How much Money do Twitch Streamers make? (2025)

Wondering how much money your favorite streamers make on Twitch? Or maybe you dream of earning money from streaming yourself? In this detailed guide, you'll find out everything you need to know about earning money on Twitch. We not only analyze the various sources of income, but also show you concrete examples and realistic earning opportunities for every size of streamer.

The 7 most important sources of income for Twitch streamers

Successful Twitch streamer never rely on just one source of income. They use different monetization opportunities that complement each other and lead to a stable overall income. Let's take a look at the most important sources of income in detail.

1. twitch subscriptions: the foundation of income

Subscriptions, or "Subs", form the core of the income for most Twitch streamers. A standard subscription costs the viewer €4.99 per month, of which the streamer initially receives 50 % - i.e. €2.50 per sub. However, these conditions improve significantly with increasing success. As soon as a streamer reaches around 200 average viewers, they can negotiate an improved split of 60 %, which increases the earnings per sub to €2.99. The biggest streamers even achieve a 70/30 split and thus earn €3.49 per subscription.

Prime subs are a real game changer: viewers with Amazon Prime can subscribe to a channel for free every month, while the streamer receives the same remuneration. Many successful streamers generate 30-40 % of their sub income through prime subs.

The Tier 2 (€9.99) and Tier 3 (€24.99) subscriptions almost always account for significantly less than 1 % of the total subs, and can therefore be disregarded in the calculation at this point.

The question that now arises is: How many subs does a streamer have in relation to its viewer numbers? In general, the number of subscribers is very volatile. The ratio between subscriptions and average viewer numbers varies greatly between different streamers and categories. Roughly speaking, a streamer has about half to twice as many subs as the average number of viewers. This wide range can be explained by the fact that events such as subathons drive up the number of subscribers and not all subscribers always watch at the same time and generally many subs are also given away by other viewers.

2. sponsoring and advertising partnerships: income from cooperations

Long-term partnerships with brands are an important pillar in the income of successful streamers. These partnerships bring streamers a regular monthly income.

The basic rule of thumb is: A sponsor should pay at least twice the average number of viewers in euros per month. A streamer with 2,500 viewers can therefore expect a basic remuneration of around €5,000 per sponsor.

However, the actual remuneration can also vary due to various factors. Factors include, for example, the general reach, potential affiliate commissions, how often the streamer is online and also the times when the streamer is online. The scope of the cooperation also has an influence on the value, for example a banner in the stream or regular social media posts on other platforms can increase the value.

Streamers often have several non-competing cooperation partners at the same time. For example, a streamer can have a gaming hardware manufacturer and an energy drink brand sponsoring their stream at the same time. This allows streamers to greatly improve their monthly income in one fell swoop.

3. product placements: quick money through individual advertising deals

Product placements offer streamers of all sizes the opportunity to generate additional income. Product placements are short partnerships in which the streamer advertises a product or service for a certain second period (usually 1-2 hours) in their stream. The streamer then receives a one-off payment from the advertising partner for this advertising.

For a product placement, a streamer receives approximately one euro per viewer per hour. Of course, there are also some factors that can influence the remuneration. For example, the time of the product placement plays a major role, as more viewers generally watch the stream during prime time between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. than outside these times. 

In general, you have to bear in mind that the payment for advertising deals always depends on the exact situation and reach of the streamer. It is therefore difficult to say exactly how much a streamer earns from their advertising partners, as income can vary greatly from streamer to streamer.

Many streamers make several product placements per month and thus drive up their income. As a streamer, however, you should of course also be careful not to annoy your community with too much advertising, as otherwise viewer numbers can drop sharply.

4. donations and bits: direct support from the community

Donations and bits are a very variable but important source of income for streamers. The amount of income from donations depends heavily on the content and the interaction with the community. Streamers in the just-chatting sector who actively interact with donations can generate particularly high income here. often in the same order of magnitude as their subscription revenues.

A major advantage of donations over subscriptions is that the streamer receives the full amount (minus any transaction fees) and does not have to share it with Twitch. However, some of the very successful streamers have deactivated their donations as they believe they are already earning enough from their subs and advertising.

5. affiliate marketing: passive income through links

Affiliate marketing offers streamers the opportunity to generate passive income by linking products. As a rough guide, it can be said that the monthly income from affiliate marketing is about a quarter of the average number of viewers in euros correspond.

Affiliate marketing is particularly effective when linking your own setup or niche products. The actual income depends heavily on how actively the streamer promotes links and which niche they serve.

6. twitch advertising: regular additional income

The advertising revenue on Twitch are based on the CPM (cost per mille), which depends on the target group. between 1 and 10 € lies. Each streamer can decide for themselves how much advertising they want to show. If a streamer does not place any advertising at all, all viewers who switch on the stream will receive an advertisement before they can watch the stream. In this way, Twitch tries to encourage streamers to place ads in their streams, as they earn money from the ads.

