Everyone is working to earn money & porn is same, let’s find out How much do Pornstars make?
The porn industry as a whole was worth £75 billion worldwide in 2014, with the US the most profitable market. When it comes to the average actor’s salary, though, the figure is harder to pin down.
It’s estimated to be worth $97 billion globally, with the United States alone generating between $12 and 14 billion in annual revenue – that’s how much the porn industry is estimated to be worth; a number much higher than Netflix.
Looking into How much do Pornstars Really Earn? We found out Pornstars are not really making only by Banging on screen but also by Social Media, Onlyfans and by selling Affiliate Products be it Sexy lingerie, Sex Toys or whatever.
In Porn it’s all about your Brand Value
Let’s see. First of all, it’s time to debunk the metropolitan legend that boys earn less than girls.
Yes, some boys earn less than some girls (and than other boys) and some girls earn less than some boys (and than other girls). There are girls in the adult film industry who would shoot (and they do) for 150 USD per scene.
On the other hand, there are others who couldn’t ask for more if they wanted to get hired because, to call things by their name, they are not good at it. There are boys who are good at it (not just from a strictly performing point of view, but also from a marketing point of view) who one couldn’t hire for less than a couple grand per scene.
I mean If you’re talking about Porn Legends like Angela White, Lana Rhoades, Maitland Ward, Mia Malkova, Sophie Dee or Elsa Jean etc then they’re definitely earning much more than your estimates because they’ve their Fan following, they’ve their Audience and they have Demand.
They charge basis what’s their Market demand value and it’s basically because of their Popularity among Porn Geeks.
Those who establish a brand of their own make money in this industry, be it males or females. There are men like Manuel Ferrara, James Dean, Rocco Siffredi who make more money than 99% of all the girls working in this industry.
Porn Industry Pays more for more Dirty & less Popular Stuff
In the gay scene, gay men are usually paid much more than gay women. Here the reason is obvious: while the gay men adult scene can be considered as an industry on their own, girls doing girls is rather a niche of the porn industry as a whole.
The type of scene will determine the likely rate. Generally, a solo scene pays the least, then G/G, B/G, anal, gangbang). Certain fields can command the highest of rates, but the work is much less common.
Onlyfans & Self-Producing Porn
OnlyFans is a platform that allows Pornstars to sell their content directly to subscribers and the best part is You can charge whatever you feel like. No middlemen, no commissions nothing.
While it is marketed as a platform for influencers, the overwhelming majority of the content sold on OnlyFans is pornography. The site has become increasingly popular, with subscriptions up 50% in April 2020, and it has even attracted celebrities.
OnlyFans has been criticized for blurring the lines between the commercial sex industry and mainstream social media because it’s the literal Adult version of modern Instagram.
Also Read, Onlyfans is Modern Adult version of Instagram
Modern trick of Doing porn for Attention & Switching Later
Also, consider that porn is not anymore about shooting scenes. There is much more to it, these days. Those performers who enter the industry to shoot scenes and get rich (males or females) they all last a few months (when not a few weeks) and retire after they realize that they would earn more money by Posting Hot Reels on Instagram, Tiktoks & producing self porn on onlyfans.
You have a great Example of this Retiring from Porn & Switching to Onlyfans (ex. Lana Rhoades, Mila Khalifa, Sunny Leone or Alexis Texas
1. Lana Rhoades
Lana Rhoades Retired & became Multi-Millionaire NOW. Former porn actor Lana Rhoades has revealed she’s making a lot more cash since ditching the industry as she warned other women about getting into adult movies in an attempt to make big bucks.
When asked if she believes her current success on social media is down to her previous career in porn, Rhoades admitted: “You never know.”
Before going on to say: “I’m kind of, like, the blueprint for how to get out of porn. And so that’s what I tell girls – it’s social media.
Lana Rhoades after Quitting Porn
“That’s how I got out. I started posting on Instagram every day and hustled. I blew up my Instagram, that’s actually what blew me up to be number one PornHub – I was not number one before I quit porn.”
Due to her hard work on social media, Rhoades can now earn a whopping $30,000 (£21,000) per post on her Instagram page, while also having more than 25,000 subscribers to her $5.99 (£4.00) a month OnlyFans accounts.
