Monetization

Super Chat

Super Chat lets viewers pay to highlight their chat messages during a YouTube live stream or Premiere. Highlighted messages appear in a coloured tile pinned to the top of the chat for a duration proportional to the amount paid. Super Chat is available to YPP creators in eligible regions, with prices ranging from $1 to $500 per message.

Last updated: May 17, 2026
Quick definition

Super Chat is a paid live-stream feature where viewers buy highlighted, pinned chat messages — a direct tip from viewer to creator during live broadcasts.

Why Super Chat matters for YouTube creators

Super Chat is one of the most direct monetization paths on YouTube — viewers pay creators for visibility in real time. For livestreaming creators in talk-show, gaming, and reaction niches, Super Chat can rival or exceed ad revenue. The unit economics are also creator-friendly: YouTube takes 30%, leaving 70% with the creator (versus 45% YouTube share on ads). Building a livestream cadence that encourages Super Chat — long streams with interactive Q&A, time-of-day alignment with viewer countries with higher spending — can fundamentally change a channel's revenue mix.

Super Chat in practice

A finance creator runs a 90-minute weekly live stream on market open. Super Chat questions average $4-12 each; a typical stream collects $300-800 in Super Chat alone.

A gaming creator does a 6-hour fundraising stream and aggregates $4,200 in Super Chat plus another $1,800 in Super Stickers, donating the proceeds.

See Super Chat on real channels

FameLifter pulls public super chat data for 500K+ YouTube channels — refreshed hourly via the official YouTube Data API v3.

Frequently asked questions

How much of a Super Chat does the creator keep?
Roughly 70%. YouTube's share is around 30%, although exact figures vary by region and payment processor fees. The post-share amount appears in AdSense on the next payout.
Do all channels have Super Chat?
Only YPP-eligible channels in eligible regions. Some countries don't support Super Chat purchases at all — viewers in those regions can't send Super Chat regardless of the creator's eligibility.
What's the difference between Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks?
Super Chat = paid highlighted chat in lives/premieres. Super Stickers = animated sticker tips during lives. Super Thanks = paid one-time appreciation on VOD videos (post-stream). All three are creator monetization features.