Should Twitch moderators be paid? Here's what Kai Cenat says

William Davis Published 26/10/2022

Popular streamer Kai Cenat sparked a conversation after declaring that moderators cannot be expected to be paid if they volunteered for the job.

Moderators are the unsung heroes of Twitch. The difference between an enjoyable chat and absolute chaos is good moderators. It is a lot of responsibility for little reward or sometimes none at all. One of the most popular streamers on the platform had something controversial to say about whether mods should get paid or not.

“What makes you think I’ll pay? I can go to my first VOD and if I said, ‘who wants to mod?’ I bet that you’d be like ‘Me, me!’. You can’t get mad at people for not paying,” said Kai.

Kai has 2.6 million followers on Twitch and averages over 70k viewers on his stream. On his YouTube channel, Kai has 2.83 million subscribers and 2 million followers on Instagram.

Do Twitch moderators get paid?

Moderators are considered volunteers and as result, do not receive payment from the streamers.

While this might be acceptable for a small streamer when it comes to bigger streamers, the conversation changes. Big streamers, like Ludwig, can make a six-figure income on subs alone. Add brand deals and the number will be significant. If the money is not the issue, it goes back to the nature of the job itself.

In a channel like Kai’s where so many viewers interact at the same time, moderating can be an arduous and consuming job. Mods volunteer because they are fans of the content creator and are not looking for more than acknowledgment. However, when streamers talk openly about their income and still refuse to reward their mods, it is not the best impression.

On Twitter, users had mixed reactions to Kai’s clip. Some believed that since it’s volunteer work, it doesn’t warrant payment. Others believed that it depended on how much work the mods do for a particular streamer.  

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