Twitch vs. Picarto: The Best Streaming Platform For Beginners

They say that technology brings people together, and that’s undoubtedly true for streaming platforms, for better or worse.

Millions of people of all ages can intellectually, emotionally, and artistically express themselves, share their ideas, interact, chat, and offer exciting and quality content to others.

Two of the most popular sharing and live streaming platforms are undoubtedly Twitch and Picarto.

This article will look at these two content platforms and find out what they are all about at their core. We’ll determine what each offers to both creators and viewers, how they function, and which one is a better choice to fulfill all your entertainment and creative needs.

The Basics Of Live Streaming Platforms

Firstly we’ll get some house cleaning out the way and talk through some basic information about Twitch and a Picarto streaming platform, a short reminder for experienced users, a bit of a brief history lesson for the uninitiated.

Twitch

Twitch is likely the most popular streaming service in the world. Here you can live stream anything from gaming to political debates.

But how did Twitch come to be, and what is it all about with this platform?

Short History

In 2007 Emmett Shear and Justin Kan launched a website called Justin dot tv, a place for people to live stream and chat with its many viewers.

Unlike other platforms like Youtube, gaming is the thing that gained the most serious momentum on Twitch throughout the years, which is no surprise because of the younger and more tech seavy audience.

That led to Amazon finally acquiring it in an exclusive deal in 2014 for an astonishing 970 million dollars, renaming it to Twitch Interactive in the process, and the platform has been going strong ever since.

A Heterogeneous Streaming Platform

Even though the original concept was based almost entirely on video games streaming, the platform has grown since its beginnings.

Today you can see all manner of live video content put up on Twitch. People are still streaming and playing games, but you can also enjoy vlogging, making, and playing music. You can watch gambling and enjoy the work of many other content creators and artists that ultimately made it into a powerhouse of online entertainment we know and love today, competing even with the giants as Youtube on the streaming market.

It is also worth remarking that this platform is recognized as a great place to host live streams of Esports events, broadcast interviews with sports stars, or even do major sponsorship deals with some streamers to bolster their user base.

Picarto

Picarto is a renowned community and video platform for artists, though with popularity not of the same magnitude as something like Youtube or Twitch.

What’s the story here, and who is this platform made for in the first place?

Short History

Picarto was founded in 2013 by Mehmet Karatas, Ozcan Dogan, and Michael Kriegel. Since its beginnings, it has been a go-to place to get noticed by the artist community.

This platform pioneered concepts such as creative live streaming. It revolutionized the entire genre by enticing new features like multi-streaming with your friends or introducing the option to keep your stream completely private.

Picarto enabled people to grow as artists and make some money on top of it, but more on that later.

A Mecca For Art Streams And Creative Community

Picarto is made predominantly and primarily for artists and people who enjoy the art of any kind. It enables you to watch art streams from other artists, or you can publicly and privately create and stream videos and other art yourself, or to connect to fellow artists from all around the globe.

It is a hassle-free way to express your passions and live out your expressive thoughts, reaping all the benefits of a loyal and dedicated global community in the process.

If you are already present elsewhere, on other platforms, you can even manage multiple platforms simultaneously via the browser streaming software like StreamYard.

Now that we got a hold of the things, it’s time to directly compare Twitch and Picarto, what they can offer you, and what you can provide to them.

Are these two platforms direct competitors, or are they in separate niches?

Design And Usability

First, we’ll take a gander at the look and accessibility of Twitch and Picarto. We’ll find out how easy they are to navigate and operate for you to set up your live streaming.

Interface

Picarto

The interface on Picarto is lucid, streamlined, and to the point. It is relatively simple to navigate, and even first-time users can momentarily grasp a basic concept of how things work and what’s available to them.

You can see almost everything that might interest you right on the home page. You can instantaneously access live streams and top categories on the site, premium streams, smaller streams, recommended channels, best videos, selected masterpieces from the gallery, etc.

Twitch

On the other hand, Twitch is a more flashy and colorful platform. It may seem overwhelming on the first look, but it offers pretty much the same functionality as Picarto, if not a little more scattered and unorganized.

Many materials are available to users directly from the main page, like watching live streaming, popular clips, recommended channels, and several major categories to choose from the list.

It is also worth noting that a dark theme is available if you don’t enjoy the default white one since the dark is a little easier on the eyes.

Ease Of Use

Picarto

Picarto is relatively easy to use for an average, not-so-tech-seavy person, especially if you are a viewer. You can enjoy the art stream from any streamer without registering. You can explore the site with a search bar or via the intuitive menu, and you’re good to go.

If you’re a streamer, things will get a tad more complicated than that, but not overly so. Posting and downloading content on Picarto requires a simple registration and then using an open-source or commercial broadcasting software like OBS or XSplit, respectively.

Finally, a mobile app allows users to live-stream traditional drawings on Android and iOS, but as of now, there is no viable solution for streaming your digital art.

Twitch

Like Picarto, Twitch is extremely easy to use if you’re just one of the viewers who came there to enjoy some gaming stream or most other live content from your favorite creators. You can access most live streams without registering by simply finding out what you prefer via the search bar or strolling through all the available categories.

