5 platforms to sell NSFW art in 2025

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🔴 WARNING: This article contains adult language and sexually suggestive images that are only appropriate for an 18+ audience.

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For NSFW artists, it’s harder to find platforms to distribute and sell their work than it is for creators of non-NSFW art. 

Generally, what they can do is find sites that try to strike a balance between protecting audiences who shouldn’t be exposed to adult content and giving space to creators whose art depicts something of that spicy nature. 

Here’s a perfect example of that from Discord’s “Sexual Content Policy Explainer”:

“At Discord, we believe users should feel comfortable expressing themselves. That’s why we allow our adult users (18+) to post and share sexual content, so long as it aligns with our policies. We also understand that not everyone wants to see this type of content, and that this content isn’t appropriate for our younger users. In order to maintain a safe environment for all, we have limitations on where sexually explicit content can be posted on Discord and how it can be accessed.”

Sharing and selling NSFW works is simply complex for both artists and the platforms allowing that kind of content in any capacity, and overall, it comes with some extra rules to follow if you’re a creator who wants to make this work.

For that purpose, here’s a list of platforms where you can sell your NSFW art, as long as you abide by the rules of the given site.

This list will come in handy if you’re ahead of planning to create and hopefully make money from NSFW art, but you might find it interesting even if you’re a seasoned artist in this category.

1. DeviantArt 
2. Patreon 
3. Discord 
4. Etsy 
5. Redbubble

1. DeviantArt 

DeviantArt has been around since 2000 and is positioned now as the largest online social network for artists and art enthusiasts. They have over 90 million members and host over 550 million pieces of art on the platform. 

There are 885K+ artworks uploaded on the site that are tagged NSFW, at the time of writing this article. It’s safe to say that you can find an audience here as an NSFW artist and have the potential to make money with it, too.

DeviantArt NSWF policy: A couple of dos and don’ts

• Pornographic content cannot be shared on the platform in any form, while “erotic content” is permitted which is described as “sensual or sexualized content that is non-pornographic”, and of course, nudity is allowed as long as it is not depicted in a sexual manner.

• Sexually explicit content is only forbidden if shared as public content but can be made available as paid content where payment or subscription is required for access.

• DeviantArt has a zero-tolerance policy for a number of things such as depicting sexual violence, assault, physical violence, and non-consensual intercourse.

👉 Read DeviantArt’s full policy on sexual, erotic, and fetish themes and be aware of everything they allow or forbid for users who wish to share art in related subjects—if you go against the rules, they have the right to terminate your account.

How can you sell your NSFW art via Deviantart?

• With a free account, you can share your artwork and make connections in the community, and build enough awareness for yourself so people would start commissioning you. You can link to your other channels from your profile info and point people to your portfolio, Ko-fi profile, or the social media platforms where you’re active.

• With a paid “CORE” membership, you can sell your art directly via Deviantart and get access to a number of features. For instance, with a CORE+ membership (6.67 USD/month), you can get a boost on the site for 48 hours, reaching more people than normal, and that raises to two and three boosts on the other levels. With the highest plan called PRO+ (12.50 USD/month), for instance, you get a free Light Wix Premium plan and a domain for one year and the option to sync selected DeviantArt Galleries with it.

2. Patreon

Patreon, as one of the most popular subscription platforms creators use, has given space to NSFW art from the beginning but their policy around this subject received a facelift a couple of times, most recently last year.

If you wish to sell NSFW art on Patreon, I urge you to read through their current and very detailed documentation on “Sexually Gratifying Works”, to be 100% sure what you can share there and what is forbidden. There are a couple of things to note which I highlight below.

Patreon NSFW policy: A couple of dos and don’ts

• Profile images, page banners, tier descriptions, and the overall public-facing sections of Patreon pages of the category “Adult/18+” must be free of “sexually explicit material or nudity, real or animated, in any format: photo, video, written, or audio.” These can only be accessible behind the subscription wall, by paid members of that creator. 

• Patreon takes “consent’ seriously, too. Creators have to “demonstrate consent in all works (real or animated; photo, video, written, audio) between adult participants or characters; specifically, a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of consent by a statement or by a clear affirmative action. Additionally, participants and characters must be able to give consent (i.e. not be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, hypnosis, blackmail).”

