People love to say “sex work is easy money.”

They think all you need is a pair of heels, selfies and never picture the spreadsheets and the tax folders. They forget the hours spent answering emails, planning photos, fixing lighting, building websites, or calming anxious clients.

The truth? Sex work is work, like for real for real, it’s administrative, deeply emotional, creative, physical work and often one of the most demanding small businesses you could run, labor that rivals most modern freelance jobs…

Behind every photo, every session, every message, there’s an entire invisible economy of risk management, design, scheduling, and self-care that rarely gets seen.

Let’s talk about what it actually costs to do this job, in money, time, and heart. Please keep in mind that this is my experience and parcours and is not reflective of every single worker and how they choose to operate. Everyone approaches sex work in different ways, they are all valid. I will make estimates based of the reality i know and have witnessed around me over the years. 

There’s a reason activists, creators, and workers repeat the phrase “sex work is work.”
It’s not a slogan. It’s a reality, one that too often gets erased under judgment, censorship, and misunderstanding.

1. Digital Sex Workers : from Content Creation to live streaming

For digital sex workers, from OnlyFans creators to independent online dominants and cam models: content doesn’t appear magically.

The work involved requires:

• Concept development: planning themes, costumes, lighting, poses, or scripts.

• Production: filming, editing, sound balancing, photo retouching.

• Branding: maintaining a consistent aesthetic and voice across platforms.

• Copyright management: protecting personal content from leaks or theft.

• Customer Service : Posting the content, interacting with the fans, Dms
  
  

That’s hours of creative and technical work before a single post ever earns a cent. For myself, every selfie is a few minutes of editing, even if i was going to take that photo anyway and even if it’s just adjusting the lighting.

Sex workers WORK becomes:

• Photographers and videographers : learning about cameras, lighting, color grading, and how to create flattering yet authentic visuals. Hours of learning online, testing and trying in different budgets.

• Editors : trimming clips, adding sound, creating thumbnails, syncing captions, and ensuring smooth storytelling through every video. Cost of learning, hours spent learning on your own and testing, making your signature style.

• Art directors and aesthetic shoppers : sourcing outfits, props, furniture and backgrounds that match their brand identity and fantasy themes. Even creating a space in your home dedicated to content creation. 

• Trend forecasters : tracking what’s hot across platforms (Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, Pornhub) to adapt to algorithm shifts and client interests.

• Posting schedule planners and analytics : managing consistency, time zones, and engagement windows to optimize earnings. Documenting what works, what doesn’t…

• Social media advertisers : writing captions that dodge censorship, building funnels toward paid platforms, and maintaining multiple accounts after inevitable bans or shadowbans. 

• Website Developers, CMS Specialist (Content Management System Specialist), Platform Integration : Integrating and understanding the back end of platforms such as Onlyfans, Loyal Fans, Every back end is different and changes all the time. Website developing your own, sometimes from scratch to own your content and revenue streams.

• Admin, Financial upkeep and Payment processor expert : The industry changes payement processors so often because of the nature of the work. You have to be quick, adapt and learn how to retrieve your money from the online platforms. On top of bookkeeping, taxes and more.
  
  

That’s before considering customer service: answering DMs, managing requests, handling payment issues, and remembering clients handles and preferences all while maintaining emotional and physical boundaries.

All these hats, still one person and you haven’t necessarily made money yet… which brings us to :

The Approximate Costs of Online Sex Work

Running a digital adult business can be expensive, but it doesn’t need to. A typical setup may include:
Quality Phone and phone line :  1K and 50$ + a month
High-End Camera, Webcams and Lighting : 1k to 4-5k (one time fees)
Editing Softwares and Cloud Storage : 2-600 $ per year
Internet Bills : 80-150$ a month
Lingerie, Outfits : 800 to 2000 a year
Toys and Props : 500 to 2000 a year
Make up and Hair : 1000 to 4000 a year
Backgrounds, Decor, Furniture : 500 to 2000 (one time)
Website Hosting : 3-400 a year
Promotional tools, Shout-Outs on various platforms : 100$ to 2000$ per month

A good initial cost would resemble at least 3k but over a year can represent over 13k in investment.This doesn’t even include networking events, travel, destination filming, or collaborations The entry to digital sex work is more accessible. There is also infinite worldwide competition even in specific niches. Online sex work is a ton of work, hours and hours to make your name, stand out, learn, study, try things out.
 

