It’s often said that for every OnlyFans account earning millions – or even hundreds of thousands – there are 99 others that don’t even make enough to buy cigarettes. Whether that’s true or not is something Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) intends to find out. Inspectors are launching a “hunt” to determine whether the 3,000 to 5,000 Greek individuals and couples with accounts on the subscription platform are boosting their bank balances without paying taxes.

Officially, there are 269 accounts listed as based in Greece on the platform. However, it’s estimated that this number is several thousand less than the actual Greek creators on OnlyFans, as a whole industry has developed around the platform – not necessarily all tied to sex, although that is predominantly the focus.

In a recent interview, content creator Olga Kotlida stated that it is possible for someone in Greece to earn €20,000 a month through OnlyFans.

In Greece, there are even “managers” for people working on the platform. Some individuals run multiple social media accounts funnelling traffic to their OnlyFans (often called “OF”), while others maintain completely innocent accounts. Singers, actors, fitness trainers, athletes, chefs, and even doctors are present on the platform, attempting to promote themselves in its vast ecosystem. On the other hand, there are also not-so-innocent accounts acting as a gateway to prostitution services.

So, what is OnlyFans?

The name translates literally to “Only Fans,” and the platform, founded in 2016, is primarily (about 70%) home to pornographic content, targeting an adult audience. It functions as a platform/social network where content creators sell what they produce – usually photos and videos, but also live content.

Fans subscribe to gain full access to the creator’s content. Subscription fees range from €5 to €15 on average, and are set by the creator.

The creator earns money from their fans/subscribers. OnlyFans keeps 20% of the subscription fee, while the remaining 80% goes to the content creator. To boost earnings, creators can introduce tiered subscription models – additional content hidden behind a second paywall requiring another payment. Often, fans give “tips” to their favorite creators in an attempt to get closer to them or even pursue a personal interaction.

In most cases – the overwhelming majority – the content is pornographic. Whether soft or hardcore doesn’t matter much, because what counts is that people, even in an era of free internet porn, are willing to pay high amounts to see nude photos or videos of another person. “It’s the ‘girl-next-door’ appeal that makes it attractive,” some say – but this is contradicted by the fact that celebrities earn the most.

“Sponsors” or Victims?

Could it be the fantasy of meeting their dream creator in real life? In truth, very few creators worldwide take the risk of meeting their fans. Still, there are cases where fans have spent fortunes for their favorite creators.

One documented case involved a young man who drained all of his parents’ accounts to pay an OnlyFans model – and then murdered them to inherit their money, which he promised to give to the model. In another instance, a subscriber paid for a vacation worth over $100,000 for an OnlyFans model just to thank him for funding the trip she took with her boyfriend.

In this way, through the contributions of obsessive or desperate fans peeking through a digital keyhole, the platform reported profits of $6.63 billion in 2023 (latest available data). All of it came from 305 million fan accounts, with 80% – that is, $5.32 billion – going to 4.1 million content creators. The user volume is so large that it has become an entire industry with many sub-markets.

There are creators earning millions from hundreds or thousands of subscribers. There are aspiring creators trying to replicate that success. There are escort accounts operating right at home on the platform. And then there are accounts using the platform’s reach to promote other professional activities.

These include marketing employees, athletes seeking sponsors, actors and singers trying to gain either sponsorship or exposure to a wider audience.

How Much Do They Make?

The activity on OnlyFans is so intense that it has given rise to new professions. One such role is that of a manager, who is responsible for creating and managing OF accounts, or even that of a coach — a “professional” who offers advice to anyone interested in earning (more) money from OnlyFans. In these cases, there may be “lessons,” seminars, or even specialized OnlyFans accounts one must subscribe to in order to learn how to attract… subscribers to their own OnlyFans.

“The goal is money,” sang Julia Alexandratou in her song of the same title, capturing the motivation behind the growing number of curvy (and not-so-curvy) young men and women turning to OnlyFans. Their dream is to become part of the OF “elite” that struck gold on the platform. Unsurprisingly, however, those earning the most are already celebrities. As of the end of May 2025, the top earner on OnlyFans is rapper Iggy Azalea, who made $48 million in one year. Social media persona Bhad Bhabie earned $800,000 on her first day on the platform and eventually made up to $59 million. Other celebrities making a fortune from the platform include rapper Cardi B ($46.7 million), former Disney Channel star Bella Thorne ($37.3 million), and American rapper Tyga, who earns about $7 million a month.

While the top earners make money from selling pornographic content, that’s not true for everyone. Just 1% of content creators earn about one-third of all revenue generated on the platform. The rest settle for earnings of $150 to $180 per month before taxes — and that’s only in the U.S. In smaller markets, the earnings are even lower, sometimes even zero.

