Using bits to cheer on Twitch is a great way to show support for your favorite streamers. But do all the Twitch bits you give go directly to the streamer?

Does Twitch Take Money From Bits?

Twitch takes roughly 30% from the initial purchase of bits, but does not take any money from bits that are donated to streamers. So if you donate 100 bits to a streamer, the streamer will receive the full 100 bits.

Check out the image below to better understand what I am talking about:

Notice how $1.40 will get you 100 bits? And each bit is worth about $0.01 to a streamer and so that means Twitch takes roughly 30% right off the top.

Luckily, Twitch does not take anything from bits that are donated to streamers and so it is only the users initial purchase that Twitch is taking a cut from.

And it is worth noting too that the more bits you buy, the less of a cut Twitch gets. For example, if you buy 100 bits for $1.40, Twitch gets about a 29% cut of your purchase.

But if you buy 1,500 bits for $19.95, then Twitch only gets a roughly 25% cut from your purchase. So buying in bulk is a better deal for you in the long when purchasing bits.

Now we know that Twitch takes a cut off the top when it comes to bits, but does Twitch take anything from donations given to a streamer?

Does Twitch Take Money From Donations?

Twitch does not take money from donations because these donations are done through third party platforms such as PayPal or Cash App and not through the Twitch platform itself.

For example, if you go to the panels on my stream, you will notice that there is a donation panel that you can click on. If you click on the panel, it will take you to a screen that looks like this:

I was able to create this page using Streamlabs and linking it to my PayPal account. The donation is done through a separate page and the money goes to my PayPal.

I guess Twitch could charge me for using the platform to solicit donations, but as of now (June 2021) Twitch does not take a cut from donations and in my honest opinion it makes sense that way.

Other platforms will take a cut of the money that people donate to you and I just don’t agree with that.

So now you might be thinking, “well why not just donate bits then since the streamer will get more of the money?” That’s a valid point, but in the next two sections I will cover why bits and donations are different and why some viewers still choose to donate bits over donations.

How Are Bits And Donations Different?

Bits allow viewers to “cheer” for streamers on Twitch. Many streams also have special emotes, badges and leaderboards for top bit contributors. Donations on the other hand don’t come with as many perks, but more of the money will go directly to the streamer.

Like we just talked about, 100% of donations go to a streamer. So if you donate $5.00, that entire $5.00 will go to a streamer.

If on the other hand you decide to donate $5.00 worth of bits, you will actually end up spending $7.00 because of the 30% cut that Twitch takes off the top of all bit purchases.

So then why would people choose to donate bits over money if the streamer gets more with money? Let me explain.

Why Would You Donate Twitch Bits Instead Of Money?

Donating bits will not only appear as a “cheer” in chat, it also comes with special emotes, badges and many streamers have leaderboards where they will display top bit contributors. These perks are not as common for monetary donations. Not to mention bits can be earned for free.

Money donations are great, but those are a lot of sweet perks to pass up on !

And like I mentioned, you can earn bits for free through watching ads (I go over that in my article here) and so if you donate with bits you might not even have to use any of your own money. Now that is cool !

Seeing your cheer show up in the chat instantly can be exciting for you, the streamer, and anyone else who happens to be watching.

In addition, not all streamers have direct donations enabled, particularly newer streamers on Twitch, so bits might be the best option if you want to support a newer streamer on the platform who has not setup donations just yet.

Bits are especially ideal for donating small, incremental amounts over time. I had a viewer donate me 1 bit every time I streamed for like a week straight and it was awesome ! 

If you aren’t sure you want to commit to donating a large sum to a streamer just yet, you can cheer for them using as little as 1 bit until you feel comfortable giving more significant donations.

I like cheering with bits because I can spend $1.40 for 100 bits and stretch those 100 bits across a bunch of different channels. As longer as you are not spammy, streamers will love to be sprinkled with bits and it is a great way to network.

In my opinion I would rather receive a money donation, but I would rather donate in Twitch bits just because I feel like I could stretch out my donations a lot further than I could with cold hard cash…I mean PayPal.

At the end of the day it really comes down to personal choice and can also depends on the stream that you want to contribute to.

For example, many streamers do have leaderboards for both top bit donors AND top money donators and so at that point you really can’t miss.

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!

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. 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. 

Even though streamers only get $0.01 per bit donated to them, bits are an exciting way to support creators on Twitch while getting emotes and badges in return. Emotes and badges help you stand out in the chat and instantly show streamers your support.

Then again, if you aren’t thrilled about Twitch keeping their cut of bit sales, many streamers allow direct donations. Unfortunately, you don’t get any perks, and your contributions aren’t immediately visible in the chat.

Depending on your preference, both bits and direct donations are reliable and secure ways to support creators on Twitch financially.

Good luck out there my friends!