What is Kick, and how does it compare to Twitch?

There’s been a lot of competition in the livestreaming space during the past decade, and the latest challenger to the throne is Kick. But what is Kick, exactly, and how does it compare to the reigning king, Amazon’s Twitch?

What is Kick?

While still in beta, Kick is pretty explicitly designed as a Twitch rival. The service was founded in December 2022, and it lets viewers tune into livestreams based on personal interests or followed/highlighted streamers.

Its emphasis is on being more friendly to streamers, thanks to looser moderation rules and a better revenue split. That first one has a big impact on the types of streams you’ll find on Kick, which we’ll get to in just a moment.

You can watch on the web, Android, or iPhone/iPad.

Kick vs Twitch: How do they compare?

Visually and functionally, the two services are extremely similar. That includes things like menus, colors schemes, category browsing, and chat functions. A long-time Twitch user should have no trouble switching services if a favorite streamer makes the leap.

More significant is what’s happening behind the scenes. Kick streamers claim 95% of revenue, which can make it far more appealing than the 50% (or sometimes 70%) offered by Twitch. Kick additionally offers streamers 100% from donations and same-day payouts.

The service’s content rules are also less strict. Gambling material is more prominent, and there’s even a “Pools, Hot Tubs and Bikinis” category that’s essentially a toned-down OnlyFans. Parents need to keep a close eye on what their children are watching, in other words. Even white nationalists have tried to exploit the platform, though Kick has been rapidly expanding its moderation team to combat this.

That said there remains a strong focus on games like Fortnite and Among Us, as well as things like chat, music, and watch parties. While Kick is definitely more adult-oriented, you can have perfectly innocent fun if you’re searching for it.

To date, Kick has far fewer viewers than Twitch, but its owners have successfully lured famous streamers like Hikaru Nakamura and Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa. It remains to be seen if their large fanbases will translate into a bigger overall audience, which Kick will certainly need to generate enough income.

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