The life of a gay porn star seems luxurious, glamorous, and oh-so-rich. But how much do they actually make?
Back in 2015, when we first penned this article, the top-tier gay porn stars could cash in a cool $5,000 per scene if their name carried some weight. However, the reality was a tad more modest for the majority, typically raking in around $500 to $1,000 per scene.
What do gay porn stars make today?
Crunching the numbers, the average gay porn star wouldn’t be rolling in the dough. $500 per scene, perhaps scoring five scenes each month, and voila, you’re looking at $2,500 in monthly earnings or a neat $30,000 annually. To put things in perspective, the median U.S. household income in 2015 was only $51,000. It seemed that gay porn stars were pocketing just over half the pay of your average desk jockey.
Fast forward to a recent Dazed article spotlighting the hot topic of unionizing within the porn industry. Mickey Taylor offered insights into the contemporary rates, saying, “You can work in the U.S. and get paid anything from $500 to $2,000 for the day/scene.”
Let’s rerun the numbers with these fresh figures. Assuming an average of five scenes per month and using the potential range provided by Mickey Taylor above, we’re looking at monthly earnings of $2,500 to $10,000. That translates to an updated yearly salary ranging from $30,000 to $120,000. Quite the spectrum, isn’t it?
Gay porn’s new revenue stream
But gay porn has a new star on the scene, bringing in some extra cash for its actors. Reports from a Buzzfeed article, porn creators spilled the beans on supplemental income, and it’s no small change. We’re talking about potential extra earnings ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 annually thanks to platforms like OnlyFans, Clips4Sale, and FanCentro. This seismic shift in income potential has added an exciting addition to gay porn stars’ finances.
Related:
STUDY: States that are horniest for OnlyFans also want to ban adult content & erase LGBTQ+ people
Is this just another case of red states hypocritically searching for explicit content while trying to ban it?
These platforms allow their performers to set monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscriptions on their content, allowing them to monetize it flexibly. It also gives them a safe place to sell custom content for as much or as little as they’d like, helping boost gay porn stars’ paychecks and giving them control that working within the typical porn industry doesn’t allow.
Navigating gay porn earnings
As with anything in life, there’s a catch. The porn industry isn’t exactly one to shout figures from the rooftops. Each producer and production company pays differently. And the U.S. Census Bureau isn’t planning any pop-ins to porn studios anytime soon. So, we’re left with hushed conversations and the courageous few who open up about the numbers.
Making money in the gay porn industry isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula. Success is as diverse as the performers themselves. From selling personalized content to even dabbling in merchandising, it’s a world where savvy moves and personal branding can make all the difference.
Remember, it’s not just about the scenes anymore. How you market yourself, build your online presence, and capitalize on the power of social media can elevate you from a performer to a brand. While the life of a gay porn star might seem luxurious, the journey to the green is as diverse as the characters themselves.
Related:
Gay adult film performer blasts studio for paying bottoms less than tops
#EqualPayForBottoms
PS: Before you scurry off to make your OnlyFans account, subscribe to the Queerty newsletter and get articles like this straight to your inbox. (Promise, that’s the only thing straight about us.)
Michael Alvear’s latest book is How To Top Like A Pornstar
This article includes links that may result in a small affiliate share for purchased products, which helps support independent LGBTQ+ media.
David Red
Their “scenes” are commercials for their main source of income: escorting.
Rob Ridings
Imma stop you right there….you’re making money by doing something that 99.9% of people do for free, and you get paid cuz you have a hotter body than us lowly normals. I’m sorry…I don’t care if it’s little or a lot. You’re being paid. Period. 😛 Hard to have sympathy for anyone with #abprivilege
Dylan Albertson
Why are you using a picture of Ryan Gosling from “The Place Beyond The Pines”? Hes’ not gay nor a porn star in this movie..
Dan Steele
$600 per scene for top and $800 for bottom
Noah Samuels
I wish Ryan Gosling did gay porn!
