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Is Twitch Free? What You Should Know

Over the years Twitch has exploded in popularity. With entertaining streamers and millions of daily users, it is no wonder why the platform has grown so rapidly. But people who are curious about the Twitch platform often wonder, “Is it free?”

Is Twitch Free?

Twitch is a free online live streaming platform. You do not have to pay to watch your favorite streamers or even to stream on your own Twitch channel; however, if you would like to comment in chat, you will often have to be subbed to or following that streamer. Following a streamer is free, but subbing to a channel costs at minimum $4.99 a month. 

That is one thing that is great about Twitch is that you don’t have to pay to watch any of the streamers on the platform.

I like that because no matter where you live or how much money you have you always will have entertaining streamers that you can watch for free. 

I do follow certain streamers on Twitch because it makes it easier to keep track of my favorite streamers. It also notifies me every time they go live, but I only keep the notifications on for a handful of streamers because it can get a bit overwhelming. 

Speaking of which, feel free to follow my Twitch channel by clicking here and following. I would really appreciate the support!

Lastly, like I touched on earlier, you can sub to different channels for a small monthly fee. The minimum monthly sub cost is $4.99.

Being subbed to a channel gets you custom emotes, the ability to chat (depending on the streamers settings) and other cool perks. Not to mention when you sub, most streamers will give you a shout out on their channel which is kinda neat.

If you really like a streamer, you could pay even more to become a higher tier sub. Being a higher tiered sub usually comes with even more custom emotes and other perks that are not had by the lower tiered subs or followers.

Subbing tier 2 or tier 3 is a way to show your favorite streamer that you are committed to the stream. Another way that you can sub to your favorite streamer is through Twitch Prime.

Is Twitch Prime Free?

If you have Amazon Prime, and if you link your Amazon Prime account with your Twitch account, then you can get one free Twitch Prime sub each month that you can use on a streamer of your choice. Twitch Prime is free, but you will have to pay for your Amazon Prime account which costs $119 annually or $12.99 monthly depending on the plan you choose.

If you already use Amazon Prime then Twitch Prime is a no brainer. It is super simple to link your account and getting a free sub to use each month is pretty cool.

You can change who you sub to each month as well so maybe one month you sub to Nickmercs, the next month you sub to Ninja, the choice is yours. 

Twitch Prime also comes with Twitch Turbo which gives you a few perks such as the ability to change the color of your name in chat to any color you want (check out this article here for more details on how to do that). 

Twitch Turbo alone would cost you $8.99 if you didn’t have Twitch Prime. When I started adding up all the perks of Twitch Prime, I realized that Amazon Prime almost pays for itself with all the added perks. If you use Amazon Prime, you have to take advantage of Twitch Prime. 

Now if you are curious about streaming yourself, is this also free?

Is it Free to Stream on Twitch?

Just like watching Twitch, it is also free to stream on Twitch. You don’t have to pay to stream on the platform; however, you will obviously have to pay for any equipment or software that you may use to stream that is not a part of the Twitch platform.

This means that if you want to get a feel for streaming on the platform you don’t have to dish out any money to do so. You can pick it up one day and drop it the next if you’d like.

But if you are serious about streaming then you know that it is a process and that it will take time for you to grow on Twitch or any other platform for that matter.

Creating a Twitch account is free and so there is no reason for you not to give streaming a try if it is something that you are passionate about. 

If you are interested in starting to stream on Twitch, then check out this article I made by clicking here. I walk you through the whole process and it is not as difficult as you may think. Getting started is super simple and you will never know if you like streaming unless you try it. 

So in the end…

Does it Cost Money to Use Twitch?

No, it does not cost anything to watch Twitch or to stream on Twitch. Creating an account and watching your favorite streamer is totally free and the only time you will have to pay anything is if you choose to subscribe to a channel or donate to a streamer. Other than that, it is totally free. 

FAQs

I have compiled a list below of a few commonly asked questions when it comes to streaming on Twitch.

Are Twitch Extensions Free?

Yes, Twitch Extensions are free to download and to use. If you go to Twitch there are thousands of Twitch extensions that you can add to your channel all for free. Twitch extensions have many purposes and are meant to help out streamers. 

For a complete breakdown of Twitch extensions, as well as some of the more popular Twitch extensions, check out my article by clicking here. 

Is Streaming Software Free?

Some streaming software is completely free to use, others make you pay to use them and others are free to use, but will make you pay if you want the upgraded version of their streaming software. If you want to stream, you will probably need a streaming software, but luckily many of the free streaming softwares offer great quality at no cost.

I personally use Streamlabs Prime which is the paid version of Streamlabs OBS. Streamlabs OBS is free to use and is the most commonly used streaming software for new streamers.

The free version has everything you need and you can make an awesome stream with the free version. 

I upgraded to Streamlabs Prime because it gave me the ability to multi-stream (streaming on multiple platforms) and gave me a lot more alerts and overlays to choose from. I have been using it for a few months now and i really like it.

I highly recommend upgrading to Streamlabs Prime if you haven’t already. If you want to check out Streamlabs Prime, click here. And if you get Streamlabs Prime using my link you will get a discount. The free overlays alone are more than worth it.

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.

Like I have talked about this whole time, just about everything you need to watch or stream on Twitch is free. So if you want to watch your favorite streamer or if you want to stream yourself, you don’t have to worry about breaking your bank in order to do so. 

Twitch is super entertaining and the fact that it is free just makes it that much better.

Good luck out there my friends. I hope all your streams come true!

👋 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.