Was Your Subathon Profitable? How to Tell

A 24-hour subathon with a packed chat feels like a success. But "it was intense" and "it was profitable" are two different questions. The second is answered with a subtraction: what you took in minus what it cost you, ideally divided by the hours you were live. Before going live you can make an estimate with the revenue calculator; here we cover the measurement afterwards, with real data.

1. What is money in your data and what isn't

The Revenue tab in Results shows the supports that carry an amount: bits from Twitch, kicks from Kick, YouTube Super Chats and donations from StreamElements and Streamlabs. Those can be measured.

Subscriptions and memberships carry no amount, so TriBathon leaves them out of the estimated total and says so explicitly: the total "only includes bits, kicks and donations". It's not a bug, it's honesty: what you keep from each sub depends on the platform and the tier, and assuming a figure would mix real data with a guess. There is a breakdown of those percentages in Kick vs Twitch vs YouTube: who pays more.

2. How to read the Revenue tab

• Revenue by unit: bits, kicks and each currency separately. Euros stay euros and dollars stay dollars; they aren't added by eye.
• By source: where each currency came from (for example, StreamElements donations versus Streamlabs).
• YouTube Super Chats, apart: they have their own block, by currency, and don't enter the estimated total: add them yourself, in their own currency, if you want to count them.
• Supports without an amount: if one arrived without a figure it is counted as "no amount", never as a 0, and the total becomes a minimum.
• Estimated total (Premium): converts bits, kicks and donations to a single currency at the exchange rate of the day of each support (ECB). Bits and kicks are valued at $0.01 by default, and you can adjust both in Settings.

3. Put in your costs

TriBathon doesn't know your costs; you enter them. Note what really came out of your pocket for the subathon: prizes and giveaways, moderation or production help, payment processing fees, sponsors you paid for or gear you bought for the occasion. How much money do streamers really make in a subathon has a longer list of expenses that tend to be forgotten.

4. An example with made-up numbers

Suppose a 12-hour subathon. The figures are illustrative, not industry averages:

• Estimated total from Revenue (bits, kicks and donations converted to euros): €480, plus €40 in YouTube Super Chats, which are kept apart.
• 60 new subs, and you assume you keep about €2 from each: €120.
• Costs (prizes €150 + a moderator's help €100): €250.
• Profit: 480 + 40 + 120 − 250 = €390. Per live hour: 390 ÷ 12 = €32.50/h.

Now the important part: compare it with your normal streams. If a 3-hour regular stream brings in €40 with no costs, that's about €13/h. The subathon paid more per hour, even though it was more tiring. Had it come out lower, the honest answer would be "it was a good community event, but not profitable".

5. What money doesn't count

A subathon also leaves new followers who will come back. In Community you can see the net follower and subscriber growth for the period. It doesn't replace the profit calculation, but it explains why an event that isn't profitable at the moment can still be worth it. For what to look at and how to read it, see the guide to subathon analytics.

Conclusion

Measure in three steps: income with an amount by unit, what you keep from your subs (separately) and your costs. Divide by hours live and compare with a normal stream. It's a simple sum, but almost nobody does it, and it tells you whether to repeat the format as is or tweak it.