Twitch pays streamers through three native lanes: subscriptions, Bits, and ads. A Tier 1 sub nets a streamer about $2.50 to $3.00 at the standard 50/50 revenue split, since Tier 1 costs viewers $5.99 a month. Bits pay a flat $0.01 each. Ads pay based on impressions, roughly $3 to $5 per 1,000, not on how many people are watching the stream. Sponsorships and direct donations sit on top of all of that, but Twitch itself does not pay those out.
See every way live streamers turn an audience into income. Read the full breakdown.
How Twitch subscriptions pay
Twitch subs come in three tiers. Tier 1 costs $5.99 a month in the US, raised from $4.99 in 2023. Tier 2 costs $9.99, and Tier 3 costs $24.99. The default revenue split between Twitch and the streamer is 50/50 at every tier, so a Tier 1 sub nets about $2.50 to $3.00, a Tier 2 sub nets about $5.00, and a Tier 3 sub nets around $12.50. Amazon Prime members get one free "Prime sub" to use on any channel each month, and it pays the streamer exactly what a paid Tier 1 sub pays, even though the viewer isn't charged separately.
Partner Plus and the 70/30 split
Streamers who sustain 350 or more recurring paid subs for 3 consecutive months qualify for Partner Plus, which raises their split to 70/30 in the streamer's favor on the first $100,000 of subscription revenue. At that split, a Tier 1 sub jumps from roughly $3.00 to about $4.19. That difference compounds fast for a channel with hundreds of active subs, which is why sub count, not just viewer count, is the number serious streamers track most closely.
| Sub tier | Viewer price | Streamer take (50/50) | Streamer take (70/30, Partner Plus) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | $5.99/mo | $2.50–3.00 | ~$4.19 |
| Tier 2 | $9.99/mo | ~$5.00 | ~$6.99 |
| Tier 3 | $24.99/mo | ~$12.50 | ~$17.49 |
How Bits (Cheers) pay
Bits, also called Cheers, work differently from subs. A viewer buys Bits in bundles at a markup, about $1.40 for 100 Bits, but the streamer always receives $0.01 per Bit regardless of what the viewer paid for the bundle. A single "Cheer100" in a chat is worth exactly $1.00 to the streamer. Bits don't have tiers or splits to negotiate. The rate is fixed, and it doesn't move with a streamer's size or partner status.
How Twitch ad revenue pays
Twitch does not pay a flat rate per raw view the way a per-view program would. Ad income is based on ad impressions actually served, roughly $3 to $5 per 1,000 impressions. A streamer with a large audience that skips ads or watches on an ad-blocked setup can earn less from ads than a smaller channel that runs more ad breaks. Twitch's Ads Incentive Program addresses that gap directly: it pays qualifying streamers a set rate for running a target number of ad minutes per hour, which turns ad income into something a streamer can plan around rather than something that just happens in the background.
What top earners actually made
The October 2021 Twitch data breach exposed internal payout records covering August 2019 through October 2021, and it's still the best public window into what Twitch's native lanes, subs, Bits, and ads, actually pay at the top, with sponsorships excluded entirely. CriticalRole earned about $9.6 million over that period. xQc earned about $8.5 million. summit1g earned about $5.8 million. Tfue earned about $5.3 million. Those figures cover roughly two years for each streamer, and they show how concentrated native Twitch income is among a small group of the platform's largest channels.
Affiliates vs Partners
Twitch has two monetization tiers. Affiliate status has a low bar (50 followers, 500 total minutes streamed across at least 7 unique broadcast days, among a few other requirements) and unlocks subs and Bits. Partner status requires more consistent viewership and unlocks ad revenue plus better terms overall. Most Affiliates earn small, hobby-level amounts from subs and Bits alone. Turning streaming into a full-time living usually takes hundreds to thousands of active, paying subs combined with steady Bits and ad income, not any single lane on its own.
Why Twitch doesn't pay per view
There's no version of "how much does Twitch pay for 1,000 views" that maps onto how the platform actually pays. Twitch income tracks subs, Bits, and ad impressions, not raw concurrent viewers or total views on a VOD. A stream can pull thousands of viewers and generate very little native income if few of them subscribe, cheer, or sit through ads, while a much smaller, more engaged audience can out-earn it on subs alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Twitch pay per sub?
About $2.50 to $3.00 per Tier 1 sub at the standard 50/50 split, since Tier 1 costs $5.99 a month. Partner Plus streamers, who sustain 350 or more recurring paid subs for 3 months, get a 70/30 split on their first $100,000, which raises a Tier 1 sub to about $4.19. Tier 2 ($9.99) and Tier 3 ($24.99) subs pay proportionally more at the same split.
How much do Twitch streamers make?
It varies enormously and is concentrated at the top. The October 2021 Twitch breach showed top earners from subs, Bits, and ads alone between August 2019 and October 2021: CriticalRole around $9.6 million, xQc around $8.5 million, summit1g around $5.8 million, and Tfue around $5.3 million. Most Affiliates earn small, hobby-level amounts, and a full-time living typically requires hundreds to thousands of active subs plus steady Bits and ad income.
How much does Twitch pay for 1,000 views?
Twitch does not pay a flat rate per 1,000 views. Ad income is based on ad impressions, roughly $3 to $5 per 1,000 impressions, not raw viewership, and subs and Bits have nothing to do with view count at all. A channel with a large audience but few ad impressions can earn less than a smaller channel running more ad minutes through the Ads Incentive Program.
Does Twitch pay you just for streaming?
No. Streaming itself does not earn money on Twitch without viewers subscribing, cheering Bits, or watching ads. Affiliates can earn from subs and Bits once they meet the entry requirements, and Partners add ad revenue on top. Sponsorships and direct donations sit outside Twitch's payment system entirely.