OnlyFans, MYM, Fansly or Fanvue: what actually changes for a creator.

"MYM or OnlyFans?" is the question every creator starting out asks, and "Fanvue" or "Fansly" is what anyone looking for an alternative types. The marketing answer fits into one line of commission. The answer that matters fits into four questions: who operates the platform and where, what it withholds, what tax paperwork it puts on you, and how the money arrives. This comparison sticks to what the four platforms' official pages say, consulted on the day of writing. What is not there is not written here.

Who operates each platform, and in which country

OnlyFans is operated by Fenix International Limited, a British company registered in London under number 10354575 since 1 September 2016. Its accounts are filed each year at Companies House. Fanvue is operated by Shift Holdings Ltd, also British, registered under number 12729677 since 8 July 2020. Its terms state that American payments go through a Delaware subsidiary, Fanvue LLC.

Fansly is operated from the United States by Select Media LLC, which holds the trademark with the US patent office. Its help centre states that the platform "operates in the United States and pays creators in US dollars". MYM is operated by AIR MEDIAS, a European company with share capital of €502,000, registered under number 809 565 906.

This geography is not a detail. It determines the law applicable to the contract, the tax forms you are asked for, which authority receives a report about you, and the face a banker pulls when they see who sent a transfer.

Commission and payment: what each platform withholds and how it pays

OnlyFans' terms set the commission at 20% of every fan payment. All earnings are denominated in US dollars, exchange and banking fees are borne by the creator, and withdrawal requires reaching a minimum amount shown in the account.

Fanvue applies a standard "creator earnings rate" of 80%, meaning 20% withheld, with temporary uplifts for new accounts (85% for the first month, according to its home page). Billing is in dollars, pounds or euros. Earnings stay pending for seven days, up to twenty-eight depending on the profile, and the platform says it initiates payouts within ten business days.

MYM works the other way round, in percentage passed on: 75% of subscription prices, 80% of private media, private shows and tips, after deducting banking fees of 7% of the transaction amount. Withdrawal requires a certified account and a minimum of €50 per SEPA transfer (€100 outside SEPA); transfers go out on Mondays and Thursdays depending on the frequency chosen, and earnings stay pending for 15 days for a monthly subscription, 60 days for a six-month subscription, 7 days for private media, shows and tips.

Fansly pays in dollars, with minimums of $20 (electronic wallets), $50 (SEPA transfer), $100 (international transfer or crypto-assets); sales stay pending for seven days and requests are, according to the platform, approved within 48 hours. Its commission rate does not appear on any of the help pages we were able to consult: it is shown in the creator agreement at sign-up, and we do not reproduce an unverified figure.

Tax paperwork: what each platform asks of you

This is the least understood part, and it is simpler than the forum threads suggest.

If you are a US person — citizen, green-card holder or resident — an American platform asks for a Form W-9 and issues a Form 1099-NEC if it paid you above the reporting threshold for the year, which rose from $600 to $2,000 for 2026. British and European platforms do not issue 1099s, and that changes nothing about your obligation: the income goes on Schedule C either way. The detail is in OnlyFans taxes in the US.

If you are not a US person and the platform is American, you file a Form W-8BEN. Its purpose is to certify your foreign status, and Fansly asks for it before releasing payouts; its help centre states that it does not withhold US tax from creators' earnings. Fansly asks for it. Failing to file it is one of the few genuinely self-inflicted losses in this business.

If you are in the United Kingdom, none of the platforms deducts tax at source. You register for Self Assessment above the £1,000 trading allowance, file by 31 January, and pay income tax plus Class 4 National Insurance on the profit. See OnlyFans tax in the UK.

One structural point is worth knowing, whatever your country. On 28 February 2023, in the Fenix International case (C-695/20), the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed that a platform which intermediates in the supply of electronic services is deemed to act in its own name. It is the platform that sells to the fan and accounts for the consumption tax on the price.

What you receive is remuneration for a service supplied to the platform, not to the fan. That is why creators almost never charge sales tax or VAT on subscriptions themselves, and why the invoicing question is one for an accountant rather than for a creator forum.

Who reports your income, and to whom

The route depends on where the operator is established.

• OnlyFans and Fanvue, established in the United Kingdom, fall under the reporting rules in force since 1 January 2024, with a return to HMRC by 31 January covering seller identity, tax number and payment totals. That data then feeds international exchanges, so a creator resident elsewhere should not assume it stays in Britain.
• Fansly, operated from the United States, reports to the IRS through Forms 1099-NEC for US creators, and collects W-8BEN forms from the rest.
• MYM, established in the European Union, reports under DAC7, the directive that obliges platforms to send seller identity and income to their tax authority each year.

