What does PPV mean on OnlyFans? Why 73% of revenue now comes from messages

What is PPV on OnlyFans?

PPV stands for pay-per-view: content a fan pays for individually to unlock, on top of the subscription. It comes in two forms 3:

• PPV message: a locked photo or video inside a private message, sent to one fan or as a mass message to many.
• PPV post: a locked post in your feed that everyone can see but only unlocks after payment.

On top of that come tips, meaning voluntary payments, and custom content made to a fan's request, known as customs. The same 20% fee applies to all of it.

Where does the 73% figure come from?

It comes from the official annual accounts of Fenix International, the company that runs OnlyFans, for the financial year ending November 30, 2025 1. In a note on revenue (Note 4), the company breaks down its income:

One thing to understand: this is the platform's revenue, meaning its 20% share of all fan payments. Because OnlyFans takes 20% of every payment type under its Terms of Service 2, the same ratio applies to the money that reaches creators.

One limitation: the accounts only separate "subscription" and "not subscription-related". They do not break down how much of that is PPV, how much is tips and how much is live streams. The headline "from messages and PPV" is therefore a shorthand. More precisely: from everything except the subscription.

Is the OnlyFans subscription really dead?

No. By our calculation, fans paid about $2.1 billion for subscriptions in the 2025 financial year, if you divide the platform's subscription revenue of $422.5 million by its 20% share 1. That is our own math, but it shows that subscriptions still bring in a lot of money. They just are not growing anymore, while everything else is growing fast.

The best way to describe the subscription today is as an entry ticket. It brings fans to your profile and gives you the chance to start a conversation with them. Most of the money is made after that. For you, this means more subscribers alone do not automatically mean more revenue. What happens after someone subscribes is what counts.

What we see at maevia

The pattern from the annual accounts shows up in our own work too. Nora (name changed) came to us making $200 a month; in her third month with us she made $32,090. Of that, $29,523 came from messages, $2,567 from tips and $0 from subscriptions, because she runs a free page. Individual results vary, and none of these numbers is a promise of future earnings.

PPV or subscription: what does it mean for your pricing?

Your subscription price and your PPV strategy go together. Broadly there are three models, and none is better in principle:

Agencies report clearly lower purchase rates and higher churn (fans leaving) for free pages than for paid ones 4. These figures come without a disclosed method. The direction is plausible; check the exact percentages against your own statistics.

One detail from the Terms of Service matters: if you raise your subscription price, existing subscriptions do not automatically renew at the new price 2. A price increase can therefore cost you loyal fans. More on this in OnlyFans pricing.

How much should you charge for PPV on OnlyFans?

There is no solid, independent data on this. What you find online comes from agencies and tool vendors. One chat-software vendor, for example, gives these ranges in the German edition of its guide, in euros 5:

For new fans, low entry prices of around €5 to €15 are recommended, followed by gradual increases. The purchase rate is your check: if almost nobody buys, the price is too high or the timing is off. If almost everyone buys, it is probably too low. The sources disagree on what a "good" rate is 54. Matching subscription and PPV prices to each other is part of our profile and pricing service.

Treat tables like this as a starting point for your own tests, not as a rule. Your audience, your niche and your boundaries decide what fits.

What is a mass message, and how often should you send one?

A mass message is a single message, often with a PPV attached, that you send to many or all of your fans at once instead of one by one. Send them less often than most people think. One tool vendor recommends no more than two to three mass messages a week, and none to fans you are currently in a one-on-one conversation with 5. Mass messages are better at starting conversations than at selling directly.

For mass messages sent without any segmentation of fans, very low purchase rates are quoted, in the low single digits 5. Sorting fans by their past purchases and writing more specifically is said to perform much better. These are vendor numbers too, and terms like open rate and purchase rate are not used consistently.

Why are the first days after a new subscription so important?

Because, according to one sample, a large share of purchases happens shortly after someone subscribes. An analysis by a traffic vendor of about 1 million subscribers found 83% of payments in the first 48 hours 6. The study is a paid press release with limited evidential value. The direction matches what many creators report, though: a personal welcome and the first conversations decide a lot. Our OnlyFans welcome message guide has templates for exactly that moment.

The same sample, by the way, found only 4.2% paying subscribers and a message share of almost 70% of revenue 6. That also fits the direction of the official numbers.

What about "whales", fans who spend a lot?

They exist, but the popular numbers are exaggerated. We found no evidence for the claim that a few big spenders bring in 80% of revenue 5. The only sample with numbers found 0.01% of fans accounting for about 20% of revenue 6.

If your income depends on a few people, it is fragile. Lose one fan and a lot of money is gone. There is also an ethical question: some people spend more than is good for them. Take signals like addiction, loneliness or financial trouble seriously and do not exploit them.

Who actually writes the messages?

That is the question to ask yourself before you build on messages. When revenue is mostly made in the chat, the pressure to be available all the time grows. A creator from Lucerne told SRF that about half of her working time goes into messages and editing 7. A former creator told Insider she spent at least two hours a day on messages 8.

That is why many agencies use chatters, staff who write in the creator's name. In the US, fans have filed class actions alleging they were deceived this way 9. A federal court dismissed most of the first complaint in December 2025, and according to Bloomberg Law the operator was later dismissed from the case 1011. Fenix itself lists class actions as a risk in its accounts 1.

For you this means: make clear who writes in your name, and what may and may not be said. No invented emergencies, no promises of a real relationship, no crossing boundaries you have not agreed to. At maevia, fan chats are written by real people only, never by AI. How chat support can work transparently is explained in Who is texting your fans? and on our chatting service page.

What does this mean for you?

Four things:

1. Plan around the conversation, not just the feed. The subscription brings fans in; revenue usually comes afterwards.
2. Test prices with your own numbers. Other people's benchmarks are a starting point, nothing more.
3. Protect your time and your boundaries. Decide when you write, what you offer and what you do not. Otherwise messages can eat your whole day.
4. Think in net terms. Every PPV dollar is cut by the 20% fee and, where they apply, agency commission, taxes and (in Germany, Austria and Switzerland) health insurance contributions.

Frequently asked questions

Our take

The subscription is not dead, but it is no longer the core of the business. The official numbers show clearly that the money is made in conversation. That is an opportunity, but it costs time and closeness, and it needs rules that protect you and your fans.

maevia works with English-speaking creators with native-level English who live in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. If you want to know whether working with us makes sense for you, apply now.