Twitch vs. YouTube: Which is Better

Which one is better? YouTube or Twitch?

For any gaming enthusiast out there, the comparison between Twitch and YouTube in the landscape of online game streaming will be super interesting. Maybe one platform is better than the other for certain specifications, the opposite one might be right for other things.

In the past, Twitch used to be the only option for most new streamers. However, YouTube has gained momentum in the live game streaming genre over the past few years.

Again, which is better between YouTube and Twitch?

In this guide, we will walk through the core differences between Twitch and YouTube covering the ease of use, audience, monetization, and stream quality.

What is Twitch? What is YouTube?

While Twitch is a live streaming service for sports, entertainment, and music, it is mainly used for online gaming. It lets streamers broadcast themselves playing a game along with audio commentary, while viewers can send comments in the chatbox.

Besides, viewers can donate to support the gamers.

YouTube, on the other hand, is an online service for watching videos. While it is predominately used for uploading pre-recorded videos by a content creator, it comes with the live streaming feature called YouTube Live. And there is also a subcategory dedicated to gaming.

LET’S COME TO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUTUBE AND TWITCH

Although both Twitch and YouTube are popular among game streamers, there are many differences between these two.

The most significant difference between YouTube and Twitch is the audience’s interest. Twitch is preferred by live streamers and is the most eminent live streaming platform in the world.

On the other hand, YouTube is used for video watching and helps you find a specific topic or niche.

Well, there are also other differences between Twitch and YouTube, as explained below…

Browsing:

Both YouTube and Twitch are a kind of search engines due to the search function present in each. But the way they showcase the content to a searcher is a bit different.

While Twitch is likely to recommend popular content creators and doesn’t let you edit your thumbnails, YouTube lets you personalize thumbnails and its search engine lets beginners be discovered by the users.

Apart from that, Twitch is supposed to support popular channels. But this might not be the case with YouTube that features even a new channel in the suggestions.

That’s why Twitch might be a tricky platform to get started with until you gained a good amount of following. Another issue with Twitch is that it doesn’t provide options for a personalized thumbnail. YouTube, on the other hand, lets you choose a thumbnail.

User Interface and Stream Quality:

To start YouTube streaming, you are required to confirm your phone number within the account setting. You can use both desktop and mobile to go live. YouTube offers a quite intuitive interface for streamers. Once you go live, you can track the number of viewers, moderate the chat and monitor comments in real-time.

Twitch has its chatbox on the right side of the video while basic controls are located underneath it. But navigation might not be that easy, especially for beginners. Unlike YouTube, Twitch lacks the functionality to pause or rewind a live stream. If you stop the broadcast and resume it, it will take you to the current moment.

Coming to the stream quality, YouTube users can stream up to 4k at 60 FPS (frames per second) while Twitch streaming is of 1080 p with 60 frames per second.

As for stream quality, YouTube users can stream up to 4K (2160p) at 60 frames per second, whereas Twitch streams at 60 frames per second in HD (1080p).

The Number of Users:

Twitch is the undisputed king of live game streaming. It has 140 million active users with a total of 5.79 billion hours watched. Talking about YouTube, it has 5,99000 concurrent viewers with 1.31 billion hours watched.

Although Twitch is miles ahead of YouTube in terms of popularity and users, the latter is gaining acceptance among a large number of gamers.

Guidelines:

YouTube is known for its easy and lenient guidelines for video content. But Twitch is notorious for banning channels with zero explanation.

Even it can take a toll on the accounts that have contracts.However, YouTube marketing team has a three-strike system, meaning that it warns them a couple of times before taking action.

Growth:

YouTube again has an upper hand when it comes to growth. Thanks to the range of opportunities it offers to the creator. For example, you can create short videos to promote your live streams. Above all, it has an efficient algorithm to display quality content.

For instance, you want to run a Call of duty stream. But it could be challenging over Twitch due to the popularity and amount of current Call of Duty streamers.

But on YouTube, you can create plenty of shorter videos that cover certain topics surrounding your game. Then you could introduce a pitch in each video to let the viewer know the day/time your live stream is available.

If people like your content on YouTube, then YouTube will expose it to more people. But Twitch is more likely to prefer those with larger audiences. The bigger you have an audience, the more Twitch will promote your content.

One more thing–YouTube lets people watch your videos 24/7. But Twitch only works with your live stream.

Money:

Both platforms come with their pros and cons when it comes to making money. Twitch has simpler qualifications for monetization than YouTube has to offer. You can start monetizing your channel as soon as you become a Twitch affiliate.

To become eligible for affiliation, you need 500 minutes of broadcast spanning over 7 days with at least 50 followers and 3 viewers.

However, although becoming an affiliate is easier, growing your channel for sound income is challenging over Twitch. Twitch is less likely to promote new or upcoming streamers.

YouTube, on the other hand, has more guidelines in place for you when it comes to monetization. It requires you to have more than 4,000 hours of watch time with at least 1,000 subscribers.

But YouTube offers a better opportunity to grow your channel as people can watch your videos anytime. On Twitch, most people are only going to watch live videos.

YouTube vs. Twitch–Which is a Better Platform?

After going through the pros and cons given above, you must be familiar with the advantages and downsides of both platforms. Twitch is dedicated to gaming while YouTube is improving its features to become the gamers’ favorite.

If you are looking for lenient content rules, thumbnails, video marketing, growth, and better editing, YouTube can fit your needs. But Twitch is your go-to for large gaming communities, easy monetization, and better pay. Above all, Twitch is all about live streaming, making it more engaging than YouTube.

And if you are confused about what to choose, good thing is that you can use them both. In other words, you can stream on YouTube and Twitch at the same time. All you need to use third-party services like Restream that can let you stream and re-transmit your content to 30 platforms at a time.

What do you think? Let me know by commenting below!