Are subathons worth it?

A subathon multiplies what your community already does: it gives people a reason to sub, gift and donate now rather than later, and a visible clock to rally around. It does not create an audience out of nothing.

For a channel with a regular community, it often brings the best revenue of the year and a wave of new followers. For a very small channel, the main gain is usually the community itself, more than the money.

What reaches you is never the full price the viewer pays:

• Twitch subs: the streamer's share depends on the agreement, usually from half to around 70 % of the price.
• Bits: one cent per bit for the streamer.
• YouTube memberships and Super Chats: about 70 % of the price for the creator.
• Kick subs: Kick announces a 95 / 5 split in the streamer's favour.
• Direct donations through Streamlabs, StreamElements, Tipeee or Ko-fi: the amount minus the payment provider's fees.

Sleep, food and health come first: a subathon that runs for days costs energy, and the days after it are often slow. Plan for that dip.

There are also the people around you: moderators who cover the night shift, a co-host, sometimes gear or prizes promised as goals. Count them before you promise anything.

The subathons that pay off have a few things in common:

• A rate card that starts low, so the clock does not run away on the first night.
• A cap or a time multiplier, decided before the start.
• Goals spread over the days, so supporting at any moment means something.
• A strong moment: a launch, an anniversary, a milestone the community wants to reach with you.

After the subathon, look at the totals per day and per platform, the top contributors and the followers you gained, not only the revenue.

Marathon-Timer shows this on its statistics page, with a revenue estimate whose rates you can adjust, a comparison between subathons and an export to CSV or JSON.