How we research and rank
How we source, date and rank every figure on this site — and how we handle the fact that we are paid by some of the platforms we review.
The conflict, stated plainly
This site earns money when someone signs up to a creator platform through one of our links. That is a real incentive to recommend whichever platform pays us most, and pretending otherwise would be the least trustworthy thing we could do. Instead, here is the method we hold ourselves to, so you can check whether we are following it.
Every number is sourced and dated
Fee splits, payout thresholds and referral terms all carry a citation and the date we last checked it against that source. Where the platform publishes the figure in its own terms, help centre or legal pages, we mark it Official. Where it is only available through consistent third-party reporting, we mark it Reported. Where sources contradict each other, we mark it Disputed and show the more conservative number.
That last category matters more than it sounds. Fanvue's referral duration is widely republished as 36 months by review sites that copy each other; Fanvue's own referral policy and help centre both say 12 months. We go with the platform and tell you the discrepancy exists, because the number you can hold them to is the one in their terms.
We rank on terms, not on payouts
Our platform ordering reflects the deal a creator gets — the split, the payout mechanics, the referral duration and cap, and who funds the commission. It does not reflect what we are paid. The clearest evidence is that OnlyFans, the largest and most searched platform on this site, sits last in our ranking, and that we recommend it anyway on the pages where it genuinely is the right answer.
We treat "lifetime" as an intention, not a guarantee
OnlyFans advertised a 5% referral commission as LIFETIME, in capital letters, from 2016, and wrote it into its terms of service. In May 2020 it cut that to 12 months and capped it at $50,000 per referred creator — retroactively, according to a class action filed in August 2026. Nothing in that case is proven. But it is the reason no page here treats a current commission structure as a permanent one, and why we tell creators to screenshot terms on the day they sign up.
What we do not do
- We do not run paid placements. No platform can buy a position, a badge or a kinder verdict.
- We do not publish fabricated earnings screenshots, invented creator testimonials or "results" we cannot evidence.
- We do not hide the disclosure. It appears above the content on every page carrying referral links, not only in the footer.
- We do not link to a platform's referral program without saying what it pays and who funds it.
Limits worth knowing
Some terms are only visible inside a verified creator account, and platforms change them without notice or announcement. Fansly in particular does not publish its referral terms on a public page, which is why its figures are marked disputed. Treat what your own dashboard says as authoritative over anything on this site, and tell us when the two disagree — corrections are welcome and we publish them.
Re-verification schedule
Every platform page is re-checked against its sources at least quarterly, and immediately when a platform announces a change. The date on each page is the date of the last check, not the date of the last cosmetic edit.
See also our full affiliate disclosure.