Twitch Vs. Facebook Gaming: Which Platform is Better for Streamers on 2022?

Twitch is one of the most popular video game live streaming services. But is Twitch really than its rival, Facebook Gaming?

Twitch vs Facebook Gaming Comparison

The battle between live streaming giant never end. After the defeat of Mixer, Facebook Gaming rose and challenged Twitch hegemony on the live streaming industry, but which one is actually a better choice for streamers?

Twitch is the earliest video game live streaming platform and has dominated the video game streaming industry for years. Twitch and Facebook Gaming are the two biggest live streaming platforms.

In January 2022, 2.1 Billion hours are watched on Twitch compared to 600 million hours on Facebook Gaming. This proves that Twitch is more popular than Facebook Gaming. But being oldest and currently most popular doesn’t mean it will remain popular forever

Which One is Better: Twitch or Facebook Gaming?

Twitch is better because:

1. More mature live streaming platform

2. Having the biggest market share in the live streaming industry

3. Easier to enter the Partner program

4. Having a loyal fanbase and big community built around gamers

5. Better monetization because Amazon owns it

But compared to Twitch, Facebook Gaming is better for some people because:

1. More popular in Asia, it’s a lot easier to gain followers if you stream in Asia.

2. Facebook Gaming pays you more. You will only get a 30% cut from your earnings compared to 50% in Twitch Affiliate and 40% in Twitch Partner program.

3. Mixer closing redirect Mixer streamers and fans of Mixer to Facebook Gaming, making it into the top three live-streaming platforms in less than a year.

The best thing about Twitch and Facebook Gaming is everyone can join and become a streamer on both live streaming platform

You don’t need to become a hardcore gamer to join these platforms. Whether you’re a Professional league gamer or just an average joe that enjoy playing League of Legends, or even a Grand Master Chess player, you can join Twitch or Facebook Gaming, interacting with your follower and earning some cash while in the way.

So, anyone can join a live streaming platform, not just a gamer (this is a common misconception since gaming currently dominates the live streaming industry).

By comparing the advantage and disadvantages of each platform, we can decide which one is better for streamers to join into.

While you can join both platforms to gather both followers in different communities, focusing on one community is a good way to maximize your effort and benefit from it. It’s not an easy feat to earn money on any live streaming platform. So, the question to ask is, which video game live streaming platform should you commit to?

Compare Twitch and Facebook Gaming: Which one is better for Viewers?

Even though reading this article indicates you’re an aspiring streamer that wants to follow his dream, you must understand that 99.99% of your follower will be non-streamers. They will see your stream or video as a guest or member.

If the platform is easy to use, secure, has a big community around it and has a blazingly fast server that can deliver live streams in real-time without lag, they will choose that platform. So first, we must compare Twitch and Facebook Gaming which one is better for the viewers.

Why Twitch is Better for Viewers than Facebook Gaming

1. It’s Easier to Register an account on Twitch

Without having an account, you can watch your favorite streamer stream, but you can’t interact with them. With email and password, you can easily register into Twitch. You can also link your account with an Amazon Prime account. You can ironically login using your Facebook account.

2. Twitch offers a Freemium service

Every time you watch a video, there will be ads before and between. If you’re a registered member, you can pay a Twitch Turbo subscription to get many benefits and turn off all ads every time you watch a video.

3. Wide range of platform that supports Twitch

You can easily watch Twitch on any platform. Your viewer can watch your content anywhere from PC, Android/iOS, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or even a game console like PS5 and XBOX series X

4. Twitch have a bigger community than Facebook Gaming

Just like I explained before, Twitch is older than Facebook Gaming. Most people who love to watch a live stream, your potential follower, already used Twitch a long time ago. They have a ton of streamers that they follow and interact with. They witness the growth of Twitch from a small company to a live streaming giant

This is a habit that is hard to break. Twitch already took a huge chunk of market share before Facebook Gaming even existed. Choosing Twitch as your main streaming platform will increase your chance of getting more Twitch Channel followers, even if the competition between the new and experienced streamers is higher.

With the discover feature, viewers can get a recommendation to a streamer that they had never watched. Sometimes Twitch will spotlight non-gaming channels like sculpting, LEGO building, illustrator, manga artist, adventure stream, music stream, and many others.

Twitch potential is endless. Who knows if the next spotlight is your channel and you will be the next successful streamer?

5. Watch 1080p 60fps content easily

Both Twitch and Facebook Gaming will let you watch 1080p streams at 60 fps. But only Facebook partner video that you can only watch at 1080p 60fps at Facebook and the requirement to achieve that is really hard (I will explain it below).

Meanwhile, Twitch doesn’t have this requirement. As long your favorite streamers have a strong enough pc and fast upload internet speed, you can easily watch the content at the best quality.

Why Facebook Gaming is better for viewers than Twitch

1. You only need Facebook Account to use Facebook Gaming

You just need a Facebook account and you’re ready to go. Most people already have a Facebook account, so there is no need to remember an extra password for your live streaming account. But this is a disadvantage because you won’t have privacy when using Facebook Gaming. Your real name will appear in front of many people.

