Twitch is among one of those online revolutions we’ve seen become a staple of the internet in the eyes of many. In essence, it is a combination of YouTube and live television meets gaming with people broadcasting video and commentary of themselves playing games of all different types: RPGs, Fortnite, Poker, Casino, League of Legends, FIFA and pretty much anything else you can think of.

We’ve all heard of YouTube money, but less is known about the Twitch equivalent. Here, we’re going to break down what Twitch money is, how people earn it and answer that all-important question: how much do streamers make?

How Do Twitch Streamers Earn Money?

To give you a better insight, we’ve borrowed both the expertise of Casino Professor and the video evidence of Jeremy ‘DisguisedToast’ Wang (see below) to nail down five different ways for making money as a Twitch streamer:

• Donations
• Subscriptions
• Ad Revenue
• Sponsorships
• Tournaments

Of course, how much money you can make depends on how famous you are. Your small-time streamers won’t be pocketing too much cash – perhaps a little extra to their pay packets.

However, what we really want to know is how much the big guns rake in – and that means breaking down each of the above money makers individually.

How Much Do Streamers Get From Donations?

A donation is exactly what it sounds like: someone giving you a one-off lump sum.

These can vary a whole lot, but some players aggressively pursue donations by promising gifts or additional content in return. Although he doesn’t use such practices, Wang estimates that he gets around £2,500 per month in donations, to give you a rough idea.

How Much Do Twitch Streamers Make Per Sub?

Paid subscriptions from the live streaming service are set at $4.99 per month. Twitch takes a certain cut, but exactly how much depends on your streamer status.

So, this means if you’re a top tier streamer, you can get quite the wedge. Wang suggests that big names like Ninja can make somewhere around $423,000 per month from subs alone. Erm, what!?

How Much Do They Get from Ads?

First and foremost, this depends on how many ads are allowed on someone’s stream. Many channels allow the pre-roll ads, but not all include in-stream ads to play too often – as they feel it will disrupt the flow.

However, Wang has no such problem with allowing ads to play in-stream, and this helps him to reach the $10,000 range alone from ads each month.

How Much Can Gamers Collect from Sponsorships?

This is similar to donations in the sense that it totally depends on how much the sponsor is willing to pay. But, in essence, the idea is simple: they pay streamers to sit and play their own game and livestream it. Why? Well, if they’re looking to promote their new game, they may pay a streamer to play it each night for 3 hours a week, for example.

Streamers are often paid between 1 cent to $1 per viewer per house, so for Wang himself, this could lead to him making anywhere between $1,000 and $10,000 PER HOUR. Of course, this depends on exactly who the sponsorship comes from and how many people are watching him play.

How Much Do Players Win From Tournaments?

Finally, gamers/streamers can also grab in some extra earnings by competing in tournaments. For example, the recent Twitch Rivals: Apex Legends Challenge saw winnings of $8,000 handed out to first place, before falling progressively to reach $3,000 for eighth-place every single day of the competition.

In total, $200,000 was given away at this particular tournament.

So, Twitch Streamers Can Make… A LOT.

To finish off our article on how much money Twitch streamers make, adding up all Wang’s estimates together, you can make… a pretty hefty sum from streaming!

Disguised Toast gives you an in-depth look at how much income streamers really make.

Personally, DisguisedToast himself concludes, for example, that he probably gets about $20,000 per month as a base salary.

Has this convinced you to become a streamer? Let us know in the comments below.

Make sure you subscribe to our push-notifications and never miss an update on video games. Until next time, Happy Gaming!