In a nutshell

  • Gifting a subscription is a way of providing support and appreciation for a streamer and their community
  • The more subscriptions streamers have, the more money they make
  • Those who receive gift subs get all the same perks regular subscribers get

Twitch is at the forefront of the streaming industry. Though other platforms, like YouTube Live and Facebook Gaming, are gaining ground on Twitch, Twitch is by far the ruling livestreaming platform. One of the main reasons why is because it has a mature monetization system. Viewers can subscribe to their favorite creators and get special perks and emotions by shelling out a few dollars each month. Creators can make a decent amount of cash just from subscriptions alone; many even rely solely on subscriptions because they want to avoid running ads and ruining their viewers’ experience watching the stream. For $5, viewers can support their favorite streamer by buying a subscription for themselves — or for someone else. Buying a subscription for someone else on Twitch is referred to as gifting a sub. It can be a great way to drive up support for a stream and help build a dedicated community. So, how does one gift a Twitch sub exactly? Let’s take a look at how Twitch subscriptions work first.

Twitch breaks subscriptions into three tiers

All Twitch subscriptions, including those that are gifting, fall into one of Twitch’s three tiers: tier one, tier two or tier three. As you climb the tiers, they become more expensive but deliver more perks. At this time, a tier one sub is $5, with tier two costing $10 and tier three coming in at $25. The cost stays the same no matter if you’re buying subscriptions for yourself or gifting them to someone else. However, note that there may be additional fees if you’re gifting to someone outside of the US.

The streamer will receive the same amount of money they do for regular subscriptions, so there are no drawbacks to gift subs.

Why should people gift subs?

Twitch subscriptions not only aid in supporting the channel’s streamer, but they also offer benefits to those gifting the subs and those on the receiving end. Those who gift subscriptions receive Sub Gifter Badges in the chat of the channel you’ve gifted in. You receive a new badge each time you cross a gifing milestone, starting at one gifted sub and maxing out at 5000 gifted subs — awarded only to chatters with bottomless wallets, requiring them to spend $25,000 on tier one subs. That’s an insane amount, and practically every streamer would never expect a single chatter to show that much generosity. Still, it’s nice to see that those who have the means to gift get rewards for their kindness.

Sub Gifter Badges
Image courtesy: Twitch

Those who receive gift subs also can participate in a chat with the rest of the subs. They can use channel emotes and speak in sub-only chat. Additionally, they get bonus channel points when simply watching the stream. Not to mention, they receive the channel’s unique subscriber badge next to their name in chat and don’t have to watch any pesky ads on the channel.

How is someone gifted a sub?

When gifting a sub, the gifter will have the option to either gift randomly or to a specific viewer. They can also gift anonymously if they want. Most of the time, viewers will donate randomly, but some do donate to specific people, like friends or fellow chat memebers. Those gifted don’t even have to be follow the stream, or even be watching it. As long as they have a Twitch account, they can receive a gift sub. However, users can change their account settings to prevent receiving subs from channels they don’t follow.

How to gift a Twitch sub

Gifting a sub isn’t complicated. However, you do have to follow a few steps to accomplish it. Here are the steps:

  1. At the top right-hand side of the screen under the stream feed box, select the Subscribe button. If you’re already subscribed, the button will say “Gift a Sub” instead of “Subscribe”
  2. A pop-up will appear. You will have the option to gift a sub to the community. There you can select which tier sub you want to gift, whether to gift anonymously or not and to gift to a specific viewer if you want
  3. Once you have decided on the settings, you will have the option to choose how many of subs you want to gift. Twitch offers preset amounts, ranging from one sub up to 100 subs. If the preset amounts don’t fit your budget, you can put in a custom quantity. Each purchase has a quantity limit of 100, so if you want to donate more, you will have to go through the process again
  4. After you decide on the amount, click through to the checkout page. There you can choose a payment method. Once you put in your information, click the Review Purchase button

Once your purchase is complete, your gift subs will go out and you will receive your Sub Gifter Badge if you’ve never gifted before.

Thank you for the gift sub

Gift subscriptions is a very kind gesture to fellow viewers and streamers. While they aren’t necessary, they are always appreciated, especially when they will go to help streamers grow their communities and make a living doing what they love.