Also Read, Lana Rhoades Retired & became Multi-Millionaire NOW
Per Scene Rates for Porn
Here is a basic guideline of how much each type of scene pays out. Keep in mind however these are LA rates. They vary greatly depending on where you are shooting. Places outside of LA never pay these so called premium rates – and also I should mention these are the girls rates.
- Solo (or softcore photo shoot only) $350 – $750
- Boy/Girl $700 – $1000
- Anal (b/g) $1000 – $2500
- Anal (g/g) $800 – $1200
- Group Sex $1500 – $3000
- Double Penetration – $1500 – $3000
You’ll notice ranges because it varies greatly depending on how pretty you are and how famous you are. Obviously a really pretty girl is going to get $1,000 for a boy/girl while the average girl is making $800 and a well … let’s say lower end girl, she’ll get the $600 rate.
These rates don’t reflect first time bonuses. Often times a girl will be paid extra money by a company to get her “first time”. First time you do a boy/girl, first time on camera, first time anal, first time DP – all qualify for a bonus with the right producer and your agent is the one who can negotiate these special bonuses
Looking into How much do Pornstars Really Earn?
We found out Pornstars are not really making only by Banging on screen but also by Social Media, Onlyfans and by selling Affiliate Products be it Sexy lingerie, Sex Toys or whatever.
Income from Affiliates, Memberships, Royalties & Product Promotions and If I count Then they have income from more than 14 different websites selling memberships at various titles. They use their traffic to promote others’ adult content as an affiliate at a 50% rate per sale. They shoot custom content for fans who request it at 15 Euros per minute of footage and retain all the rights to it.
On top of this, they have created and run an adult-oriented web development company which gives work to 11 families and have other adult activities.
List of some Evergreen Top Rated Pornstars who made alot in Porn
2. Mia Khalifa
Former adult film actress, Mia Khalifa disclosed in a recent interview that she just made a total of $12,000 (Rs 8.5 lakhs) from her time in the adult industry.
As per a report in Vice, Khalifa had just worked in the industry for 3 months, but she still remains one of the most popular and trending names, and was also the most searched adult actors in the year 2018.
Khalifa became the subject of huge controversy in the year 2014 when one of the films she appeared in featured her donning the hijab and she received death threats from the ISIS.
However, in a a recent interview with Megan Abbott she conceded a lot of the misconceptions of the adult film industry.
“A lot of things online are wrong. Most of them still claim that I do porn. I haven’t done porn in last 7 years,” Mia Khalifa
In addition to that, she also dismisses how much she made in her short career in the industry.
In a video she posted on Twitter, she clarifies this, also sharing how it wasn’t “sunshine and flowers” after she quit the industry and tried to enter the workforce.
People think I’m racking in millions from porn. Completely untrue. I made a TOTAL of around $12,000 in the industry and never saw a penny again after that. Difficulty finding a normal job after quitting porn was… scary. Full interview here: https://t.co/xHK7SmhfrY pic.twitter.com/fwJlyzHznq
— Mia K. (@miakhalifa) August 12, 2019
“People think I’m racking in millions from porn. Completely untrue. I made a TOTAL of around $12,000 in the industry and never saw a penny again after that. Difficulty finding a normal job after quitting porn was… scary.”
3. Jenna Jameson
Porn legend turned webcam model and entrepreneur Jenna Jameson is known as the queen of the genre. Her massive net worth is due to the wide range her brand is associated with, including books, memorabilia and other products.
She also made some major dough from selling her website to Playboy.
Jenna Jameson, born Jenna Marie Massoli on April 9, 1974, is an American businesswoman, writer, television personality, and former pornographic film actress. She gained fame in the adult entertainment industry and was known as “The Queen of Porn.”
Jameson started her career in erotic videos in 1993 and quickly rose to prominence, winning numerous awards and accolades. She founded the adult entertainment company ClubJenna in 2000 with Jay Grdina, which expanded into managing websites of other stars and producing sexually explicit videos.
Jameson’s autobiography, “How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale,” became a bestseller in 2004. She retired from performing in pornographic films in 2008 but continued working as a webcam model.
