Twitch extensions are third-party apps that provide an engaging way for streamers and viewers to interact. They enhance broadcasts by providing fun and interactive extras such as sound alerts, song requests, leaderboards, voting polls, and more.
There are three core types of extensions: video component extensions, panel extensions, and video overlay extensions. The Twitch Extension Manager lists hundreds of extensions in several categories.
Since you can only use six Twitch extensions at once, knowing which add-ons to use for your stream requires careful consideration. To help you make an informed choice, we’ve compiled a list of 15 best Twitch extensions for streamers.
1. Twitch Prime Sub and Loot Reminder
Twitch Prime is an exclusive offer for Amazon Prime or Prime Video members that allows them to subscribe to one Twitch channel for free every month.
The Prime Subscription and Loot Reminder extension adds a simple icon overlay on your video to remind your viewers to use their free Twitch Prime subscription if they want to support your channel. Viewers can redeem their free Prime subscription directly in the extension.
The reminder is small and it might feel like a waste of an extension slot, but Amazon reported that there were 200 million Prime members in 2020. That’s a lot of potential subscribers with a free Twitch Prime sub to give away.
A small, unobtrusive remainder might be what it takes to get them to use their free sub on your channel.
2. Streamlabs Stream Schedule & Countdown
Twitch has a built-in schedule for streamers, but it’s easy to miss because it requires viewers to go to the “Schedule” tab on your profile. For that reason, it’s a good idea to use the Streamlabs Stream Schedule & Countdown extension to set up a panel that most people are guaranteed to see when they visit your profile.
This panel extension includes a countdown timer of your next stream. It’s important to have a consistent streaming schedule, especially when you’re just starting out. That way your viewers can easily make watching your stream part of their regular routine.
If you want to take a break, then use the extension to set a return date and countdown timer that lets your viewers know when you’re coming back.
3. Viewer Geolocation
Ever wanted to see what countries your viewers are from during a live broadcast? The Viewer Geolocation is the answer. It’s a simple panel extension that shows the countries where your current viewers are tuning in from.
This Twitch extension is a great way to gain insight into which countries your core audience comes from. Maybe your stream has a lot of viewers from Brazil, Turkey, or Mexico. You can use that information to come up with ways to better cater to them.
The location of your viewers will likely become more diverse in the coming years. In 2021, Twitch announced Local Subscription Pricing for certain countries in Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
The initiative is part of the platform’s effort to help streamers build and grow communities beyond the U.S., Canada, UK, and Australia.
4. Crowd Control
Crowd Control is a popular extension that lets your audience take direct control of a game you’re playing. Viewers can use Bits or channel points to buy coins through the extension.
Those coins can activate in-game effects, such as loss of game time, extra game time, loss of speed, or even instant death.
The streamer sets the cost of each effect. For added fun, viewers have the option of pooling together their coins to activate a single effect. Crowd Control works with more than 50 different games, including Minecraft, Dark Souls 1 & 3, Skyrim, Stardew Valley, Subnautica, Fall Guys, and many more. It’s a great plugin for console streamers and PC streamers.
5. Sound Alerts
Sound Alerts is a fun extension that lets viewers play sound effects in exchange for Bits or channel points. You can either use existing sounds in the Sound Alerts library or upload your own audio clips, giving you the freedom to get creative and tailor your alerts to fit your community’s vibe.
Alerts are a great way to increase engagement with your audience while making some money. The extension is fully customizable with a variety of overlay notifications and color themes, so you can easily match it to your brand.
Streamers are free to set the number of Bits or channel points required to play a sound alert. You get to keep 80% of the Bits spent by viewers. This is one of the must-have Twitch extensions. Mobile support is included.
6. Emotes Showcase
Emotes Showcase is a nifty panel extension that shows off your subscriber emotes, follower emotes, Bit reward badges, cheermotes, and any popular BTTV and FFZ emotes available on your channel.
It’s a handy tool that automatically updates itself whenever you add new or update existing emotes.
The extension is easily customizable. You can configure it to add information about specific emotes, pick which emote categories are always expanded, and what titles the categories showcase.
7. Timeout With Bits
Timeout With Bits is a fun little panel extension that lets users in chat time each other out using Bits. The more Bits a user spends, the longer the timeout.
The panel has up to six time options, and you get to decide how many Bits are required as well as the length of the timeouts.
The extension has a lot of configuration options. You can set an on-screen alert and custom chat message that is sent to the chat whenever a user is timed out. You can also give subscribers and VIPs immunity and set a cooldown period to prevent users from abusing the extension.