2. Facebook Gaming have a bigger untapped potential market in Asia

If you’re an Asian, most people will know about Facebook Gaming instead of Twitch. Why? This is a long history behind it. Most Asian countries have a backward infrastructure compared to their western counterpart.

When Americans already had a smartphone, they only started to have PC and blackberry phones. And having a flagship Nvidia series (70-80) powered PC was rare 12 to 8 years ago. Most people play using APU and the game that is strong enough to play using it is usually Facebook games like Farmville and games from Zynga.

By having the childhood memory of playing those games, they became loyal to Facebook. When Facebook Gaming launched, it immediately caused a storm in Asia countries.

But what about Twitch? They never promote their platform in Asia, maybe because most of their streamer is English-speaking streamer and back then, the market in Asia is small.

But as the Asia country’s economy grew, this is a mistake because many Asians have become the favorite streamers in Facebook Gaming and earned millions of dollars from it.

3. Facebook integrate their Facebook Gaming into their main platform

The design of Facebook Gaming gives you a similar vibe to standard Facebook UI. Still instead of the posts about boring older people blaming the younger generation and conspiracists explaining that the government has a weird conspiracy to their people, it’s about gaming and young people’s energy.

It will give you recommendations of streamers and games you like according to the algorithm. Once the service gathers enough data and the Facebook Gaming algorithm understands you enough, the viewing experience will improve.

List of Twitch Features

1. Twitch has the biggest market share in the live streaming industry

As the first gaming live streaming platform, Twitch had a massive advantage from the start. They set the industry standard. Other streaming platforms like Facebook Gaming and YouTube must applicate many of Twitch’s features to be able to compete with them finally.

Twitch also has a solid fanbase of favorite streamers and loyal followers. Twitch also has the biggest market share, as shownthe data from stream hatchet in the image below

In Q1 of 2021, 8.8 billion hours are watched on Twitch, YouTube Live Gaming, and Facebook Gaming. 6.3 billion hours are watched on Twitch compared to only 1.1 billion hours on Facebook gaming.

While the number of hours watched is not the correct data to determine which platform is more popular, having more than five times of the number of hours indicates that Twitch owns at least 70% of the live streaming market share compared to 13% of Facebook Gaming market share.

2. Built as a streaming platform by gamers and for gamers

Twitch is built by gamers and for gamers, so they have many gaming features. Twitch has solid integration with favorite streaming software like OBS and offers customization by using Twitch extension. Using the extension can increase the engagement between streamers and viewers, and the best way to gain followers

Twitch also has a partnership with many video game platforms like Steam, EA, Blizzard, Riot, Epic Games, and etc. If you want to watch the latest competition in CSGO, Dota 2, LOL, and Fortnite, most viewers will simply choose Twitch and the number of viewers on Twitch will always be the highest. 

Viewers can interact with each other while the two-team battle with each other in competition. If there is a new game console like PS5, many streamers in Twitch will watch together and comment on the PS5 launch games.

When there is a new AAA game release like Cyberpunk 2077, there will be many popular streamers playing the game at day 0 on Twitch. Anything that happens in the video game industry will always be available at Twitch.

3. Twitch have a dedicated mobile app that is compatible with both Android and iOS platform

Twitch has a mobile app that can be downloaded on both Android (Play Store) and iOS platforms (App store). When you first download the app, you will be prompted to the login page. Sadly, you can’t watch a stream on your smartphone without having an account

Twitch mobile app

Just like the Twitch webpage that opens when you use a desktop, the appearance of the mobile app is similar. It has a minimalistic UI with beautiful white color. If you hate the white theme mode, there is a setting to change into dark mode/ dark theme.

Twitch gives you a complete function on its mobile app. You can watch your favorite streamer, donate, chat to your friends, and many other functions that was available on desktop. You can even live stream in your mobile app after you enable Camera and Microphone in your apps.

Just pick your smartphone and start to stream mobile games that available like Genshin Impact, Among Us, Just Chatting, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Of course, this is provided that your smartphone can handle both playing games and streaming which require expensive flagship smartphones like the latest Samsung and iPhone.

You may also need to reduce your in-game setting graphic quality and have blazing fast Wi-Fi speed to stream your games.

Going live in Twitch on your smartphone will be similar to going live on Tik Tok and Instagram. The key difference is, most of the time, you will stream your games on Twitch instead of a teenager doing things that went viral on Tik Tok.

Overall, the mobile app is simple to use, has minimalistic UI, and has a complete function for both viewers and streamers. and only useful for gamers to watch streams.  If you love to watch a video game stream on Twitch, I recommended installing the mobile app on your smartphone.

List of Facebook Gaming Features

1. Integration with Facebook and Instagram

After the flopped IGTV, Facebook understood that creating a new industry with a new standard is difficult, so Facebook Gaming inherits Facebook features and user interface making many Facebook users familiar with this new platform.

