If we’re honest, we all want to know how much OnlyFans content creators make. It isn’t exactly information available on Glassdoor and we’re aware the sky’s the limit. So, I decided to ask.
It might be an understatement to say that Gracie Hartie and Tammy Tay are prominent figures in their field: they’re in the top one percent of OnlyFans adult content creators worldwide. Essentially, these women have universal appeal. Who’d have thought this is something Singapore would be put on the map for?
But let’s get the numbers out of the way. Hartie, who uses an alias, rakes in a five- to six-figure sum every month. Tay nets an amount between $15,000 and $50,000—the fluctuation depends on the amount of work undertaken. Their monthly subscription each costs about $22, though Hartie likens the fee to “an entrance fee to a club” because the bulk of their earnings isn’t from subscriptions, but additional services and gratuities.
Her biggest tip ever was $50,000. “Just a gift,” she utters with a Cheshire grin. Tay’s was $2,000. “Just for existing,” the latter states matter-of-factly.
This makes plain that the $5,800 salary that Hartie was offering for a personal assistant back in 2022 was chump change. But while the compensation garnered attention, she doesn’t find it a notable sum. “I stated that I needed an experienced videographer to assume the role and that they should have their own equipment. A freelance videographer in Singapore takes home something between $5,000 and $15,000 every month. Was I overpaying for a PA? I don’t think so,” she counters.
Whatever your take on these women and what they do, though, their pockets are lined. OnlyFans content creation is clearly serious business. Why do subscribers pay for their photos and videos when plenty of similar material is available online for free? Because they can and want to.
“It’s the same reason why people pay for bottled water when they can drink from the tap.”
Gracie Hartie analogises unapologetically
That said, more toil goes into their jobs than commonly imagined. For one, putting together shoot concepts not only requires gruntwork, but relentless creativity. “I have trouble keeping things interesting because my body is just my body. After three years, I have run out of angles to take them,” she confesses.
The content creators also go to great lengths to fulfil requests—work that makes up a large part of their additional services. The strangest proposition Tay has received was to walk around town in a pregnancy suit, which she turned down. For context, her persona is the sexy Internet girlfriend. “I couldn’t understand what’s so sexy about the fantasy,” she explains.
In addition, chatting often morphs into the gruelling task of counselling. Hartie and Tay regularly find themselves on the receiving end of trauma dumping. A popular topic? Relationship problems. “Many men who are married or in relationships are discontented that they don’t get to act out their fantasies, but don’t wish to cheat. I play Aunt Agony and give them advice on spicing up their married lives,” Tay illustrates. She estimates that she spends an average of 12 hours engaging in text conversations with subscribers every day.
Women, she acknowledges, might be upset if they find out that their partners are in contact with her behind their backs. But they don’t have anything to worry about, she asserts. First, she doesn’t meet fans in person. Second, she has a boyfriend whom she regularly features on her social media channels.
Hartie and Tay also undertake a certain degree of emotional labour, particularly since people are quick to cast judgement and aspersions. Tay wakes up to hateful messages daily, though she hasn’t met anyone who has said anything catty to her face. “I’m pretty sure these people wouldn’t approach me in real life,” she lets on. Not that she harbours ill feelings towards detractors. Her take is that you just can’t please everyone.
Their biggest challenge in this line, however, is perhaps something more sinister: corruption on social media platforms. Hartie alleges that she used to be repeatedly de-platformed and shadowbanned even though she has never violated community guidelines. These restrictions impacted her earnings—a ban on TikTok once even resulted in a 40 percent plunge in daily revenue. “I was frustrated as I knew other content creators were getting away with the same kind of content. I felt picked on,” she recounts.
She eventually learnt that it comes down to bribery. “Many social media platforms are corrupted. There are rogue employees that would blacklist you for fun, and whitelist you when you pay them,” she claims. Foreign counterparts, she adds, are a lot more proficient at handling these situations because they’re used to paying people off. “As a Singaporean, it took me a long time to figure out that it’s a possible solution. I’ve paid to get back my ‘permanently banned’ account twice so far.”
The harrowing experience taught her an important lesson. OnlyFans content creators at the top of the game aren’t necessarily the most desirable, just the most shrewd. In Hartie’s words, they are problem-solvers who would play endless games of Whac-A-Mol with the platforms to adapt to the ever-changing trends and algorithms. “There’s a saying in our industry: the prettiest girl is typically never the golden goose,” she metaphorises. “Because they are used to privilege, they are lazy and harder to work with.”
Suffice to say, the women’s assiduousness has paid off. The life-changing sums of money have accordingly changed their lives. Since becoming an OnlyFans content creator, Tay has been able to make a monthly repayment of $15,000 for a hefty debt amassed from two unfortunate events: losses from leverage trading and her beauty salon business going belly-up during the pandemic.
Hartie has been able to lavish herself with the luxury of time. “OnlyFans hasn’t drastically upgraded my life materially because I used to run e-commerce businesses that were equally profitable. However, it has given me the ability to pursue other things since digital content is so scalable. This improves my quality of life,” she sums up.
Although a one-percenter, Hartie reckons she has room for improvement. An opportunity to meet with OnlyFans adult content creators in the United States allowed her to see how her American counterparts run their operations—the women drawing $1 million a month have teams to monitor data analytics and analyse every reply to optimise the returns. As such, she concedes that content creators in this part of the world just aren’t in the same league.
“Many of them still have the misconception that showing more skin means more earnings. Luckily, learning from the best made me realise that stripping is not the only way to stay competitive.”
Gracie Hartie on staying ahead
Expectedly, Hartie’s and Tay’s subscribers are mostly men, though the women hold different views on the stereotype these subscribers fall into. In Tay’s opinion, they are typically lonely and in search of someone to talk to, but to Hartie, they aren’t any lonelier than a person who browses Instagram and TikTok all day. “The only difference is the genre of content they check out,” Hartie contends. Both women do not date subscribers.
It is bewildering to them that the men they do date are accepting of their careers, though Hartie finds it difficult meeting new people because her work actualises game theory in her love life. “Most men self-eliminate. They think that there will be too much competition, so they won’t even try to get to know me,” she lets on. “Because few people try, the ones that do are usually successful. They have little to no competition.”
Their primary piece of advice to anyone taking a leaf out of their book? Have a supportive group of friends. You’ll need their shoulders to lean on when things get hard. Also, be honest about what you bring to the table. “Do you think you fit the male gaze? Have you tried putting yourself online—how much traction did you get?” Hartie offers. “Plenty of women are willing to strip, but that doesn’t mean their content will generate revenue. It’s the truth.”
You’ll also want to dip your toe in the water promptly for the rise of artificial intelligence is transforming demand. “I don’t think what we’re doing can be sustained for much longer because of technological advancement. An AI-generated woman has the perfect body and face, and doesn’t age,” Tay says, adding that AI will eventually be able to create scenes at a much lower production cost, but for higher quality.
It’s why Hartie is already planning her next venture, which might be in a somewhat related field. “I’ve thought about launching a consultancy service that helps men learn to deal with women. I think that it’ll be fun and hilarious,” she says.
Given the myriad memes about the differences between the two genders, it just might be another endeavour of hers that also has her coming out on top. We’ll see.
