Two percentage agencies want to sign you. One takes 40%, the other takes 50%. The first looks like the better deal, and it may be exactly the same deal. Before you compare percentage agencies' commission rates, find one word in each contract: gross, or net. A 40% commission on gross takes as much of your money as a 50% commission on net.
This page is about that single fact: why it is true, how to convert any rate you are quoted, and what it means for the offer in front of you. We are an agency that pays creators a fixed salary instead of taking a percentage, so read the last sections knowing that. The arithmetic is the same whoever does it.
OnlyFans takes 20% before anyone else
Per its own terms, OnlyFans takes 20% of everything fans pay, subscriptions, tips and paid messages alike, and the creator receives 80%. That cut comes first, and you cannot negotiate it.
So every account has two numbers:
- Gross is what fans paid. Say 100 in a month.
- Net is what OnlyFans pays out after its 20%. On 100, that is 80.
A percentage agency's share is calculated on one of those two numbers. The contract says which, possibly inside a definition ("revenue", "earnings", "income") a few pages before the percentage itself.
Why 40% of gross is 50% of net
Take the same month of 100.
- OnlyFans keeps 20, so 80 is left to share.
- A percentage agency at 40% of gross takes 40% of 100: 40.
- 40 is half of the 80 that was actually paid out.
The percentage agency is taking 50% of the money actually left to share. You keep 40 of every 100 a fan spent.
Now take a percentage agency at 50% of net. It takes 50% of 80: 40. You keep 40. Same money, different headline.
The rule works for any rate. Because net is 80% of gross, a percentage of gross weighs 1.25 times as much once you measure it against your net.
| Quoted as | Share of your net it takes | What you keep of every 100 fans pay |
|---|---|---|
| 20% of gross | 25% | 60 |
| 30% of gross | 37.5% | 50 |
| 40% of gross | 50% | 40 |
| 50% of gross | 62.5% | 30 |
Read it the other way round and the same logic holds: 50% of net leaves you 40 of every 100 fans pay, exactly like 40% of gross, and 40% of net leaves you 48.
That is also how a lower number can cost more. 45% of gross takes 56.25% of your net, which is more than a percentage agency asking for 50% of net.
What percentage agencies commonly charge in 2026
The percentage agencies that publish their rates, and the guides written by the companies that sell them software, tend to describe the same ladder:
- around 20% to 30% for chatting only;
- around 30% to 45% for marketing plus management;
- around 40% to 50% for full management, where the agency handles the messaging, the promotion and the planning.
Several of those same guides describe anything above 50% as predatory. Treat the ladder as what is commonly quoted, not as a standard, and look for the base, gross or net, next to the number. The top of the range is where that matters most. A BBC investigation published in 2026, built on testimony from creators in the UK, described management contracts that took around half of what creators earned, and sometimes more.
Is 50% too much for a percentage OnlyFans agency?
Sometimes. Three things decide it, and the headline number is the least important of them.
- The base. 50% of net leaves you 40 of every 100 fans pay. 50% of gross leaves you 30, a quarter less money under the same headline.
- What comes off before the split. If the contract lets the percentage agency subtract "marketing costs" or "operating costs" before calculating your share, and does not list or cap them, your real percentage is unknown on the day you sign.
- What the agency actually does. This is the honest case for agencies, and it is a real one. A percentage agency that brings the traffic, answers your fans' messages and turns a small account into a large one can leave you with more money at 50% than you would keep on your own. Keeping 40% of a month ten times larger beats keeping 80% of a month you ran by yourself. The catch is that you only learn whether your agency is that agency after months, and in the slow months in between, your share drops.
When the base is left out
A pitch can lead with the percentage because it is the one number creators compare. The base lives in the contract. There is nothing wrong with either base. But a percentage without its base is not a price, it is half of one: "40%" can cost you 40% or 50% of your net, and "45%" can cost more than "50%".
The fix is one sentence, sent in writing before you sign: is your percentage calculated on what fans pay, or on what OnlyFans pays out after its 20%? Then ask the second question that matters: which costs, if any, are deducted before my share is calculated?
What a fixed salary changes
A salaried agency pays a fixed monthly amount written in the contract.
What it costs you, first:
- An exceptional month does not raise your pay.
- Your salary does not depend on the account. With us, our team runs the accounts while the contract lasts, and what you film is used only for as long as it does.
- You have to deliver the content asked for, on the agreed schedule; otherwise the contract ends.
What it brings you: no percentage, on any platform, and a fixed pay date, written in the contract.
A percentage agency may suit you better if you can absorb a month near zero, with savings for example. A fixed salary may suit you better if you can deliver on a schedule and prefer a fixed pay date, written in the contract.
What Lumea pays
We pay a fixed monthly salary, every week on the same day, by bank transfer in Europe and the US or in crypto everywhere else. We take no percentage and charge no fees.
Where you start depends on your experience, your profile and what you choose to show: showing your face pays the most, your face replaced by AI comes second, and never showing your face is the base salary. The amount is written into your contract before you start and reviewed every quarter.
For the full comparison of salary and percentage deals, including the costs that get deducted before a split, read salary or percentage: how agency pay really works. To compare agencies on the terms that decide what you keep, see the best OnlyFans management agencies, compared honestly.
FAQ
Do OnlyFans percentage agencies take their commission from gross or net?
Both exist. The contract decides: check its definition of "revenue" or "earnings". Ask for the answer in writing before you sign.
What is a normal commission for a percentage OnlyFans agency in 2026?
What is commonly quoted runs from about 20% for chatting-only services to 40% or 50% for full management. Several industry guides call anything above 50% predatory.
Does OnlyFans take its 20% before a percentage agency does?
Yes. Per its own terms, OnlyFans takes 20% and the creator receives 80%. A percentage agency's cut is then calculated either on the full amount fans paid or on the 80% that was paid out.
How do I compare a gross percentage with a net one?
Multiply the gross percentage by 1.25. 40% of gross is 50% of net, and 30% of gross is 37.5% of net.
We answer within 24 to 48 hours. Apply here, or see how the weekly salary works first.