If you are contemplating whether to stream on Twitch or Picarto, keep reading as I do a complete comparison of the two platforms to better help you decide which is the right one for you.
Which Is Better For Streaming: Twitch Or Picarto?
Twitch is better for streaming overall. Picarto is extremely niche and caters specifically to artists. Twitch serves all kinds of content creators, and has many more users, making it the much better streaming platform.
With Picarto, it really feels like your potential is capped. Picarto gets a small percentage of the monthly users that Twitch does making it hard to grow. I’ll go into more detail below.
Twitch Pros & Cons
| Twitch Pros | Twitch Cons |
|---|---|
| Largest live streaming platform for gaming | Poor sub splits |
| Tools for creators and viewers | Oversaturated with streamers |
| Inconsistent moderation | |
| Tons of ads |
Despite all the criticisms that Twitch receives, they are still the largest live streaming platform for gaming. And the tools they offer both streamers and viewers are some of the best in the industry.
However, they do have several things working against them. Their sub-splits are low compared to other platforms (50% – 50%) and they run a LOT of ads on the platform which disrupts the experience.
Furthermore, Twitch has become very saturated in recent years making it difficult for new streamers to come in and grow. So how does Picarto compare?
Picarto Pros & Cons
| Picarto Pros | Picarto Cons |
|---|---|
| Niche community | Very small community |
| Less competition | Not a lot of room for growth |
| Higher subscription splits | Few streaming tools for creators and viewers |
Picarto is a very niche streaming platform dedicated to artists. On Picarto you will find all kinds of artists from musicians, to painters, and even video game designers.
Viewers can watch these artists as they create which is actually pretty fun and relaxing. Given that the platform is so niche there is less competition, but this can also make it hard to grow a times.
They do offer better sub-splits than Twitch for their premium users (75%), but their regular streamers get the same sub-split as Twitch, 50%.
Picarto seems to me like a small, niche, artsy platform where artists can hang with other artists. It’s not meant to help you make a living, but is more a way to engage with like-minded individuals.
Now let’s talk more about how Twitch and Picarto compare when it comes to some of the most important categories of live streaming: discoverability, monetization, stream quality / UI, and growth.
Discoverability
Picarto has the edge over Twitch when it comes to discoverability. Besides there being less competition, they also have a “Feed” section, a “Gallery” section and a “Commissions” section where people can find your work. Twitch really only has live streams.
The feed section on Picarto acts like a social media, similar to Twitter or Facebook, where you can scroll and find content or artists that you are interested in.
The gallery on Picarto is a place where artists can show off their creations. If you scroll through the section you will see lots of art from various artists.
Lastly, the commissions section is a place where artists can offer their work to other users for a price. It’s a great tool for artists to potentially make some extra money and spread their work.
Now Twitch does not have much of anything for discoverability. Their main focus is providing users with the best live streaming experience and so discovery must happen on other platforms. For this reason, when it comes to discovery, Picarto is better.
Monetization
Twitch has better monetization options than Picarto. Although Picarto offers a higher sub-split for premium streamers, they have less options to monetize. Picarto only offers subs, commissioned work, and tips whereas Twitch offers subs and tips plus Twitch bits and ad revenue.
If you have a decent sized following on Picarto, and are able to take advantage of the high sub-splits, then Picarto may offer more to you monetarily.
However, given how niche the site is, it’s unlikely you will ever grow to a point where you are making serious money on the platform. For example, I just glanced over at Picarto and their highest viewed stream has 40 viewers.
Compare that to Twitch where the highest viewed stream currently has 36k viewers and you see why it is so hard to really make money with Picarto.
As far as monetization is concerned, Picarto should be seen as a platform where you can make a little extra money to support your passion, but not something you can live off of.
Stream Quality / UI
Both Twitch and Picarto offer the same maximum stream quality which is 1080p. But when it comes to UI, Twitch is far ahead of Picarto.
Twitch offers emotes, sub badges, a better layout, more tools, and so much more. Picarto is very simple and far less engaging than Twitch.
Growth
Twitch offers far more growth potential than Picarto does. As I have said throughout this post, Picarto is extremely niche and is only meant for artists.
On Twitch, streamers can stream their art on Twitch amongst other things, and since there are a lot more users and potential viewers it is more likely for you to grow. You are really limited for growth with Picarto.
Should You Stream On Twitch Or Picarto?
If you want to grow as a streamer and content creator, then Twitch is a much better place to stream. If you just want to stream to have fun and interact with other artists / creators, then Picarto is the better choice.
Picarto is a small, tight-knit community of people with similar interests. It’s a fun place to stream if you are a creator looking for some extra company while you create.
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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.
Souces:
Eric streams 3 days a week on Twitch and uploads weekly to Youtube under the moniker, StreamersPlaybook. He loves gaming, PCs, and anything else related to tech. He’s the founder of the website StreamersPlaybook and loves helping people answer their streaming, gaming, and PC questions.