2. In-Person Sex Work: The Business of Risk and Care

Society often dismisses the work of in-person sex workers. we are deemed of lesser value, believing we are unskilled and reckless. I find it absolutely unfair given the load of safety, management risk, self-discipline and the complexity behind what others view as “easy”. Every booking represents layers of unseen labor and decision-making that would overwhelm most freelancers.

Like digital creators, in-person sex workers must also build and maintain a “brand”.
The work involved requires:

• Branding: maintaining a consistent aesthetic and voice across ad and social media platforms.

• Risk Management : screening management, reference checks

• Customer Service : Posting the content, interacting with the fans, Dms

• Logistics : location, transportation, timing, exit routes, purchase of inventory (condoms, lube, kleenex, etc)

• Booking manager : from hotel/ motel rooms to uber drivers

• Guest Experience / Hospitality Operations : Creating welcoming environments whether it’s at home, and incall or a hotel. upkeep that space

Sex workers WORK becomes:

• Photographers and videographers : Taking Photos and Videos for ads and social media platforms

• Editors : trimming clips, learning to edit your own photos

• Art directors and aesthetic shoppers : sourcing outfits, props, furniture and backgrounds that match their brand identity. Whether that is for their incall, travel or content creation. 

• Trend forecasters : tracking what’s hot across platforms (Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, Pornhub) to adapt to algorithm shifts and client interests.

• Posting schedule planners and analytics : managing consistency and engagement to optimize visibility. Documenting what works, what doesn’t…

• Social media advertisers : writing captions that dodge censorship, building funnels towards emails and texts, and maintaining multiple accounts after inevitable bans or shadowbans. 

• Website Developers, CMS Specialist (Content Management System Specialist), Platform Integration : Integrating and understanding the back end of platforms such as Tryst, Leolist, Slixa, etc. Website developing your own, sometimes from scratch to own your content and revenue streams.

• Admin, Financial upkeep and Payment processor expert : The industry changes payment processors so often because of the nature of the work. Managing Cash on hand, Strategic deposits, investments, bulk buying for the future, Crypto, etc. On top of bookkeeping, taxes and more.

• Risk Managers : Screening, reference checks, relation building, community management and involvement, safe space checks, Sexual Health and Check ups, becoming a bullshit expert, becoming a AI analysis and scam expert.

• Transportation and Inventory Logistics : location selection, transportation, timing, exit routes, purchase of inventory (condoms, lube, kleenex, etc)

• Booking manager : from hotel/ motel rooms to uber drivers, schedule, calendars

• Guest Experience / Hospitality Operations : Creating welcoming environments whether it’s at home, and incall or a hotel. Upkeep of that space, Towels, Dishes, Floors, Bedding, cleaning supplies. If you have your own incall, include to that all the furniture, appliances and more.

• Customer Service and Experience Specialist : Managing emails, texts, dms but also in person work, maintaining physical and emotional boundaries in intimacy, crisis management (ex : someone falls and hurts themselves or someone’s wife calls), calm tensions and more

• Public Relations and Business Development Specialist : Networking, Collabs, Meeting other sex workers at peer events, advertising together, Image management, Free styling, strategic congress attendance, opportunity assessments

• Cultural Liaison : Experience curator, restaurant connaissor, knowing about all things happening in the city, pleasure concierge.
  