Facebook Gaming also uses many of its competitor features. The result is a successful video game live streaming service that can take a chunk of its competitor market share

If you stream on Facebook Gaming, you can gain the potential access of 2.7 billion active users on Facebook and 1 billion active users on Instagram. Backed by the most popular social media platform is a massive advantage when you’re still a new streamer that aims to grow your channel.

Facebook also Facebook Ads. It’s one biggest ad media with the best algorithm and a huge database from its user. You can use Facebook Ads to advertise your channel and video, making your gameplay videos viral on Facebook (It’s not easy, but possible)

2. Facebook Gaming has a better mobile app experience (If you use Android)

Facebook Gaming has a better mobile app experience on Android. Facebook Gaming uses dark mode as its default theme.

The UI is similar to Twitch, and you can also live-stream your game on your smartphone. Sadly, most features are only available in Android, not iOS, due to Apple’s policy on reviewing games. In a nutshell, if you have Android, you will get a better experience on the mobile app

Comparison between Twitch Affiliate and Facebook Gaming Level Up Program

1. Twitch Affiliate

With a requirement of a minimum of 50 followers and eight hours or 7 days broadcasted in 30 days, you can join the Twitch Affiliate program.

With Twitch Affiliate you can earn money from Ads, Subscriptions from your fans, Donated Bits, Promotions from new games or game events, and many others. Read more to know Why you Should Join Twitch Affiliate as a Twitch Streamer

The requirement to get Twitch Affiliate is the lowest in all live streaming service affiliate programs. Joining Twitch Affiliate is recommended because there is a big community that will help you if you have trouble and make your streaming journey easier

Suppose you have difficulty on reaching the requirement. There are tricks to Join the Twitch Affiliate program in just 4 weeks days using strategies like picking a popular game like Among Us or collaborating with more popular streamers

2. Twitch Partnership Program

After becoming a Twitch Affiliate, you can upgrade your qualification into Twitch Partner. This is the highest level you can get on Twitch. If you achieve this, you can be considered as a successful Twitch streamer.

Note that you need to manually undergo a strict review process by the Twitch Partnerships team. Even if you achieve the requirement to become Twitch Partner, there is no guarantee that you will be accepted.

It’s a subjective review, so if you don’t get accepted. You can improve some of your metrics and re-apply again. Some streamers even need to apply more than four times before they get accepted. It’s not the end of the world if you are not accepted. You can try your luck next time.

If you successfully applied, you become Twitch Partner and have VIP membership in the community. Twitch Partner enjoy the following benefit:

  • Earn a Monthly subscription of $4.99, $9.99, $24.99 from your followers
  • Verified badge for your channel
  • Up to 50 Custom emote
  • Control access to your archives so your videos can be watched by your follower only
  • Restrict your chat to followers only chat
  • Control your ads by disabling ads or enabling them at specific times
  • Give your followers the custom badge of your channel
  • Join merch by Amazon and earn money from merchandise
  • 40% pay cut, some top streamer managed to negotiate to 30% pay cut

You can turn your streaming hobby into a job that can earn lucrative money. Top streamers in Twitch can easily earn millions just from their contract

Of course, if you stop streaming, you can lose your Twitch partner qualification

3. Facebook Gaming Creator Level Up program

With the requirement of having a minimum of 100 followers and four hours broadcasted in 2 weeks, and an account activated more than 14 days, you can join the Facebook Gaming Creator Level Up program. The benefit you may enjoy:

  • Earn donations from your followers in the form of Facebook Star (Currency in Facebook gaming, just like Bits in Twitch)
  • Access Beta Program
  • High Quality 1080p 60fps 6000kbps bitrate transcoding (Recommended to have minimum 6Mbps internet)
  • Ads
  • Community invitation
  • Only 30% pay cut to your earning, so you can easily earn more

4. Facebook Gaming Partner

Just like you can upgrade your affiliate program in Twitch, you can do the same. But the requirement is stricter than Twitch Partner.

You need to have at least 3000 engaged/active followers and earn $2000 (200,000 Facebook Star) in a month. This is a hard number to reach to be qualified compared with the easier requirement in the Twitch Partner program.

Which one is better between Twitch Affiliate and Facebook Gaming Level Up Program?

If you want to earn more, Facebook Gaming is a better platform for you because you will only get a 30% pay cut from your earnings compared with Twitch 50% in Twitch Affiliate and 40% in the Twitch Partnership program.

It’s also easier to gain followers if you stream in Asia because Facebook Gaming is more popular. But it’s harder for you to progress because the qualification to become Facebook Gaming Partner is harder to achieve.

With Twitch, you will have more community to interact with and even with a bigger pay cut, you can earn more from the higher number of followers in the community. It’s also easier to become Twitch Partner. On Twitch, you will have more opportunity to monetize your channel compared with Facebook

Philip Maynan is a hobbyist streamer and digital artist. What he loves most are writing, gaming, and drawing. Currently, he focuses on blogging and learning digital art.

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