# What does starting on OnlyFans actually cost?

> A phone, lighting for under a hundred euros and nothing else. What is genuinely needed, what can wait and what nobody should buy at the start.

Source: https://impulse.management/en/blog/what-does-starting-on-onlyfans-cost/
Updated: 2026-09-18

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**Short answer:** A reasonably current phone, a tripod and a light for under a hundred euros will carry the first months. Everything else — camera, microphone, set — gets bought later out of money you earned. Buying it first is buying equipment against uncertainty, not against a problem.

## The short list

| | Why | Roughly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A phone from the last few years | Its camera beats most entry-level cameras | you have it |
| Tripod with remote | Without one, every shot is an arm's length away | €20–40 |
| Light | The only item the difference is actually visible on | €40–80 |
| **Total** | | **€60–120** |

## Why light comes before camera

A good phone in bad light looks worse than an old phone in good light. The sensor can only capture what is there. So the first purchase is a light — and often the second one too, when the first turns out too small.

A ring light or a simple softbox is enough at the start. More important than the brand is that it dims and changes colour temperature: cold light in the evening always looks like a hardware store.

## What can wait

**A real camera.** It only starts to pay once light, setting and routine are in place — otherwise it is just harder to operate.

**A microphone.** Only needed once you speak. For stories the phone is fine.

**A set.** A tidy corner with a wall is a set. A bought backdrop is a corner that looks like a backdrop.

## What nobody should pay for at the start

- **Paid coaching and starter packages.** Anyone taking money for your entry earns from your entry, not from your success.
- **Bought followers.** They buy nothing and they spoil your reach, because they do not react.
- **Paid ads** before there is something to advertise. An empty profile then costs money per click.

## The costs that actually come

Not the purchases but the running ones: the platform's twenty percent, an agency share if you have one, and tax on the profit. Together they are the bigger item — and the only one worth planning for from day one.

## Sources

- [Section 4 EStG — deductible business expenses](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__4.html)
- [Section 6(2) EStG — writing off low-value assets at once](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__6.html)
- [Section 14 GewO — notifying a trade](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gewo/__14.html)
- [OnlyFans Help Centre](https://onlyfans.com/help)