  

For Doms, i would say all the above but also add :

• Continuous Development : BDSM techniques and mastery, safety, aftercare, psychology, trends and applications, medical play

• Networking and Mentorships : Collabs, Fetish Events networking, strategic presences in international events, training of new people in the community

• Scene Designer : investigation of gears, costumes, furniture, toys, specialized tools, conceptualising scripts and in action flow, immersive experience tailored to client

• Emotional Strategist : Study and ongoing training of body language, trauma awareness, emotional regulation, balancing of arrousal and fear, but also aftercare

• Performance Art and Role Play : Acting, Improv, Storytelling, Presence and voice control, emotional range

• Safety Officer and Risk Management : negociation of scenes, consent forms if required, limits, safe space, being risk management protocol ready, operating between danger and safety.

Hours of work, mastery, risk management, intuition, customer service adding to that the cost and time management that goes with hosting (incall) and travelling (outcall). Let’s try to estimate the financial cost of in-person sex work.

The Approximate Costs of In-Person Sex Work

Quality Phone and seperate phone line :  1K and 50$ + a month
Various Softwares and cloud storage : 5-100$ a year
Internet Bills : 80-150$ a month
Lingerie, Outfits : 800 to 3000 a year
Toys and Props : 500 to 4000 a year
Make up and Hair : 1000 to 4000 a year
If you rent a space and manage your own incall : 1500 to 2000 a month in rent + about at least 5k in furniture and appliances (one time)
Website Hosting : 3-400 a year
Promotional tools, various advertisement platforms : 100$ to 500$ per month
Towels, Bedding, Dishes : about 2-300$
Uber Fees : about 300 to 1k a month
Hotel Room Rentals: between 3-500$/night
consumables : toilet paper, kleenex, Lysol, Condoms, Lubes, etc : 2-300 $ a month
Actual Consumables ( if you offer those) : Bottles of water, Cans of Soda, Beers, Wine : 300+ a month
Photoshoots : 1-5000 a year
Body modifications or tattoos (if part of branding): variable, often thousands.

Specialized practices like domination, fetish work, or roleplay often require hundreds or thousands of dollars in tools, props, and workshops. For Doms you can also add:

Toys and Furniture : a few hundreds to easy 5 figures
Mentorings and Classes : a few hundreds to thousands
Networking Events : local events a few hundred, international $$$
My personal dungeon was evaluated at 25k last time we did inventory. It’s a lot of money upfront and invested in the craft.

It’s safe to say that while looking easy, there is so much financial investment, risk and time put into in-person sex work. But it’s not only financially or professionally demanding. Sex work is also Intellectual and emotionnal labor. 

3. Emotional Labor and Vulnerability

Perhaps the most misunderstood part of the job is the emotional cost.  Sex workers constantly balance intimacy and detachment: offering presence, attention, and empathy while protecting their own hearts. (I use detachment in this context to lighten the text. Detachment doesn’t mean the person doesn’t care or isn’t with you in the moment, but there has to be a distance somewhere, where the connection and intimacy can live without intruding and getting into your skin. Like a friendship for example : deep love and care, but also a safe distance emotionally. )
It takes deep self-awareness, communication skills, and boundaries to maintain this balance day after day.
Here are some invisible skills, knowledge and discipline sex workers WORK on:
Intuition
Crisis Management
Self Advocacy
Psychology and forms of therapy
Management of other peoples insecurities
Affirmations
Fantasy Vs Reality treatment
Creating safe spaces and judgment free spaces
Boundary advocacy and negotiation
Self Emotional Regulation
Self Trauma Healing and trigger regulation


Why “Sex Work Is Work” Matters

Saying sex work is work acknowledges labor, not morality. Even if you don’t agree with this line of work it is still LABOR. A labor of love for some, a labor of survival for others. In all nuances, taking away the labor it represents is unfair and puts peoples lives in danger everyday. Stigma shouldn’t affect someone's income. These professions demand skill and these skills are present in all forms of work. Sex Work sustains economies, builds communities and redefines intimacy. Sex Work can represent a form of relaxation, a release, but for some it’s actual sexological bodywork, experiential processing and a form of deep intimate therapy.