The Fansly referral program pays you a share of what the people you bring to the platform spend or sell. According to Fansly's Creating a Referral Code article, a fan who joins through your link earns you 1% of their purchases for their first 90 days, and a creator who signs up through your creator link earns you 5% of their sales for the first year and 1.5% after that. You create codes under Referrals in your profile menu, and a creator referral only counts if they use your link before they complete their application.
This guide covers how Fansly's program works and how to keep track of it. If you are comparing it with the OnlyFans scheme, our OnlyFans affiliate program guide explains that one, and anyone still deciding on a platform should begin with the Fansly and OnlyFans fee and feature comparison. The basics of the platform itself are in how Fansly works for creators.
Fan referrals and creator referrals compared
Fansly's referral program overview describes the idea in one line: when someone signs up through your link, you earn a percentage of the revenue from their activity on the platform. The detail differs sharply between the two code types.
| Rule | Fan referral | Creator referral | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Someone joining Fansly as a fan | Someone applying to become a creator | Creating a Referral Code |
| Your share | 1% of their purchases | 5% of their sales in the first year, then 1.5% | Creating a Referral Code |
| How long it runs | Their first 90 days, after which they are free to switch to a different referral link | The help article states no end date for the later share | Creating a Referral Code |
| Timing rule | They join through your link | They must use your link before completing the creator application | Creating a Referral Code |
| Shown on your Show Users list | Never; fan referrals are not displayed | Yes, though it can take up to 10 days to appear | Tracking Your Referrals |
Fansly's two official sources do not match on the long tail. The help article gives 5% for the first year and 1.5% after that, while the Creator Hub's Referral and Tracking Links page mentions only 5% of a referred creator's sales for one year. The help article is the more detailed of the two, but neither quotes the Terms of Service, so if the ongoing share matters to a decision, ask Fansly support to confirm it in writing.
The timing rule for creator referrals
The most important line in the Creating a Referral Code article is a warning: you can only refer someone before they complete their application. In practice the link has to reach a creator before they start applying, not after they mention they already have. Fansly's instruction is to share the model application link with your referral code attached.
Do not ask anyone to abandon an application or open a second account to rescue a missed referral. Losing one referral is a small cost; pressuring a new creator over it costs far more in trust than the share was ever worth. If you mentor or manage creators, the honest moment to mention your link is before you talk them through the platform, with the referral disclosed at the same time.
Creating your codes and links
- Click your profile picture.
- Choose Referrals from the menu; the page sits at fansly.com/affiliates.
- Create a code for fans, for creators or for both.
- If Fansly reports that the code is already in use, choose another, because every code must be unique.
- Copy the link and share it, using the model application link for creators.
Choose a code people can recognise as yours, such as your creator name, so a fan or a fellow creator can tell the link is genuine before they click it. Avoid codes that imitate Fansly's own branding; a link that looks official when it is not is the kind of thing people rightly distrust.
Referral links versus tracking links
Fansly runs two link systems that are easy to mix up: referral links pay you a share, while tracking links only measure. The Tracking Links article says a tracking link credits visitors who click it and later buy, that one user can be linked to several tracking links from you or other creators, and that tracking links do not generate revenue directly. Their metrics are claims, follows, subscriptions and revenue, and Fansly supplies built-in tracking links for its For You page, Suggestions and Search.
You can run both at once. The Creator Hub's referral and tracking page suggests adding your fan referral code to the end of a tracking link, in the form fansly.com/username/t0?r=yourcode, so one link measures the source and carries the referral. The built-in For You page tracking link is also the simplest way to see what Fansly's own discovery brings you, which our Fansly For You page guide covers alongside the new statistics.
Where referral results show up
Fansly's referral statistics article sends you to the site menu, then Referrals, to monitor performance, track referrals and see what the program has earned you. Its advice is to check periodically rather than daily.
Two display rules shape what you will see. The Tracking Your Referrals article says referrals can take up to 10 days to appear on the Show Users list, and that only creator referrals show there. An empty list a few days after a creator signs up is therefore not proof the referral failed, and you will never see a list of the fans you referred.
