Guide to the Top 10 Cam Sites for Beginners

You are here because you or someone you care about heard of a great new way to make cash from home by becoming a webcam model. So, you have decided to show your junk online. Now what?

Step 1. Figure out your style of adult performance. Camming attracts all types so do not be dissuaded if you are not instantly amazing at it.

Step 2. Figure out which site is right for you. There are two basic layouts to cam sites: “free” cams and pay-to-play. You may flourish on one type of platform more than the other, or find yourself doing a mix of both, depending on your personal style and what kinds of clients you attract.

Step 3. Research the specific cam site before you sign up. Payout percentages aren’t everything! Be aware that some websites have a reputation for daily site-wide crashes, or others may not work with your browser or flash plug-in. Be prepared to navigate the technical roadblocks.

Here is a breakdown of the two major categories of streaming platforms and the websites that represent them, as well as specifics of the few big representatives of each.

Guide to “Free Nudity” Token Cam Sites

Potentially massive amounts of people will watch your free shows.

Or, you’ll do some wild kinky exhibitionism in public chat with twenty viewers and make no money. Like all porn, “free to watch” cam sites are very competitive and they will force you into extreme patterns to keep up with the competition for members’ eyeballs and tokens.

Cam sites like these are massively personality-driven and thus offer a lot of flexibility. You can even succeed as a non-nude model on some of them! Another bonus on these sites is the freedom of cross-promotion to your other sources of income such as clips, Snapchat, or panty store.

Model resources are traditionally almost impossible to get on token sites. Some may offer How To answers or a few linked resources but generally any attempt at figuring out what it takes to place higher on the front page is like guessing the recipe to the mystery sauce.

Notable Examples

In order of general popularity among models and viewers:

Chaturbate
Home | Model Application

MyFreeCams
Home | Model Application

CamSoda
Home | Model Application

Xhamster Live
Home | Model Application

Naked
Home | Model Application

Personal Favorite

MyFreeCams and Chaturbate are arguably the two most popular “free to watch” token camming sites on the web.

The biggest difference between the two is the ability to perform as a couple with a man or as anyone who has a ..gasp.. penis, which you can easily do on Chaturbate and can never do on MyFreeCams. Beware that MFC has a much beloved/hated nearly daily server crash – which they may have stopped having since mid-March, although it was so ubiquitous for years that it is now definitely part of MyFreeCams lore.

Chaturbate is not known for tech issues as far as I know. It has a unique feature of giving website token credit to anyone willing to code sex game apps for the site. There is danger, as far as anecdotal reporting has indicated, of suspension from the site with all earnings withheld based on being flagged on spurious allegations.

Read our full review of Chaturbate here.

Guide to Pay-to-Play “No Nudity” Cam Sites

Unlike “free” to watch sites, these ones are considered “pay to play”. This means the viewers and members put their money where their mouth is. Public nudity is frequently not permitted, but each site has its own culture and acceptable ways of delicately bending the rules.

Percentage payouts are frequently smaller than “free” to watch sites. Through affiliate links, white label options, and member site integration, however, that number can increase enough to rival or even surpass 60% payout.

Notable Examples

In order of general popularity among models and viewers:

Streamate
Home | Model Application

Cams.com
Home | Model Application

ImLive
Home | Model Application

LiveJasmin
Home | Model Application

Flirt4Free
Home | Model Application

Personal Favorite

Streamate’s cam portal has a wellspring of F.A.Q. and “How To” tutorials and is linked to the Live Sex tab on all major tube sites like Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn and over 500 others scattered across the web. If you want eyes on you, as a cam performer, Streamate is a really good choice. Another feature of working on Streamate’s platform is access to opting in on TV shows, which is basically a cam show that is broadcast simultaneously on the website and Dish pay-per-view cam channel. Nifty!

Streamate does not allow offsite linking to anything at all. This is somewhat limiting, but often the tech framework and the members make up for this with generous tips, purchasing integrated site memberships, and affiliate links that increase percentage payouts.

Read our full review of Streamate here.

Guide to Studios

One of the things you will encounter when researching which webcam site to join, are cam studios. This generally refers to a company that provides a physical or virtual hub to assist you in camming. Joining a studio has its upsides and downsides but it is generally not recommended if you are competent enough to handle the technical and language barriers that come with applying to and succeeding on any of the major webcam platforms.

Beware that most industry studios will have low transparency but really attractive offers. However, it is important to remember that when they are offering 70% – 80% payout, it is not of the total amount you make but of whatever percentage the studio is getting from the camming platform.

Notable Example

InternetModeling is a perfect example of a typical studio with a nice-sounding offer and less than ideal transparency. For more information, here’s a full breakdown.

-Cherry Sen Pi-