In Oct. 2021, confidential Twitch data leaked online exposing how much the biggest streaming stars on the platform received in payouts between Aug. 2019 and Oct. 2021.
For most, the numbers were in the millions—especially for top streamers like xQc, Asmongold, Ludwig, and more. Several years later, now, the earnings are outdated and have likely grown even higher for some creators, while lower for others, but they give a good idea just how lucrative streaming can be for the very top of the platform. This rings especially true for someone like Kai Cenat who broke the subscriber record recently.
The payouts mentioned in the leak include subscriptions, bit donations, and ad revenue but do not include any streamer sponsorships and direct donations. The payouts also do not include any money they may have received from Twitch directly for signing a contract to stream exclusively on the Amazon-owned platform.
Still, they’re a reliable source to roughly determine how much streamers make from their streams on a year-to-year basis, which is something that has piqued the community’s interest ever since the new-age gaming and streaming industry started.
Felix “xQc” Lengyel, Jaryd “summit1g” Lazar, Turner “Tfue” Tenney, and Nicholas “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff were among the top earners, along with a few others like Ludwig Ahgren, who have since moved to YouTube.
However, not everyone earned as much as people expected. For example, Imane “Pokimane” Anys was only the 39th highest earner on the list. Tyler “Ninja” Blevins was even lower at 46th.
Payouts listed below are for Aug. 2019 through to Oct. 2021.
Top 100 Twitch earners, according to Twitch leaks
- CriticalRole – $9,626,712.16
- xQcOW – $8,454,427.17
- summit1g – $5,847,541.17
- Tfue – $5,295,582.44
- NICKMERCS – $5,096,642.12
- ludwig – $3,290,777.55
- TimTheTatman – $3,290,133.32
- Altoar – $3,053,839.94
- auronplay – $3,053,341.54
- LIRIK – $2,984,653.7
- DrDisrespect – $2,863,780.63
- Gaules – $2,844,985.18
- HasanAbi – $2,810,480.11
- Asmongold – $2,551,618.73
- loltyler1 – $2,490,584.9
- RanbooLive – $2,401,021.84
- MontanaBlack88 – $2,391,369.58
- ibai – $2,314,485.53
- Castro_1021 – $2,311,021.81
- MOONMOON – $2,236,043.55
- TheRealKnossi – $2,157,258.23
- moistcr1tikal – $2,098,742.63
- Mizkif – $2,086,548.21
- CohhCarnage – $2,061,059.29
- shroud – $2,040,503.15
- AdmiralBahroo – $1,985,892.39
- Pestily – $1,961,086.96
- Sykkuno – $1,916,327.43
- ESL_CSGO – $1,903,580.27
- LVNDMARK – $1,902,807.22
- DrLupo – $1,894,615.81
- AdinRoss – $1,854,656.42
- Clix – $1,843,917.31
- TeePee – $1,786,534.47
- Rubius – $1,764,965.15
- PaymoneyWubby – $1,756,486.29
- alanzoka – $1,731,716.65
- Trainwreckstv – $1,572,912.37
- pokimane – $1,528,303.11
- tommyinnit – $1,513,217.7
- Maximilian_DOOD – $1,499,562.93
- GRONKH – $1,481,291.05
- sodapoppin – $1,461,302.14
- ZeratoR – $1,440,221.4
- BobbyPoffGaming – $1,415,247.01
- Ninja – $1,378,791.48
- Philza – $1,364,215.61
- Amouranth – $1,363,346.32
- BruceGreene – $1,360,850.67
- 50.Odablock – $1,354,805.74
- RayNarvaezJr – $1,335,520.12
- Symfuhny – $1,334,485.63
- dakotaz – $1,324,198.49
- ZanoXVII – $1,310,925.8
- SypherPK – $1,295,112.63
- Trymacs – $1,288,207.23
- TheGrefg – $1,286,765.09
- Papaplatte – $1,286,004.35
- JohnPitterTV – $1,215,717.01
- RATIRL – $1,214,440.08
- RocketLeague – $1,204,908.7
- NoWay4u_Sir – $1,188,728.95
- GamesDoneQuick – $1,185,456.44
- GernaderJake – $1,176,353.74
- fps_shaka – $1,173,280.3
- EsfandTV – $1,170,700.02
- buddha – $1,158,170.55
- Locklear – $1,155,665.61
- stylishnoob4 – $1,147,599.76
- ANGRYPUG – $1,146,888.15
- Sintica – $1,075,977.17
- Fresh – $1,073,254.63
- Quackity – $1,065,157.18
- RonnieRadke – $1,063,989.05
- Riot Games – $1,052,571.76
- KYR_SP33DY – $1,052,545.35
- Gladd – $1,045,687.54
- juansguarnizo – $1,034,709.27
- Bugha – $1,034,227.61
- NickEh30 – $1,027,976.4
- Tubbo – $1,000,504.31
- Pikabooirl – $994,116.76
- RatedEpicz – $987,866.88
- Swagg – $984,854.8
- Shotz – $984,477.46
- CDNThe3rd – $976,750.53
- Tumblurr – $960,316.77
- Aydan – $953,042.02
- ops1x – $947,355.14
- scump – $946,332.99
- BarbarousKing – $933,633.48
- julien – $918,684.35
- mang0 – $916,857.66
- Kitboga – $915,795.53
- chocoTaco – $913,022.39
- alexelcapo – $911,427.22
- Anomaly – $908,794.96
- Jerma985 – $906,602
- The8BitDrummer – $895,020.23
- TSM_ImperialHal – $886,999.17
As mentioned above, a handful of streamers have switched platforms since this list dropped, including Ludwig “Ludwig” Ahgren, Sykkuno, Lily “LilyPichu” Ki, and Ali “Myth” Kabbani, who all signed big-money contracts to stream excusively on YouTube, while some eventually came back to the platform once again after leaving, like xQc.
It’s unclear whether Twitch could match these offers but chose not to, or tried to, but the streamers decided to move on. If the latter is true, it could tie into the growing dissatisfaction over how much streamers earn on the platform.
The default payout for subscriptions is 50 percent of $5 ($2.50), but top streamers typically receive 70 percent ($3.75). However, in April 2022, Bloomberg reported Twitch is considering cutting the rate back to 50 percent for them too.There are also reports Twitch gives streamers more of an incentive to run ads, which has been subject to criticism from streamers and viewers alike.
The Twitch earnings leak shows how much streamers who break into the upper echelons can expect to make from their streams alone. As you’d expect, it’s quite a lot.
