Promo ROI calculator
Work out what a promo placement is actually worth before you pay for it: cost per subscriber, payback period, and the most you should be willing to spend. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.
How the calculation works
Four numbers decide whether a promo pays. Two belong to the seller, one belongs to your page, and one belongs to your audience.
- Reach × click-through rate = visitors. Reach is views or DM opens for the exact placement you are buying — not follower count, which is the number sellers quote because it flatters them.
- Visitors × subscribe rate = new subscribers. This step is about your page, not the seller. Two creators buying the identical placement can differ threefold here.
- Subscriber lifetime = 1 ÷ monthly churn. At 50% churn the average subscriber stays two months; at 25%, four. This is the standard result for a constant churn rate.
- Lifetime value = (subscription + other spend per month) × lifetime × (1 − platform cut). On most pages the "other spend" — messages, unlocks, tips — is the larger half.
If you promote a free trial link
Most creators send promo traffic to a trial link rather than the paid page, and that inserts a step the simple version misses. Visitors claim a trial at a much higher rate than they subscribe outright — it costs them nothing — but only a share convert when the trial ends. Two things follow. Your cost per paying subscriber is usually higher than the paid-page route suggests, and the trial period itself earns money from messages and unlocks, including from people who never convert. Leave that second part out and trial promo looks far worse than it is. The calculator has a mode for this; switch it at the top.
Multiply subscribers by lifetime value, subtract the price, and you have the return. The calculator shows every intermediate figure rather than just the answer, because a number you cannot audit is an opinion with a decimal point.
Where to get each number
- Reach
- Ask the seller for screenshots of their insights for the last three placements of the same type. A typed figure is not evidence.
- Click-through rate
- Assume 0.5–2% for feed and story placements, more for DMs. Only raise it once a specific seller has delivered better for you.
- Subscribe rate
- Your own analytics. If you do not know it, that is the most valuable thing on this page to go and measure.
- Extra spend per subscriber
- Your monthly revenue minus subscription revenue, divided by subscribers. Leaving this at zero will make every promo look like a loss.
- Trial claim rate and trial conversion
- Only in free-trial mode. Claim rate is the share of visitors who start the trial — much higher than a paid subscribe rate. Conversion is the share still paying once it ends, and it is the number that decides whether the route works.
- Monthly churn
- Subscribers lost each month as a share of the total. Agencies commonly report 40–60% for smaller creators.
Two worked examples
Selling rather than buying? The media kit generator turns these same figures into a one-pager you can send to buyers.
A $65 feed shoutout. 4,200 views, 2% click-through gives 84 visitors. At an 8% subscribe rate that is about 7 subscribers, or roughly $9 each. If a subscriber is worth $35 over their life, the placement returns around $245 on $65 — it pays.
A $180 DM blast. 12,000 subscribers at a 35% open rate is 4,200 opens. DMs convert harder: 6% click gives 252 visitors, 10% subscribing gives about 25 subscribers, or roughly $7 each. Three times the price, lower cost per subscriber — intent beat volume, which is the pattern.
The same $65 shoutout, sent to a free trial link instead. The 84 visitors claim trials at 28% — 24 trials, about $2.76 each. Over a seven-day trial they spend roughly $53 on messages between them. One in five converts, so five paying subscribers at about $14 each. Higher cost per paying subscriber than the paid-page route, but the trial earnings close most of the gap. Which route wins depends entirely on your conversion rate, which is why it is an input rather than an assumption.
What this cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether the seller will deliver. The model assumes the placement runs as agreed and the reach figures are honest, which is a question about the person rather than the maths — see how to check a seller before you pay. It also treats churn as constant, which is a simplification: real cohorts lose people fastest in the first month.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out the ROI of an OnlyFans promo?
Multiply the placement's reach by the click-through rate to get visitors, multiply that by your page's subscribe rate to get subscribers, then multiply subscribers by what one is worth over their lifetime. Subtract what you paid. If you are promoting a free trial link rather than the paid page, add a step for trial-to-paid conversion and count what the trial itself earns. The calculator on this page does exactly that, and shows every intermediate number so you can check it.
What is a good cost per subscriber for promo?
Good means below what a subscriber is worth to you, which depends on your subscription price, how much they spend on messages and unlocks, and how long they stay. There is no universal figure. A $7 cost per subscriber is excellent if a subscriber is worth $40 and terrible if they are worth $5.
Why does the calculator ask about churn?
Because a subscriber is not worth one month's subscription — they are worth what they spend before they leave. At 50% monthly churn the average subscriber stays two months; at 25% they stay four. That doubles the value of every subscriber a promo brings, and it is the single input that most changes whether a deal makes sense.
What click-through rate should I assume?
Between 0.5% and 2% for a well-matched feed or story placement, and higher for DM blasts where intent is stronger. Use the low end for any seller who has not yet delivered for you specifically. Optimism at this stage is what makes promo look cheaper than it is.
Why does extra spend per subscriber matter so much?
On most creator pages the subscription fee is a minority of revenue — messages, pay-per-view unlocks and tips make up the rest. Industry datasets put that split at roughly 70/30 in favour of messages. If you leave that input at zero, the calculator will tell you almost every promo loses money, because it will be valuing a subscriber at a fraction of what they are actually worth.
Should I promote my paid page or a free trial link?
Most promo traffic is sent to a free trial link, and the calculator has a mode for it. A trial converts far more of the visitors you paid for, because taking it costs them nothing — but only a fraction convert to paying when it ends, so the cost per paying subscriber usually ends up higher. What closes the gap is what the trial earns while it runs: messages and unlocks from people who may never subscribe. Model both routes before you decide which link to hand the seller.
How long should a free trial be?
Longer trials earn more from messages while they run, but give people more time to drift before the charge lands. Seven days is the common default. The calculator lets you change it and see the trade directly — the trial-period earnings rise with length while conversion typically does not.
Is this calculator specific to OnlyFans?
The maths is the same for any subscription creator platform. The default platform cut is set to 20% because that is what OnlyFans takes; change it and the model works for Fansly, Patreon or anything else.
Does using the calculator send you my numbers?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is submitted, stored or logged, and you do not need an account to use it.
Now find a placement worth buying
Offers here list their prices openly, and sellers carry ratings from completed orders — so the numbers you put into this calculator can come from somewhere you can check.