In all four cases the conclusion is the same: the platform holds your tax number and your bank details, and a return that is inconsistent with its statements will show. One trap deserves flagging for UK creators — the widely quoted exemption below 30 sales and €2,000 applies only to sellers of goods. A creator supplies a personal service, so there is no minimum at all: one payment is reportable.

Identity and age verification: what each platform requires

All four platforms restrict creator accounts to adults and verify identity before any payment. What each one asks for:

• MYM: an identity card or passport (driving licence refused) and a selfie holding the document, face visible, no filters.
• Fansly: both sides of an official identity document, a photo holding it, a handwritten sign with your name, the date and the words "For Fansly", then a short video. Verification is run by the provider Ondato.
• Fanvue: identity verification and a liveness check. Anyone appearing in a piece of content must be a Fanvue creator or a verified adult, with an identity document and signed written consent to be produced on request.
• OnlyFans: identity and age verification before the creator account opens. Fenix International says it combines internal and external checks and monitors the first seven to ten days of activity on any new account.

These requirements line up with what the law now demands anyway: proven identity and age, written consent from anyone filmed, and in the United States the § 2257 record-keeping obligations on producers. An agency contract that does not carry them over is incomplete.

Content ownership and content rules

On all four platforms, the creator remains the owner of their content and grants a licence. The scope varies. MYM limits itself to a non-exclusive licence for promoting the platform and states that media "are and remain the exclusive property of creators". Fanvue, by contrast, takes a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable and assignable licence, with the right to sub-license, to exploit published content. Read that paragraph before publishing content you also sell elsewhere.

Content policies differ in detail but converge on the essentials: everyone visible must be an adult, consent is required, non-consensual content is prohibited, AI-generated content is regulated. MYM also states, in its sales terms, that the sale of a piece of media is concluded directly between the creator and the fan, the platform not being a party to it: the creator carries the responsibility.

What changes for an agency running several platforms

An agency managing a creator present on both OnlyFans and MYM handles two currencies, two payout calendars, two sets of tax paperwork and two reporting routes. Three practical consequences.

The management contract must name each platform, state which net income the commission is calculated on and in which currency, and provide for exchange fees. Each platform's statements must be exported and kept: those are what the bank and the tax authority will compare against the commission invoices.

Access deserves a clause of its own. MYM points out that the creator "is responsible for any action carried out through their account", that no agency is certified by the platform, and that a written contract is "strongly recommended". An agency running an account without a written mandate is working without cover, on both platforms.

Finally, the geography of the platforms shows up in the geography of the banking: regular transfers in dollars from a British company and in euros from a European one, into the same account, form a profile the bank must be able to read. Our guide on banking in the US and UK explains what that profile triggers. Our agencies and managers page describes how we structure those flows.

Maloum and Reveal: the same questions on other platforms

Other exclusive-content platforms work on the same model and raise the same questions. Maloum is operated by neolime GmbH, an Austrian company based in Vienna (commercial register number FN 574724h), with a site in German and English. Its creator terms, of which only the German version is binding, set the creator's share at 80% of creator revenue (20% withheld), with fans paying a 15% service fee on top, and open creator accounts only to people acting as entrepreneurs, with supporting documents. Reveal is operated by PM INDUSTRY, a French simplified joint-stock company (SAS) based in Lyon, with a French-language site aimed at creators and agencies; it advertises a 20% commission and says that VAT on sales is collected and remitted by the platform.

The framework does not change. Both operators are established in the European Union, so both fall under DAC7 for their EU-resident sellers, reporting to the Austrian and French tax authorities respectively. For a creator in the United States or the United Kingdom, the questions are those already covered for MYM: what invoice or tax details the platform asks for, which currency you are paid in, and how the income goes on your return. Status, the management contract and consistency between statements and returns are handled as on any other platform; OFM Legal also advises creators and agencies working on Maloum and Reveal.

The comparison table

This table reflects the official pages as at 27 August 2026, and the tax-form column reflects the standard practice of each operator. Platforms change their terms several times a year; before signing an agency contract or choosing a status, have the version in force reviewed. How OnlyFans works in detail, from sign-up to payout, is described in our guide.

Your contactOlivier MaciejewskiFounder of OFM Legal · Former international business lawyer (HEC Paris, Arendt, Clifford Chance) · Official MYM partnerHis background Updated September 12, 2026

This article is general information and does not replace advice tailored to your situation. OFM Legal is not a law firm: court proceedings are handled by our partner lawyers.

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