Being a webcam model (cam-girl, cam-guy or cam-couple) is a career where people use their webcam or camera to chat or show off to viewers on various sexual levels, from talking to performing acts that the viewers request. The biggest misconception of a webcam career is that it’s all smut or sexual performances, and although that is part of this massive world, it’s not what everyone does, and there is no requirement to do so if you choose not to.
Becoming a webcam model is unique to any other job you may have experienced. There are many different perks to joining this line of work; you can work wherever you want, whether that’s on a beach in Maui or from the comfort of your own home, you can choose your hours and how long you want to work for, and unlike other online jobs, you can earn a much higher pay rate.
How Much Can You Earn With A Cam Career?
Discovering how much you can earn can be difficult as many webcam sites won’t give you a specific answer and will ballpark it at around “$1,000 a day”. Although that is achievable, what cam sites don’t tell you that is the amount you earn does vary a lot and can be based on many different factors such as content and experience.
A beginner webcam model can expect to see a wage of around $30 per hour. This can be because they haven’t quite found their niche or fan base yet, so as they try out different content ideas and work on their camera or lighting, people may not tune in as much, meaning that beginners will learn less at the start.
But as you grow and become more of a successful webcam model, you can start to see your wage rise from the $30 range to typically the $50 to $100 per hour mark. Viewers have access to many different webcam models, so you need to stand out, and you start to earn this amount once you’ve found your niche and have narrowed down what your viewers want.
Once you start to become a top webcam model, you can see your wage significantly increase up to the $200-$500 per hour mark. Once you have made your presence known on your chosen site, you can start to earn big money. A typical top model can see to earn $10,000 a week! But that doesn’t come without hard work, a strict schedule and top quality content.
Often, a webcam career is coupled with profiles on OnlyFans, Pornhub and many more, so once you grow an audience the world really is your oyster as there are simply so many platforms out there.
Is The Webcam Model Industry Growing?
A few years ago, webcam models and webcam websites got a lot of stigma with being tarnished as a different form of porn and objectifying women or men. However, as the years have gone on, webcam models have started to celebrate their work and prove that it isn’t objectifying and, if anything, is liberating.
In today’s world of social media, popular webcam sites like Streamate etc., have blossomed and have shown that the world of webcamming is a great new way to earn a living and be your own boss.
The 10 Best Websites For Webcam Models
1. Stripchat
Great for beginners, Stripchat is perfect for anyone looking to start their career in webcam modelling.
With its easy to use technology, this site is simple to navigate and get your profile set up and start earning money. Stripchat is one of the best sites to give a decent payout to beginner models. This is due to their excellent mixture of high traffic and options for different chats, from pay-per-minute, private chat rooms, Cam2Cam shows and Spy Shows.
Along with that, Stripchat allows you to host big competitions and contests that you can join to win big money. Up to $20,000 each month is up for grabs, so with all of these webcam options, your earning level is almost unlimited!
2. Xmodels
This webcam site is perfect for models looking for a long-term, stable income. Xmodels only take 25-50% of your takings; comparing that to other sites that can take 70-75%, you are guaranteed to get double or even triple the earnings here.
Xmodels is based in Europe, meaning that your modelling can be seen by anyone from around the world, giving you more options to earn more money from wealthy clients all over different parts of the world.
Unlike other sites, Xmodels do have a policy where you have to cam for at least 100 hours before you can access private room chats, which is where you can earn the bigger wages, but once you’ve completed those 100 hours, you are on your way to top model earnings!
3. Chaturbate
Chaturbate is one of the largest webcam sites globally, with over 300 million monthly viewers; this is the place to be when you are looking to join up or upgrade your webcam career.
With it being so popular, though, it does mean a higher influx of models, which means bigger competition. But your hard work wouldn’t go unrewarded, with some of the best models on Chaturbate making over $1 million a year!
This site is more about being viewed by large amounts of people rather than one-on-one shows, so if you are a model looking to entertain a mass of people, Chaturbate is the place for you. Along with that, you can also keep 60% of your earnings and get paid out every week so you can make big money quick!
4. Camsoda
If you are more about showing off pictures and personal videos, rather than just full-time camming, then Camsoda is for you. Although Camsoda is a popular webcam site, most viewers can watch for free and have the option to tip if they want to, so trying to make the big bucks can be difficult through just webcamming alone.
That being said, there are big earners on Camsoda with a balance of camming and photos and videos.
It is possible to make a living on Camsoda, but you will get more money by selling your photos and videos, with an average model earning around $5,000 a month and being able to keep 55% of your earnings makes it easier to reach this amount consistently every month.
5. OnlyFans
Although not technically a webcam site, OnlyFans is very popular with models looking to earn extra money because Onlyfans is a paid, subscriber-only platform. Webcam models can advertise their OnlyFans just like on Instagram or Twitter, but people have to buy a subscription to view your posts and feed.
