Study reveals which Twitch streamers earn the most money from subs

Olivia Richman Published 27/02/2020

With Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Mike “shroud” Grzesiek both on Mixer, other popular streamers have taken over Twitch.

One study by Little Loans showed just how much money the top Twitch streamers are earning from their subscribers. While streamers also earn money from sponsors, deals, and advertisements, their subscriber count is often their largest source of income.

Subscribers pay streamers monthly for a variety of exclusive perks, and often just to show their support for the content creator themselves. Subscriptions come in three tiers. A Tier 1 subscription is $4.99 per month, Tier 2 is $9.99, and a Tier 3 subscription costs fans $24.99 each month.

So just how much money are streamers earning from these subscriptions? It’s a lot more than you think.

Nickmercs earns the most annually from subscribers

When people think of Twitch streamers, they probably think of Tfue, Dr Disrespect, and Dr Lupo. While those three personalities made the top ten list of highest earning streamers, none of them took the top spot. That currently belongs to Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff, a competitive streamer who plays Fortnite for FaZe Clan.

Nickmercs receives over $1.5 million annually from subscriptions alone. He has more than 370,000 total subscribers, about half of which are Tier 1. But what has earned him the top spot on this chart is his high amount of Tier 3 subscribers. He currently has over 13,500 subscribers paying $24.99 per month. Those Tier 3 subscribers earn him about $237,000 each month.

Tfue, xQc, Dr Disrespect also top Twitch earners

Fellow FaZe Clan and Fortnite star Turner “Tfue” Tenney is in second, earning over $1.4 million a year from subscribers.The controversial streamer has a little over 387,000 subscribers. That’s more than Nickmercs, but only around 3,400 of them are Tier 3 subscribers. Tfue only earns $61,000 per month from that tier. Most of his subscribers are Tier 1. Still, all of his combined subscribers place him pretty high up on the chart.

Fortnite personality Timothy “TimTheTatman” Betar is in third, earning $1,378,412 from subscribers each year. Herschel “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm IV comes in fourth, making $1,189,073 annually from his subscribers.

Overwatch streamers Jesse “MOONMOON” and Félix “xQc” Lengyel are up next, earning $1,172,007 and $1,186,742 respectively. While the former Overwatch League player is still making bank with his $1.8 million a year subscriber earnings, it’s interesting to put it in perspective. xQc only has 581 Tier 3 subscribers compared to Nickmercs’ $13,500. He earns over $10,000 a month from that category, compared to Nickmercs’ $237,000.

While the 10 highest-earning streamers all play different games, one thing they have in common is a strong personality. Each of them earn subscribers because of their trolling, their over-the-top personalities, or their tendency to be quite vocal with their opinions on just about everything.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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