Stream revenue calculator: Twitch vs Kick
Kick advertises 95/5. Twitch pays 50/50, or 70/30 for some. Put in your subs, tips and ad hours and see what each platform would actually pay you per month — and where the gap comes from.
| Line | Twitch | Kick | Why |
|---|
Subs at $4.99 on both platforms. Twitch bits and Kick "Kicks" both pay the streamer roughly 100% of face value after the viewer's purchase fee. Ad revenue is estimated at a $3.50 CPM on Twitch (Partner-style rate) and roughly half that on Kick, where the ad programme is smaller. Real figures vary by region and contract.
What the splits actually cover
Kick's 95/5 is real, and it applies to subscriptions. A $4.99 sub pays the streamer about $4.74 on Kick and about $2.50 on standard Twitch. That is a genuine 1.9× gap on the sub line, and for a channel whose income is mostly subs it is the whole story. But the split does not cover tips, does not cover ads, and does not include the things Twitch layers on top for larger channels — the Plus Program's 60/40 and 70/30 tiers, and an ad programme that is several years more mature. This calculator applies each rule to the right line so the comparison is on the full picture, not the headline.
Where Twitch claws back
- Ads. Twitch's ad CPMs are higher and its ad inventory deeper. A channel that runs ads and has an audience earns materially more per hour from them on Twitch.
- The Plus Program. Hit 100 sub points for three months and the split becomes 60/40; hit 300 and it is 70/30. That narrows Kick's lead on subs to about 1.4×.
- Audience size. None of this matters if nobody is watching. Twitch's directory is larger and busier; Kick's is easier to be seen in. The Twitch versus Kick guide weighs that.
Where Kick wins outright
Subs, by a distance, for any channel not yet in the Plus Program. And "Kicks" — Kick's tipping — pass essentially the whole face value to the streamer, as bits do on Twitch, so tipping is a wash. For a small channel earning mainly from a loyal group of subscribers, the 95/5 split explained is the maths that makes Kick pay nearly double.
The number that moves both
Every line scales with viewers: subs come from people in the room, tips from people in the room, ad revenue from people in the room. The calculator's inputs are the outputs of one thing, which is whether the channel is being seen — and on both platforms, being seen is a function of concurrent viewers in the directory.
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See packages →Frequently asked questions
Is the Kick 95/5 split really that simple?
For subscriptions, yes — the streamer keeps 95% of the sub price. It does not apply to ad revenue, and Kick's ad programme pays less than Twitch's.
What is the Twitch Plus Program?
Twitch's improved sub split for larger channels: 60/40 at 100 sub points for three consecutive months, 70/30 at 300. Sub points weight higher tiers more.
How is ad revenue estimated?
Hours streamed × average viewers × ad minutes per hour, at a per-thousand-impressions rate — $3.50 CPM on Twitch, about half that on Kick. Real rates vary a lot by country.
Do bits and Kicks pay the same?
Roughly. Both pass the face value to the streamer; the platform's cut is taken when the viewer buys them.
Which platform pays more overall?
For sub-driven small channels, Kick. For channels with a large audience running ads, or in the Twitch Plus Program, it narrows and can reverse. The calculator shows where your channel sits.