• Sexually explicit deepfakes and pornography are not permitted while depicting intimate activities such as open-mouth kissing and lap dancing are allowed.

👉 Again, the above are only a few highlights of their policy—make sure to familiarize yourself with all of Patreon’s guidelines if you’re an NSFW artist.

How can you sell your NSFW art via Patreon?

• You can list digital products on your Patreon for free, without offering paid membership for your fans or community. Patreon will keep 5% of each transaction, plus payment processing, currency conversion, and payout fees, and applicable taxes. 

• Pro membership is where Patreon takes 8% earning from your income, plus the fees mentioned above. This is their most popular plan and what most creators go for because it contains everything that most artists would need, from offering membership tiers for fans to priority customer support.

• Premium membership includes everything the Pro version has and a dedicated partner manager, team accounts, and merch membership, too. Creators with big brands and teams behind their backs would find this plan more suitable.

3. Discord

Discord has been celebrated for a while now as a good home for NSFW artists. While it’s mainly a service for voice, video, and text communication and usually used for community building, which is also important for creators of course, many “outsiders” wouldn’t think of it as a platform to sell their artworks. We have options below for the latter, too.

Discord NSFW policy: A couple of dos and don’ts

• Discord separates two categories that are important to know if you create NSFW art. There’s sexually explicit and sexually suggestive content—make sure to read their policy with full attention to learn their basics.

• Similar to Patreon’s policy, Discord also says that “Sexually explicit content should not be posted in general open access areas within Discord.

• Discord servers can host sexually explicit content but they have to follow certain rules such as that the moderators have to be 18+ and they have to use age-restricted labels for channels where such content is available.

👉 Again, here’s Discord’s entire “Sexual Content Policy Explainer” you need to familarize yourself with if you want to know how you can share and sell NSFW art on the platform.

How can you sell your NSFW art via Discord?

Discord heavily relies on community, so once you find yourself in one, you may get people commenting on the art that you share (holding yourself to their rules) and with time, commissioning you, too. 

Furthermore, Discord provides its own features to help you sell:

• Things you can sell on Discords are called “Offerings” there and these could be “subscriptions to your server or content, access to certain perks or roles, one-time purchases”. Patreon and Discord are similar in the subscription aspect you can offer to fans, but I urge you to take a look at their Monetization Terms to get the full picture.

• There are also “Server Subscriptions”, a premium feature that is only available to certain qualifying users. This is a monthly subscription for your fans and you, as the creator, get to keep 90% of each subscription you sell, minus processing fees. Server Subscriptions are only available for Discord servers that meet a list of requirements such as the server being in the United States and having a “good standing with Discord”, with no violations of their policies. 

4. Etsy

Etsy is generally known as being NSFW art-friendly but they also modified their policy just last year and laid down stricter rules when it comes to explicit content. Still, there is a good amount of space that NSFW artists can take up on the site which is good news because Etsy is a good place for creators to make passive income, too.

Etsy NSFW policy: A couple of dos and don’ts

• Pornographic content is not allowed on the site, the definition of it is also cleared up in their related policy.

• Photographs and photo-realistic descriptions of sex acts and genitalia, for instance, are not allowed, even if obscured in listing images, but the same type of content of buttocks and nipples is fine if these are obscured in the first listing image.

• Some kind of adult nudity is allowed for non-realistic content like painting, illustrations, and line drawings. Visible breasts and buttocks are okay, and even genitalia without additional sexual context, like sex acts; or sex acts without genitalia depicted. 

👉 Read Etsy’s House Rules on Adult Nudity and Sexual Content to make sure that you know everything there is to know about selling NSFW art on the platform. They also have a helpful article on “Listing Mature Content Correctly”.

How can you sell your NSFW art via Etsy?

There a number of fees you have to pay on Etsy if you want to start selling there. Since it’s an e-commerce platform, you won’t pay monthly subscriptions here but certain amounts for listing and selling your items.