Colin McCoy
Okay, 50k-100k a year is still comfortable. I make less than that before taxes, and I have to work 40 hours a week. It’s a job, and I don’t think many people were laboring under the delusion that all performers in porn are rich as hell.
polarisfashion
Guess there are more broke straight boys than we previously thought.
Mike Trottier
What do you think Howard Andrew?
Timothy Grover
What about ‘straight’ guys who do gay porn, like gay for pay? They usually seem remarkably composed for straight guys. Whenever I talk to straight guys about gay sex, they usually cringe and shudder, and go into convulsions!
Gregg Jabarisidiki
Pay off may be good now , but the internet is forever. So that future may be screwed, save up .
Bruce Dillon
Not Barely Enough!
(*;*()
Dzaman Dzan
But most of them end up in a tragic way. Not worth it. Quick money, fast life.
Masc Pride
@Dylan Albertson: Probably because he was ridiculously hot in that role, and he had a really gay-for-pay look in it too (IMO).
John Schacht
that because they’re a dime a dozen…TOO MANY OF EM!!!
Mark Stanley Bridges-Music
I could livee with that.
Emilio Fernandez
Oh boo hoo ð?? gtfo
Bromancer7
$50K a year is not bad for what is essentially part time work, 5 days a month. It leaves you plenty of time to enjoy your life or take on extra jobs or other business ventures to make more if you choose.
Hmmm… do I make $25K a year working 60 hours a week with $30K in student loans or do I work 5 days a month and make $50K, no degree required? It’s pretty much a no-brainer if you can do it.
Charlie in Charge
The poor dears; this is why they can’t afford pants. 😉
I have a sneaking suspicion that the producers of the films and scenes make a significantly larger amount of money from the videos; the models should make more.
Ricco Mashatt
I think they should pay all of their bottoms triple. It’s very expensive to get hemorrhoid surgery lol I would love to see a documentary life after porn. Where are they now.
MarionPaige
Every time “mainstream media” looks at the adult industry they always head to the same place, Vivid Entertainment. Lately, some media have been quoting Kink in SF. I would argue these companies can’t possibly be “representative” of the industry, they are unique companies.
Since there seems to be no shortage of guys willing to do gay adult, it obvious must pay enough.
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
@David Red: Bingo. Same with “straight” male porn stars who escort for men. Porn is a second “part-time” job for them.
Ramiro Rivas-Flores
Randy Avilla
DuMaurier
@Dylan Albertson: Oh, that is Gosling! I thought he looked familiar, but I was actually wondering if that was a random stock photo or a guy whose porn vids I could find. Now that I know neither is true, I think using the pic is pretty disrespectful. And if Gosling doesn’t have a sense of humor, maybe even actionable.
Clark35
@David Red: Yup. They don’t make that much at all by doing actual videos or even being “stars”.
@Ricco Mashatt: There are such documentaries or clips of what people do after porn on youtube.
Reginald Augustus Salazar Magpayo
Next thing you know they’ll be telling us the value of their dicks per “inch”.
Clark35
Why did queerty remove that article about the prostitute/pr0n guy Rocco Steele?
lauraspencer
$50k a year for a few days a work a month (most likely not taxed) is not bad at all. They could easily get another part time job. If they worked at a bar or a restaurant they would easily be making more than $100k a year. Not bad at all.
MarionPaige
@Ricco Mashatt: “I would love to see a documentary life after porn”.
The documentary “Life After Porn” concentrates on straight performers
Regg Valencia
That explains a lot about them having these Amazon wish lists.
Tancredo Buff
If it’s a lesser known studio the pay is less than $300.
HereinNYC
Just to make a distinction between INDIVIDUAL income and HOUSEHOLD income. The former is for one personal and the latter can be for 2 people, so you can’t really compare them one-to-one.
Clark35
@MarionPaige: There are documentaries done by a German guy called “Cycles of porn” and “Sex and life in L.A.” that are OK that show some gay porn guys before and after porn, or the ones that survived.
Billy Budd
Poor guys. I sympathize with them. Escorting must be the way out. But it is also dangerous.
