How Much Money Do Twitch Streamers Make?

A lot of people are considering a career in video game streaming these days. Who wouldn't want to play video games all day? But the reality of pulling off such a move is much harder than it sounds. For instance, you need to accomplish the whole "making a living" part and get paid for your time.

And that'll likely lead you to this question: how much do Twitch streamers make? The answer, it turns out, might have you second-guessing your dream job.

Most Twitch streamers start out as hobbyists. It takes time to build up an audience — in some cases, a long time — so they might already work a part-time or full-time job outside of their stream. And if they can build up a bit of a following, they might supplement that employment income with some tips from their community. Not enough to quit and become a full-time streamer, mind you; but perhaps enough to pay a few bills.

Should you go the hobbyist route and eventually build up a consistent enough audience, you might finally be ready to apply for a Twitch Partnership, and that has its own set of very vague requirements. Twitch wants to make sure your content fits the platform, you have a regular, reliable viewership, and you keep to a schedule. Bear in mind: you'll still have to support yourself while building this audience, and you won't find much help from Twitch. If you can do that, though, you have a very good chance of being accepted.

And that's where the real work begins.

For every subscriber a Twitch Partner gets, Twitch pays out a percentage of that fee. Partners can expect to receive $2.50 for every $5.00 subscription, which means you'll need a lot of subscribers in order to replace a full-time job. Many streamers make money in other ways, too, however. Twitch offers a CPM rate for ads that run on the platform during your stream (though it doesn't like to disclose that rate), so you'll make some money from ads shown to non-subscribers. There's also nothing stopping you from continuing to collect tips, either. And should you grow large enough, sponsorships are always a possibility with brands that are relevant to your content.

Long story short: the amount you can make streaming is entirely on you. A channel with 100 subscribers could make around $250 plus ad revenue. Bump that up to 1,000 subscribers, and you're looking at roughly $2,500 a month, which is more workable for someone looking to make the leap into full-time streaming. And should you grow to 5,000 subscribers a month, you'll suddenly be making $12,500 a month, which isn't chump change. And the more subscribers and viewers you have, the more doors you can open in terms of other revenue streams.

But none of it is easy. It's like breaking into the music business: lots of people want to be pop stars, but very few reach that level. And almost every singer you might consider an overnight success spent years working to get there.

So now you know how much Twitch streamers make, and the work you'll have to put in to become a streamer yourself. Good luck!