Twitch Statistics

Twitch Statistics image

YouTube may have launched the trend of gamers recording themselves as they play, but Twitch has taken it to levels nobody would have imagined possible a decade ago. The biggest names on Twitch aren't merely popular now — they're celebrities. The latest Twitch records show the meteoric rise in popularity of streaming for purposes other than gaming. That's why we've compiled the list of relevant and interesting Twitch stats to help you understand how the platform's evolving.

Twitch Stats (Editor's Choice)

  • Twitch ranked 37th most popular website worldwide.
  • The US accounted for above 20% of Twitch’s desktop traffic in March 2021.
  • Around 70% of Twitch users are under 35 years.
  • The record for the most concurrent Twitch viewers is almost 2.5 million.
  • The number of average concurrent live channels grew by almost 80% in 2020.
  • Twitch accounted for over 90% of the total gaming hours streamed in 2020.
  • There are 10 types of Twitch earnings for streamers.

Essential Twitch Stream Stats and Facts

1. Amazon Prime users get Twitch Prime as well.

Since the acquisition of the streaming service by the Seattle-based ecommerce giant in 2014, there have been certain benefits enjoyed by all Amazon Prime users, a Twitch Prime membership being one of them. This experience differs for streamers and viewers but is ad-free for all.

(PC Mag, BBC)

2. Over 25 million Twitch viewers visited the platform daily in 2020.

While stuck at home during the COVID outbreak, people all over the world searched for entertainment on various online platforms. Twitch viewer stats report 26.5 million viewers were active on a daily basis, joining live broadcasts of diverse content.

(Twitch Tracker)

3. In 2020, over 80% more content was watched than in 2019.

There is no doubt 2020 was the year of the virtual. In 2019, users enjoyed 9 billion hours of content, according to Twitch.tv stats. That marks a Y-o-Y increase of a staggering 83% in Twitch traffic. As the platform diversifies in content and its popularity continues to grow, it's safe to say Twitch has officially established itself as a platform that brands and influencer marketing agencies can't afford to ignore.

(The Verge)

4. 57 billion chat messages were sent in 2020.

One of the main reasons live streams on the platform are so popular is their interactive nature. Everyone who joins the stream can participate in the group chat, and the broadcaster can answer questions and reply to comments, which appear on their screen in real-time. Twitch chat stats for 2020 point to 24.4 billion sent messages in H1 and a 33% increase in H2 to reach 32.6 billion.

(Twitch)

5. Twitch ranked 37th most popular website worldwide.

Having only been founded in June 2011, Twitch has already become one of the most popular websites in the entire world. Its Alexa rank surpasses that of eBay, Twitter, and AliExpress, for example. Twitch statistics show it's currently in 37th place. It will most likely rank even higher in the following years, considering the live streaming industry is thriving, and Twitch is absolutely dominant in it.

(Alexa, Alexa)

6. The US accounted for above 20% of desktop traffic in March 2021.

Twitch channels seem to be the most prevalent among users in the US, according to Twitch statistics by country. When the sources of desktop traffic were tracked, the US ranked at the top, accounting for nearly a quarter (22.87%). Germany was second with 6.68% and Canada third with 4.36%. France and Russia complete the top 5 list with 4.29% and 4.05%, respectively.

(Statista)

Twitch User Stats

7. More than 30 million users are active on a daily basis.

The number of Twitch daily active users is continuously growing with a sharp increase in 2020. The term user refers to the viewers on the platform. As of 2021, the company reports that over 30 million are active daily. As for unique streamers, the average is always above 7 million monthly.

(Twitch)

8. Twitch viewers watched more than a trillion minutes of content in 2020.

Yes, you read that right. It shouldn't even be that surprising, considering that most of the world was stuck at their homes as the pandemic had caused lockdowns, isolation, and social distancing measures. All the events were virtual, and Twitch viewership stats show its users consumed over 17 billion hours of content in 2020.

(Twitch, Statista)

9. Around 70% of Twitch users are under 35 years.

The data about Twitch age demographics reveals the majority of users are young people, close to half being in the 18-34 age range. Just over one-fifth of the user base, 21%, are teenagers aged 13-17. With so many young people on the platform, the estimation for the average age of Twitch users is about 21 years old. Users admit being open to advertising and buying products from brands whose ads they've encountered on the platform. That's why top-performing digital marketers, especially those targeting youth, regularly opt to include Twitch ads in their strategy.

