How much money do vtubers make?

With the popularity of vtubers taking over internet streaming by storm, it’s natural to wonder just how much money they can make.

Some of the most popular streamers of today are vtubers. Among them are Hakui Koyori from Hololive and Gawr Gura from the same agency. Oftentimes, popularity translates to money due to donations made from a constantly-expanding audience. However, vtubers and streamers in general, usually keep how much money they earn.

Despite this, there are still sources on the internet that could allow us to have a general idea of what the numbers are.

How much money do the top vtubers make?

For context, the data used will be from Playboard, which lists YouTube channels that have 1,000 or more subscribers and shows the amount of super chat revenues they receive. Since YouTube is where most popular vtubers stream, this makes Playboard the best website to take data from.

According to Playboard, the most superchatted vtuber of 2023 is Hakui Koyori who earned a little over $550,000. The site lists this as revenue, which means that cuts from YouTube and their company are not included in that figure. 30% of the money streamers earn from YouTube will always go to the platform, which leaves the talent with 70% of the money.

The company now will take its cut after this. It’s currently not known how much vtuber agencies take, and the numbers also varies between companies. This is just an estimate, but let’s say that the company takes an additional 30% cut. This leaves the talent with 40% of the original money. Koyori’s $550,000 turns to $220,000, which isn’t bad at all considering that the average yearly salary in the United States was $59,384 in 2023, according to USA Today.

This is not the only way a vtuber earns money, though. Sponsorships, merchandises, memberships, and ad revenue also contribute to their income. This means that Koyori’s actual income has the potential to be even higher.

Let’s not forget about expenses, however. Vtubers also commission artists to make new art or even costumes for them, which are assumedly paid for by the vtuber themselves. Song recordings, video editors, and a lot more are also included in their expenses. It really depends on how much they will spend on their models or other resources.

Another thing to note is that the vtuber used in this example is the most superchatted vtuber in 2023. Not all vtubers earn the same amount of money. Indies and small vtubers most likely earn less or might not even earn any money at all.