If you are starting to get some consistent viewers on stream you may be thinking about starting to accept donations. No matter what size your stream is, if you have good content some people may want to donate and support your growth.
In this article we are going to explain how to setup donations on Twitch. I’m going to cover a couple of different methods that allow you to receive donations to your stream.
Let’s jump in and take a look.
Ways To Accept Donations On Twitch
There are quite a few ways to accept donations on your Twitch Stream. Let’s take a look at the differences between them.
Paypal
This is probably the most popular way to accept donations on Stream. It is easy to set up and you will get 100% of the money (Minus a small Paypal Fee) rather than splitting revenue with Twitch through Subs or Bits.
Credit Cards
You can now accept credit card payments on your stream with the help of third party tools such as Streamlabs and Donorbox.
Twitch Bits
Twitch has a built in currency on Twitch called bits. Viewers can buy bits from Twitch and then use them to donate to your stream. This is automatically available when you become a Twitch affiliate. 1 bit is equal to $0.01.
Cryptocurrency
With the booming popularity of Cryptocurrency it may be a smart idea to accept Crypto donations on your stream. We are not going to cover that fully in this article but we do have a full guide on How to accept cryptocurrency donations on Twitch.
How To Setup Donations On Twitch With Paypal (Streamlabs)
Accepting donations on your stream with Paypal is easy when using Streamlabs. Streamlabs links your Paypal to your Stream allowing you to have alerts pop up on stream when someone donates. This is great as it also encourages other viewers to potentially donate.
If you don’t have alerts enabled for your donations it is unlikely that people will donate. When people donate they usually want the recognition on stream in front of your audience.
Step 1 – Set Up A Streamlabs Account
If you haven’t already got a streamlabs account you will want to set one up. Even if you are using a streaming software such as OBS you will still need a streamlabs account.
Set up a Streamlabs account by logging in with your Twitch.
You will now have your own Streamlabs account where we can create a donation page.
Step 2 – Link Your Paypal To Streamlabs
To link your Paypal to Streamlabs go to settings in the bottom left of your Streamlabs.com dashboard and click on Settings.
In settings go to Donation Settings and under methods select PayPal[Legacy].
Enter your Paypal email into this section. This will now enable anyone with a Paypal account to donate to your stream and you will receive the money to your paypal account.
Step 3 – Select Your Donation Settings
Under Donation Settings select Settings. Here you will be able to customise your donation page with settings such as , Minimum and Maximum donations, Suggested Amount, Message length and more.
Once you have set your preferred settings, your donation page will be setup with Paypal ready to take donations.
You can see your tip page by copying the ‘Your Page‘ Link. This is how your donation page will look by default when your viewers go to it. We will look at how to customize this page later in the article.
Step 4 – Add The Donation Link To Your Stream
Copy the ‘Your Page’ link and add it as a panel to your Twitch Stream. This means when viewers look in your about section they will find your donation panel, click on it and be sent to the Donation page.
How To Accept Donations On Twitch With Credit Cards
You can now also accept donations on Twitch with credit cards via Streamlabs. Steps 1,3 & 4 are the same as the Paypal Tutorial above. You just need to sign up for credit card donations on Streamlabs and your viewers will then have the option to donate via card or Paypal on your donation page.
How To Enable Credit Card Donations On Streamlabs
To enable credit card donations on your stream open up your Streamlabs dashboard and go to the settings page.
Under Donation settings click on credit cards. Here you will have to enter some information such as your name and date of birth and address.
Enter this info and click submit.
Your information will then be sent to a processor (Stripe) for verification. Once your account gets verified you will be able to enter your banking information to receive donations from credit cards.
Viewers will now have the option to pay with credit card on your Streamlabs donation page.
How To Customise Your Donation Page On Streamlabs
You can customize your donation page on Streamlabs by going to streamlabs.com/editor.
In the editor you can move around elements on your donation page to your liking. There is also some pre-made themes that you can select from if they match your brand.
Personally I just leave mine as the default Streamlabs page as that is what most people are familiar with. This should in theory increase your conversion rate as they know it is through Streamlabs and is safe.
How To Accept Donations Without Streamlabs
Accept Donations On Twitch With Donorbox
Donorbox is a third party site that lets you accept donations on Twitch. You may want to use this if you do not want to use the Streamlabs software.
- Set up a Donorbox account
- Create a new Campaign in Donorbox
- Click on Embed Codes
- Copy the Donate button URL
- Go to your Twitch channel dashboard and navigate to edit your panels
- Click the + to add a new panel
- Name Your Panel
- Get the donate button image from Donorbox
- Upload the image for your twitch panel
- Paste the Donate button url in the “Image Links to section”
You should now have your donate button linked to donorbox on your Twitch panels page. Make sure to link your bank information in your Donorbox account so you receive your donations.
Accept Donations On Twitch With Cryptocurrency
You can now also easily accept donations on Twitch via cryptocurrency. It’s a little long to include the guide in this article but if you want to accept donation via crypto check out this article here.
Add A Paypal Donation Link To Twitch
If you want you can just add a simple Paypal donation link directly to your Twitch about sections. Get you Paypal donation link from your Paypal account.
Open Twitch and click on your profile image then channel to go to your channel overview. Click on the About section and go down to Edit Panels.
Click on the big + logo and add a Text or image panel. Give your panel a name and add in your Paypal donation link.
You can now click submit and people will be able to directly donate to your paypal through this link.
The downside of this method is that your paypal is not linked to your stream and donations will not appear as alerts.
How To Encourage Donations On Your Stream?
If you want to get as many donations on stream as possible you will have to get creative. People like Ludwig held a Subathon where he streamed live for 31 days straight. He had a countdown clock on stream which increased by 10 seconds every time someone donated. His fans kept him live for 31 days straight.
You don’t have to do a Subathon to get more donations and subscribers on your stream. We have an article on best goal ideas to increase revenue on your stream.
Here are some ideas to increase donations:
- Giveaways when you hit a certain number of Subscribers
- Add a Top donor list to your about section on your channel
- Add a donation goal widget to your stream
Don’t pressure or ask viewers for donations. If they find your content valuable enough they will eventually donate or subscribe. Every viewer counts and them just being there on your stream is enough. No one likes an e-begger.
Risks With Accepting Donations Outside Of Twitch
When you are accepting donations outside of Twitch with Paypal and credit card processors like Stripe there is a risk that people can ‘Chargback’. A chargeback is when someone calls their bank or Paypal and claims the payment was fraudulent. You will then lose the money from that donation.
This isn’t the only risk. When you get a chargeback there is also a chargeback fee. This is usually in around $10. If someone donates $3 and charges back you will actually lose money in fees.
This has been a big problem with Twitch donations for a long time. This is why you will see some big streamers stick to Subscribers and Bit Donations on the platform.
Other Platforms For Accepting Twitch Donations
Own3d pro
Own3d pro is a chatbot for Twitch called Lynn that offers chatbot functions as well as themes for your streams. In the premium version of Own3d Pro you have the ability to set up a Paypal donation page.
These donations will also link in with Own3d Pro alerts on your stream allowing people to see their donations when appear on screen when they donate.
Streamelements
Stream elements also offers widgets and alerts for your Twitch stream. They have a Tip jar widget which allows you to accept donations on stream. These donations are able to trigger alerts showcasing the donator.
You can use Paypal or Credit card integrations on Stream Elements to accept payments.