The best part is, though, if you have made a name for yourself in the webcam world, you can change your subscription price on OnlyFans from $5 to $30 per follower, and you get to keep a whopping 80% of your earnings!
So if you are a cam model, definitely consider starting an OnlyFans as well, so you can bump up your earnings further. Even when you are not camming, you can earn serious money by charging for your pictures alone.
6. BongaCams
With over 310 million viewers a month, BongaCams is great for webcam models who love to be tipped for their work, with a large audience watching you consistently.
Great for beginner models looking not to have too much pressure on performing a whole private show to earn themselves money and are not too bothered about massive earnings every month, with BongaCams averaging at a payout of $4,000 per month.
The only downside to BongaCams is for models that like to do pay-per-minute, private shows or Cam2Cam performances because BongaCams is all about payment through tips on a large free viewing platform.
7. LiveJasmin
LiveJasmin is designed to help you make the most money possible as a webcam model. One of the top three webcam sites, LiveJasmin is perfect for making serious earnings per month. It is all about private shows and pay-per-minute performances, which is excellent for those wanting a more intimate show with their viewers.
But one of the best features of LiveJasmin is their broadcasting feature of “cam-splitting”, which gives models the highest possibility of earning at all times because you can dip your toe into two different webcam sites simultaneously.
So you can have LiveJasmin running on one tab and another site on another one so you can earn multiple earnings all at once, making this site perfect for models who don’t want to be confined by one site.
8. Streamate
Super private and high paying, there is nothing not to like about Streamate! Great for models who want to earn a living from webcam modelling without their family or friends coming across your work. Streamate is created for a private room or exclusive chats, so you can have private showings without performing for the public, giving your shows a unique, exclusive feel.
Streamate has lots of privacy settings to personalise what you want to show completely, from hiding your content until you accept someone to see it or a geographical blocking system so certain places, countries or even towns can be shielded from your profile, so there’s no risk of your friends coming across your stuff. Streamate is on the higher end of webcamming, so there are higher payouts from private viewings every month.
9. Flirt4Free
An all-around webcam modelling site with options of pay-per-minute showings and private chats, Flirt4Free allows you to choose what type of content you want to display. What makes Flirt4Free different from others is that many viewers on this site have lots of money to spend on you with extensive tipping options so models can make more money without doing lots of public work.
The only downside of Flirt4Free is the amount they take from your earnings. They take around 70-80% off all your income, which we wish wasn’t the case, and we hope that they change this so models can earn a full-time income from Flirt4Free rather than a side job kind of lifestyle.
10. Streamray
Streamray is the one-stop-shop for webcam sites, with many different sites to choose from to put yourself out there. With sites like AdultFriendFinder and Cams.com, you have a wide range of audiences to entertain depending on your content; from chatting to full-on kinkiness, there is a site out there for you!
They have significant privacy policies to keep you safe from any danger of exposure, and they give their models a great income rate of 70% of what they earn so you can broadcast as much as you like and make yourself a full-time income.
What Do Beginners Need to Know About Camming And Staying Safe With A Webcam Career?
If you have decided that you want to join webcam modelling sites, you need to keep safe whilst doing it.
Keeping safe when you start with webcam modelling is extremely important and make sure that you are joining legitimate sites, like the ones above. These sites will have your safety at the forefront of everything and will have privacy policies and settings that you can edit so you can show and hide as much as you like.
Make sure never to give out any personal information to your viewers. Don’t have your camera set up with your window and street name visible or answer anything that may reveal your real identity or anything that anyone could use to find you in your real life. You don’t know who you are talking to at the end of the day, so keeping yourself safe is super important!
What Equipment Do You Need to Webcam Model?
To start, you don’t need a massive setup to get going. If you have a computer, webcam and a good internet connection, you can get up and running! Thanks to the high-quality cameras that most phones now have, many people even use their cameras on their phones to start webcamming.
Lighting wise, you can buy a cheap ring light on Amazon, giving you the professional look without breaking the bank. Remember that you can always upgrade once you start earning enough from your modelling and investing in your own business.
You can also see more in my how to become a cam girl guide if you want to know about specific equipment.
Do You Need to Set Up a Business to Webcam Model?
You are your business, so creating and investing in yourself and your webcamming is almost like setting up your own business. Make sure to set up a social media to promote yourself, and then when you start to earn over $1,000, you need to set up a business account as you will be seen as self-employed. This doesn’t mean you have to be a big corporate brand or business, but it just keeps your money and your means of making your money legit.
Don’t worry; you can still pay yourself, too; as long as you keep 30% of your wage in your business account to cover any accounting fees or taxes, then you can still give yourself a full-time salary and enjoy your hard-earned money! Legally, you will be required to create a business like any other person making money independently, Speak to an accountant who specialises in webcam careers if you need to know anything specifically.
