Kai Cenat Breaks Down Making Money and Creator Splits on Twitch

Kai Cenat opens up about the process of making money on Twitch, as well as the misconceptions some have about the process of becoming a star on the platform, in a new interview.

Speaking with Speedy Morman for a special Complex Cover edition of 360, the popular streaming personality looked back on those who were early to subscribing to him, notably expressing gratitude for those who have been fans for so long. Asked to detail how the Twitch model works, particularly in terms of subscribers and followers, Cenat was kind enough to elaborate.

“Everybody usually confuses it,” the star, who currently has 6.2 million followers on Twitch, said. “So followers is like, ‘Okay, let me follow you.’ When you subscribe, you’re paying to, like, [not] get any ads. So you can just watch the shows straight. You get, like, these fire emotes that I created. … It’s just a whole bunch of benefits that you get that somebody who follows doesn’t have.”

At the time of the interview, Cenat added, he had roughly 81,000 subscribers paying $5 a month. Using those figures, the monthly intake would be more than $400,000. In terms of splits, at least on Twitch, Cenat said the subscription fee typically starts at a 50/50 breakdown for creators on the platform.

“When it comes to money stuff, I don’t like talking about it,” he said. “But with Twitch it’s like, with a subscriber—with a sub—it’s originally, it’s 50/50. People in the Twitch space have different splits. I’m not gon’ say mine but people have different splits and that’s how it is. A lot of the other money comes from ad watching and all that other stuff.”

Deeper into the discussion, Cenat shared some advice for those who may be thinking of trying their hand at streaming. As with any skill-based endeavor, Cenat cautioned, a person only aiming to make money or follow a trend shouldn’t even bother.

“Most people think streaming is easy. … Anybody can give it a try for sure. People that want to give it a try, 100 percent should give it a try,” Cenat said, adding that he wouldn’t recommend the field for anyone who “doesn’t fall in love with it” or “doesn’t have an interest.”

See more from the streaming star below.