Income is the cleaner signal. On the newer Statistics page, Earnings by product includes a Referrals type for earnings from referral links, so you can check what the program actually paid in any period. The Creator Hub page also warns that tracking-link analytics can take anywhere from a few hours to several days to update.
Why a referral might not show up
Before contacting support about a missing referral, run through the explanations Fansly's own articles allow for. Most missing referrals turn out to be one of these:
- The creator completed their application before using your link, which the timing rule excludes.
- The referral is still inside the display delay, which the Tracking Your Referrals article puts at up to 10 days.
- It was a fan referral, and fan referrals never appear on the Show Users list.
- The fan's window has ended; the referral code article says fans may switch to a different referral link after their first 90 days.
- You are reading tracking-link metrics, which measure traffic but pay nothing, instead of the Referrals line in your earnings.
- The person used your plain profile link, which does not carry a referral code, rather than the referral link itself.
If none of these fits, contact Fansly support with the code, the date you shared it and the account involved, and keep the reply with your log.
Disclosure when you recommend Fansly
A referral link is a paid link, and the people who click it are entitled to know that. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides FAQ says anyone earning commission through affiliate links should disclose the relationship clearly and conspicuously, that the words “affiliate link” alone may not be understood, that “Paid link” right next to the link should be adequate, and that the same guidance applies to links in social posts. Other countries have their own advertising rules, so check the regulator where you and your audience live.
Two situations call for extra care. If you manage, coach or advise creators and would also hold a referral share in their sales, tell them in writing before they sign up, because you have a financial interest in their decision. And when you post a referral link for other creators in public, put the disclosure next to the link itself, not in a bio they may never read.
Referral setup checklist
- Decide whether you need a fan code, a creator code or both.
- Create unique codes under Referrals and record them in your log.
- For creators, send the model application link with your code before they begin applying.
- Put a clear disclosure such as “Paid link” beside every public referral link.
- Make a separate tracking link for each place you share, and append your fan code if you want both jobs done by one link.
- Log each share in the template below on the day you send it.
- Look for creator referrals on the Show Users list once the display delay has passed.
- Review the Referrals line in Earnings by product every month.
- Keep any conversation about a referral in written messages.
- Re-read Fansly's referral articles before relying on the rates, because help pages change.
A referral log template
Fansly's statistics show results but not your side of the story: who you contacted, when, and what you told them. Keep that in a simple log. The example rows use placeholders in square brackets; replace them with your own details, and use initials rather than full names for anyone you refer.
| Code | Partner | Shared where and when | Status | On Show Users list? | Payout check | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator code [yourname-c] | A creator you introduced, recorded by initials | Sent by DM on [date], before they began the application | Application in progress, then approved on [date] | Checked on [date] and listed | Referrals line reviewed for [month] | Referral share disclosed to them in writing |
| Fan code [yourname-f] | Your audience on another platform | Bio link labelled “Paid link” from [date] | Not trackable by name | Not applicable, since fan referrals stay hidden | Referrals line reviewed for [month] | Fan referral window counted from each sign-up |
| Tracking link plus fan code | One promotional post on [platform] | Posted on [date] | Claims and follows read from the tracking link | Not applicable | Tracking revenue compared with the Referrals line | Analytics can lag by days, so read it a week later |
Limits of this guide
This guide reflects Fansly's referral articles and Creator Hub page as they read on 1 October 2026, and those sources already disagree about how long the creator share lasts. The rates, the timing rule and the display delays are Fansly's to change at any time. Nothing here estimates what a referral will earn, because that depends entirely on what the people you refer go on to spend or sell.
Referral income is taxable in most countries, and if you earn it through an agency or company it may be treated differently from personal creator income, so check with a registered tax agent or accountant. Disclosure rules vary by country too; the FTC guidance applies in the US, and your local advertising regulator or a lawyer can confirm what applies to you.