While the number of active users on YouTube and Twitch is growing daily, choosing the best one for your online activities can be a real challenge. On the one hand, Twitch was initially positioned as a platform for live streaming, so if this is your thing, it will probably be your best option. At the same time, YouTube allows you to “dilute” online content with other equally exciting formats, such as YouTube Shorts. So, should I stream on Twitch or YouTube? In our article, we will try to provide you with a detailed answer to this question. 

What Are The Key Differences Between YouTube Live and Twitch?

Let's figure out the main differences between streaming on YouTube and Twitch.

YouTube Live

YouTube is the world's most famous social platform for creators and consumers of video content. Launched first in 2005, it is regularly updated with new features, and, in particular, in 2011, it was enriched with live broadcast functionality.

Currently, it is visited by more than 2.5 billion users per day. However, given such colossal user traffic, monetization opportunities here are limited. In particular, you need to join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) to start making money on YouTube. For this, you must have at least a thousand subscribers, follow the rules regarding content monetization, and live in a country or region where this program is supported.

Overall, YouTube streaming is an ideal option for those creators whose content is focused on something other than the gaming industry only (although we note that this platform can be an excellent solution for expanding the target audience reach of gamers if they already have an active Twitch account).

Twitch

Twitch is an Amazon product founded in 2011. It focuses specifically on live streaming. This platform's reach is significantly smaller than YouTube – only about 31 million active users per day.

To monetize your streams on Twitch, you need to be a member of the affiliate program. In addition, the platform offers various other monetization options – these can be subscriptions, donations, bits, and advertising. Please note that the platform has strict restrictions on content creators' behavior during streams and their dress code.

As for the primary target audience of this platform, it is still occupied by gamers. However, every year, it is increasingly expanded with creators of music and other forms of art. 

How to Stream on YouTube and Twitch Simultaneously

Trying to cover two platforms at once can be extremely time-consuming, so to save your time, you can use special tools such as Gyre.pro. Specifically, this tool allows streamers to upload pre-recorded video content to its cloud servers and then go live with it on multiple platforms simultaneously. Moreover, it makes it possible to run multiple streams on the same platform at once without any restrictions on the power of the hardware they have.

The only difficulty that streamers may face when resorting to multistreaming is supporting several chats at once. However, in reality, this will only be a serious obstacle for very large influencers with millions of followers.

Where Should You Stream?

In terms of earning money through live streaming, both platforms are definitely good. However, regarding the requirements for content creators, YouTube Live is still a freer platform for self-expression as it does not impose a long list of restrictions on the behavior, appearance, and moderation of bloggers’ chats. It is also easier to get viral here, especially using additional free solutions for content promotion, such as YouTube Shorts, YouTube Clips, hashtags, meta tags, etc. And, of course, note that YouTube is more universal since it is devoid of specific jargon and functionality, as is the case with Twitch. Therefore, the entry threshold for starting your streaming activities here may be significantly lower.

On the contrary, the terms of the Twitch affiliate program are more easily achievable since to become a member, you only need to have 50 subscribers instead of 1000, like on YouTube. So, if you are going to stream your gaming sessions, Twitch can be a better choice for you.

If you still haven’t been able to decide which platform is the best for you, you can still try streaming on both platforms simultaneously using Gyre. This way, you will be able to understand which audience will perceive you with more engagement, as well as expand your monetization options.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, the answer to what is better – Twitch or YouTube – largely depends on your personal preferences and the chosen promotion strategy. Moreover, in many cases, using two platforms simultaneously turns out to be a more justified solution. With this approach, many streamers can discover the unobvious advantages of each of them and then direct their main efforts to the specific one. If we talk about earning opportunities on Twitch are more accessible, so if this is what you aim for, you should pay attention to this platform.

However, in any way, it makes sense to try to stream to both YouTube and Twitch, at least for a while, as this will maximize the audience coverage and allow you to check the capabilities of both platforms in practice. All this can be achieved using the Gyre tool, which you can try for free.