Twitch Vs TikTok (ULTIMATE Comparison!)

TikTok added live streaming to their platform in 2019 and since then it has steadily grown. But how does it compare to Twitch, one of the more established live streaming platforms available today?

Twitch Vs TikTok: Which Is Better For Streaming?

Twitch is better for live streaming than TikTok because they offer more forms of monetization and a better streaming experience. It is easier to get discovered on TikTok than on Twitch, but their stream quality is just simply not as good.

Twitch Pros & Cons

Twitch Pros	Twitch Cons
Lots of streaming tools for streamers and viewers	Oversaturated with streamers
Able to earn money from ads	Inconsistent moderation
	Tons of ads

Twitch has one of the best live streaming platforms available today. The tools they offer to both streamers and viewers are amazing and help to create a very engaging stream.

They aren’t perfect though and too many streamers, inconsistent moderation, and an excessive number of ads have all caused streamers to consider alternative platforms. So how does TikTok compare?

TikTok Pros & Cons

TikTok Pros	TikTok Cons
Amazing discoverability	Poor sub splits
Can create multiple content types	Streams are in vertical format
	Risk of being shutdown

TikTok has some of the best discoverability tools of any platform today. Furthermore, creators have the freedom to create different types of content like short videos, streams, etc. so they are not tied to one specific type of content.

Their streams however, leave many wanting more. They appear vertically, which is fine if you are on mobile, but horrible if you are on PC.

Their sub-splits are also not very good for streamers, worse than Twitch surprisingly, and it seems they are constantly under pressure from the US government regarding how they collect user data.

I wanted to now do a more detailed comparison of the two platforms in regards to monetization, discoverability, stream quality, UI, and UE.

Monetization

Twitch offers better monetization options, and revenue splits, than TikTok does. This may be surprising to hear, but it’s true. TikTok has even worse splits than Twitch does.

First off, on Twitch, streamers earn 50% of the revenue generated from their subscribers. So if a viewer subscribers to a channel for $10, the streamer gets $5 and Twitch gets $5.

On TikTok, if a viewers subscribers to a channel, the streamer gets 35% of the money, TikTok gets 35%, and Google or Apple gets the other 30% (their processing fee).

Next, TikTok takes about 50% of tips that viewers give to streamers on the platform. On TikTok, they have things called “Gifts” which are little icons viewers can give to streamers which streamers can later redeem for money.

This tipping system is similar to Twitch bits, but the main difference is that Twitch does not take anything from bits that are donated to streamers.

They do charge an extra 30% to viewers at the time the bits are purchased, but nothing is taken from the streamer. That means that TikTok takes an extra 20% compared to Twitch!

Twitch streamers can also run ads during their streams as a way to make extra money whereas TikTok does not offer any advertisement options for their streamers.

Besides these monetization options that are built into each platform, things such as sponsorships and affiliate marketing can be done on either platform and so neither has an advantage there.

But overall, Twitch offers better revenue splits and more options for monetizing your content than TikTok does giving them an edge in regards to monetization.

Which Pays More: Twitch Or TikTok

Twitch pays more than TikTok does as a streamer. They offer higher sub-splits for both their subscriber revenue, and revenue from tips received on the platform than TikTok does.

Discoverability

TikTok’s discoverability is far superior to Twitch’s discoverability. In fact, Twitch offers very few tools for discovery on their platform and instead relies on streamers to drive people from other platforms over to Twitch to watch their live streams.

Twitch really only has Twitch tags and specific streaming categories that are meant to help streamers get discovered.

On the other hand, TikTok has a very sophisticated algorithm that does a great job of placing content that people are interested in in front of them.

So for example, if a TikTok user is interested in League Of Legends, TikTok will show the user lots of League Of Legends videos since they know they like that content.

From there, if a user enjoys the content from a certain creator, they can then click onto their channel and watch their live stream (if the creator is live). You can also scroll through live streams on TikTok until you find one that you like.

Twitch doesn’t offer anything like this and so streamers are forced grow on other platforms, and then get their supporters on other platforms to watch their Twitch streams. TikTok discoverability is just way better.

Stream Quality, UI, & UE

Twitch and TikTok both offer the same max stream quality, which is 1080p at 60 fps, but Twitch’s user interface (UI) and user experience (UE), is better than TikToks. You can compare the two using the images below.

As you can see, they have a similar layout with chat set to the right of the live stream which is in the middle. However, as you can see, the live streams on TikTok are intended for mobile use.

This means that if you try to watch a stream on your computer, your stream will be in a vertical format as you can see from the image above. This really takes away from the viewers experience on PC.

Besides that major drawback, TikTok also has subscriber and follower buttons for viewers, as well as emotes and sub badges just like Twitch.

The streams don’t look as good given their format, and Twitch’s UI just looks cleaner in my opinion, but since it is so similar to Twitch, viewers won’t find it difficult switching between the two.

Growth

It’s difficult to say which platform is better to grow on as a streamer right now. Twitch currently has a better platform, but no discoverability. And TikTok has the the opposite.

Both platforms have uncertain futures and it would be best to create content on multiple platforms, not just one, to better protect your brand and future.

Should You Stream On Twitch Or TikTok

If you are only able to stream on one platform, then you should stream on Twitch since it is dedicated to live streaming; however, you should ideally be streaming on both. In August 2022 Twitch removed some of their restrictions for multi-streaming allowing for streamers to stream on both simultaneously.

Before these restrictions were removed, Twitch Affiliates and Partners were only allowed to go live on Twitch and no other platforms simultaneously.

Now, Twitch Affiliates and Partners are allowed to go live on Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram all at the same time without worrying about any kind of punishment from Twitch.

Which Is More Popular: Twitch Or TikTok?

TikTok is much more popular than Twitch. TikTok currently receives over 1 billion monthly users whereas Twitch only receives around 140 million visits to their website each month.

Both platforms get tons of monthly users, TikTok just happens to get more. They also offer more content options than Twitch which may be one of the main reasons they get so many more visitors each month.

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.

Sources:

Eric

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.