For adult content creators, video clip sales are now considered as important for revenue as fan site subscriptions on platforms like OnlyFans, according to the results of a new creator survey.
In the new survey by the US-based market research company SWR Data, 18.8 percent of responders said clips are their most important revenue driver, fractionally behind fan site subscriptions at 19.2 percent.
Cams and livestreams were third in the rundown, with 15.3 percent of responders saying they were collectively their most important revenue driver. Previously cams and livestreams were second in the rundown.
SWR Data surveyed over 550 adult content creators in late 2025 for the report, which largely focuses on US-based creators. The survey also found that adult content creators view OnlyFans less positively than some rival platforms, although OnlyFans was still being widely used for subscription income.
Creators usually sell short video clips to fans on clip-focused platforms such as Clips4Sale and ManyVids, although many reported using OnlyFans for clips sales too.
SWR’s data suggested that the rise in the importance of clips sales to adult content creators was at the expense of fan subscription sites. Sustained mistrust of OnlyFans, the world’s biggest platform for porn creator subscriptions, could help explain this.
The SWR researchers said that creator fatigue may also have fed into the rise in clips importance. 63 percent of survey responders said that earning money had gotten harder in the past year, and 45 percent said their income had declined.
“Creators working on subscription sites like OnlyFans have long been responsible for driving their own traffic and finding new fans,” SWR researchers said. “OnlyFans’ higher payout percentage made that trade-off worth it, at least while income was growing. Now, the data suggests the bargain may be out of balance.”
They added that clips sales “may also offer a way off the hamster-wheel of subscriptions and constant updates. Once valorized hustle culture has become, in the eyes of many creators, a recipe for burnout. Creators appear to be looking for a healthier work/life balance.”
OnlyFans is still an important revenue generator for many adult content creators, despite this shift. In SWR’s survey 53 percent of responders said OnlyFans was one of their top two revenue-generators, a figure down from 60 percent in the survey conducted in 2024.
OnlyFans is reportedly considering selling a majority stake in the business to the investment firm Architecture Capital, based on a company valuation of $5.5 billion.
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