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In recent years, Twitch and Kick have emerged as two of the most popular platforms for live streaming. While both are popular in their own right, there are significant differences between the two that can impact which platform is best suited for your business. Twitch is primarily known as a live-streaming platform for video games. It offers a wide range of features tailored to gamers, including the ability to stream gameplay in real time and interact with viewers through live chat.
On the other hand, Kick is a new live streaming service that many popular streamers are messaging app that allows users to connect with friends and family through text, images, videos, and other forms of media. Despite these differences, both platforms have their unique use cases and appeal to different audiences. Whether you’re a gamer looking to showcase your skills or someone who wants to stay connected with friends and family through chat, understanding the differences between Twitch and Kick can help you make an informed decision about which platform is right for you. In today’s article, I am going to highlight the best live-streaming platform you should choose when comparing Twitch to Kick.
Pros and Cons of Using Twitch for Livestreams
Twitch has become a popular platform for live streaming, offering a range of benefits and drawbacks for content creators. While it provides unique features and a dedicated audience, there are also potential drawbacks to consider.
On the one hand, Twitch offers an engaged community that is interested in gaming and other forms of entertainment. The platform also provides tools for monetization, including subscriptions and donations. Additionally, Twitch offers interactive features such as chat rooms and emotes that allow streamers to engage with their audience in real time.
On the other hand, there are some potential drawbacks to using Twitch for live streams. For example, the platform can be competitive and difficult to break into without an established following. It’s been a well-documented problem that discoverability on Twitch is extremely low. Additionally, Twitch’s moderation policies can be strict at times, which may limit what content creators can share on their streams.
Overall, while Twitch offers many benefits for live-streaming content creators, it’s important to carefully weigh the pros and cons before committing to the platform.
Pros of Streaming on Twitch:
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Platform Recognition:
Platform recognition refers to the familiarity users have with Twitch. Because Twitch has been around for a long time, viewers likely already are signed into the platform, have the app installed on their phone, and don’t need to learn how to use Twitch to view your services. This is a big benefit as new platforms have a lot of trouble bringing in new users and the barrier to getting views is often just being found on the right platform.
In addition to better platform recognition, popular streamers, artists and more are already streaming on Twitch so the audience is being expanded to more than just gamers and hot tub streams… nothing wrong with that though.
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Easier Access to Existing Monetization Strategies
Twitch has been around a very long time and is backed by Amazon. This means that there are many more advertising, affiliate, and subscription deals that are ripe with opportunity. As new streamers are looking for ways to monetize their audiences, Twitch has many different options for making money from your live streaming business.
- Great Server infrastructure
Being able to streamis awesome but not if there are any issues with the site crashing. This was noticed by many users on XQC’s first Kick live stream when the site crashed. As a new competitor to the market, Kick still has a few things to learn to make sure their technology is up to snuff and you simply don’t have that issue with Twitch or Youtube right now.
Cons of Streaming on Twitch:
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Oversaturation of the Market
One frequently cited issue with Twitch is its discoverability problem. Because Twitch makes it so easy to access their live streaming platform, more and more people are streaming. What does that mean for you? It means you need to do a lot to make yourself stand out in the vast sea of content creators. Since 2020, the number of streamers on the internet has grown immensely and it can be difficult to carve out your wedge.
Twitchtracker shows the ratio of streamers to viewers declining drastically since 2020
- Subpar 50/50 revenue split
Twitch also comes with a very high industry rate of split for ad revenue. When you run a stream, Twitch runs ads on top of your stream. Once you are an affiliate, you get access to 50% of the revenue from that stream and a portion of the subscription revenue. This ratio has gotten worse over time and is expected to not improve without any significant changes to the platform competition.
Should you Stream on Twitch or Kick?
For established streamers, it’s likely best to continue streaming on your existing platform as it’s often much easier to retain your existing customers (or in this case viewers) than it is to find new ones. If you are already an existing Twitch streamer or have been making your side hustle work for you on Twitch, it may make sense to stay around.
But what if you are having trouble finding or getting views on Twitch… is Kick a viable platform or is it just another up-and-comer that will disappear later down the line?
Pros and Cons of Using Kick for Livestreams
Kick has quickly expanded to one of the famous live-streaming competitors Twitch in the last month. In the latest news, one of the best entertainment contracts ever recorded was offered to popular Twitch streamer XQC . But is Kick the right platform for you?
If you are an established streamer, it may look appealing to switch over to Kick. It’s growing in popularity and right now is likely going to be the biggest surge in traffic after the XQC deal. But there are some important things to keep in mind regarding Kick for livestreaming.
Pros of Kick Livestreams
- 95% of subscription revenue
As mentioned previously, Kick offers a much better portion of revenue gained to Kick Creators. At an astounding 95% revenue split, Kick might be the best place to monetize your streams.
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Better Discoverability than Twitch
Twitch’s known issues with discoverability make Kick a very interesting platform for new creators to enter the market.
- Very similar to the Twitch interface
Cons of live streaming on Kick:
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Risky platform to invest in
Kick’s monetization strategies are amazing for creators but can make it hard for the platform to stay profitable. the XQC stream deal is not the first big platform deal to hit the airwaves and we already know what happens when a platform can’t support its community long-term. We saw that issue play out with the Shroud deal to Mixer that eventually dissolved after Mixer was shut down.
- The current 95/5 Split Likely won’t stick around.
Similarly tied to the issue of monetizing the platform, in the future it’s highly possible Kick will have to implement many of the same tactics Twitch has adopted to remain or gain profitability. This means that while Kick is very competitive on streaming right now, it’s likely they won’t stay that way.
- Poor Rules Structures
Despite having many community issues, Twitch does attempt to try and limit its illegal and frustrating activity. This moderation helps keep Twitch safe in comparison to other live streaming services. Kick has made a name for itself by not following rules like Gambling, an advertising policy, or even surrounding copywriter materials. Though this may seem like a great option to some, it comes with the disadvantages of legal battles the creator may have to face against lawsuits, indictments, or other legal challenges.
Frequently Asked Questions about Kick and Twitch
Why is Kick Better than Twitch?
Kick is sometimes preferred over Twitch for creators due to their industry-leading 95% revenue sharing and few rules revolving around what is allowed to be streamed.
What can you do on Kick Streaming?
Kick shares feature parody to Twitch, meaning that most of the things you can live stream on Twitch can also be streamed on Kick. Gaming, Chatting, Gambling, and more are all items you can stream on Kick.
Do you get paid to stream on Kick?
Not at first. Kick requires streamers to have at least 75 followers and 5 hours of streaming on the platform to qqualify for their affiliate program. Once you are approved, Kick pays you 95% of the revenue from ads run during the live stream and the subscription revenue earned while on the platform.
The Final Verdict: Which Livestream Platform is Right For You?
In conclusion, both Twitch and Kick offer unique advantages when it comes to live streaming. Ultimately the choice between these platforms will depend on your individual needs as a content creator or viewer. However, if you’re looking for a full-featured platform that caters to an established community of gamers then Twitch is likely your best bet. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more casual way to engage with your audience through live streaming and chat then Kick may be the better option.
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Disclaimer: None of the information presented on this site constitutes legal, business, tax, or medical advice. In each scenario, it’s recommended to first chat with a medical, legal, business, or tax professional before making any decisions.