Captain Obvious
One day people will wake up and stop believing gay for pay is a thing. Most of these “gay for pay” queens aren’t remotely convincing and the ones who are really aren’t fooling anyone who knows better.
Anyway don’t see the appeal of being in porn, when you get too old for it(or tired of it) you’ll be worried all the time that your future employer(or god forbid future spouse) might find out. Way too much drama for a little bit of money you could make with a 2 year degree.
F. Jay Ver
Maybe they do it because they enjoy it. Money isn’t the only factor in job satisfaction.
Chris-MI
Some of them have day jobs, some of them are college students, many of them supplement their income by webcamming, or escorting, or go-go dancing, or making club appearances. Top stars actually make a lot more from other sources.
Billy Budd
How much does Colby Keller make in a year? That should be the gold standard.
jwtraveler
@F. Jay Ver: Are you crazy? You must be a communist. This is America. Money is the ONLY thing that’s important in job satisfaction, and everything else for that matter. And the only people who are important are people who have lots of money. Go back to Cuba or N. Korea you commie!
Realitycheck
@jwtraveler: I agree with the cash thing totally, but I have met male prostitutes and some may be half love sex for sex, if they don’t do it with clients they do it for free, their eyes are like screaming sex.
Just my experience, but then I am usually good looking LOL
Roberson Randy
I laugh when I once read a young black gay kids FB stating he wanted to do porn. They probably make next to nothing compared to the white stars.
pat1029
I work in the industry, as others have said this is a part time job for guys, most have other part or full time jobs or are students. As far as pay this sounds right for some studios, but bigger studios pay about $1000-2000 for a solo video and $2000-3000 for sex scenes. They used to pay more, one studio used to pay guys $5000 to bottom. These differences in pay might be because these are gay for pay instead of studios that only use gay guys, I have found gay studios pay less. anyway, this is just paying the performers, they also need to pay the flights and hotel of the models, the recruiter, the production crew, editors, etc. A solo can cost around $7000 to makes and a single sex scence can easily cost over $10,000 to make.
Ken VanArsdale
$500 to $1000 depending on what they will do.
Chris-MI
@Billy Budd: Colby made 45K plus by crowdfunding. He’s using it for an art tour. That’s a pretty good example of a porn star making more by not doing porn. He’s also what the article calls “in-demand.”
The black guys are generally segregated to what’s offensively called “thug porn” but that a handful of black guys who look like their white counterparts (bodybuilder, clean cut college jock, cute twink) break into the mainstream and make cute twink porn with white cute twinks, etc. There are a lot of successful mixed race guys that self-identify as black but who would probably be perceived as white by most fans. The black guys seem to do pretty well in webcamming and stripping though, probably because being the only black man in the room makes you more interesting.
Reverse Transcriptase
How about an article on gay porn suicides? Im sure that’ll have everyone nice and erect.
Bauhaus
I’m guessing that the very people critical of porn stars, and what they make, are porn consumers. Massive porn consumers. Funny, how that works.
seaguy
@Dylan Albertson: Cause he is hot and that will catch people’s attention and get them to read this post. Most of us are intelligent enough to know Ryan Gosling has not done gay porn.
Jovan E. Comeaux
I’m well over 30k in debt because of Culinary School, I work in an high end restaurant that’s barely giving me 15k a year. 30k a year for porn sounds damn good right about now.
Tom Stag
Let’s pretend an average 20 min scene takes 5 hours to make (guessing using easy numbers) that breaks down to 100 per hour ….. using the averages on here that means they are working 25 hours a month soooo i woud say thaz pretty good for a part time job….
martinbakman
@Jovan E. Comeaux: That sucks. My partner is similar, though he earns a bit more, his hours daunting. My heart goes out to people in the restaurant biz.
Chuck Price
A butt load!
McShane
@Clark35: Because Tracer copied and pasted himself into a corner. Conveniently leaving out the rest of the quote. Rocco got word of it and was super pissed.
ROCCO STEELE XXX @RoccoSteeleXXX · Apr 24
Hey @Queerty do u have a response as to why you grossly misquoted me…I would never “demand respect” bc I know respect must be earned.