Take Greece, for example, the 43rd-largest OnlyFans market by volume. Top earners there are either celebrities or sex workers. Olga Kotlida, known from her participation in a TV show, earns around €15,000–€20,000 a month from her OF account, similar to sex worker Lisa. However, outside of celebrities like Vanessa Adamopoulou or Asimina Inglezou (who claims she’s seeking sponsors as an athlete through OF), Greek accounts that generate real income (up to €4,000 monthly) must constantly produce content (pornographic, of course) and apply marketing strategies. This includes advertising on relevant sites and/or hiring specialized consultants to promote their accounts — otherwise, earnings may be zero.

Thus, in Greece’s OnlyFans scene, we find celebrities, girl-next-door types like Melodytv and Faihs Secret, men, and even couples like Giorgos and Maria. The vast majority charge between $3 and $15 per month and provide — naturally — pornographic content to their subscribers. But is that the whole story?

The Dark Side

Despite the platform’s strict measures to prevent scammers (like requiring a selfie with an ID during registration) and block trafficking networks, it remains difficult to monitor what happens inside. Ironically, the celebrities avoiding “9-to-5” jobs and making good money by producing content serve as bait for new girls and boys chasing the dream of easy riches — only to end up trapped in the hell of prostitution, slavery, or serious criminal activity.

This process starts innocently and sweetly, as many young women describe. It often begins on youth-favored social media platforms, where a frequently underage girl creates an account. On TikTok or Instagram (which, in Greece, has largely become a tool for promoting sexual services), she quickly gains followers admiring her beauty. “This can be monetized,” she thinks, inspired by those who got rich as influencers.

Failing to find long-term sponsors or earn enough money from product promotions (like beauty products), she becomes disillusioned and turns to OnlyFans. She decides to show her naked body, hoping to earn — if not hundreds — at least tens of thousands of euros, easily and quickly. But she ends up being one of the many who “can’t even earn cigarette money” from OnlyFans.

These platforms are infiltrated by trafficking rings, pimps, and gang members. The dangers are many. The former influencer and now content creator begins selling pornographic material unsuccessfully due to fierce competition. To retain her handful of subscribers (usually no more than three), she starts “offering more.” Without realizing it, she has become a sex worker.

In the Hands of “Managers”

Prostitution, which will likely bring her under the control of “managers,” may eventually lead her to full-time sex work or send her to a “porta potty party” in Dubai — or aboard a yacht — with the promise of a glamorous life. This is just one dark side of OnlyFans experienced by many Greek women. Authorities abroad have already issued warnings that sex traffickers — even of minors — use the platform to exploit women who believe they can make easy money producing soft porn. In the UK, a victim’s story revealed that she made over $422,000 selling her pornographic content on OnlyFans, yet her “manager” gave her only $2,000 while keeping the rest.

In other cases, OnlyFans operates as a lure. It’s common knowledge that a significant number of Greek OF accounts belong to escort agencies. Essentially, they are promotional accounts for sex workers seeking clients. But there are more dark sides. The Greek tax authority (AADE) is also investigating the “Greek OnlyFans,” looking not just at content creators, but also their customers. Since most registered Greek OF accounts declare and pay taxes on their earnings, a separate issue arises — the fans. Credit cards “bombarding” creators with gifts and massive spending without receiving anything in return often hide something darker: money from serious criminal activities being laundered in this way. The scene is abuzz with talk of influencers acting as “laundromats” for gangs to legitimize income from illicit operations.

Fans are Victims too

The dangers don’t exist only for the creators but also for the fans. Fans risk not only becoming addicted to the dopamine rush that porn provides to their brains but also receiving very different services than what they pay for. Since OnlyFans offers the possibility of direct messaging, allowing fans to chat with creators and request personalized content, fans are confident they know the girl (or boy or couple, as the case may be) they see in the photos.

But is that really the case? Scammers have found ways to deceive OF managers and create fake accounts. Of course, there are also cases of Greek women who discover that someone has stolen their photos from social media and is running an OnlyFans account using their information, powered by Artificial Intelligence. So the fan believes they are paying and chatting with Maria from Thessaloniki, but in reality, they are talking to… Babis from Sourmena. After all, creators themselves also use Artificial Intelligence to manage the volume of their messages.

A Reuters investigation revealed that traffickers in various countries use OnlyFans to exploit victims, with cases involving torture, isolation, and sexual enslavement. The perpetrators range from influencers to the victims’ partners. The case of 20-year-old Ukrainian OnlyFans model Maria Kovalchuk, who was found seriously injured in Dubai where she reportedly took part in a porta potty party, has been classified by Ukrainian authorities as a possible human trafficking case. A University of Colorado report analyzed data from 13 OnlyFans accounts related to 12 trafficking victims, showing that one trafficker managed to transfer over $1 million from the victims’ accounts to his own bank accounts.

But that’s not the most chilling part: In 2024, a child exploitation researcher reported 26 OnlyFans accounts with suspicious child sexual abuse content. All accounts were removed within 24 hours of the report…