers. 
• Price-locked posts: OnlyFans lets you lock premium posts to make their content only available to those who pay a fixed price. For instance, you can designate teaser photos that everyone can see but include images and videos that users must pay to unlock. Price-locked posts are especially beneficial for free OnlyFans accounts and special posts, such as longer, highly requested videos. 
• Tips: Users can leave tips on individual posts, usually to highlight content they want to see more of or for post-specific offers. Many models encourage subscribers to tip certain posts to be personally messaged with exclusive content. 

Direct Communication With Fans

One of OnlyFans’ most popular features is its messaging system. This direct communication can help you develop stronger relationships and engagement with subscribers. Knowing models can message them often encourages subscribers to tip, pay for premium content, and stay subscribed. Some may even request exclusive content for premium prices. 

SFW and NSFW Content Options

OnlyFans isn’t just a platform for models — it’s also frequently used by artists, musicians, trainers, and other content creators. This makes OnlyFans a great platform to share your other skills and hobbies. Plus, getting involved in other internet trends and niches may indirectly lead subscribers to your account.

Choice of Content Accessibility

OnlyFans content protection is critical for keeping your photos and videos exclusive to subscribers. Fortunately, OnlyFans offers various layers of accessibility to protect your private content, limiting leaks, unauthorized access, and other security risks. 

Pricing options let you control which users can access your content. For instance, non-premium posts made on free accounts are visible to all subscribers, no matter when they subscribed. Meanwhile, premium posts are only visible to subscribers who pay, while posts sent through messages are only visible to active subscribers you send them to. Messaging private content is a helpful way to keep your content off the rest of the internet. 

Secure Infrastructure for Payment and Content

OnlyFans has mostly eliminated its payment processing issues, so you can rest easy knowing your bank transfers will go through. This is a critical aspect of freelance content creation, as even some of the best platforms struggle with reliable payments. 

In 2021, OnlyFans briefly considered removing all NSFW content from its site. Fortunately, the company quickly recognized that this was a mistake and reversed its decision. Though the future of any platform is never certain, OnlyFans will likely continue to be a reliable option for creators for many years. 

Cons of OnlyFans

Despite being so well established, there are still a few negatives of running an OnlyFans account. 

Fluctuating and Unequal Income

OnlyFans charges 20% commission fees, so you may want to adjust your subscription and content pricing to make up for that fee. Additionally, subscriber activity is usually uneven and challenging to predict, so your income will likely fluctuate.

While it’s easy to get excited after hearing how much another OnlyFans model makes, earnings vary between creators. Some creators may earn a significant income, while others may need help attracting subscribers. Like any business, it’ll take time and effort before you see substantial income from your OnlyFans content.

Inconsistent Content Moderation Policies and Restrictions

As mentioned earlier, OnlyFans nearly banned all sexually explicit content from its platform in 2021. Though this decision was reversed, it threatened many adult content creators’ livelihoods and led to extensive public criticism. For reference, when Tumblr abruptly banned explicit content, it saw monthly traffic drop by over 150 million users — impacting more than just adult creators. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that the OnlyFans content policy won’t change again.

Additionally, OnlyFans monitors private content, including messages. So, even a single post that breaks the platform’s guidelines could get your content and account taken down. 

Heavy Reliance on the Engagement of Subscribers

One of OnlyFans’ biggest faults is its algorithm, which usually only recommends creators with high activity and lots of followers. Unfortunately, this buries accounts with low or medium popularity and restricts your growth potential. Because they can’t rely on being recommended to users, most models must market their accounts using TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms to reach new users. 

How To Choose the Best Adult Subscription Platform for You

Adult content creators may benefit from both of these subscription-based platforms for various reasons. For example, well-known models may make more on OnlyFans because it has more users and dependable payment processes. Meanwhile, newer content creators may benefit more from Fansly, thanks to its algorithms. 

Many models use both OnlyFans and Fansly in their content creation process, often sharing the same posts on both platforms. However, they typically end up prioritizing one platform over the other based on which gets the most engagement.

Consider your current audience base, connections, and goals when deciding on a subscription-based platform. Additionally, double-check that your schedule lets you commit to owning a subscription account. If you expect to have any inactivity, consider only using OnlyFans’ free accounts or promoting premium posts to Fansly followers. 

Become a Top Adult Content Creator With Bluresca

Content platforms such as Fansly and OnlyFans offer many opportunities for creators to grow their audiences and make a living. However, sharing adult content on OnlyFans and Fansly isn’t always as easy as posting videos or pictures with a price tag — you must share content at the best times, select your preferred accessibility options, and constantly market your account on other apps.

Bluresca’s management team understands the key differences, trends, and practices for each platform. Get in touch to learn how Bluresca can unlock your potential today.