Jairo Mendez
Alguien Reporto un Fuego?
Alex Paris
there are other sources of revenue.
Chris-MI
@Reverse Transcriptase: I don’t think anyone has any real data on how many men make gay porn, let alone how many of them commit suicide. And once you had the data, you’d have to weight your numbers to compare to suicide rates among gay men who were thrown out of the house, or cut off from their families, or excommunicated from their church and who didn’t do porn. Not that everyone who does porn has those problems by any means, but there are plenty of men (and even more women) who use porn as a ticket out of hell.
Yuval Ariav
It well know!
Bill R. Tomison
Before I even clicked this, I said, “Not – much.”
And I was right.
John A Keith
You don’t make a lot and most of your costars are dicks.
p²
I only skimmed the 65 previous comments so maybe someone noted this already. $5K-$10K per month is $60K-$120K per year. There are 12 months in a year.
Dale Landefeld
worth much more …..depending on what they must do!…..haha
I am Gay (just like you), Black, HIV-Positive, and Back Bitches!!!
Newsflash Queerty: Whenever you see “household” in terms of income they don’t mean just 1 person! Got it?
So, my question to you now is: How exactly did you compare a $30,000 annual income to a $51,000 household income accurately? Answer: YOU DIDN’T BITCHES!!! YOU DIDN’T!!!
Honestly Queerty, who is your financial consultant? Reta*ded Nazi commentor Saint Law? Ha ha ha!
Because if it was then good, because it would be safe to say then that you didn’t lose much money, as her dumb bitch-ass would have never been able to count the money correctly in the 2nd place! Ha ha ha!
Jennifer Cable Hermann
You’re making me laugh
Maureenann Mcmillan
Tommy I love you but no more porn
Jacob23
Michael Alvear needs to reconsider his career in economics.
First, median household income is not the same thing as median salary. Household income is the combined income of all earners in a given household. That is typically 2 wage earners or 1 full time earner and 1 part-timer. In some cases, it can comprise 3 or 4 wage earners, and in other cases, just 1. In other words, Alvear is comparing apples and oranges.
Second, Alvear asserts “If the top male performer in straight porn makes $100,000 a year, what do the top gay performers make? The truth is probably not a whole lot more.” The truth is that Alvear knows nothing about this topic. The reason that straight or straight-leaning men are tempted to go into gay porn is precisely because gay porn pays males better. Men in straight porn make very little because they are trivial factors to the consumers of that kind of porn. Regardless of what they bring to the table, it is unlikely to influence the consumer’s decision to buy. But when they do gay porn, they become an important factor, if not the most important factor, in influencing the consumer’s decision. And if they have desirable qualities, greater financial reward may follow. It’s sort of amazing that Alvear never heard about this. It isn’t an industry secret.
Finally, Alvear doesn’t even bother to discuss the differences in pay among adult studios and across porn sub-genres. What a waste of space. Why can’t Queerty hire some real journos and do some real in-depth pieces once in a while?
surreal33
Seriously, everyone is going on and on about the joys of being porn star. Funny, not one mention of death and despair within gay porn. A simple Google search reveals scores of young men dead after a short, underpaid, life in gay porn. Gay porn isn’t as glamorous when you factor in how men have killed themselves or died a slow painful death of AIDS! The peanuts gay porn star are paid is criminal considering the risks involved. Not to mentioned the emotional toll of being nothing more than a cheap object to be used and quickly discarded.
p²
@surreal33: “A slow painful death of AIDS”?? 1994 called and they want their sex-negative judgmental comment back.
Kevin J Desmond
Not a whole hell of a lot, I’ve personaly known porn stars and I’m talking big name ones. They told me the most they ever made was around 4 to 5 grand per film
Craig Harrington
Hell i would love to be fucked all day and would not even worry about the money
jwtraveler
@surreal33: Yes, there are risks associated with doing porn as there are with many professions that are not nearly as enjoyable or lucrative. The suicides of porn actors are tragic; all suicides are tragic. I find it hard to believe that these men committed suicide as a result of doing porn. I’ve heard that dentists have a high suicide rate; I don’t hear anyone condemning dentistry as a high-risk profession.
