Craven puts a number on Kick’s revenue share
Kick has processed $325 million in subscriptions and Kicks, the platform’s tipping currency, since it launched in 2022, and creators have kept 95% of that money, co-founder Ed Craven said in a post this week. Craven framed the figure as a direct comparison with rival platforms, arguing that under a standard industry split, creators would have received $100 million to $200 million less from the same revenue.
Since 2022, Kick has processed $325 million in subscriptions and Kicks, with creators keeping 95% of that revenue.
Historically creators would have received $100 – 200 million less from that same revenue on other platforms.
95/5 makes a pretty big difference 💚
— Eddie (@StakeEddie) August 13, 2026
The post does not break down the $325 million by year or by revenue type, and Kick has not published an independent audit of the figure. It is Craven’s own accounting, offered as a pitch for the platform’s creator economics.
How the split compares
Kick’s 95/5 subscription split has been the platform’s core recruitment pitch since launch. Twitch, the market leader, runs a 70/30 split for most streamers, with a smaller group of top partners negotiating 50/50 terms. YouTube Gaming pays creators 70% of subscription and ad revenue under its standard partner terms. Against either benchmark, Kick’s structure hands creators a materially larger share of subscription income, which is the basis for Craven’s $100 million to $200 million estimate.
That estimate assumes Kick’s entire subscription and Kicks volume would have generated identical revenue under a lower creator share on a different platform, a comparison that does not account for differences in audience size, advertising income, or how each platform prices subscriptions. Kick has not disclosed how much of the $325 million came from subscriptions versus Kicks, the platform’s bits-style tipping tool, so the split between the two revenue streams is unclear.
Built on Stake’s backing
Kick launched in December 2022, founded by Craven and Bijan Tehrani, the pair behind the crypto casino Stake. Stake has bankrolled Kick since its founding, and the streaming platform has used that backing to fund the aggressive creator-share model along with a run of high-value exclusivity deals for streamers moving over from Twitch and YouTube. Kick does not disclose its own profitability, and the 95/5 split has been possible in part because the platform has prioritised creator acquisition and retention over near-term margins.
The relationship between Kick and Stake has also drawn scrutiny. Kick carries a heavy volume of online casino and sports betting streams, much of it tied to Stake and other operators, and regulators in several markets have raised questions about gambling promotion on the platform. That context sits alongside Craven’s payout figures: the generous creator split has been a tool for building audience share fast, in a category where gambling content and gambling revenue are closely linked to the platform’s growth.
What the numbers leave out
Craven’s post gives a top-line figure without the underlying breakdown that would let creators, or competitors, check the comparison. It does not say how many creators split the $325 million, how concentrated that revenue is among Kick’s highest earners, or what portion came from exclusivity deals that sit outside the standard subscription split. Large, multi-year contracts for top streamers are typically negotiated separately from the platform-wide revenue share and are not public.
The claim also lands as Kick continues to compete for creators against Twitch and YouTube, both of which have adjusted their own terms in recent years in response to platform-hopping by high-profile streamers. A bigger public number from Kick is as much a recruitment argument as a financial update.
Next test is retention, not headline splits
The figure Craven has put out is a marketing number until Kick discloses more detail on how it is calculated. The more relevant question for the platform is whether a 95/5 split is sustainable as Kick scales, and whether it keeps converting into signed creators, not just favourable comparisons. Twitch and YouTube are not standing still on creator terms, and Kick’s next move, on payouts, on new verticals, or on its relationship with Stake, will say more about the model’s durability than a single post.
Source: Ed Craven
