Monetizing a Twitch stream goes beyond subscriptions and bits; advertising revenue is a scalable income source for affiliates and partners. This calculator helps you estimate your potential earnings based on your viewership metrics and ad density strategies.
Key Factors Influencing Your Ad Revenue
Average Concurrent Viewers (ACV): The baseline metric. More eyes on the stream equals more potential ad impressions. However, having 1,000 viewers doesn't mean 1,000 ad impressions per break.
Ad Engagement Rate (Fill Rate): Not every viewer sees ads. Subscribers are often exempt, Turbo users don't see standard ads, and a significant portion of the internet uses ad blockers. A realistic fill rate usually hovers between 50% to 70% depending on your audience demographic.
Ad Density (Minutes per Hour): Twitch's Ads Incentive Program (AIP) often rewards streamers for running specific densities, commonly 3 minutes of ads per hour. While more ads mean more revenue, it risks viewer churn.
CPM (Cost Per Mille): This represents the amount advertisers pay for every 1,000 impressions. This fluctuates wildly based on the time of year (Q4 is highest), viewer geography (North American viewers generally command higher CPMs), and the specific ad program tier you are enrolled in.
Understanding the Formula
This calculator uses a standard industry estimation model:
Revenue = (Ad Impressions / 1000) × CPM
Where Ad Impressions is derived from:
Viewers × (Engagement Rate %) × (Ad Spots per Hour) × Hours Streamed
We assume that 1 minute of ads typically accommodates 2 standard 30-second commercial spots.
Optimizing for the Ads Incentive Program (AIP)
Twitch's AIP offers a fixed monthly payout or a revenue share model (usually 55%) if you commit to streaming a minimum number of hours with a specific ad density. The "3 Minutes" setting in our calculator reflects the most common tier required to unlock higher revenue splits and disable pre-roll ads for incoming viewers.
Balancing Revenue and User Experience
Running maximum ads (up to 3 minutes per hour) disables pre-rolls, which can actually help grow your channel by allowing new viewers to join the action immediately. However, interrupting intense gameplay or key moments with mid-rolls can frustrate existing viewers. The key is to run ads manually during downtime (queues, loading screens, bathroom breaks) or schedule them consistently so regulars know when to expect a break.
function calculateTwitchRevenue() {
// 1. Get Inputs
var viewers = parseFloat(document.getElementById('avgViewers').value);
var hoursPerStream = parseFloat(document.getElementById('streamHours').value);
var daysPerWeek = parseFloat(document.getElementById('daysPerWeek').value);
var adMinutes = parseFloat(document.getElementById('adMinutesPerHour').value);
var cpm = parseFloat(document.getElementById('effectiveCPM').value);
var fillRate = parseFloat(document.getElementById('fillRate').value);
// 2. Validate Inputs
if (isNaN(viewers) || viewers < 0) viewers = 0;
if (isNaN(hoursPerStream) || hoursPerStream < 0) hoursPerStream = 0;
if (isNaN(daysPerWeek) || daysPerWeek < 0) daysPerWeek = 0;
if (isNaN(cpm) || cpm < 0) cpm = 0;
if (isNaN(fillRate) || fillRate < 0) fillRate = 0;
// 3. Calculation Logic
// Constants
var weeksPerMonth = 4.345; // Average weeks in a month (52/12 approx)
var adSpotsPerMinute = 2; // Assuming average ad spot is 30 seconds
// Calculate Total Hours
var hoursPerWeek = hoursPerStream * daysPerWeek;
var hoursPerMonth = hoursPerWeek * weeksPerMonth;
// Calculate Effective Viewers (removing adblock/subs)
var monetizableViewers = viewers * (fillRate / 100);
// Calculate Total Ad Spots Shown per Hour
// 1 minute of ads = 2 spots approx.
var spotsPerHour = adMinutes * adSpotsPerMinute;
// Total Monthly Impressions
var totalMonthlyImpressions = monetizableViewers * spotsPerHour * hoursPerMonth;
// Revenue Calculations
// Formula: (Impressions / 1000) * CPM
var monthlyRevenue = (totalMonthlyImpressions / 1000) * cpm;
var weeklyRevenue = monthlyRevenue / weeksPerMonth;
var dailyRevenue = weeklyRevenue / daysPerWeek;
// If daysPerWeek is 0, handle division by zero for daily revenue
if (daysPerWeek === 0) dailyRevenue = 0;
var yearlyRevenue = monthlyRevenue * 12;
// 4. Update UI
document.getElementById('dailyRev').innerHTML = '$' + formatNumber(dailyRevenue);
document.getElementById('monthlyRev').innerHTML = '$' + formatNumber(monthlyRevenue);
document.getElementById('yearlyRev').innerHTML = '$' + formatNumber(yearlyRevenue);
document.getElementById('totalImpressions').innerHTML = formatCompactNumber(totalMonthlyImpressions);
// Show results
document.getElementById('resultsArea').style.display = 'block';
}
function formatNumber(num) {
return num.toLocaleString('en-US', { minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2 });
}
function formatCompactNumber(num) {
return Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', { notation: "compact", maximumFractionDigits: 1 }).format(num);
}