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Do Twitch Bits Expire? What To Know

So you just bought some Twitch bits and are ready to drop some love on a few streamers. But do you have to donate these bits right away or can you wait a bit?

Do Twitch Bits Expire?

Twitch bits do not expire and so you can hold them for as long as you like; however, you can only hold a maximum of 250,000 bits at a time.

This works great for me because I like to buy a bunch of bits and then slowly donate them to different streamers that I come across. Given the fact that they don’t expire means I don’t feel rushed to use them all at once.

But now that you know that they don’t expire, the next question is how much are these Twitch bits actually worth?

How Much Are Twitch Bits Worth?

Each Twitch bit is worth $0.01. So if you donate 100 Twitch bits to a streamer it is equivalent to $1 USD. But keep in mind that a bit is worth $0.01, but it will cost you more than that to buy a Twitch bit.

If you didn’t already know, Twitch charges you a bit more than a Twitch bit is worth. It is their way of making money off of Twitch bits. Look at the image below to see what I mean.

Twitch bits pricing

Notice how 100 bits will cost you $1.40 ? And how 500 bits will cost you $7.00 ? This is the money that Twitch takes off the top when you purchase a bit.

And as you can also see the more bits you buy at once, the bigger the discount you will receive.

So does this mean that streamers don’t get 100% of the bits that you donate to them?

Do Streamers Get 100% Of Bits?

Streamers do get 100% of the bits donated to them. Although Twitch takes a cut when the Twitch bits are initially purchased, they do not take anything from bits being donated to streamers.

So as you can see in the image above, Twitch charges about 30% extra for each bit that you purchase, but once you have those bits Twitch does not take anything more from you when you donate those bits.

There is a misconception that Twitch takes a cut of streamers bits, but as you can see this is not entirely true. Whatever amount of bits you donate to a streamer is the amount that they will receive.

The only time Twitch takes a cut is when a user first purchases the bits.

Now maybe you have stockpiled a ton of bits and are wondering what to do with them. Can you cash them out is something that people frequently ask.

Can You Convert Twitch Bits To Money?

You can’t convert your Twitch bits to money as they are non-refundable. You are also not allowed to use Twitch bits for anything other than their intended purpose such as cheering as this is against Twitch’s terms of service.

Twitch even clarifies in their terms of service that bits are not to be used for anything other than cheering or you may be punished.

This means you cannot use, or solicit your users to use Twitch bits to purchase merch or to donate Twitch bits instead of subbing to your channel.

Doing these things could get you suspended or banned from the platform. It’s just not worth it.

Bits are non-refundable primarily as a security measure, as Twitch allows viewers to obtain free bits by viewing ads or, in the past, filling out surveys with Twitch RPG.

If you could return your bits for cash whenever you wanted, Twitch would end up with thousands of users abusing the Bits for Ads feature for free money.

Although you won’t be able to get a refund on any of the bits you’ve purchased, you can at least take solace in knowing that your bits will never expire.

So, knowing this, how can you decide on the right amount of bits to buy at a time?

How Many Bits Should You Buy At A Time?

It is best to buy at least 1,500 bits at a time, if not more. This is because starting at 1,500 bits you begin to receive a discount off of the purchase price and this discount increases with the more bits you buy at one time.

Check out the image below and you will see what I mean.

Prices of Twitch Bits

Notice how if you buy 1,500 bits you get a 5% discount? Then an 8% discount at 5,000 bits and so on and so forth. If you really plan on using a ton of bits then obviously the 25,000 bits is your best choice.

And since the bits don’t expire you can sit on them for as long as you like.

But for most people, 1,500 is plenty and will last you a very long time. Especially when you consider the fact that you can donate as little as 1 bit in certain streams.

This is normally what I do. I buy a small 1,500 stack of bits and then slowly donate them over time.

I save money by buying in bulk and since they don’t expire I never feel the urge to go and dump them somewhere.

Donating bits is great, especially when you donate to smaller streams. Donating to smaller streamers is a great way to network and can all be done with a penny (the cost of one bit).

As always, if you have any questions or just want to hang with me, stop by my Twitch channel here and say what’s up!



For even more streaming tips and how-to content check out my Youtube channel here. And if you want to check out my streams then stop by my Twitch channel here.

Also, if you are feeling generous, I would really appreciate it if you followed my Twitch channel, you can do so by clicking here. I am trying to grow so that way I can better help you all. I am also up to helping you answer any streaming questions that you may have so feel free to stop by. I really appreciate you all !

And for even more tips, tricks and how tos subscribe to my Youtube channel here. I post two videos a week to help you with your streams. 

Since Twitch bits don’t expire you can relax and use them whenever you feel like it. Bits are a great way to support streamers you want to see succeed and buying in bulk can really help you save money.

Good luck out there my friends!

How Long Does It Take To Get Bits on Twitch? - Streamers Playbook

Monday 14th of June 2021

[…] can even set up an auto-refill feature to make sure you never run out of bits by allowing Twitch to charge your payment method whenever you get low. Twitch plans on expanding these purchasing […]

👋 Hey There, I'm Eric!

Since 2018, I've been making streams come true.

I like gaming, streaming and watching other people stream. I created this website to help streamers, viewers, and gamers answer questions they have regarding live streaming, gaming, and PCs. I am a Twitch affiliate and currently stream on Twitch 3 days a week. I also have a Youtube channel where I make videos about streaming. I hope you find my content helpful. Feel free to stop by one of my streams to say hi.