• Set-up fee (may apply to you): First off, to open your Etsy shop, you may be required to pay USD 15 as a one-time set-up fee. Etsy introduced this in 2024 to bring more safety to its platform by vetting new sellers more seriously, but we don’t know how they decide which shops have to pay this fee and which do not. Regardless, they at least, clearly communicate if the fee applies to the new seller during the shop set-up process.

• Listing fee: You will be charged a listing fee of $0.20 USD for each item that you list. A listing is available for four months, and when it auto-renews (unless you turn that feature off), you’ll have to pay $0.20 USD for the listing again. 

• Transaction fee: When you make a sale through Etsy, you will be charged a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price you display for each listing. Also, If you sell multiple quantities of a listing in one transaction, you’ll have to pay $0.20 USD for each additional quantity—this is their “Auto-renew sold” fee.

Here’s a good, easy-to-understand table of Etsy’s fees if you’re the visual kind.

5. Redbubble

As a bonus, I wanted to include a print-on-demand platform on the list because many digital artists like to sell their artwork as prints or in other non-digital formats, and one of the most popular options for that is Redbubble. The Australia-based site has over 700,000 artists in its community and prides itself on helping independent artists make a living by putting their designs on nearly everything from prints to phone cases and T-shirts.

Redbubble NSFW policy: A couple of dos and don’ts

• “Sexual material” is not allowed on the site, including displays of explicit foreplay, and sexual intercourse showing genitalia in direct contact. Close-up images of genitalia are also prohibited, along with bodily fluids and sex toys in a clear sexual context.

• Nude or “sexualized” children are a strict no which means that in any artwork children should be appropriately clothed, and they also help with a definition here: “As a general rule, ‘appropriately clothed’ means no genitalia, no uncovered bottoms, and, for pubescent girls, no bare chests. We define a child as anyone under the age of 18. In images of babies or infants, some nudity is acceptable (for example, in the style of Anne Geddes’ portrait photography) but we request that genitalia is covered.”

• Images created with the purpose of “sexually exciting the viewer and where no attempt at an artistic statement has been made” are also not acceptable.

• “Mature content” has to be indicated when uploading the artwork but can also be done any time via editing the listing—this category includes nudity, but also blood, guns, alcohol, drugs, violence, and adult language.

👉 Read Redbubble’s Community and Content Guidelines to get all the details, with special attention paid to the sections “Nudity/Pornography” and “Mature Content”. 

How can you sell your NSFW art via Redbubble?

• First off, creating an account and setting up a Redbubble shop is free, but a flat fee may need to be paid depending on the spot you take up in their tier system. Interestingly, it’s the Redbubble team that decides which tier you belong to and thus what applies to you and what doesn’t. Starting artists and shops usually fall in the first tier, while more established ones will belong to the Premium or Pro ones—read on for details on that. 👇

• The Redbubble Standard plan lets you have your own store, with access to global printing and shipping and 24/7 support for your customers. You’ll need to pay a flat fee based on your earnings in the given payment period but only if you made a sale. You can see how the fee varies based on your earnings here.

• In the Redbubble Premium plan, besides having access to everything the Standard plan offers, you get their email newsletter with tips and insights, with advanced notice of sales data and product launches—and most importantly, no account or flat fee.

• In the Redbubble Pro plan, you get all of the above, plus access to a lot more marketing and PR opportunities and advanced customer and marketplace insights. You receive dedicated account management and you don’t have to pay an account fee.

Want to sell your NSFW Art? Learn the rules.

As you can see from this overview of only five platforms that allow NSFW content in some shape or form, if you wish to sell your artwork in this category, you have to take the time and familiarize yourself with their guidelines.

What might be acceptable on one platform under the umbrella of NSFW, might not be allowed on another—this means that you can’t just open accounts on multiple platforms and upload the same artwork repeatedly everywhere.

Labelling your NSFW content is just as important—sharing adult or mature content online is risky and this is a responsibility you have to own. You must follow the rules to cover your designs up in certain contexts and to make sure that only those get access to it who are legally permitted to do it, even if they pay for it.

Be aware of the dos and don’ts, then earn that money. We wish you all the best with it! 👍

_{Featured image by Deon Black}