A gifted sub on Twitch is a paid sub one viewer buys for another viewer of the same channel. The gifter pays the full sub price ($4.99 Tier 1 / $9.99 Tier 2 / $24.99 Tier 3 — web pricing). The recipient gets a one-month sub with full privileges (sub emotes, ad-free viewing, sub badge). The streamer\'s payout is identical to a regular paid sub at the streamer\'s current revenue split.
What gifted subs are mechanically
A gifted sub is a paid Twitch subscription one viewer buys and assigns to another viewer of the same channel. The gifter pays the full sub price; the recipient gets one month of sub privileges (sub emotes for use across all channels they follow, sub badge in the gift-channel\'s chat, ad-free viewing on the gift channel). The streamer\'s payout is calculated identically to a regular paid sub: the streamer keeps 50% / 60% / 70% of the gift price depending on their current Plus Program tier.
Gifts are one-month grants — they don\'t auto-renew. The recipient\'s sub expires at the end of the gift month unless they sub manually. Some larger / sustained gifters auto-renew the gift each month for the same recipient as a long-term- support arrangement, but that\'s manual on the gifter\'s side. Twitch doesn\'t auto- renew gifts.
How the gifter buys
Three paths from the gifter side:
- Bomb (random recipients) — pick a quantity (1 / 5 / 10 / 25 / 50 / 100 from the dropdown, or custom quantity for larger), pick a tier, pay. Twitch randomly assigns recipients from active viewers without an existing sub to the channel. The chat shows the bomb event as a sub-train with the gifter\'s username pinned.
- Single-recipient gift — click a specific viewer\'s chat name, select "Gift Sub", confirm tier. Goes directly to that viewer.
- Hype Train context — gift events during a Hype Train contribute to the train\'s tier progress on top of paying out normally. The streamer\'s per- sub net doesn\'t change, but the channel reaches Hype Train tier 5 unlocks faster.
What the recipient gets
Sub-tier privileges activate immediately on gift acceptance:
- Channel sub badge in chat (with sub-tenure progression as gift renewals continue)
- Channel sub-emote slots — the channel\'s custom emotes available across all Twitch channels the recipient watches
- Ad-free viewing on the gift channel
- Sub-only chat access (where the channel has subscriber-only mode enabled)
- Hype Train Cheermote unlocks at the gift\'s tier level for that channel
Tier 2 and Tier 3 gifts unlock additional sub-emote-slot tiers on the recipient\'s account for that channel — Tier 3 unlocks the full ladder.
What the streamer earns
The streamer\'s payout from a gifted sub is identical to the payout from a regular paid sub at their current Plus Program tier:
- Tier 1 gift = $2.50 net (50/50), $3.00 (60/40 Plus), or $3.49 (70/30 Plus)
- Tier 2 gift = $5.00 net (50/50), $5.99 (60/40), or $6.99 (70/30)
- Tier 3 gift = $12.50 net (50/50), $15.00 (60/40), or $17.49 (70/30)
The crucial caveat: gifted subs do not contribute to Plus Points. Twitch excludes them (and Prime subs) from the qualification window to prevent streamers from buying their way into the 70/30 split tier with self-funded gift bombs. So a 1,000-sub gift bomb pays the streamer at whatever split they\'re currently on, but doesn\'t accelerate the streamer toward 70/30.
The most common gift bomb sizes
The /twitch-subs/gifted/N programmatic pages cover the most-asked-about gift counts:
- 5 gifted subs
- 10 gifted subs
- 25 gifted subs
- 50 gifted subs
- 100 gifted subs
- 200 gifted subs
- 500 gifted subs
- 1,000 gifted subs
FAQ
Who picks the recipient of a gifted sub?
By default Twitch picks recipients randomly from the channel's active viewer list at gift time — viewers in chat who don't already have an active sub to that channel. The gifter can also specifically gift to a named viewer (single-recipient gift) by clicking that user's chat name and selecting "Gift Sub". Random gifting in bulk is the most common pattern; specific recipient gifts are usually one-off thank-you gestures.
Can recipients refuse a gifted sub?
No — gifted subs are auto-applied to the recipient's account. The recipient gets a notification ("X gifted you a Tier 1 sub to channel Y") and the sub privileges activate immediately (no ads, sub emotes, badges, ad-free viewing). Recipients can cancel auto-renewal if the gift comes with auto-renew enabled (rare on Twitch — gifts are usually one-month grants without auto-renew).
Do gifted subs renew automatically?
No. Gifted subs are one-month grants by default. The recipient's sub expires at the end of the gift month unless they sub manually after that. Some larger gifters auto-renew the gift each month for the same recipient as a sustained-support arrangement, but that's manual on the gifter side — Twitch doesn't auto-renew gifts.
What does the streamer earn from gifted subs?
The same per-sub net as a regular paid sub at the streamer's current revenue split. A Tier 1 gift earns the streamer $2.50 (50/50), $3.00 (60/40 Plus), or $3.49 (70/30 Plus). 100 Tier 1 gifts earn $250 (50/50), $300 (60/40), or $349 (70/30). The /twitch-subs/gifted/N programmatic pages have detailed math for the most common gift counts.
Why don't gifted subs count toward Plus Program?
Twitch excludes gifted subs (and Prime subs) from Plus Points accumulation specifically to prevent streamers from buying their way into the 70/30 split tier with self-funded gift bombs. Plus Points only accrue from paid recurring subs purchased by individual subscribers for themselves. This keeps the 70/30 qualification a genuine retained-sub-base metric.
Can I gift sub-only emote unlocks instead of a full sub?
No, that's not a thing on Twitch. The only way to grant a viewer access to a channel's sub-emotes is via a gifted (or paid) sub for at least one month. There's no "emote-only" partial gift product. The smallest unit is a full one-month Tier 1 gift at $4.99.
Are gifted subs refundable?
Generally no. Twitch treats gift purchases as final. Exceptions exist for accidental duplicates, fraud, and platform errors — contact Twitch Support quickly if you bought gifts in error. The older the purchase, the lower the refund probability.
How much can I gift in a single transaction?
Twitch caps single-purchase bombs at 100 in some regions and lets larger bundles through with extra anti-fraud verification in others. Typical bomb sizes: 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 (one-click), and 500 / 1000+ via custom-quantity input with bomb-split confirmation. Streamrise observes most public bombs in the 5-50 range across the 700,000+ Twitch channels we support; 100+ bombs are sponsor / whale-supporter territory.
