Monetization for All: Twitch Opens Subs, Bits & Channel Points to Every Streamer
On May 13, 2026, Twitch announced that subs, Bits, emotes, badges, and Channel Points are now available to all streamers worldwide – not just Affiliates and Partners. This removes one of the platform’s oldest barriers: waiting for Affiliate status before you can monetize your community at all. At the same time, Twitch lowered the Affiliate requirements significantly and introduced a new tool called Spendable Balance. Here’s what it means for you in practice.
What exactly is changing?
Until now, subs, Bits, Channel Points, custom emotes, and badges were locked behind Affiliate or Partner status. New streamers had no way to accept financial support from their community – even when the community wanted to give it.
The May 13, 2026 update changes that. Twitch extended its US “Monetization for All” rollout globally: Channel Points, subs, emotes, badges, and Bits are being unlocked for eligible streamers worldwide over the course of a week. Onboarding happens directly through the Creator Dashboard.
Spendable Balance: what is it?
Alongside opening monetization globally, Twitch introduced a new feature called Spendable Balance.
Even though you can now receive subs and Bits, you still need Affiliate or Partner status for a regular payout – and you still need to hit the $50 minimum payout threshold. That’s where Spendable Balance comes in: you can use your Twitch account balance to buy Bits yourself or gift subs to other streamers before you’re eligible for a payout.
Key points:
- You can use your balance before hitting the $50 minimum payout threshold
- You decide at checkout whether to use your Spendable Balance
- Once you’re payout-eligible and hit the threshold, you’ll get paid out automatically
- Turbo and channel subs are coming soon as additional purchase options
Spendable Balance launched first in the US and is rolling out globally over the course of the year. You enroll via your Creator Dashboard under Monetization → Revenue.
New Affiliate requirements
The second big change: Twitch lowered the Affiliate requirements significantly. According to Twitch, the previous average concurrent viewer requirement penalized streamers who wanted to stream more – because more hours at the same viewer count drag the average down. And the high stream-time requirements were a real barrier for anyone working or studying on the side.
The changes:
| Old Requirement | New Requirement |
|---|---|
| Stream for 8 hours | Stream for 4 hours |
| Stream on 7 different days | Stream on 4 different days |
| Average 3 CCV | Min 3 ACCV (on 4 different days) |
| 50+ followers | 25+ followers |
If you hit those numbers, you’ll automatically get an email and a Creator Dashboard notification with the onboarding link.
What this means for you
In practice: you can offer subs, Bits, and Channel Points from your very first stream. Your community can support you from day one – no more waiting two weeks for Affiliate. This is a real gamechanger for three groups in particular:
- Total newcomers bringing an existing community from other platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Discord) who want to offer subs immediately
- Time-limited streamers who can’t stream regularly and never made Affiliate before
- Niche streamers with loyal but small communities who previously failed the CCV requirement
Important: you still need Affiliate or Partner status for Twitch to pay you out. Opening the tools is more of an upfront investment – you build goodwill and routine while working toward your first payout.
What to do now
Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been at it for a while:
- Check your Creator Dashboard to see if you’ve been unlocked for the new tools (rollout happens over a week)
- Set up Channel Points – they cost you nothing and massively boost chat interaction
- Plan sub perks: custom emotes, subscriber badges, Channel Points boosts
- Consider Spendable Balance during activation, as soon as it’s available in your region
- Plan your path to Affiliate – with the new requirements, it’s significantly faster to reach
My take
This is one of the best Twitch changes in a long time. The old Affiliate barrier was a real frustration point for many small streamers – especially when the community wanted to support but couldn’t. The fact that Twitch is now opening the tools and lowering the requirements shows the platform is actively making it easier for small streamers to get started. Spendable Balance is more of a side note – nice, but for most people less relevant than the headline change.
What hasn’t changed: tools alone don’t make a stream. If you’re interested in the broader topic of how to start streaming, check out my Twitch beginner’s guide – it covers everything from hardware to community building. And for the chatbot side (bot commands, automating Channel Points rewards, sub greetings), I built ByteMate for exactly that.