7. merchandise and own products: Long-term business opportunities

Merchandise and own product lines are often a very lucrative additional source of income for successful streamers. While it is difficult to give specific figures, as margins and sales figures vary greatly, streamers with successful merchandise lines often generate considerable additional income. Many major streamers are even developing their own lines of business that are designed to function independently of streaming.

Additional information on income from streamers

The revenues of streamers are extremely difficult to generalize, as they vary greatly from streamer to streamer and can be very volatile, depending on how much a streamer commercializes their livestream. Another decisive factor is how often and for how long the streamer is online, as well as numerous additional factors that can influence revenue. The figures mentioned in this article are only estimates based on our own experience and reports from others.

For most streamers, there is also additional income from other platforms such as TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, which are not included here but often also represent an important source of income due to their reach on these networks.

Concrete figures: This is how much money streamers earn with Twitch

We want to show how much a streamer can actually earn using concrete calculations for different viewer numbers. The following values are based on our experience and reports from other streamers and take into account various sources of income such as subscriptions, donations, advertising deals and affiliate commissions.

How much can you actually earn as a Twitch streamer? The following assessment is intended to provide a realistic overview of the potential earnings of a Twitch streamer with different viewer numbers.

What does a streamer with 10 viewers earn?

With an average of 10 spectators the monthly income is typically around 50-100 €. Revenue is mainly made up of 5-10 subs (€12.50-25) and occasional donations (€20-50). Affiliate links can generate an additional €10-25. While these numbers sound modest, it is an important first step in monetizing the stream.

This is how much a streamer with 50 viewers earns

With 50 average viewers increases the potential Income of 250-500 € per month. The subs (25-50 subs = € 62.50-125) already form a more solid basis. Donations become more regular (100-200 €) and the first product placements become possible (50-100 € per cooperation). Affiliate income increases to around €50, and small sponsors could offer their first products in kind or small amounts of money (€50-100).

How much does a streamer with 100 viewers earn?

With 100 spectators the first important monetization threshold is reached: 500-1,000 € per month is realistic. Revenue is made up of around 50-100 subscriptions (125-250 €), regular donations (200-400 €), and the first real sponsorship deals (150-300 €). Product placements become more attractive (100-200 € per promotion) and affiliate marketing generates about 100 € per month.

How much a streamer with 500 viewers earns

With 500 spectators streaming becomes really interesting as a side job: 1,000-5,000 € per month are possible. The sub income (250-500 subs = €625-1,250) forms a reliable basis. In addition, there is regular sponsorship income (€500-1,500), product placements (€250-750 per cooperation), stable donations (€500-1,000) and growing affiliate income (€250+).

What does a streamer with 1000 viewers earn?

With 1,000 spectators streaming as a main profession becomes realistic: 5,000-10,000 € per month are very realistic. Subs alone (500-1,000 subs = €1,250-2,500) provide a solid basic income. Sponsorship deals bring in €2,000-4,000, regular product placements €1,000-2,000 per deal. Donations (€1,000-2,000) and affiliate marketing (€500+) round off the income.

This is how much a streamer with 5,000 viewers earns

With 5,000 spectators we are talking about professional streaming: 10,000-50,000 € per month are normal. The sub income (2,500-5,000 subs = € 7,500-15,000) is already a very good income. Large sponsorship deals bring in €10,000-20,000, high-quality product placements €5,000-10,000 per partner. Merchandise becomes very lucrative (€2,000-5,000) and advertising income increases significantly (€3,000-6,000).

How much does a streamer with 10,000 viewers earn?

With 10,000 spectators you belong to the Twitch elite: 50,000-100,000 € or even more are possible per month. Subs alone (5,000-10,000 subs) generate €15,000-30,000. Exclusive sponsorship deals generate €20,000-40,000, product placements €10,000-20,000 per campaign. Own product lines and merchandise often generate extremely high additional income.

Conclusion: This is how much a Twitch streamer earns

The earning potential on Twitch is impressive, with the biggest streamers earning a fortune through their subs alone - but the path to getting there requires enormous dedication. Becoming a successful streamer requires enormous dedication, perseverance and often years of continuous work. Around 99% of all Twitch streamers don't earn a penny from streaming. 

However, if you manage to find your niche and build up a loyal community, you can earn a very good income on Twitch. Even with just a few hundred viewers, you can generate a decent side income.

The key to success lies in the combination of several factors:

• Authentic, high-quality content
• A committed and active community
• Regular, reliable streams
• Presence on multiple platforms
• Strategic monetization

All figures mentioned are averages and estimates based on industry experience and public reports. Actual earnings depend on many individual factors, such as the chosen monetization strategy, streaming frequency, niche and cross-platform presence. The engagement and purchasing power of the community also play an important role.