Comparison of Income on TikTok vs. Twitch for Streamer with 143 Viewers

A lively discussion has been ignited online by a full-time content creator who recently disclosed that he earns more from streaming on TikTok than on Twitch.

The income of streamers has been a widely discussed topic for several years, particularly when prominent creators unintentionally disclose their earnings.

Despite the common belief that small streamers do not earn much, one influencer is proving otherwise by drawing attention to the significant difference in his earnings between two different platforms.

On September 2, IceTalks, a streamer on Twitch and TikTok, shared a tweet disclosing his earnings for the month of August. In addition to streaming, IceTalks also creates monetized content on various platforms.

In total, he earned $7,945.94, with the majority of the income coming from TikTok. Specifically, the streamer stated that he made $2,959.84 from Twitch and $4,413.04 from TikTok, with an additional $573.06 from his other user-generated content.

As a Full Time Creator, here’s my pay transparency for the month of August:⇢ Twitch: $2,959.84⇢ TikTok: $4,413.04⇢ Sponsorships: $0⇢ UGC Content: $573.06⇢ Total: $7,945.94⇢ Taxes (30% self employment): $2,383.78✅Total Take Home: $5,562.16Happy to discuss!

— IceTalks (@itsicetalks) September 2, 2024

Viewers were surprised to learn that IceTalks was making almost twice as much money streaming on TikTok compared to Twitch. Additionally, he revealed that he only has an average of 143 concurrent viewers on TikTok and about 95 CCV on Twitch.

According to screenshots, the majority of IceTalks’ TikTok earnings are generated from Live Gifts, with a smaller portion coming from Subscriptions. On the other hand, a significant portion of his Twitch income is derived from subscriptions.

Going live, you can see the breakdown here. Gifts and subs! pic.twitter.com/Yeceuf4d5c

— IceTalks (@itsicetalks) September 3, 2024

The tweet shared by IceTalks regarding his earnings has generated a significant amount of engagement, with curious users expressing surprise at the large payout he received from TikTok.

One commenter asked, “I’ve always heard that monetization on TikTok is really low, but it looks like it’s your biggest source of income. Have there been any changes?”

“Actually, the main source of monetization is going live,”he responded. “I earn very little from short form content.”

Not really – going live is the big monetization – I make very little off of short form content

— IceTalks (@itsicetalks) September 3, 2024

In previous years, content creators have expressed their dissatisfaction with the revenue they receive from TikTok compared to other social media platforms. In 2023, KSI stated that he had only earned £3000 ($3,800) on TikTok, despite having “9.2 million followers, 70 million likes, and 200+ million views”at that time.

Despite the individual strengths and weaknesses of each platform, this conversation contributes to the ongoing dispute over multi-streaming, which was sparked when TimTheTatMan and DrLupo expanded beyond their exclusive partnership with YouTube to also include Twitch.

Although the discussion has been intense and not all top streamers are in agreement, considering IceTalks’ salary, it is likely beneficial for broadcasters to diversify their streams.