Jenna Jameson’s net worth varies across sources, with estimates ranging upto $40 million. Her financial success stems from her career in the adult entertainment industry, business ventures like ClubJenna, real estate investments, book sales, and brand endorsements.
4. Tera Patrick
Tera started acting in adult films in 1999 and went on to become super popular, appearing on mainstream TV shows, other appearances and generally being one of the few successful porn actors to hit the big time.
She quit acting in porn in 2008, but continues to keep that bank balance high by operating her website, production company, and other business ventures.
5. Jesse Jane
Cynthia Ann Howell (July 16, 1980 – c. January 24, 2024), known professionally as Jesse Jane, was an American pornographic film actress.
Jesse Jane has received numerous award for her performances in adult films, and she is also a celebrated Penthouse model.
She also has her own brand and line of sex toys as well as her own line of tequila, and is all in all one of the big names of porn, and thereby very highly paid.
She had a net worth of approximately $9 million in 2024. Jesse Jane gained her fortune through her work in the adult film industry, where she starred in numerous films and received awards for her performances. She also ventured into mainstream acting, appeared in TV shows like “Entourage,” and launched her own line of sex toys and a tequila company.
6. Sunny Leone
Everyone knows about her, well she’s the only famous Indian mainstream Ex-pornstar. She once said that what she is today is because of her past. Earlier, she ranked No.7 in the list of the global porn star. Her net worth was estimated at $ 10 million now.
Embarking on her Bollywood career, she made her debut with Jism 2. Leaving behind her past life as a porn star, Sunny Leone has come a long way in her career. According to reports, Sunny Leone has a net worth of 13 million
Well, she chose the easiest way to earn money. Can’t call being a porn actor is easy, but she definitely earned a lot more than she could have in regular modelling or acting. Anyway now she is doing well in movies.
And there is nothing that stops a strong headed girl like her. Not even the Indians who condemn her for her profession but make love to her in their dreams.
7. Sasha Grey
She might have quit porn, but her legacy lives on. Sasha Grey made the successful move into the mainstream, doing movies with the likes of Elijah Wood, but not before she commanded huge sums for her porn performances.
She marketed herself well and she was definitely a celebrated Pornstar of her time. (Legends say she is still a GOAT). Well she exited at right time and used her Stardom in Mainstream Hollywood and earned alot.
Sasha Grey made her fortune primarily through her career in the adult film industry. She began her acting career in the pornographic film industry, winning 15 awards for her work between 2007 and 2010, including the AVN Award for Female Performer of the Year in 2008.
After her 2009 feature film debut as the lead in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience, Grey starred in independent films including Open Windows, the Canadian black comedy horror film Smash Cut and the horror film Would You Rather.
She also played a fictionalized version of herself in the HBO comedy-drama series Entourag
How many scenes can you do in a month?
An actress is booked the most when she’s between the ages of 22 and 26. During that time, she’ll probably do about 100 scenes a year. What expenses do you have to factor in?
There’s taxes, then a 10 to 15 percent agency fee.
And accommodation – Los Angeles is a very expensive city; a regular flat can easily cost more than £3,000, plus bills. Then there are STD tests, which you usually pay out of pocket. The quick ones cost about £150 and you have to take one every two weeks to be able to work. – as per Vice
How much money does a pro actor make in Europe?
Actors’ fees rarely go over €500 (£430) a scene, usually less. If you’re well established, you can ask for more, but the problem with the European market is that it is full of new actors willing to be paid peanuts. A lot of young people have to quit because it’s not financially sustainable.
Productions that pay well rarely book new actors, so getting noticed by them is really hard. A new actor might have a huge penis, but if there’s even a small risk he won’t perform on set, they’ll get someone more experienced.
As much as we try to hide it, we all know, deep, down inside, we’re all into porn. Why? Simply because it’s fantasy! It’s the perfect outlet for young, hot-blooded men to release some steam. That’s a fact!
So how much money do porn stars make in a month? It’s a too generic question to give a precise answer.
Some earn literally nothing, after expenses, some others make one thousand bucks a month, some others a few grands and some others much more than that; with the amount of money increasing according to their business drive and skills.
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