(Twitch, MuchNeeded)

10. There are more male users on Twitch than female.

Twitch gender demographics point to the fact it's still more prevalent among male audiences. That said, the distribution has become more balanced over the years as the number of female streamers and viewers is among the top Twitch growth trends. The company reported 81.5% of male users in 2017, while the percentage dropped to 65% in 2019. We are yet to see how 2020 impacted Twitch demographics by the gender of its users. The company has introduced a policy called Women's Alliance to encourage and support female users as of March 2021.

(Statista, Business of Apps, Twitch)

11. The highest viewer count on Twitch is on weekends.

This one is a no-brainer. People have more free time, and the direct consequence is a 6% increase in weekend viewership. Facts about Twitch reveal there are 2.8 million daily viewers on average from Monday to Thursday. The number starts increasing on Fridays to reach the most viewers on Twitch on Sundays — over 3 million. There are also 14% more streams for a bigger audience to choose from.

(Twitch Tracker)

12. The record for the most concurrent Twitch viewers is almost 2.5 million.

Twitch stats show that in January 2021, the previous record for the most views on Twitch at one time was smashed by Fortnite player David Canovas Martines, who goes by “TheGrefg.” At the peak of his stream, Twitch viewership was at a whopping 2,468,668. The stream was so popular because he was revealing his own Icon series Fortnite skin. There are only 8 of such Icon skins, including his.

(Guinness World Records)

13. The Twitch app was the most downloaded by US users under 30.

As we've seen from the report of Twitch viewers by country, the platform is the most popular in the US. Many users have the Android mobile app, and over three-quarters, 78.2%, are aged 13-30. For the older Twitch demographics, the app usage is distributed as follows:

  • 30-39 (13.2%)
  • 40-49 (7.1%)
  • 50+ (0.9%)

(Statista)

Twitch Streaming Stats

14. Over 9.3 million streamers were active in April 2021.

Monthly statistics reveal the best just how the pandemic affected the popularity of the streaming platform. While it was previously used almost exclusively by the gaming community, music, sports, and many other communities have embraced it in 2020 as well. It wasn't only a way to connect with their audiences since live events were canceled but also served as a revenue source. The latest Twitch records reveal the number of streamers in April 2021 — 9.36 million.

(Statista)

15. As of April 2021, Ninja is still the most followed streamer.

No name has become quite as synonymous with Twitch as Ninja, a young professional gamer and live streamer. Richard Tyler Blevins, an American born in 1991, succeeded in becoming globally famous by playing Fortnite and Variety. The latest Twitch streamer statistics as of April 2021 show that Ninja ranks first with 16.64 million followers among the most followed Twitch streamers.

(Statista, Dexerto)

16. Ninja's most viewed Twitch stream had over 600 million simultaneous viewers.

The fact that the famous rapper Drake joined the stream surely helped in positioning the broadcast of the Fortnight game at the top. The peak was 616,000 users watching the live stream.

(Dexerto)

17. In terms of viewer hours, Just Chatting ranks as the top Twitch category.

Twitch is organized by the system of categories so its users can easily find what they are searching for. The majority are specific games (Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto, League of Legends, etc.), but the platform offers non-gaming categories as well. And those have been skyrocketing in popularity, Just Chatting being at the top of the list by the viewer hours with close to 236 million in a month. Twitch stats by game show GTA V is currently second with almost 154 million, followed by other popular games — LOL, CoD Warzone, and Valorant.

(Twitch Metrics, Twitch Metrics, Twitch Tracker)

18. Twitch’s channels are mostly in English.

English is the most popular language on the platform, which makes sense as one-fifth of the traffic comes from the US. Twitch viewer demographics reveal that 49.68% are English-speaking viewers. A similar percentage is reported for channels in English — 49.07%. Spanish is second most popular, followed by Portuguese, German, Russian and Korean.

(Twitch Tracker)

19. Insomniac was the most-watched music channel in March 2021.

The latest Twitch trends show music has become another popular category on the platform, and Twitch watchtime of channels streaming music content increased dramatically in the previous year. The most popular channel Insomniac boasts 16.5 million hours of watch time in a year. DesertHeartsRecords ranks second with 8.4 million, and BeatportOfficial comes in third with 6.1 million.

(Statista, Statista)

20. The number of average concurrent live channels grew by almost 80% in 2020.

As the numbers of both streamers and viewers drastically increased in 2020, one of the most logical consequences was a similar growth in the volume of live channels. In 2019, the average for concurrent live channels was 49,500, only to rise to a new Twitch streaming record of 87,500 in 2020. That's a 77% Y-o-Y increase.

(Twitch Tracker)

21. xQcOW has the channel with the most subscribers.

