Twitch is still the king of streaming, despite competition from YouTube and Kick

(Credit: Twitch)

• 👑 A new report shows that Twitch is still king of the streaming platforms

• 📈 The Amazon-owned platform leads the way in total hours streamed and watch time

• 👀 However, competition has increased, and means Twitch needs to stay vigilant

• 👉 Kick, YouTube Gaming and AfreecaTV are alternatives to Twitch

Twitch continues to be the number one destination for live streaming, according to a new report from Streamlabs. The report shows that the Amazon-owned platform was streets ahead of the competition in the third quarter of 2024, accounting for over 82% of all streaming hours.

To some, that figure may be surprising. YouTube has invested heavily to compete with Twitch, and sanctioned big money deals to attract some Twitch’s biggest stars to its platform. And the new platform Kick, which is backed by the gambling site Stake.com, has also grown in popularity recently.

However, neither YouTube nor Kick have been able to topple Twitch’s dominance in total hours streamed. Twitch recorded 212 million hours streamed, YouTube Gaming was second with 14.5 million, and Kick achieved 7.79 million. Interestingly, Valve’s Steam managed third place with 11.8 million total hours streamed.

(Credit: Streamlabs)

One area where things are a lot closer, though, is watch time. Twitch still came out on top claiming around 60% of eyeballs, with YouTube Gaming, Kick and AfreecaTV battling out for the remaining 40%.

(Credit: Streamlabs)

Despite its clear advantage over the competition, Twitch will need to ensure it stays ahead. After seeing off Mixer and Facebook Gaming, rivals such as Kick and YouTube Gaming are continuing to grow. Twitch has also faced several challenges in recent months too, including censorship, streamer controversies and more.

For now, though, Twitch is still the best place to watch your favorite streamers and broadcast yourself.

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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.