Today we’re giving a quick rundown of the ways we support our favorite Vtubers. There are many ways to support Vtubers, however today’s list will only contain the ways we can provide support financially (Vtubers have bills to pay too after all!). Just know that there are more ways to support your favorite Vtubers than what is below. Let’s get started!
Watching Streams / VODS
This one is basic and a little obvious but is nonetheless worth mentioning. In most cases, we’re able to watch content from our Vtubers for free on platforms such as Youtube and Twitch. Although we don’t pay money, we do pay with some of our time in the form of advertisements. Vtubers are able to earn a portion of the ad revenue from their streams and VODs. There are workarounds such as adblockers, but we strongly encourage you to disable adblockers to give Vtubers a chance to earn some ad revenue.
Super chats / donations / Streamlabs
Super chats (or Hype chats if you’re on Twitch), as we’ve mentioned in our cheatsheet, are comments that users pay to make more prominent being highlighted and temporarily pinned to the top of chat.
Super chats can be thought of as similar to tips at a restaurant. If you like the service at a restaurant you leave a nice tip, if you like the Vtuber’s content, give them a super chat.
VTubers do not get the full amount of the super chat and there are many factors that determine how much VTubers make from a super chat. Generally platforms take a 30% to 45% depending on the country and device of the user purchasing the super chat.
Memberships / Subscriptions
Memberships (subscriptions on Twitch) are a way for fans to support on a recurring basis. Memberships offer fans access to custom emotes and members-exclusive content in exchange for a monthly fee, usually around $5. Fans can also gift one-month memberships/subscriptions to other users of the chat. Fans often take pride in how long they’ve had their memberships for their favorite Vtuber. It is not unusual for fans to post a screenshot on social media of how long they’ve been a member.
Live Events
Live events are a way fans can interact with their favorite Vtubers beyond watching streams and posting comments in chat. Concerts are one of the first things that comes to mind when mentioning live events.
Anime conventions are another example. Your favorite vtuber may appear at certain panels, there may also be the opportunity to purchase tickets for an additional meet & greet event after the panel giving fans the chance to interact one-no-one with their favorite vtubers.
Merch
Merch, in our opinion, is the ultimate way fans can show support for Vtubers. Merch is oftentimes only made available for a limited time or limited quantities in celebration of special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, 3D debuts, subscriber milestones, etc. A variety of different types of merch are available both in physical and digital form. Merch can range from simple button badges to intricately designed figures. Digital products include voice packs and voiced dramas. Some Vtubers will have “room review” streams where they review fan-submitted photos of their rooms and display their collection of merch. Buying merch tends to be the least common way we support Vtubers, due to limited availability but more often shipping costs. Still, will try to buy merch if the opportunity presents itself.