How to Start Making Money on Twitch?

When you see your favorite content creator playing their favorite games and making money at the same time, it might look like the “dream job.” The good news is that it is, and it’s an achievable dream.

But make money on Twitch isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon that requires patience, consistency, and strategy. You can’t just turn on your stream today and expect to start earning tomorrow.

In this guide, we’ll provide you with a step-by-step roadmap. We’ll explain how to start from scratch, what the requirements are, and the different methods creators use to turn their passion into a real source of income.

What is Twitch?

Before we talk about making money, let’s clarify what Twitch is. Twitch is the world’s largest live-streaming platform, owned by Amazon.

Imagine YouTube, but live. The site began by focusing almost entirely on video game streaming (Gaming), where players broadcast their screens while playing and interacting with their audience in real-time via chat.

However, it has expanded significantly. Now, you can find live streams for almost anything: artists drawing, musicians playing, chefs cooking, or even just people chatting with their followers.

It’s a platform for building a community that interacts with you in real-time.

Can Anyone Make Money on Twitch?

The Twitch platform offers everyone a chance to earn, but it has established a clear “ladder” you must climb step by step.

Earning doesn’t start from day one; it begins the moment you succeed in building a small, engaged community around your channel. The first step on this ladder is reaching “Affiliate” status.

What is the First Step to Earning? The Twitch Affiliate Program

The first goal you should set your sights on is reaching the Twitch Affiliate program. This is the first level and the official gateway to activating monetization features on your channel.

Simply put, Twitch monitors your channel. When it sees that you are streaming regularly and have started to build a small but loyal audience, it automatically sends you an invitation to join the program.

What are the Requirements to Join Twitch Affiliate and Start Earning?

Fortunately, the requirements to make money on Twitch are clear. To join the Affiliate program, you must meet these four requirements:

1. Reach 50 followers.
2. Stream for a total of 8 hours.
3. Stream on 7 different days.
4. Maintain an average of 3 concurrent viewers (over the last 30 days).

You must complete all four of these achievements to receive the invitation. You can track your progress toward these goals in the “Achievements” section of your Creator Dashboard.

Once you meet these requirements, it may take a few days for the official invitation to arrive via email and as a notification on the platform.

What are the Ways to Make Money on Twitch?

Once you become an Affiliate, you unlock the primary ways to make money on Twitch, which are divided into three main sources:

1. Subscriptions (Subs): This is your consistent monthly support. Viewers can support your channel by paying a monthly fee. In return, they get special perks (like your channel’s custom “emotes”). As an Affiliate, you receive 50% of the subscription fee, and Twitch receives 50%.
2. Bits: These are a virtual currency that viewers can buy directly from Twitch. They can send you these Bits in the chat as a form of encouragement (called “Cheering”). Each Bit sent to you is worth a small amount of money (approximately one cent).
3. Ads: You can now choose to run short ad breaks during your stream. You will receive a portion of the revenue from the ads that your audience watches.

What is the Next Step After Affiliate? The Twitch Partner Program

Affiliate is the first level, and Partner is the second.

How to become a Twitch Partner? It requires much tougher conditions, such as maintaining an average of 75 viewers per stream over 30 days.

But the benefits are much better. You might get a better revenue split on subscriptions (up to 70% for you), a verification badge (the checkmark), faster technical support, and many other exclusive features.

Twitch affiliate vs Twitch partner

Comparison Point	Twitch Affiliate	Twitch Partner
Acceptance Process	Automatic approval upon meeting requirements.	Requires manual review by the Twitch team after application.
Joining Requirements	25 followers, 4 hours streamed, 4 different streaming days, with an average of 3 viewers.	Stream for 25 hours, stream on 12 different days.
Average Viewers	Maintains an average of 3 viewers.	At least 6 separate stream sessions with an average of 75 viewers per session.
Content Requirements	No content auditing; approval is automatic based on numbers (must only adhere to the general Terms of Service).	Manual review of content quality, professionalism, and adherence to community guidelines (DMCA).
Subscription Revenue Split	50%	Starts at 50%, with the potential to reach over 70%.
Available Monetization Methods	Subscriptions, Bits, Ads (basic control), Channel Points.	All Affiliate methods + advanced ad control + ability to design custom Cheermotes (special Bit icons).
Marketing & Sponsorship Opportunities	It depends entirely on personal effort to attract sponsors.	Priority in official Twitch sponsorship programs + “Verified Badge” which strongly attracts brands.
Verified Badge	Did not receive a badge.	Receives the official badge.
Emotes	Receives a few, limited slots.	Receives a large number of slots (50+), in addition to animated emotes.
VOD (Stream) Storage	Broadcasts are saved for 14 days.	Broadcasts are saved for 60 days.

Are There Other Ways to Earn Not Directly Related to Twitch?

Yes, and this is where a creator’s financial savvy comes in. Never rely on a single income stream. Professionals making money on Twitch use these methods as well:

1. Direct Donations: Using third-party services like PayPal or Streamlabs. Here, followers send you money directly, and the best part is that you get 100% of the amount (minus a small transaction fee).
2. Sponsorships: As your channel grows, companies (like gaming accessory brands, energy drinks, or game developers) will contact you and pay you to display or talk about their products on your stream.
3. Selling Merchandise (Merch): Designing and selling t-shirts, mugs, or hats featuring your logo or famous catchphrases.

Do You Need to Secure Your Account Before You Start Earning?

As soon as your channel starts to grow and becomes a source of income, it will become a target for hackers.

Because Twitch understands this, it requires you to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) before it will even allow you to stream or join the Affiliate program.

How to Protect Your New Income and Maintain Your Privacy?

Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is an essential step, but you can also create a Twitch account without using your personal phone number.

When creating your Twitch account, you can use a real, reliable temporary number from a service like Non-voip. This number is dedicated solely to your account and you can use it to receive the verification code once.

For more details and steps, read the comprehensive article on creating a Twitch account without a personal phone number.

Conclusion

Success and making money on Twitch is an art form rather than just following a checklist.

It’s the art of turning passion into a business, and casual viewers into a supportive community.

But more important than just starting to build your community is ensuring you build it on a secure foundation.