Salaries in Porn Industry: How Much the Stars Earn

As Forbes found out, top serial actors earn up to $1.5 million per episode; the highest-paid Hollywood stars get tens of millions for a role. While Hollywood actresses regularly complain that their fees are sometimes much lower than their male counterparts, the opposite is true in the porn industry. So, let’s find out what the salaries in the porn industry are. The average fee for an actress per stage is $ 800-1000. Men receive an average of $ 500-600 per stage, or even for the whole day. Women’s income in this industry can reach 1.5-2 thousand per stage (if the actress is popular), but the most successful actors can hardly count on more than 700-900 dollars, and in very exceptional cases – 1, 5 thousand.

As for people who stay behind the scenes, they earn:

·         Directors – from 1 to 3 thousand dollars per film

·         Operator – $500-700

·         Sound Specialist – $300-400

·         Director Assistant – $100-250

·         Writers – $250-400

·         Makeup artists – $500 (or $100-150 for each actor to make up)

·         Photographers in a film studio – $500

Note that usually shooting a film takes 2-4 days, in rare cases – from 4 to 8 days (these are such “blockbusters” from the adult film industry).

How much do women earn?

In the traditional film industry, everything is simple – the fee of an actress is determined considering such factors as her popularity/fame / “promotion,” the size of the role, the total budget of the film—the percentage of this budget allocated by the producers to the “salaries” of the actors.

In the same industry, everything is a little more complicated – because there are much more factors affecting the fee of an actress (and an actor at the same time). This, for example, and experience, and fame, and even an agency representing actresses. The spread of fees is also much higher: superstars here earn not even tens but hundreds of times more than aspiring actresses, whose names no one knows yet.

According to CNBC, here’s how average actresses’ salaries vary:

·         The average fee for an actress for a “traditional” scene is $ 800-1000, depending on the studio budget

·         Top stars’ fees for a similar scene – $ 1500-2000

·         Newbie fees – from $300

·         Extreme scene fees – $ 1800-2500

How much do men earn?

The pay inequality in this industry works in the opposite direction – not like in Hollywood: men in adult films get significantly less than women, and there is no increase in royalties for the most extreme scenes. Typically,  fees for the actors in such films are a fixed amount, either per scene or per day of shooting. On average, male actors pay $ 500-600 per scene or day. If the actor is famous enough, this amount is in the region of $ 700-900. Finally, rare male superstars get paid up to $1,500.

Stars with the Highest Salaries in Porn Industry

As you already know, porn actors earn less than actresses. Hence, it is not surprising that the top ten richest stars in the industry are women who boast good fortunes:

·         Tera Patrick. A tall, dark-eyed, and busty brunette gets richer every year. If in 2013 she earned about $15 million a year, then by 2020, the amount has transformed into $20 million. Bisexual Bachelor of Microbiology has been acting in porn since 1999. The filmography includes more than 108 videos, 18+.

·         Jenna Jameson. She is a fashion model, entrepreneur, and the owner of the unofficial title of “Queen of the porn industry.” She has 192 porn films, four films directed by her, more than 20 porn awards, and honorary memberships in pornographic associations. 2020 revenue: $5.2 million

·         Lisa Ann. Lisa is one of the brightest performers in the MILF genre. She regularly appears in the tops of the most popular porn actresses. Lisa has been acting in porn since 1993. She has more than 634 films and 20 videos directed by her on her account. 2020 revenue: $4.8 million

·         Asa Akira. She is one of the most popular Japanese women in American porn. Asa has directed eight adult films and has herself starred in over 400 videos. At the dawn of her career, she starred in lesbian porn. Since 2008 she has been acting in porn with men. 2020 revenue: $2.7 million

·         Sunny Leone. She went to Bollywood from the porn industry. Sunny was born in Canada but is of Indian descent. She played cameo roles in films (including the comedy “Neighbor”), participated in shows on Indian TV. 2020 revenue: $7.7 million

In the Nutshell

In short, the porn business is even less profitable for men than for women. Perhaps, many porn stars are also filmed “out of love for art.” Mind that it is quite hard to say how much the porn industry earns accurately, as a lot stays behind the scene, and not every porn star is ready, to tell the truth.