The short answer
A bit is worth one cent to the streamer when it is cheered in their chat. Divide the bits by 100 and you have the payout in dollars: 100 bits is $1, 1,000 bits is $10, 25,000 bits is $250. That is the whole formula, and it does not change with the streamer's size, their Affiliate or Partner status, or what the viewer paid for the bits.
This matters because the calculators ranking for this search disagree with each other. Several apply a 50% split and tell you 1,000 bits is $5. Others quote what the viewer was charged as though the streamer receives it. Both are wrong, in opposite directions.
Where the one-cent figure comes from
Twitch set this out when Cheering launched and has not changed it. In Twitch's own Cheering FAQ:
"Twitch provides participating partners a share of the revenue Twitch receives from Bits equal to 1 cent per Bit used to Cheer for them."
The same page adds that broadcasters "will receive the same amount per Bit used to Cheer regardless of how users acquired the Bits". That second sentence settles the arguments: bits bought in a big discounted bundle, bits earned from watching an ad, and bits given away in a promotion all pay the streamer the same cent. The streamer's payout is decoupled from the viewer's price entirely.
The formula
- Streamer payout = bits × $0.01, i.e. bits ÷ 100.
- Bits needed for a target payout = dollars × 100, rounded up to a whole bit.
- Twitch's share = what the viewer paid − the streamer's payout. This exists only if you know what the viewer paid.
Worked example: a 1,000-bit cheer
A viewer cheers 1,000 bits. They bought that bundle for $14.00.
- Streamer payout = 1,000 × $0.01 = $10.00.
- Cost to the viewer = $14.00 ÷ 1,000 = $0.01/bit.
- Twitch keeps $14.00 − $10.00 = $4.00, which is 28.6% of what the viewer paid.
Change the $14.00 to anything else and the streamer still receives $10.00. Only Twitch's share moves. That is the test a bits calculator either passes or fails.
Bits to dollars at a glance
These are the bundle sizes Twitch sells, read from its public catalogue, with what each pays the streamer if the whole bundle is cheered.
| Bits | Streamer receives |
|---|---|
| 100 | $1.00 |
| 500 | $5.00 |
| 1,500 | $15.00 |
| 5,000 | $50.00 |
| 10,000 | $100.00 |
| 25,000 | $250.00 |
For a longer list including the amounts people actually search for — 100, 2,000, 50,000 and so on — see the Twitch bits to dollars table.
What the viewer pays, and why we won't print a price
Twitch prices bits in local currency and adjusts those prices by country. It publishes no price list, and the public bits catalogue exposes the bundle sizes but not the prices, which are resolved at checkout for each account. Any page stating a flat "1,000 bits costs $14" is quoting one country on one day.
So this calculator treats the viewer's cost as something only the viewer knows. Enter what you were charged and it gives you the cost per bit and Twitch's share. Leave it blank and it gives you the payout, which is the part Twitch does publish. Larger bundles cost less per bit, so a viewer's discount is real — but it changes only their cost, never the streamer's cent.
Common mistakes
- Halving the payout. There is no 50% split on bits. The 50/50 share is a subscription figure — see the Twitch sub payout calculator for how that one works.
- Quoting the viewer's price as income. The gap between the two is Twitch's revenue, not the streamer's.
- Assuming Affiliates earn less per bit. They don't. The cent per bit is the same.
- Treating the payout as take-home. It is gross. Twitch pays out at a $50 balance, and tax comes off after that.
- Applying an extension split to a chat cheer. Extensions share revenue with the developer; a cheer in chat does not.
Bits are only one income line. To compare a cheer against a subscription for the same money, use thesub payout calculator, and readbits vs subs for streamers for which one actually pays better.
Frequently asked questions
How much is 1,000 bits on Twitch?
1,000 bits pays the streamer $10.00. Twitch credits one cent per bit cheered. The viewer pays more than that for the bits — Twitch keeps the difference — but the streamer’s side is always bits ÷ 100 dollars.
Do streamers really get 50% of bits?
No. Some calculators apply a 50% “affiliate split” and tell you 1,000 bits is $5. There is no such split on bits. Twitch’s own FAQ says it gives participating partners “a share of the revenue Twitch receives from Bits equal to 1 cent per Bit used to Cheer for them”. Affiliates and Partners are paid the same cent per bit. The 50/50 figure belongs to subscriptions, which is a different product.
How much do viewers pay for bits?
It depends on where they are. Twitch prices bits per country and does not publish a price list, so any single figure quoted is a guess at one country’s price on one day. That is why this calculator asks what you actually paid instead of assuming. Twitch sells bundles of 100, 500, 1,500, 5,000, 10,000 and 25,000 bits; the larger bundles cost less per bit.
Does the streamer get less if I bought the bits on sale?
No. Twitch states that broadcasters “receive the same amount per Bit used to Cheer regardless of how users acquired the Bits”. Bits bought in a discounted bundle, earned by watching an ad, or given as a promotion all pay the streamer the same cent each.
What about bits used in extensions?
Twitch says revenue from bits used in an extension “is shared between the broadcaster and the Extension developer”, but it does not publish the percentage. Pages that state a precise 80/20 split do not cite Twitch for it, so this calculator does not apply one. For cheers in chat — which is what almost everyone means — the full cent goes to the streamer.
When does the streamer actually get the money?
Bit revenue goes to the channel’s balance, and Twitch pays out once that balance reaches the $50 minimum. The payout is also gross: tax withholding and the streamer’s own income tax come out afterwards, so the cash that lands is less than the figure above.
Sources & last checked
Last checked .