Twitch vs. YouTube vs. Kick: Which platform is more suitable for a budding streamer?

Streamers, gamers, and content creators have a variety of platforms at their disposal. Twitch and YouTube (owned by Amazon and Google, respectively), being longstanding major players, continue to dominate the scene. Additionally, Kick (owned by the gambling website Stake) has entered the fray, making its mark since its late 2022 launch.

This article compares the three platforms, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses to help determine the most suitable choice for streamers just about to begin their trade.

The streaming landscape has recently undergone significant changes, with Kick emerging as a formidable player seeking to carve a niche. Twitch and YouTube, the industry's stalwarts, have maintained their presence, with the Amazon-owned platform being renowned for its established streaming capabilities over the years.

Nevertheless, minor and significant discernible nuances distinguish these platforms from one another. Let's look at some of them.

In terms of audience size, Twitch currently leads the pack with an impressive 140 million monthly users (statistics via Demandsage.com), making it the dominant force in this regard.

YouTube boasts 122 million daily users (via Globalmediainsight.com), nearly equivalent to Twitch's monthly user base. However, YouTube is primarily recognized as a video-sharing platform, and live streaming hasn't reached the same prominence as it has on Twitch.

The most recent data on Kick indicates 20 million users (via Restream.io) as of October 2023. This number suggests that aspiring streamers might have a better chance of being discovered if they start on Twitch, given its larger user base than Kick.

Twitch compensates its creators by adopting a 50-50 revenue split from all subscriptions made by