OnlyFans promos and free trials: discounts, timing and tracking
By Jessica Sanders · Published · Updated
On a paid OnlyFans profile you can run a promotion campaign (free trial or first-month discount), offer prepaid subscription bundles, and create separate Campaign tracking links for measurement. Those tools are not interchangeable. This page covers how to set and share an on-platform offer—not where to advertise it (promote guide).
Offer types (keep them separate)
| Tool | What it is | Share / measure |
|---|---|---|
| Profile promotion — free trial | Time-boxed free access set in a promotion campaign | Copy Link to Profile from that campaign (promote how-to) |
| Profile promotion — first-month discount | Lower subscription price for first-time subscribers, also via a promotion campaign | Same Copy Link to Profile; you set offer limit, expiration and discount percentage |
| Subscription bundles | Discounted rate when fans prepay several months | Not a splash first-month campaign; when the prepaid period ends, fans can re-subscribe at the usual rate (Creator Center) |
| Campaign tracking links | Named profile URLs that record visits and subscriptions by source | Created under Tracking links—measurement, not the discount itself (Campaigns how-to) |
Timing: claim deadline vs access length
Promotion-campaign settings keep these ideas separate (promote how-to):
| Setting | Role |
|---|---|
| Offer limit | How many people can claim the offer |
| Expiration | How long the offer stays available to claim |
| Trial duration | How long free trial access lasts after a claim (free-trial path only) |
| Discount percentage | Size of the cut on the first-month discount path |
Set each field on purpose.
After the offer ends
Bundles. Creator Center states that when a prepaid subscription bundle ends, fans have the opportunity to re-subscribe at your usual rate.
Paid subscriptions (including a first-month discount join). OnlyFans Terms and the Fan–Creator Contract say that when a fan selects Subscribe, the Subscription automatically renews at the current rate (plus applicable tax) unless payment fails, the subscription price has increased, Auto-Renew is off on that creator, or the fan closes their account (Terms; Contract). Before you advertise, open the live offer summary and confirm what rate applies after the promotional period—and say that clearly to fans.
Free trials. Those sources do not spell out whether a trial becomes a paid Subscription automatically or simply ends. Check the live offer text (or a test claim) and disclose the next charge—or that access ends—before you share the link.
Start a profile promotion campaign
For paid subscription accounts (promote how-to):
- Open Settings → Subscription price and bundles.
- Select Start Promotion Campaign.
- Choose free trial or first month discount.
- Free trial: offer limit, expiration, trial duration.
- First-month discount: offer limit, expiration, discount percentage.
- Write the special message for new subscribers.
- Select Copy Link to Profile.
Button labels can move—match these steps to what you see in-product.
Worked promotion (illustrative)
Assumptions (hypothetical): listed subscription $10/month; you run a first-month discount of 50%; usual 20% platform fee; no tips, PPV, refunds or payout fees in this sketch.
| Plan field | Example setting |
|---|---|
| Offer type | First-month discount (not a free trial) |
| Claim limit | 40 claims |
| Claim deadline (expiration) | Link claimable for 7 days |
| Discount | 50% → fan pays $5 for the promotional subscription period |
| Access includes (hypothetical) | Full feed access for that period: three photo sets a week, chat replies within 48 hours, and one mid-length PPV offer at the usual listed price (not discounted by this campaign) |
| Next charge | Confirm in the live offer before sharing—Terms cover Subscription renewals at the current rate after Subscribe; disclose that rate to fans |
| Money during the promo period | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fan payment | $5.00 |
| After 20% fee (you keep 80%) | $4.00 |
That $4 is proceeds for one discounted subscription period. A discounted join is not automatically an “extra” sale beyond fans who would have paid $10 anyway—log that honestly.
Review log (after the claim window and first renewals):
| Metric | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Claims used | 40 / 40 |
| Initial proceeds (after fee) | $160 if all 40 discounted subscriptions are purchased (40 × $4)—before expenses, tax and any refunds or adjustments |
| Later paid renewals (where you can identify them) | e.g. 22 of those 40 still paying after the promo window |
| Workload | Hours spent answering new-sub messages during the week |
Free trials
A free trial is the promotion-campaign option with free access for the trial duration you set.
Worth running when the paid library is ready, you will post during the trial, and you can handle message volume (use an offer limit). Prefer warm invites over an uncapped blast if you cannot reply.
Access and copies: a trial lets more people into the library for a while. That raises the chance material is saved or reshared—it does not make copying technically easier. Watermarks help label the source; they do not stop screenshots. Use platform watermarking if you want (promote how-to) and DMCA / takedown if copies appear elsewhere.
When the trial ends: check and disclose the next step before you share (see After the offer). Message before the trial ends with what paid access includes—without inventing billing mechanics.
Do not count a free-trial claim as a paying subscriber in your review log until a paid Fan Payment appears.
For an always-free teaser page instead of a time-boxed trial, see free vs subscription.
PPV is separate
Subscription promotion campaigns do not automatically discount PPV unlocks. Set PPV prices when you create the message (and, on free profiles, posts or streams)—see the pricing guide for listed-price math.
Practical next step
- Choose free trial, first-month discount, or a prepaid bundle.
- If free trial or first-month discount: fill offer limit, claim expiration, and trial duration or discount %; confirm and write down the next charge (or trial end) from the live offer. If a bundle: set it in your account’s Subscription price and bundles settings (prepaid months and discount)—not the promotion-campaign claim fields above.
- For a trial or first-month discount: share the Copy Link to Profile as the one claim destination; add a tracking URL only if it still shows that offer. For a bundle: share the usual profile path fans use to subscribe to that bundle in-account.
- After the offer window (or once bundle purchases settle), fill the review log (claims or bundle sales, initial proceeds, later paid renewals where identifiable, workload)—then decide whether to run another offer.