Successful streamers are making a fortune out of live streaming. Be it gaming, cooking, podcasts, or anything else. That’s wheven many social media platforms have created the Live feature to cater to the soaring demand.
Not to mention, Twitch is one of the most popular platforms for live streamers. As you get followers on Twitch quickly, your viewership boosts, and so does your revenue. However, most live streamers mainly get confused between YouTube Live and Twitch.
Therefore, this article will help you get answers to your questions about whether you should stream on YouTube Live or Twitch and which one is better.
Technical Aspects
Twitch allows you to stream in 1080p, which is the maximum offered streaming quality. Whereas, with YouTube, you can stream in 4K with HDR. You also have the option to broadcast in 360-degree.
Therefore, according to quality, YouTube wins over Twitch. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that most viewers may not want to watch a live stream in 4K as it may slow down the video, and the same goes for mobile users.
User Interface
In terms of the user interface, both Twitch and YouTube are quite similar. For YouTube and Twitch streamers, you can moderate and monitor the comments on the right side.
What’s great about YouTube is that viewers can pause and rewind the live stream any time they want. However, this feature is lacking in Twitch. If you pause a live stream and play it again later, you will be jumped to the current moment.
Monetization
Both platforms provide a lot of opportunities for streamers to make money. On Twitch, you can partner up with a brand, run embedded ads, receive donations from viewers, and enable paid subscriptions.
On the other hand, YouTube lets you have sponsorships with brands, enable Google AdSense, and earn revenue through super chats and stickers.
Browsing
Twitch and YouTube allow you to search for a live stream category or a streamer through the search bar, making browsing easier for potential viewers. This way, you may also be discovered by a new audience.
However, Twitch also recommends channels on the left side of the platform. These channels are usually the ones with a lot of views and are already popular.
Although the recommended channels list may attract more attention from the users, scrolling down recommends even the new streamers in different categories, which may be quite helpful.
In terms of YouTube, even new channels keep getting recommended by this platform to make it easier for newbies to get a new audience.
Platform Structure and Audience
YouTube Live offers only three categories – gaming, sports, and news. These are simply shown on the interface, along with a few suggested videos in each category.
On the other hand, Twitch provides tabs for various categories – games, IRL, music, esports, and creative. You can click on either of the category tabs that you are interested in to watch a live stream of your choice. This generally gives more edge to Twitch streamers.
Choosing between YouTube Live and Twitch depends on your preferences. Asking yourself what you prefer the most for live streaming will help you pick the right platform. For instance, do you prefer quality to the user interface? Or on which platform your audience is more active?