Twitch sub stats as of July 2021 point to Canadian streamer Félix Lengyel, better known by his online alias xQc or xQcOW, ranking first with 73,228 active subscribers. Nickmercs follows with 58,746, and RanbooLive comes in third with 57,178.

(Twitch Tracker)

22. Lasting over a month, Ludwig's “subathon” broke the Twitch streaming record.

The popular streamer had a goal in March 2021 and had started live streaming on the 14th. Said goal was to gain the most subscribers. On the day before he started, the count was at 1,730. Over the course of 31 days, he did achieve the desired goal and broke another record - the longest live stream. The stream ended on April 14th.

(The Verge)

23. An all-time peak for the number of subscribers exceeded 280,000.

The first one on the list of the top Twitch streamers by subscribers, Luwing also holds an all-time record. The peak happened on April 21st, 2021. Twitch subscriber stats point to a staggering number of 283,066 active subscribers at the time.

(Twitch Tracker)

Twitch Gaming Stats

24. Fortnite was the most popular game for streamers in March 2021.

Given the fact that the majority of the most popular streamers favor this game, it's no wonder Fortnite ranks first. The report from March 2021 points to 6.99 million hours streamed in a 30-day period.

(Statista)

25. Twitch accounted for over 90% of the total gaming hours streamed in 2020.

Showing the absolute dominance in the world of live-streaming platforms for gaming, the Twitch market share in 2020 was a stunning 91.1%. Twitch game stats point to over 205 million hours streamed on the platform. Other popular streaming platforms were YouTube Gaming Live and Facebook Live, which accounted for the rest of the traffic — 5.5% or 12.5 million and 3.4% or 7.6 million hours, respectively.

(GeekWire, CNBC)

26. In 2020, the platform's portion of the hours watched was over 60% for gaming content.

Even though Twitch was absolutely dominant in terms of video game streaming, the distribution of viewer hours across the 3 platforms differs a bit. Despite the latest Twitch growth trends, YouTube's and Facebook's user base is still much larger. So in terms of viewership, Twitch accounted for 63.6% or 4.741 billion hours of gaming content. YouTube Gaming Live followed with 22.5% and 1.675 billion hours, and the third-ranking platform was Facebook Live with 14% of all gaming streaming and 1.041 billion hours.

(GeekWire, CNBC)

27. AOC's Twitch debut ended up the 6th most-watched ever.

On October 19th, 2020, the US Democrats representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted an interesting Tweet. She announced her debut stream for the following day, saying she will play the popular Among Us game to promote voting. With only 3.5 hours streamed, she managed to reach the 6th spot of the most-watched individual streams ever. Twitch viewer statistics reveal 439,000 people were joined at the peak of her broadcast. Shortly after, over half a billion users followed her account. As of May 2021, the clip has over 5.6 million views.

(Dexerto)

Twitch Monetization Stats

28. Streamers get 50% of the subscription money.

In an ideal world, streamers would be able to keep all the money their subscribers brought in. However, Twitch provides the platform on which these people can grow and succeed, and, in exchange, they take 50% of all subscription fees from the vast majority of their streamers. That said, Twitch streamer stats show some people, like Ninja, for example — have secured deals with Twitch which allow them to retain a higher percentage of these fees.

(Influencer Marketing Hub)

29. There are 10 types of Twitch earnings for streamers.

The platform is a fun way to monetize a hobby, and there are multiple ways to do so, some coming directly from Twitch, such as — subscriptions, donations, and Twitch bits. If they earn over $100, streamers who get paid get their revenue every 15 days. Other ways include:

  • Affiliate marketing
  • Brand sponsorships
  • Merchandise
  • Game sales
  • Ad revenue
  • YouTube
  • Patreon

Not everyone can be a successful streamer, but there are people who became Twitch millionaires. Ninja is one of the best examples, having reportedly earned $1 million for streaming the launch of Apex Legends for just a few hours.

(Oberlo)

30. Streamers can join 2 programs for additional benefits.

If we're talking in gaming terms, regular streamers can level up and become Affiliates and later Partners. Both earn revenue from bits, subscribers, and ads. Twitch channel statistics show only Partners have the “Verified Channel Badge,” among other benefits such as priority in customer service, Twitch covering their payment fees, etc.

(Twitch)

31. In 2020, the number of Partners exceeded 50,000.

Even becoming an Affiliate is a landmark which the majority of streamers can only dream of reaching, but being a Partner is another level entirely. Twitch statistics for 2020 report 51,480 Partners streaming on the platform. This status is reserved solely for the most followed Twitch channels or the most subscribed Twitch channels, the ones that managed to be outstanding in either way. In 2019, the number was 35,580, implying a Y-o-Y growth of 45%.

