Many people wonder how big the porn industry is. Really, this breaks down into two more specific questions. First, how much porn is out there? Second, how much money does pornography generate?
We’ll take a look at some different ways of answering these questions, the relevant data from a variety of sources, and some implications from the size and scope of this industry.
How Much Porn Is There?
Certainly, there are many types of published content that would fall under the category of “pornography,” including books, music, and DVD’s. However, in the past 20 years online pornography has been the dominant factor in the industry. However, even if we limit the question to online porn, there is still a number of different ways to answer the question.
Number of Porn Sites
In 2010, two neuroscientists conducted research on the one million most visited websites. Of these, they found that 42,337, or 4.2%, were sex-related sites.1 Another widely cited statistic puts the number at 12%, but the source for this number has been lost.2
Amount of Data Used
Since most websites don’t actually generate any traffic, the number of websites doesn’t tell us much about the amount of content that’s actually being consumed. A 2013 article in ExtremeTech magazine estimated that 30% of the internet’s data usage was for porn, or 29 petabytes per month. This was based on numbers from the (then) most popular porn site.
The internet has changed a lot over the past several years. Even if these older numbers were inflated, it’s safe to say they are much higher now.
Number of Pageviews
A 2021 article published in Addictive Behaviors Reports analyzed several sources for measuring the amount of pornography online:
“Based on website traffic data, Lewczuk, Wojcik, and Gola (2019) estimated that between 2004 and 2016, the proportion of online pornography users increased by 310%. This figure resonates with that reported by Pornhub on its annual report: between 2013 and 2019, the number of visits registered in this popular pornographic website grew from 14.7 to 42 billion.”
According to data aggregator SemRush, in September 2024, Pornhub was the sixth most popular website in the world and boasted over 5.6 billion views.3
For more data on the prevalence of porn, see also How Many Men Watch Porn? and How Many Women Watch Porn?
How Much Money Does the Porn Industry Make?
Measuring the dollars and cents of the porn industry is even more complicated. With changing technology, the industry has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Consequently, the models for understanding porn revenues are constantly changing as well, and it’s difficult to make apples-to-apples comparisons over time.
Old Revenue Estimates
In 2001, Forbes published an article in which it outlined the challenges of accurately determining how much money the porn industry made. The article debunked the then-popular stat of $10 billion, arguing the actual revenues were closer to $2 billion.
According to a survey of data published in the Journal of Internet Law, in 2005 pornography accounted for 69% of the total pay-per-view Internet content market, outpacing news, sports, and video games.
In 2006, the sex-related entertainment business’ estimated revenues were just under $13 billion in the U.S., according to Paul Fishbein, president of the Adult Video News Media Network. However, these estimates included video sales and rentals, Internet sales, cable, pay-per-view, phone sex, exotic dance clubs, magazines, and novelty stores.
In 2007, global porn revenues were estimated at $20 billion, with $10 billion in the U.S. The Free Speech Coalition estimated both global and U.S. porn revenues have been reduced by 50% between 2007 and 2011, due to the amount of free pornography available online.
One of the most popular statistics from the early 2000’s claimed that online pornography generated $97 billion per year. Though widely cited, the original research is no longer available, and that number was almost certainly much too high.
Current Revenue Estimates & Projections
Because porn sites are privately owned and strive to avoid negative publicity, it’s difficult to get accurate information on revenues.
The research firm iBISworld reported only $1.3 billion in annual revenue for 2025. However, its criteria seems to be overly restrictive. For example, though they reference the site OnlyFans, they do not include the $6.6 billion in revenue generated by this platform.4
Numbers for the adult industry as a whole are much higher. In 2023, estimates for the global adult industry ranged from $58 billion5 all the way to $287 billion.6 Although only 7% of millennials and 5% of Gen Z’ers report consuming VR porn,7 some experts predict this segment alone will grow to a $19 billion industry in the next few years.8
Implications of the Size of the Porn Industry
While many details remain cloaked in secrecy, we have enough data to determine the online porn constitutes vast amounts of content, commands a huge worldwide audience, and generates billions of dollars in revenue each year. The prevalence of porn means it can be very difficult to overcome.
Pornography is no longer a vice of back alleys and seedy “adult” stores. It’s available anywhere within a few clicks. Because of this, many Christians are secretly struggling with porn even though it goes against their values. Churches must take an active role in confronting porn in the congregation and equipping believers with the tools to find freedom.
Parents also need to be proactive in talking to their kids about pornography. Though parents don’t want to believe it, most teens are watching porn. The solution isn’t to shame them or even try to isolate them from all temptation. Rather, it’s to equip them with wisdom and accountability to navigate the digital world.
For more, check out our latest Porn Stats.
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