Accounts differ as to just how much of the internet is devoted to porn, but on this point they all agree – it’s a lot. About 35% of internet downloads are for porn, and even though few people are comfortable with openly discussing it in real life, they’re usually comfortable consuming it. But what about sex cam sites? They may not be about to dethrone porn from its #1 spot, but they’re definitely growing by leaps and bounds. The pandemic certainly helped, but that isn’t the only reason why; sex cam sites also offer certain advantages compared to porn, such as allowing a more personalized experience. Even so, it’s usually possible to find a wider variety of content on porn sites, since it’s easier to avoid legal gray areas with pre-recorded videos.
Allowing adult content doesn’t translate into allowing all adult content
Just look at the titles of any porn or sex cam site, and you’ll get erotic smut as far as the eye can see. From millions of luridly titled porn videos, to cam shows that promise explosive finales (literally), it may seem as though most of these sites are no-hold-barred. After all, isn’t that part of the fantasy? Visit this or that site, and find exactly what you’re looking for. It’s common to find options like BBWs, MILFs, gays, lesbians, transsexuals, various fetishes, and much more on any of these sites. But what about what they don’t offer?
Things like bestiality or child porn are banned for obvious reasons, but other content only flirts with the forbidden. It might be a controversial fetish that could attract an obscenity trial, for example. However, the current legal definition of “obscene content” is quite vague. What does this mean for anyone involved in producing porn or cam shows? That depends on which medium they’re working with.
Comparing traffic on porn and sex cam sites
It’s probably no surprise that porn sites get more traffic than sex cam sites, but what you may not be aware of is that roughly 50 million people watch sex cam shows every day. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but how does this compare to porn? Reliable figures are hard to find, but we do know that the top 3 porn sites (including Pornhub) get about 135,000 new visitors every minute, which adds up to nearly 200 million per day.
What does this say about user preferences? Both porn and sex cams are obviously popular, but porn still seems to be the favorite. There are pros and cons to each option; finding the best free OnlyFans accounts on a site like Ready Set Cam gives you access to personalized cam shows, but porn may offer content that isn’t allowed even on adult cam sites.
Comparing top 5 sites from each category by estimated monthly traffic
For an easier understanding of how much porn sites differ from sex cam sites, we did some online research. Below is a side-by-side comparison between the top 5 sites from both sides based on the monthly traffic each site is getting and their popularity. Please remember that these numbers are just rough estimates, and we will possibly never know the accurate and exact numbers.
| Porn Site | Estimated Monthly Traffic | Sex Cam Site | Estimated Monthly Traffic |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
≈ 3.0B |  |
≈ 470.7M |
 |
≈ 2.6B |  |
≈ 230.2M |
 |
≈ 2.4B |  |
≈ 146.2M |
 |
≈ 1.4B |  |
≈ 10.8M |
 |
≈ 120.6M |  |
≈ 5.5M |
Quick NOTE: We extracted the number of traffic each site receives from Similarweb on Nov 9, 2022.
Porn vs. sex cam sites: which one has more restrictions?
Most comparisons of porn vs. cam sites end up with a glowing recommendation of cam sites, since they offer a closer connection and the opportunity to customize the experience. However, what a lot of people don’t know is that cam sites actually have stricter content regulations compared to most porn sites.
Just consider the massive number of incest porn videos. Sure, the titles always include “step-”, just to avoid legal repercussions. But at the end of the day, it’s clear that porn satisfies a huge appetite for something that’s generally considered obscene in everyday life.
Now ask yourself this question: when is the last time you saw the same type of content in a live sex cam performance? Unless one of the webcam models was breaking the site’s terms of service, the answer is probably “never”.
This is because it’s much easier to accidentally cross legal boundaries during a live performance. There are a lot of gray areas when it comes to adult content, and it would be impossible to brief every webcam model on the dos and don’ts of certain genres. Rather than risking lawsuits due to “obscene content”, the vast majority of sex cam sites simply avoid specific categories altogether.
Even so, some performers still flout a cam site’s terms of service in order to give their viewers what they want. They might offer occasional performances on forbidden subjects, or even coordinate with patrons to meet up off-platform. For some, the risk of a temporary ban is worth the money they make with the promise of forbidden fruit. Those that go off-platform, however, leave behind the protections of the cam site. There’s a greater chance that they could get scammed or ripped off, especially since these shows usually involve an exchange of contact information.
Do average porn producers actually get in trouble with the law?
Just like the legal definition of “obscene content”, the legal definition of “porn” is anything but clear. In most cases, the part of the definition that matters hinges on whether or not the content is considered truly offensive by current community standards.
What does that even mean? According to many conservatives, a woman in a bikini constitutes “pornographic material”. According to some ultra-conservatives, a woman making a pouty face in a makeup advertisement is dangerously close to porn.
Nobody knows where the line is drawn for sure, but every porn producer knows what could happen if they cross the line. Obscenity trials are rare these days, but porn sites still pay attention to what could trigger legal proceedings – and avoid them carefully. Fetishes that are especially controversial or confronting are usually banned. Since the outcome of an obscenity trial may come down to the judge’s judgement on what “offensive” content is, it pays for porn producers to stick with what they know won’t get them in trouble.
Even if the law won’t go after porn or sex cam sites, their banks might
Every bank has restrictions about the types of transactions they’ll support, and that includes adult content. They have to take their customer bases into account, as public outrage or boycotts could hurt their bottom lines. This being the case, many porn and sex cam sites formulate their terms of service not only to please the law, but also to keep the banks happy. Without the ability to process payments, their entire enterprise would be dead in the water.
How do these restrictions impact traffic to porn and sex cam sites?
As a general rule, if you can’t find something on the internet, you just aren’t looking hard enough. In other words, porn finds a way. Some porn and cam sites avoid the especially controversial content because it’s actually a turn-off for the majority of their visitors; even if they were allowed to offer it, they still wouldn’t. The truth is that, despite the regulations surrounding the production of adult content, there’s still an entire world of pornographic material that’s definitely legal – and available to anyone with a phone and an internet connection.