Twitch Affiliate and the Plus Program explained: what streamers keep

What makes this useful: A sourced EarnThread field guide written for creators turning attention into an owned business.

A Twitch Affiliate keeps 50% of subscription revenue by default, after taxes and fees are taken off the full price. The Twitch Plus Program raises that to 60% or 70% for streamers who hold enough recurring subscribers for three months in a row. Ads pay 55% of net ad revenue if you run at least three minutes of ads an hour. Payouts start once you've built up $50 with most payout methods. Every figure in this guide comes from Twitch's own help centre or blog, checked in October 2026, and each is linked where it first appears.

Key takeaways

• To become a Twitch Affiliate you need 25 followers, 4 hours streamed on 4 different days and an average of 3 concurrent viewers, all within 30 days.
• The standard Affiliate subscription split is 50/50, applied after taxes and fees are deducted from the sub price.
• The Plus Program pays 60/40 at 100 Plus Points and 70/30 at 300 Plus Points, held for three consecutive months, for at least 12 months.
• Twitch's 2024 blog says Affiliates earn 55% of net ad revenue by running at least three ad minutes an hour.
• Payouts need $50 with most methods, arrive on a Net-15 basis, and Affiliates pay payout fees.

How to become a Twitch Affiliate

According to Twitch's Joining the Affiliate Program page (opens in a new tab), you need to hit four achievements, all within the same 30-day window:

You also need two-factor authentication turned on before onboarding. Streamers aged 13 to 17 can join with a parent's or guardian's consent and supervision. Twitch says the invite usually arrives 24 to 48 hours after you qualify, by email and Twitch notification, and occasionally takes up to 72 hours. Track your progress under Achievements in the Creator Dashboard, which shows only the last 30 days.

Onboarding involves accepting the Monetized Streamer Agreement, two tax interviews (royalty and service) and choosing a payout method. The Affiliate programme is available globally, so streamers in Ireland, the UK and the US all follow the same route. One person can have monetisation switched on for up to five accounts. Past that, Twitch removes it from the least active ones.

What Twitch Affiliates can earn from

Twitch's About Monetization page (opens in a new tab) sets out what each tier gets. Since Twitch widened access to monetisation tools, any streamer who completes onboarding can switch on subscriptions and Bits before reaching Affiliate. There's a catch, though: non-Affiliates can't be paid out. Their earnings can only go towards Twitch purchases through Spendable Balance.

Affiliates can also take part in Creator Sponsorships (after completing Creator Certification) and third-party campaigns, and can run subscriber-only streams.

What Affiliates keep from subscriptions: the 50/50 split

The Twitch Affiliate Program FAQ (opens in a new tab) states it plainly: "The standard subscription revenue split for Affiliates is 50/50 between you and Twitch."

The important detail is what comes off before the split. Twitch deducts taxes, payment processing fees, bank fees and currency conversion fees from the full price of the sub. After the split, it applies any required tax withholding. Twitch says it doesn't set these rates and fees, and that they vary by region and by each subscriber's payment method. So your 50% is half of what's left, not half of the sticker price. Two subs at the same tier can earn you different amounts.

The Earnings Analytics page in your Creator Dashboard shows detailed estimates of your revenue. Use that, not a back-of-envelope calculation from the sub price, to see what you actually keep.

The Twitch Plus Program: 60/40 and 70/30

The Plus Program (opens in a new tab) raises your share of subscription revenue for 12 months once you qualify. It has been open to Affiliates since 1 May 2024, according to the Affiliate FAQ.

How Plus Points are counted. Each paid recurring subscription earns points in the month the subscriber is charged:

• Tier 1 sub: 1 point
• Tier 2 sub: 2 points
• Tier 3 sub: 6 points

Gift subs and Prime subs don't earn Plus Points. Gift sub revenue does get the enhanced rate once you've qualified. Prime subs get neither. Multi-month subs add points every month they renew, as if they were monthly. Points reset to zero on the first of every month, and the total is taken at 23:59:59 UTC on the last day.

Rules that catch people out:

• Sign the Monetized Streamer Agreement first. You must have adopted it before you meet the criteria. To qualify in October, you need to have signed by the end of September.
• The three months must be consecutive. Miss one and you start again from month one.
• Twelve months is a minimum. Once you qualify, the higher rate lasts 12 months from the qualifying date, even if your points drop. Each time you meet the criteria again, the 12 months restart from that date.
• You can move up. A Level 1 streamer who reaches 300 points for three straight months moves to Level 2.

To track progress, open the Plus Program panel in Earnings Analytics. You can also add a Plus Program goal widget below your stream from Stream Manager (Manage Goals, then Plus Program), which shows your community how close you are. Twitch says you're free to talk about the programme, its criteria and whether you've qualified.

A worked example (hypothetical). Say a streamer has 60 recurring Tier 1 subs, 10 Tier 2 subs and 5 Tier 3 subs. That's 60 + 20 + 30 = 110 Plus Points a month. Hold that for three consecutive months and the streamer qualifies for Level 1, moving subscription revenue from a 50/50 to a 60/40 split for at least the next 12 months. The five Tier 3 subs contribute more points than the ten Tier 2 subs. That's why Twitch notes that higher-tier subs can help you qualify faster.

