Complete Guide to Twitch Subscriptions: Everything You Need to Know

Twitch is the leading live-streaming site for games. Millions of people tune in to see others play games like League of Legends and Fortnite. Although people also stream other things, games are the dominant broadcast choice.

While you can use Twitch for free, if you want to support a favorite broadcaster then you can buy a subscription to their channel. Twitch subscriptions are a way of providing income for a streamer and receiving benefits as a viewer.

In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about Twitch subscriptions.

What Are Twitch Turbo and Twitch Prime?

Before we cover Twitch subscriptions, let’s detail what they aren’t.

Twitch Turbo and Twitch Prime are two separate membership schemes that Twitch offers. Neither are the same thing as a Twitch subscription, though it’s easy to confuse them due to overlapping benefits.

You can be a member of Twitch Turbo, Twitch Prime, and be a Twitch subscriber. All three are individual.

Twitch Turbo

Twitch Turbo is a membership scheme that costs $8.99/month.

It grants you the following benefits across every channel:

• No advertisements
• A badge displayed next to your name
• Use additional sets of emojis
• Change your username color
• Save your past broadcasts for 60 days instead of 14

You can find out more from the Twitch Turbo page.

Twitch Prime

Twitch Prime is a membership scheme only available if you have an Amazon Prime subscription. If you do, it’s free.

With Twitch Prime, you get the following benefits:

• A badge displayed next to your name
• Use additional sets of emojis
• Change your username color
• Save your past broadcasts for 60 days instead of 14
• Some free games and in-game loot
• One free Twitch subscription per month

You can find out more from the Twitch Prime page.

What Are Twitch Subscriptions?

You can follow a channel on Twitch to receive updates, much like you do on other social networks. This is free to all.

Subscribing is different. This is a paid membership to a specific channel in return for benefits like emojis and exclusive streams.

Twitch subscriptions are a way of financially supporting your favorite streamers and receiving some benefits in return.

Twitch subscriptions can help streamers build a bigger and loyal audience.

How Much Does a Twitch Subscription Cost?

At minimum, a subscription costs $4.99/month. There are additional tiers that cost $9.99/month and $24.99/month, though what this will give depends on the channel; it won’t necessarily give you anything different.

A subscription is on a per-channel basis. Your single subscription cost goes towards one channel of your choice. If you want to subscribe to a second channel, that’s a separate cost (so two channel subscriptions at the lowest tier will cost you $9.98/month.)

When you subscribe to a channel, the streamer will receive a percentage of the payment. The rest will go to Twitch. The exact split varies depending on what deal the streamer has with Twitch.

If you have a Twitch Prime membership, you can subscribe to one channel each month for free.

What Are the Benefits of a Twitch Subscription?

The exact benefits you will receive from your Twitch subscription depend on the channel that you are subscribing to and the tier that you choose.

Some common benefits are:

• Emojis designed specifically for the channel you subscribe to, which you can use in any other Twitch stream
• Badge displayed next to your name, which can change depending on how long you have been a subscriber
• During a live stream, you can press a button to alert others to how long you’ve been a subscriber
• Exclusive subscriber-only streams or competitions
• No adverts during a stream

You only get these benefits as long as you are a subscriber.

How Do I Become a Twitch Subscriber?

It’s simple to subscribe to a Twitch channel. However, please note that you can only subscribe to Twitch Partners and Affiliates, not every single channel.

To subscribe to a Twitch channel, go to their stream and click the Subscribe button in the top-right above the video. If you don’t see the button, it means the channel isn’t eligible to receive subscribers.

This will open a window where you can see the subscription benefits and select your price tier. Your subscription will renew automatically each month on the same day.

Some subscriptions offer three- or six-month payments. There is no discount for doing this, so monthly is better.

You can also choose to Gift a membership. You can send this to a specific user or to the community. If you choose the latter, the subscription will be randomly distributed to those watching the stream.

If you have Twitch Prime, look for the Free Subscription with Twitch Prime section. Click Subscribe here and you will receive subscription benefits for a month for free. You will need to manually subscribe to the channel each month, though—there’s no auto-renew with a Twitch Prime subscription.

How Do I Manage My Twitch Subscriptions?

You can manage your subscriptions by going to the Twitch Subscriptions page. To access this page normally, click your display picture in the top-right and then click Subscriptions.

Here you can see Your Subscriptions (who you are subscribed to currently) and other sections like Gifted Subscriptions and Expired Subscriptions.

This page shows you how long you have been subscribed to a channel and when your benefits are set to expire.

To adjust your subscription, click the Cog icon next to the relevant channel name and click Change Subscription Tier or Change Payment Method.

How Do I Cancel a Twitch Subscription?

Remember, your Twitch subscription will renew automatically each month, so don’t forget to cancel if you don’t want to pay anymore.

Once you cancel, you will receive subscription benefits until the end of the billing period. After that, you will need to manually resubscribe to get them back.

To cancel, go to the Twitch Subscriptions page (again, access it via display picture and Subscriptions.) Click the Cog icon next to the subscription you wish to cancel and click Don’t Renew Subscription.

Some Twitch subscriptions give you benefits for keeping up a constant subscription “streak.” If you change your mind after cancelling, resubscribe within seven days to maintain that streak.

How Does Twitch Compare to the Competition?

That’s everything you need to know about Twitch subscriptions and how you can support your favorite channels.

However, there are other live-streaming services out there. To find out which is best for you, take a look at our article pitting Twitch versus Mixer versus YouTube Live.

Read the full article: Complete Guide to Twitch Subscriptions: Everything You Need to Know

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