Cee
That’s why they escort on the side.
dave lopes
@Rob Ridings: 99.9% of us do not have sex on cue with strangers on film for mass distribution.. So your logic is flawed.
Geeker
I’ll be glad when technology gets to the point where we can have virtual porn stars so we can watch without having to wonder how potentially damaged/screwed up the guys on screen are in “real life”.
Fvk847
maybe because I’m hard working middle class but $500(I’m sure its tax free) still sounds like a could chunk of money for what…15 min of sex? lol
David Aventura
$50K a year, for working maybe 5 days a month, sounds like a dream job. With so many gay men watching porn, and desiring to have the hottest sex they can find because of said porn, I see nothing wrong with the truly hot guys in porn having hot sex for money. It would be a fantastic job. They make their cash, work out just about every day (for hours), and/or get another job to earn more money. Plus, the gay community treats porn stars like ROYALTY! What’s not to love?
I work 40 hours per week, it takes up so much of my days, and I dream of that one week a year when I can go on vacation. If I had it to do all over again, I would consider porn.
ptb2014
I keep thinking how lucky some of the guys are for having sex with a favourite performer, AND getting paid for it too! $500 for an hour with Jesse Santana, or Corbin Fisher’s Colt, or Bel Ami’s Jack Harrer? Come off it. Dream job!
gay200
What is needed, or bottoms Top
I do not know
They told me that anal sex is wanted by the directors porn
Who has news or information
GusBlogging
Well, and additionally one has to consider that they can hardly do their job once they get “old” – what are they gonna do when they are not in the desirable age? I guess doing porn might be a “hobby” but one should rely on it to be paying for their living.
Gus from http://www.gus-guyblog.com
Guy068
@Captain Obvious: Most of it is fantasy and some websites do the fantasy very well.
arthurb3
Nothing to be proud of – they are prostitutes!
xmannumber1
2 friends of mine have done porn. 1 was a white guy from college and he did like 3-4 scenes for CollegeDudes24/7 and I believe he said he made $800 for each scene, he did a solo jack off scene and 2-3 scenes where he was the top. The other guy is black and he did a few scenes for CocoDorm, he said they’re obligated to do a solo scene, two 1on1 scenes and a threesome/group scene but they’re only paid $600 per scene regardless of the position. Neither of them said if there was a difference for raw or safe but I’ve heard some guys say they’ll get paid more for raw scenes. But I follow quite a few porn stars on Twitter and a lot of the have said some of the studios wants guys to do like 3-5 scenes and they’ll post the videos for free on sharing sites and they’ll pay them based on the reception in the comments, that’s why a lot of them resort to escorting but the more popular ones can do adult modeling and make club appearances. We can all agree, unless you’re extremely attractive, have an amazing body, really nice ass or really big dick, you probably won’t make it far
SteveDenver
The assumption is that porn performers do as many “scenes” as they want, or average five per month. Porn performers may be in demand one week and unwanted the next. Ever wonder why all the extreme sex — fisting, double penetration, cum dumps, bareback orgies? Some porn DEPSERADOS have to do increasingly difficult stuff to get hired at all.
Kj
First of all you are so terribly wrong. Gay adults stars make money .. perhaps you were just not marketable enough to get more than one studio offer . Secondly most adult film stars brand themselves by making adult toys, investing in projects, etc. they also work on building their fan base. The adult industry is I believe a trillion dollar industry. Lastly, you make 1000 bucks sound like a little bit of money.. it can help with college, get you out of debt, and can give you extra income. The more popular you become the more you make. I personally know film stars that make more than you claim.. and honestly their income is not suppose to be discussed do to tax write offs.. so please don’t make assumption based off of your experience. Until you talk to every single gay adult studio all over then you can actually post facts. Of course it is nearly impossible to talk to all of the companies because most of the popular ones would never disclose that info. Your one experience doesn’t make you an expert