8. Streamlabs
Streamlabs is an extremely popular overlay extension that does all kinds of things, such as letting your viewers earn loyalty points, vote in polls, request songs, enter giveaways, and more.
The developers of this extension are known for creating some of the best Twitch widgets in the Extension Manager.
Streamlabs also has a free broadcasting app called Streamlabs OBS that lets content creators record or stream content. It provides many useful features for streamers, including themes, chatbots, webcam overlays, alerts, and more.
9. Stream Stickers
Stream Stickers is an overlay extension that lets viewers pay Bits to slap stickers on your video. It’s another easy way to encourage engagement while earning some Bits.
Streamers can upload custom stickers, including animated GIF stickers and subscriber-exclusive stickers. You also have the option to add sound effects and chat alerts when a sticker is used.
10. Spotify Now Playing
Playing music between games is a good way to maintain energy levels and keep your viewers engaged before you continue with an activity. However, it can inevitably lead to users asking, “What song is playing?” every so often.
If you use Spotify to play music on stream, then the Spotify Now Playing extension can be a lifesaver. It’s a simple tool that shows what song is currently playing. If a user wants to know what song is playing, you or a mod can tell them to look at the panel.
11. Stream Closed Captioner
It’s considered good practice to make your stream accessible to viewers with disabilities. Something as simple as closed captioning can make your stream more inclusive for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Stream Closed Captioner is an overlay extension that enables closed captioning on your channel. Viewers have the freedom to make the text small, medium, or large. They can also drag the text box around the screen so it doesn’t block their view, or make it pop out into a separate window for easier reading.
The extension also caters to viewers who aren’t fluent or are learning the language you use when streaming. It enables viewers to pay Bits to activate real-time translation in a variety of languages.
12. Latest Followers
It’s polite to make new followers feel welcome by giving them a shout out. As one of the best Twitch extensions for new streamers, Latest Followers is a panel extension that displays the username of anyone who follows your channel.
Followers can also spend Bits through the widget to shout out how long they have followed you.
A small alert that thanks a new follower may feel unnecessary, but it’s still a nice way to show your appreciation. At worst, the new follower ignores it and continues to lurk. No harm done.
13. Streamlabs Leaderboard
Streamlabs Leaderboard is another extension offered by Streamlabs. This is a panel extension that displays the names of viewers with the most cheer amount and loyalty points.
It is meant to encourage healthy competition among your viewers. Your top contributor is prominently displayed at the top of the panel for all to see.
Loyalty points are a custom currency your viewers can earn if you install the Streamlabs overlay extension. If you don’t use that extension, then Streamlabs Leaderboard will only show Bit cheer amounts.
14. Voicemod Bits
Voicemod Bits is another great extension for viewer engagement. It is a digital voice changer that your audience can use to change your voice while you stream. The extension has a variety of voice filters available, including robot, chipmunk, creepy clown, and more.
Streamers can choose which voices can be accessed through the extension, and how many Bits viewers have to pay to activate them. It’s designed to be easy to moderate and has built-in features for preventing spam or overload. It can be easily integrated with Streamlabs OBS, Stream Deck, Discord, and more.
15. Own3d Design Panels
Own3d.tv provides a wide range of products for Twitch, including sounds, animations, stream designs, and video courses for streamers. The Own3d Design Panels extension gives streamers access to free and premium Twitch panels, overlays, alerts, and more.
This extension is useful if you like to regularly change out your panels to match a new season or special holiday. It features about 40 different designs in a variety of styles and colors.
If you want higher quality designs, you can access a library of premium graphics and animations from the Own3d.tv shop.
The Bottom Line
There are Twitch add-ons for pretty much anything these days, from showing loadouts and leaderboards to creating polls and taking song requests. These apps give your audience new ways to enjoy your stream and interact with you and each other.
Since the release of Twitch extensions in 2017, the extension market has grown to include hundreds of options. Twitch conveniently separates them into categories in the Extension Manager based on their function.
Categories include:
- Music
- Loyalty & Recognition
- Viewer Engagement
- Polling & Voting
- Games in Extensions
- Streamer Tools
- Extensions for Games
- Schedule & Countdowns
The best Twitch plugins for your channel will largely come down to what feature you want to prioritize. Do you care about highlighting your top contributors using leaderboards? Or is accessibility for viewers with disabilities a bigger priority?
Perhaps you want to promote engagement using sound alerts and stickers. Whatever your needs might be, remember that you only get to pick six extensions at once, so choose your options wisely!
