The coronavirus pandemic has upended employment in 2020, with millions laid off around the world. For those who have lost their regular employment, adult webcamming has become a popular way to either earn some income—or to spend some downtime. With a surge in both production and consumption, many have wondered about the economics of this booming market.

One question on the minds of many: How much do cam models make? ReadySetCam.com set out to answer this question by surveying 655 actively working webcam models about their income, platform, career length, and amount of time spent on camera every week. The survey was conducted in July 2020, and the findings were released on August 18.

“According to our survey results,” reported ReadySetCam, “the average webcam model earns $1,043 per week and spends an average of 18 hours per week camming.” Of course, they were careful to note, earnings vary widely depending on a model’s amount of experience, how much they cam, what platform they use, and more. “Top-earning cam models bring in as much as $6,000 per week, while some cam models earn as little as $100 per week,” with each of the above factors having an impact on earning potential.

“The biggest driver of how much a cam model earns is their level of experience. Unsurprisingly, the more years of experience a model has, the more they tend to make,” according to this survey. Models who have been camming for less than a year average about $43 per hour of camming, while those who have been building their brand and audience and on-camera skills for over five years average $103 per hour.

Another factor in earning potential, the survey revealed, is how much time a model spends on camera. “Models who cam for 35+ hours per week typically make $2,500 per week or more,” while “models who cam for 5 to 10 hours per week tend to make only around $350 per week.” Models who treat camming like a full-time job can, reportedly, “make over $130,000 per eyar on average.”

The survey found Streamate paid the most per hour, while Xmodels paid the most per week. And Stripchat outpaced its competition as far as model satisfaction.

Female solo models were earning the most per week, earning an average of $1,093 per week across all platforms, with trans solo performers coming in a close second at $940 per week. Solo male models and couples performing together brought up the rear, earning just $409 and $205 per week, respectively.

These findings aren’t particularly surprising, nor are they very scientifically sourced. But they are instructing for those considering camming, particularly one of the major takeaways that ReadySetCam pointed out: more hours spent on camera equals more income. Treating cam work like a full-time job will provide models with the experience they need to get better at what they do, while also giving them more opportunities to earn. 

Money stock photo by John Guccione of Pexels