Subs are awesome. When that subscriber alert pings, Chat pops off with HeyGuys and custom emotes, and creators can’t help but give a warm shout of appreciation. It’s the kind of bleedPurple show of support that makes this community so amazing.

But beyond that moment of hype, subscribing means something even more. It’s long term support for streamers and their content—a vote to keep going and keep creating. It’s unlocking new emotes and representing a community everywhere on Twitch. It’s having an important part in building a community to be proud of.

Here’s the thing, though: we’ve heard from fans everywhere that it’s not equally affordable around the world to show support, access custom emotes, and enjoy all the other benefits that come with being a subscriber. That’s because the price of a Tier 1 subscription on the web is roughly the equivalent of $4.99 USD in every country. This price makes it difficult for many viewers to support their favourite creators, and likewise, prevents creators from being able to grow their communities, make more content, and welcome new fans.

This isn’t just anecdotal; it’s reflected clearly in the numbers. The percentage of active users in Europe or Asia who support creators with a subscription is roughly 50% lower relative to North America. In Latin America, it’s nearly 80% lower.

It’s time for subscription pricing that’s adjusted for where viewers live. Prices that make it so more people than ever can feel comfortable showing their support and enjoying the benefits of a subscription. Read on to learn more about local subscription pricing, when it’s coming, which countries are up first, how we’re supporting creators through these changes, how to give us feedback, and more.

Introducing Local Subscription Pricing

Over the next few months, we’ll be adjusting the price of subscriptions (existing subs, new paid subs, and gift subs) in most countries to better align with their local cost of living. First up will be Mexico and Turkey on May 20, 2021, which are home to creators and viewers who have been passionate about this change for quite some time.

Mexico and Turkey will be followed by most countries in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe starting in Q3 2021. This gradual rollout will help the community adjust more smoothly to such an impactful change. We’ll continue to update the community as we ready more countries and regions for the price change rollout.

The most important thing to take away here is that subscription prices in the vast majority of countries outside of the US will be lowered. For a full list of impacted countries, go here. A viewer’s subscription price will be based on where they live and have set up their Twitch payment method. We have designed this pricing model to ensure that prices are appropriately set for viewers, wherever they live. For creators, this means that some viewers in their channels may see different prices.

This change will make it easier for creators everywhere to grow their communities, while making it more affordable for viewers to show their support and access subscriber benefits like ad-free viewing (when enabled by the creator), custom channel emotes, sub tenure badges, Channel Point multipliers, and sub-only chat mode.

The Results Are In

There are two main reasons driving local price changes. First is that viewers have let us know they want to be able to support creators and help grow their favourite communities, no matter where they live. And second is that creators will benefit from the price reduction in the long-term as subscriptions become more affordable for viewers around the world.

Prior to making this decision, we conducted several price tests and saw that lower sub prices boosted overall monthly subs and sub revenue for creators. In one recent test in Brazil, lower sub prices more than doubled creator revenue and total subscriber count.

Newly released Twitch promotions for first time subscribers and first time gifters have shown revenue increases in Latin America and Europe as well.

Supporting Creators Through the Changes

Creator revenue is obviously really important, and we’ve kept them front of mind with every decision we’ve made. Across the board, our tests clearly showed making subs more affordable for more viewers boosts creator revenue. However, the fact remains that these were tests, and when we are making changes that could affect creator revenue, we don’t want to leave any stone unturned.

We’re confident lower sub prices will boost creator growth and revenue in the long-term, but we knew we also had to minimise potential dips in creator revenue during this early adjustment period. To help creators adapt to the new pricing model with no impact to their short-term subscription revenue, we’re launching a 12-month program that guarantees a certain level of revenue for eligible creators.

Here’s how the program works. We highly recommend you read the complete details regarding terms and eligibility here.

• Twitch will cover 100% of baseline channel and Prime sub revenue (if needed) for three calendar months, including the month of the price change. After that, we will slowly decrease incentive payments by 25% every three months over the following 9 months, totalling a 12-month period of providing revenue adjustment incentives.
• It all starts with “baselines.” Basically, we’ll take a look at how much money a creator has made from paid and prime subs in the last three months, as well as how many hours were streamed live, and calculate averages. These averaged baseline stats will be visible in the Creator Dashboard for eligible creators in countries where the price has changed.
• As long as that creator streams at least 85% of their live baseline hours in a month and meets certain other eligibility criteria, we’ll pay that creator a “revenue adjustment incentive” to make up for any lost revenue from subs. When creators out-perform their average – i.e. get more subs revenue – they will receive that increased amount, not the incentive payment, but may be eligible for future months should they need it.
• Once local sub pricing begins rolling out, eligible creators will be able to use their Creator Dashboard to view their monthly baseline amounts, actual subscription revenue, and upcoming streaming requirements.

Creators, Get Ready!

As part of our efforts to help creators grow and build communities, we’ll be launching promotional campaigns in countries all around the world reminding viewers of the sub price change in their country.

To take advantage of this increased awareness, it’s critical that creators do their part to make sure their communities know about the new lower sub pricing. One great way to do this is by announcing the update live on your stream.

This is also a great time to level up a channel by adding more emotes to available emote slots or running sub goals to unlock even more. And as always, there are more tips on how to build a community on Creator Camp.

For more resources to help amplify the news, check out the Help Article.

First Up: Mexico and Turkey

As mentioned above, the new pricing program will debut first in Mexico and Turkey on May 20, 2021.

The new Tier 1 prices in Turkey (9.90 TRY) and Mexico (48 Pesos) reflect significant price reductions and we’re excited to see the community rally behind their favourite creators. This gradual rollout will help make sure we give the community a seamless and successful experience, and we’ll keep you updated with progress and next steps.