Ads: 55% if you run three minutes an hour

Ad revenue is the second big stream for Affiliates. In a September 2024 Twitch blog post (opens in a new tab), Twitch said that "Both Partners and Affiliates can automatically earn 55% net ad revenue by running at least 3 ad minutes per hour."

We couldn't find a current help-centre page that restates the rate for channels running fewer ads. Check your Ads Manager settings and Earnings Analytics for the share that applies to your channel. The Affiliate FAQ also warns that ad revenue swings from month to month because advertiser demand changes, even when your viewer numbers don't. It usually appears in Earnings Analytics two to three days after an ad break.

Bits: Affiliates earn revenue when viewers cheer, and Twitch shows it under Cheering in your estimated revenue. Twitch's current cheering help page doesn't publish a per-Bit payout figure, so we haven't given one.

When and how Twitch pays you

From the Affiliate FAQ:

• Threshold: at least $50 with most payout methods, or $100 for wire transfer.
• Timing: Net-15. Revenue earned in April is paid out from 15 May.
• Arrival: PayPal usually takes 1 to 2 days, eCheck or local bank 1 to 4 days, US direct deposit 3 to 5 days, wire 1 to 3 days and cheque 1 to 2 weeks. Twitch says these times aren't guaranteed.
• Fees: Affiliates pay payout fees; for Partners, Twitch covers them.
• Below the threshold: no payout is started until your balance reaches it.

If you want to stop being paid for a while without losing Affiliate status, set your payout method to Hold Payouts. Your earnings keep accruing and your subscriptions stay active. Leaving the programme is different: it removes monetisation features and cancels active subscriptions to your channel. If you change your payout details, do it early in the month. Twitch says changes made after the 8th may not apply to that month's payout.

What a Twitch streamer actually keeps: the full picture

Even at Level 2, Twitch keeps 30% of net subscription revenue, and the subscriber relationship stays on Twitch. Twitch owns the checkout and decides who sees your stream. If a subscriber lapses, you can't email them. If Twitch changes the Plus thresholds, as it did when it added Level 2 and opened the programme to Affiliates, your share changes with it. Our comparison of what YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X and Twitch pay creators in 2026 shows how Twitch's split stacks up against the others.

Building income that Twitch doesn't set

The streamers who have the most control earn from offers they sell themselves to viewers they can reach directly. For streamers, the obvious ones are:

• Coaching or reviews. Paid one-to-one sessions: VOD reviews, setup help, game coaching.
• A paid workshop on what your community asks you about most. Here's how to create and sell a paid workshop.
• Digital downloads. Overlays, settings packs, guides or templates. Start with how to choose your first digital product.
• A membership that sits alongside Twitch subs and gives your most engaged viewers something extra, with their email address on your list.

You don't have to choose between these and Twitch. Keep streaming, chase the Plus Program if your sub count is close, and put one offer of your own in your panels and chat commands.

EarnThread gives you a mobile storefront for your Twitch panel link, with downloads, bookings and memberships in one place, plus an audience list with consent records. It also shows which stream or clip led to a sale. Payments go straight into your own Stripe account. The Launch plan is $0 a month with a 5% platform fee per sale, and Growth is $19 a month with a 1% fee. Start free and add your first offer before your next stream.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Twitch Affiliate requirements?

Twitch requires 25 followers, 4 hours of streaming, streams on 4 different days and an average of 3 concurrent viewers on 4 stream days, all within the same 30-day window. You also need two-factor authentication on. Streamers aged 13 to 17 can join with a parent's or guardian's consent. Invites usually arrive within 24 to 48 hours.

How much does a Twitch Affiliate get per sub?

The standard split is 50/50 between you and Twitch. Before the split, Twitch deducts taxes, payment processing, bank and currency conversion fees from the sub price, and tax withholding applies afterwards. So the amount varies by region and payment method. Your Earnings Analytics page shows what you're actually earning.

How do you qualify for the Twitch Plus Program?

Earn 100 or more Plus Points a month for three consecutive months for Level 1 (60/40), or 300 or more for Level 2 (70/30). Recurring Tier 1, 2 and 3 subs earn 1, 2 and 6 points. Gift and Prime subs don't count. You must have signed the Monetized Streamer Agreement before you meet the criteria.

Can Twitch Affiliates join the Plus Program?

Yes. Twitch opened the Plus Program to Affiliates from 1 May 2024. Affiliates qualify on the same Plus Points thresholds as Partners: 100 points for three consecutive months for the 60/40 level and 300 points for the 70/30 level. The enhanced rate lasts at least 12 months from the qualifying date.

When does Twitch pay Affiliates?

Twitch pays on a Net-15 basis. Revenue earned in a month is paid out starting 15 days after that month ends, once your balance reaches $50 with most payout methods or $100 for wire transfer. Depending on the method, funds then take from a day or two to a couple of weeks to arrive.