In a nutshell
- Bits are used to Cheer, which is a way viewers can show you support in chat
- Bits are a virtual currency that can turn into real-world currency, giving streamers numerous opportunities to monetize their content
- If you are a Partner or an Affiliate, you receive $0.01 for every Bit used to Cheer directly on your channel.
If you’re new to Twitch or haven’t been on the site for long, you have still probably heard or seen something or someone referring to “Bits.” As the platform continues to grow substantially in reputation and consumption, Twitch has added more ways to increase viewership and build a community. People are not only flocking to the site for livestream gaming entertainment, interaction or video broadcasts anymore, but they also see an opportunity to earn capital and even make a career out of gaming. Bits is just one of the ways you can make money from everything Twitch has to offer.
What are Bits?
Bits are best described as game currency for Twitch creators. Twitch Bits are a virtual currency for a Twitch Partner or a Twitch Affiliate to financially support creators and streamers. Even though viewers can support their favorite streamers through subscriptions or actual cash donations, Cheering for a streamer requires Bits. A Cheer is a chat message that includes Bits — or, at minimum, an animated emote that you purchased the entitlement to use.
Streamers receive real-world money in exchange for the Bits used to cheer in their streams. What makes Bits fun and innovative is that they allow viewers to enhance their voice and send really cool animated cheering emotes in the chat. Whether a viewer buys bits or collects them over time by watching free online advertisements, they can Cheer with Bits during a stream to celebrate an exciting moment or just show some appreciation to the streamer. Bits benefit both the Twitch streamer and the viewer, making them more engaging to use.
How do Bits support streamers?
As we mentioned, streamers can turn in the Bits they received through Cheers for real-world money. Twitch Partners and Affiliates receive $0.01 for every Bit that’s Cheered on their channel. $1,500 bits gives a streamer $5, and so on. For every 100 bits purchased, $0.40 goes to Twitch, while $1 goes to the creator. Bits are a great way to support creators outside of donations and subscriptions. The only downside is that Amazon, the owner of Twitch, gets a large piece of the revenue.
How much do Bits cost?
Bits can range from $1.40 for 100 bits to $10 for 1000. The following is a chart to help you get a better idea of Bit cost:
- 100 bits=$1.40
- 500 bits=$7.00
- 1000 bits=$10.00
- 1500 bits=$19.95
- 5000 bits=$64.40
- 10000 bits=$126.00
- 25000 bits=$308.00
With Twitch Bits, you get a discount and payment options that suit your needs.
Where to buy Bits
Twitch viewers can purchase Bits through Amazon or Paypal payments. Using Twitch’s desktop website, you can log in and go to your favorite streamer’s channel page and click on the Get Bits button in the upper right corner. You can also buy Bits mid-chat by clicking on the Bits icon in the chat window that appears to the left of the Emoticon button. Twitch offers a range of Bit bundles at varying prices, and you get bigger discounts based on how large of a purchase you make.
Using custom Bit badges
You can use standard Bit emotes that you can purchase to use in your favorite streamers’ chats. They help you to stand out and get instant attention with your messages. Streamers can offer their fans up to 28 special and rare chat badges and persuade them to donate more to get trendier badges. Once you reach Partner or Affiliate status on Twitch, you can check out OWN3D, which offers a wide selection of Twitch Bit Badges and regular Cheer Chat Badges.
Why use Bits?
Bits don’t just give viewers a chance to show their support to their favorite streamers. Bits help viewers stand out as individuals. Streamers can grow their community. And even though only Twitch Partners and Twitch Affiliates can receive Twitch Bits, once you establish yourself on Twitch Bit offer another way to monetize your channel and bring in revenue. If you’re a streamer with a large following, then Bits are an important source of income. Viewers can do things like use Cheer Bits to give individual Bits or thousands of Bits at once. Viewers have the option of attaching a message to their cheer and can use animated emotes known as ‘cheermotes.’ Streamers and channel owners who create emotes for viewers to use in chat, can reward their viewers who use bits to cheer with additional emote rewards. It doesn’t get any better than that.
So, as you can see, Bits are not only valuable, they’re an innovative way to build community on Twitch’s platform.