How Much Does A Pornstar Make?

People often make comments to me about how profitable the adult industry must be. Indeed, there is also an assumption by the general public that porn stars all make a lot of money. And yes, there is money to be made in the industry, but it might not be as much as people think, or as straightforward. 

When talking about the industry it is important to remember that there are multiple different types of business models within it. Indeed, people often seem to unknowingly group all of these into one. So, it's important to separate it when discussing this topic. 

First we have fan sites. These often take a commission of INDIVIDUAL sales ranging from 15-20%. How much the creator makes is really up to them, and how much traffic/sales they can drive. If you are a famous person using one of these sites you can make anywhere upwards of 100k-1 million a month. The mainstream studio performer makes around 1k upwards a month. But, the majority of users on these platforms who don´t have a big following will not reach 100k so easily, despite popular belief. 

Then we have the studio system which is probably what most people think of when they think about the adult industry. When it comes to ´rates´there it's not exactly straightforward. In one of my many conversations with creators I was told that when thinking about the studio system it is firstly, important to separate the American studio system to that of Europe. Think of them as very different worlds, they said. In Europe there tends to be more of a standard flat rate for scenes, whereas in America, the rate depends on multiple factors such as; who you are, how long you've been in the industry, the type of scene you´re doing, and also how long you've waited to do different type of scenes. 

For example, if you are new to the industry, and you start with a girl girl (GG) scene, then you will probably get a rate at around 350 plus. If you then do GG for a year or so, and then move onto boy girl (BG) then you can get 1000 plus for a scene. However, if you are new to the industry and start with BG right away, then you will most likely get below 1000. And so, a lot of creators take a strategy of 'holding out' to do certain types of content because then they will get paid more. For instance, start with GG, go to BG, then move onto threesomes and more. However, this works mainly for female performers, male rates are entirely different and quite often men are paid less for mainstream studio work compared to women. Probably one of the only industries where women are paid more than a man … 

Overall, as you can see pay is not standardized in the industry, and it is not a given that you will make a lot of money. You have to really strategise, and manage your finances well in order to get the most out of a career in porn.