Streamer donations are payments that viewers send straight to a creator during or around a live stream, usually with a short message that appears on screen. This guide explains how they work, how to set up a donation page with alerts in OBS, what a donation costs, which payment methods viewers can use in each EU country and how payouts reach your bank. DonoLink is a donation platform for streamers in every EU country except Germany (donolink.de is coming soon), and donolink.eu serves the 22 countries without their own DonoLink site.
A streamer donation is money a viewer sends directly to a creator, outside the streaming platform's own monetisation. The viewer opens the creator's donation page, chooses an amount, adds an optional message and pays. Seconds later an alert appears on stream, often with a sound, an animation or a voice that reads the message aloud.
Unlike Twitch subscriptions, Bits or YouTube Super Chats, a donation does not depend on a partner program or a follower threshold. It works from your very first stream, on any platform, and the amount is in your own currency. That is why most streamers combine platform income with a donation link.
A donation to a streamer is a voluntary payment for creative work, not a charitable gift. It is normally taxable income for the creator, and the rules depend on the country where you live.
A good donation page answers three questions for the viewer: who am I supporting, how much do I give and how do I pay. On DonoLink you add an avatar, a short bio and your accent colour, choose preset amounts and set a minimum. Viewers do not need an account or an app to donate.
Your page is available in English, German, Italian or Polish, so viewers read it in a language that suits your community. You can also embed a donation widget on your own website, or show a QR code on stream for viewers who watch on a TV or a console.
Alerts turn a payment into a moment on stream. In DonoLink you design alerts per amount range: an image, GIF or video, a sound, a Google font, an animation and the position on screen. Text-to-speech can read the message, while a profanity filter and link hiding keep what appears on screen safe for your audience.
Every overlay is a browser source. Drag it into OBS Studio or add it to Streamlabs Desktop, or let the setup wizard add all overlays in one go through OBS WebSocket. Besides alerts you get a donation goal, recent donations, a top donors leaderboard, a chat overlay and media requests.
Alerts can also react to follows, subscriptions, raids and Bits from Twitch and to follows and subscriptions from Kick, so one overlay covers both donations and stream events.
Two parties take a share of every donation: the donation platform and the payment provider. DonoLink charges 3.5% per successful donation, with no subscription, no sign-up fee and no withdrawal fee. Stripe processes the payment and charges its own fee to your account, which depends on the payment method.
Example: a viewer donates €10 with a standard card issued in the EEA. DonoLink keeps 3.5% (€0.35) and Stripe charges 1.5% + €0.25 (€0.40), so about €9.25 reaches your Stripe balance. Premium cards, cards from outside the EEA and some local methods have different Stripe rates. Viewers can choose to cover the DonoLink fee at checkout.
Card payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay work in every country. On top of that, DonoLink turns on the method that viewers in your country already use every day. Local methods appear once Stripe has activated them for your account.
PayPal is coming soon. The country pages below list the methods, the payout currency and the tax authority for each country in detail.
Donations are paid directly on your connected Stripe account, in the currency of the country you selected: euro, Polish złoty, Swedish krona, Danish krone, Czech koruna, Hungarian forint or Romanian leu. Stripe handles the identity check and pays out to your bank account on its regular schedule, without a DonoLink withdrawal fee.
Because the donation page shows amounts in your currency, viewers see exactly what they give, and your dashboard shows the gross amount, the fee and the net amount for every donation. That makes bookkeeping and tax returns much easier than with income paid out in dollars.
Twitch pays streamers 1 US cent per Bit and splits subscriptions 50/50 by default, up to 70% with the Plus Program. After the platform share, store fees and taxes, a rough estimate is that around 35% of what viewers spend on Bits and subs does not reach the streamer. A direct donation keeps far more of every euro.
That does not make subs and Bits useless: they come with emotes, badges and visibility inside Twitch. Many streamers keep both and point viewers who want to give more, or who watch on YouTube, Kick or TikTok, to their donation link.
| A €10 gift from a viewer | DonoLink | Twitch (estimate ±35%) |
|---|---|---|
| What reaches you | About €9.25 | About €6.50 |
| Fees | 3.5% DonoLink plus Stripe 1.5% + €0.25 | Platform share, store fees and taxes |
| Requirement | None, from your first stream | Affiliate or Partner status for Bits and subs |
| Currency | Your own currency | Revenue calculated in US dollars |
| Platforms | Twitch, YouTube, Kick and TikTok | Twitch only |
Example for a €10 donation with a standard EEA card. The Twitch figure is an estimate: the real share depends on your sub split, Bits, store fees and taxes.
Every country has its own page with local payment methods, payout currency and a link to the tax authority. The overview compares every EU country at a glance.
DonoLink works in every EU country except Germany, where donolink.de is coming soon. The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain have their own DonoLink site; streamers in the other 22 EU countries, from Austria and Italy to Poland, Portugal and Sweden, use donolink.eu. Each country page on this page shows the local payment methods and the payout currency.
About €9.25 with a standard EEA card: DonoLink deducts 3.5% (€0.35) and Stripe charges 1.5% + €0.25 (€0.40). Other methods, premium cards and cards from outside the EEA have their own Stripe rates.
No. They open your page, choose an amount, add an optional message and pay by card, wallet or the local method of your country. The minimum donation is €1.00 (other currencies have their own minimum).
Yes. The same link works on every platform: put it in your Twitch panels, your YouTube description, your Kick About section or your TikTok bio. Alerts run as a browser source in OBS or Streamlabs Desktop, whichever platform you stream to.
Donations are paid on your connected Stripe account. Once Stripe has verified your identity, it pays out to your bank in your local currency on its regular payout schedule. DonoLink charges no withdrawal fee.
Usually yes. Donations from viewers are generally income for the creator, not charitable gifts. The rules differ per country, so check with your national tax authority; every country page links to it.
PayPal is coming soon. Until then viewers pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or the local method of your country.