Estimate your potential streaming income from Twitch, YouTube Gaming, Kick, or Facebook Gaming. Calculate earnings from subscriptions, ads, donations, and sponsorships based on your channel metrics.
Input your current streaming statistics to calculate potential monthly and yearly revenue across different income streams.
Your average viewer count during live streams (not peak viewers)
Total hours you stream each week (~86 hours/month = 20 hrs/week)
Number of active paid subscribers (typically 2-5% of avg viewers)
Typical: Twitch $2-3, YouTube $3-5, Kick $1-2, Facebook $1.5-2.5
Tips, bits, super chats, or direct donations per month
Brand deals, affiliate programs, and sponsored content
Realistic income ranges based on viewer counts and engagement levels
Subscriptions provide the foundation of streaming income as recurring monthly revenue. On Twitch, standard splits are 50/50 between creator and platform until you reach Partner status and negotiate better rates. YouTube offers 70/30 splits. Kick provides industry-leading 95/5 splits. Facebook Gaming gives 100% of subscription revenue to creators.
Typical subscription conversion rates range from 2-5% of average viewers. A streamer with 100 average viewers might have 2-5 paid subscribers, while highly engaged communities can reach 8-10% conversion. Building subscriber count requires consistent streaming schedule, valuable perks (custom emotes, badges, sub-only chat), and genuine community engagement that makes viewers want to support you.
Ad revenue comes from pre-roll ads when viewers join streams and mid-roll ads you manually trigger during breaks. CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) varies significantly: Twitch averages $2-3, YouTube $3-5, Kick $1-2, and Facebook $1.5-2.5. Gaming content typically earns lower CPMs than other niches due to advertiser preferences and viewer demographics.
Ad revenue is unpredictable and fluctuates based on time of year (higher during holidays), advertiser demand, viewer geography, and ad blocker usage. Many streamers experience 30-50% of viewers using ad blockers. While ads provide passive income, over-reliance creates poor viewer experience. Balance ad frequency with viewer retention - too many mid-rolls drive viewers away.
Donations (Twitch Bits, YouTube Super Chats, direct tips) are one-time payments that show immediate viewer appreciation. While unpredictable, donations create exciting stream moments and viewer interaction. Some communities are generous with tips, others rarely donate even with high viewership. Cultural factors, viewer age demographics, and economic conditions affect donation patterns.
Never pressure viewers to donate or create guilt-based incentives. Healthy donation culture comes from genuine appreciation, not manipulation. Set up StreamLabs or similar services for easy tipping. Acknowledge every donation personally but avoid over-emphasizing money to maintain authentic community atmosphere. Treat donations as bonus income, not reliable revenue stream.
Sponsorships become available around 100+ average viewers and can significantly boost income for larger creators. Early sponsorships typically involve affiliate programs (commission on sales) from gaming peripheral companies. As you grow to 500-1000+ viewers, expect paid sponsorships from energy drinks, gaming chairs, keyboards, and streaming software.
Top streamers (5000+ viewers) command premium sponsorship rates from major brands. Sponsorship income varies wildly: small creators might earn $100-500 per sponsored stream, mid-tier $1000-5000, large streamers $10000-50000+ per deal. Always disclose sponsorships transparently. Promote products you genuinely use and believe in - authentic recommendations maintain audience trust and perform better for sponsors, leading to repeat deals.