How to Stop Spending Money on Twitch (Subs, Gifted Subs and Bits)
Supporting a streamer you watch every day is a nice thing to do. It also has no natural limit. A $4.99 sub turns into three subs, then a gifted five-pack during a hype train, then bits in every stream, and it all lands on a card you stopped checking. Here's how to see what you actually spend on Twitch and Kick, and how to bring it back to a number you'd be happy to say out loud.
What Twitch costs
In the US, Twitch subscriptions are:
| Tier | Price per month |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | $4.99 |
| Tier 2 | $9.99 |
| Tier 3 | $24.99 |
Prices are lower in many other countries. Subs bought through the iPhone app can cost more because of App Store fees. Gifted subs cost the same per sub and you're paying for someone else, so a "gift 10" is about $50 in one tap. Bits are Twitch's tipping currency, bought in bundles and spent as cheers in chat; you're paying a bit over a cent per bit, and cheers of 1,000 bits (more than $10) are common in big moments. Turbo, Twitch's ad-free subscription, is a separate monthly charge.
Kick works similarly, with subs and gifted subs and its own tipping.
Why streaming spending gets out of hand
Your name on screen. A sub or gift triggers an alert, a sound and often a thank-you from the streamer, live, in front of everyone. That's what you're really buying, and it's powerful.
Hype trains and sub goals. Countdown bars, sub-goal rewards ("at 100 subs I'll dye my hair") and hype train levels turn spending into a group event with a deadline. Nobody wants to be the reason the train stops.
Gifting leaderboards. Top-gifter badges and leaderboards reward whoever spends most. Some communities treat big gifters like VIPs.
It feels like friendship. You watch someone for hours a week. They know your username. Spending feels like being a good friend, and stopping feels disloyal. It isn't. Streamers understand that viewers come and go, and most would much rather you watched for free than spent money you need.
Gambling streams. Some of the biggest streams are casino and case-opening streams, which normalise watching people lose huge amounts. If that's part of your viewing, see our page on CS2 case opening.
Step 1: find the real total
On Twitch: go to Settings → Subscriptions to see every active sub. For full payment history, open the Wallet page (twitch.tv/wallet) and check Payment History, which lists subs, gifts and bits purchases.
iPhone purchases: Settings → your name → Media & Purchases → View Account → Purchase History.
Kick: check your card or PayPal statements for Kick charges.
Add three months together and divide by three. Most heavy viewers find their monthly number is more like a phone bill than a coffee.
Step 2: cancel the subs you don't need
On Twitch, go to Settings → Subscriptions, select a channel and turn off Renew. You keep the sub until the end of the month. If you subscribed through the iPhone app, cancel in Settings → your name → Subscriptions on the phone instead.
Keep one or two subs for the streamers you'd genuinely miss, and drop the rest. Many streamers offer free ways to support them: watching live, chatting, clipping, sharing. If you have Amazon Prime, check whether a free monthly Twitch sub is included with your membership; it's a way to keep supporting one streamer at no extra cost.
Step 3: make gifting and bits slower
- Remove saved cards and PayPal from your Twitch Wallet and from Apple Pay.
- Turn off one-tap bits. If buying bits needs a password and a card number, impulsive cheers mostly stop.
- Set a monthly streaming budget and pay it from a prepaid or virtual card with that exact limit. When it runs out, you're done until next month.
- Hide hype trains and leaderboards where you can, or watch on a TV or second screen without chat open. Most spending happens because of chat, not because of the stream.
If it's tied to loneliness
For a lot of people, streams are company. That's a real need, and spending to feel noticed is a very human response to it. If you notice that you spend most when you feel lonely or low, that's worth taking seriously. Talking to someone you trust, or to a therapist, can help with the part that money can't.
Cake, an iOS app in development, is for the money part: put something you want on a cake sized by its price, and every gift or cheer you skip fills a slice, so the money ends up somewhere you'll see it again.
Common questions
How much is a Twitch sub in 2026?
In the US, Tier 1 is $4.99 a month, Tier 2 is $9.99 and Tier 3 is $24.99. Prices are lower in many countries, and subs bought through the iPhone app can cost more.
How do I see how much I've spent on Twitch?
Open your Twitch Wallet (twitch.tv/wallet) and check Payment History. Subs bought through the iPhone app appear in Settings → your name → Media & Purchases → View Account → Purchase History.
How do I cancel a Twitch subscription?
Go to Settings → Subscriptions on Twitch, choose the channel and turn off Renew. If you subscribed on iPhone, cancel in your phone's Subscriptions settings.
Can I get a refund for gifted subs or bits?
Generally no. Twitch treats subs, gifts and bits as final except for billing errors and unauthorised charges. Stopping future spending is the reliable fix.