(Twitch Tracker)

32. The longest promotional stream lasted over 250 hours.

Twitch tv stats show the record for the longest live-stream video has been 259 hours, 46 minutes, and 45 seconds as of December 2020. Chinese automobile company Changan conducted a high-pressure engine test on their latest product. During the session, there was an analysis of the technology behind it and a Q and A session with users. The top video marketing experts recommend live streams as an excellent way for brands to engage their audience in real-time.

(Guinness World Records)

Twitch Company Policies

33. Users' safety is regulated on several levels, Twitch stats show.

There are 4 safety levels protecting the platform's users, covering the following measures and regulations:

  • Viewer-level safety
  • Channel-level safety
  • Service-level safety
  • Community guidelines

(Twitch)

34. Community guidelines on Twitch include 5 report categories.

Twitch channel stats show users can report inadequate behavior within 5 different categories:

  • Hateful conduct, sexual harassment, and harassment
  • Violence, gore, threats, and other extreme conduct
  • Terrorism, terrorist propaganda, and recruitment
  • Adult nudity, pornography, and sexual conduct
  • Spam and other community guidelines violations

(Twitch)

FAQ

When was Twitch created?

This popular streaming platform was officially launched on June 6th, 2011. Amazon acquired the company in 2014 and made some changes that resulted in significant Twitch growth.

Who had the most views on Twitch at one time?

Twitch stream statistics show until January 2021, the world-famous Battle Royale streamer Ninja was the highest-ranking individual streamer. Even though he still has the most Twitch followers, Fortnite player David Canovas Martines, who goes by “TheGrefg,” dethroned him as a streamer with the most concurrent viewers on Twitch — a whopping 2.5 million.

Who is the number 1 streamer on Twitch?

The top streamer by the number of Twitch followers and Twitch viewer count on the channel is still Ninja. He outranks the second place holder in both categories by far with over 16.6 million followers and over half a billion channel views. “Tfue” has over 10.22 million and 0.273 billion in the same categories.

How much does Ninja make in a year?

With that many subscribers on Twitch and YouTube, several sponsorship deals, social media earnings as an influencer, the estimation is that Ninja earns about $20 million per year.

How many followers do you need on Twitch to start making money?

For a broadcaster to start earning money from Twitch, they need to become Affiliates. Twitch broadcaster stats point to 4 predispositions for eligibility:

  • To have at least 50 followers
  • The minimum of 500 broadcast minutes in the previous 30 days
  • A minimum of 7 broadcasts in the same period
  • The average of 3 concurrent viewers per broadcast

Can you make money on Twitch without being a partner?

Streamers don't have to be partners to make money from the platform, but such are limited to fewer options. Without enough followers, Twitch users can earn from:

  • Donations
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Patreon
  • YouTube

How many viewers does Twitch get a day?

The latest data from 2020 point to an average of a stunning 30 million daily visitors watching various types of content on the platform. The number was significantly boosted by the pandemic, as in comparison, the average for 2018 was 15 million.

How much does a Twitch streamer make per sub?

When it comes to the subscription model, Twitch facts reveal the regular monthly cost for a subscriber is at least $4.99. There are more expensive options (tier 2 and 1), but streamers share the revenue 50/50 with Twitch anyways. Meaning, the minimum a streamer earns per sub is $2.495.

What games are trending on Twitch?

The most popular games on Twitch as of July 2021, ranked by the number of concurrent viewers, are:

  • Just Chatting
  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • League of Legends
  • Valorant
  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
  • Call of Duty: Warzone
  • Escape from Tarkov
  • Fortnite
  • Minecraft
  • Dota 2

How much money does Twitch make?

We can't say a precise figure because Amazon doesn't publicly disclose the data from the Twitch financial report, and there's a so-called “hidden value” in all estimates. Twitch money stats show there are 2 main channels of monetizing the platform — Twitch ad revenue and half of all subscription payments. According to some estimates, in 2020, the Twitch revenue was $2 billion total.

How many active users does Twitch have?

The number of Twitch users varies on a daily basis, depending on several factors (day of the week, what's being streamed, who's streaming, etc.) One thing's for sure, Twitch traffic continues to grow, and the last reported average number of Twitch monthly active users was 140 million.

What is Twitch worth?

According to CNBC, the Twitch worth was estimated at about $15 billion in 2020.

How many Twitch streamers are there?

Twitch stats show that as of April 2021, there were 9.3 million streamers.

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