If you plan to broadcast on Twitch, registration is in place, as well as installing a broadcasting software of your choice. A Twitch studio beta is a tool you can use for this purpose and Gamecaster, Streamlabs Desktop, Lightstream Studio, Melon, etc.

You don’t need anything special for streaming equipment, only a webcam, and of course, either a computer, laptop, or a gaming console to run your content.

Live streaming on your smartphone is as easy as downloading the Twitch app, logging in, and starting your work.

Features

But what can you do on these two platforms, and exactly how much leeway they provide for you to express your creativity?

All The Possibilities

Both these platforms are pretty straightforward when it comes to their features and offer many tools for you to express yourselves and interact with your audience.

Picarto

Nothing is surprising when it comes to features offered in Picarto. As a viewer on this website, you have access to many available categories to explore and enjoy. You can reflect your opinions on your feed. You can watch live streams and stroll through the gallery and post public comments on any artwork, as well as download it if you like.

It is also possible for you to customize your own and follow and subscribe to other channels if you feel the need to support your favorite artist.

You are, of course, also able to stream your content on Picarto. As stated before, a broadcasting software like OBS is a necessity in that case. You can use it to add filters, overlays, cool transition effects, and more from various sources.

You can host a multi-stream with your friends, upload images and other art, set up a chat on a video for your community, and stream from various platforms like Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, and more.

Twitch

Same as with Picarto, Twitch allows watching pretty much any live video you want, watching short clips, and you can also support your favorite streamers by following and subscribing to their channels. You can also chat with people and lead meaningful discussions with streamers and fellow followers.

Twitch is slightly different regarding posting content since you can only stream live videos. There are many options at your disposal through a creator dashboard. This tool helps you with everything from downloading the right broadcasting software, installing extensions, monitoring the analytics, managing your stream, etc.

Finally, one of the sweetest features is a Creator camp, a fantastic page on which you can learn everything you need about streaming to help you through your streaming journey.

Freedom Of Expression

What about copyright infringement and censorship? How limiting are these platforms toward their content creators?

Picarto

Picarto is a platform exclusively dedicated to artists and creative people. Creativity doesn’t necessarily care about the sensitivity of anyone who cries about it on Twitter or Facebook and the political correctness of those things that it represents.

Picarto is a smaller community, and it is free for all the guys and gals to post and stream whatever art stuff comes to their mind. That may very well be some sexual content or any other material or video that might be labeled as problematic on other internet streaming platforms.

Twitch

Twitch is a whole different animal in this category, and its internet popularity is what works against it in this instance, mainly due to corporate hierocracy and censorship.

This platform is notorious for handing out bans and censoring any stream or streamer that breaks stringent rules regarding copyrights and the use of foul language, for example.

Streamers may only use copyright-free music, so don’t even bother without all the necessary rights. You would also want to be somewhat careful about what you say and do if you don’t want to be banned and have your chat explode with DMCA strikes.

Subscriptions And Monetization

Like with every streaming platform, what you can achieve with these two depends on whether you are a free or a premium user, and the same goes for monetization.

Free vs. Premium

Picarto

The things available for free to registered users on Picarto are following and enjoying live streams and other art available on the website. They can also multi-stream, download some finished work like drawings, or get into art streaming themselves, but that experience has certain limitations.

For anyone darting to get the best out of Picarto and support the platform in the process, two paid membership options are available, the Gallery membership and Premium membership.

Former will get you certain upgrades like unlimited gallery storage, 4K support, custom album covers, and much more, ideal for anyone looking to extend their gallery.

The latter will get you all that and much more. The Premium upgrade is made for people serious about getting into live streaming and working on Picarto. Besides everything you get with Gallery membership, in this package, you can also count on options like storing previous streams, running polls in chat, keeping 75 percent of the profits of subscriptions, and much more.

Twitch

This platform costs you nothing to follow and enjoy streams and create content on the site.

You can stream videos for free to your heart’s content, and the only cost you’ll be having is the one you need for your streaming equipment.

The same goes for viewers, as the only cost they may encounter is when and if they financially support their favorite streamer.

All those decisions are optional, and Twitch is undoubtedly superior to Picarto in this category.

What About Profitability?

Picarto

There are a couple of ways to accumulate money on Picarto.

One is through the subscription service. Viewers can subscribe to their favorite channel from 1 month to up to 12 months, thus directly supporting their favorite artists and other streamers. There are no special conditions for viewers to start making these payments, but they need to be made monthly, and users can cancel them at any time.

A second way to make some cash is through a tipping system. Viewers can buy so-called kudos for real money and tip their favorite art streamers to support them. Streamers can create milestones for those kudos and give out certain rewards like several tiers of custom channel badges.

Both of these options need to be activated in settings by content creators. Otherwise, they won’t be in a situation to receive any donations from their apprecianados.

Twitch

This platform is way more diverse and plentiful when it comes to how gamers and other streamers can make a profit.

As a beginner, you can earn through direct donations from your viewers, you can scrape the barrel via commission from brand partnerships, or you can even sell your merch to other users through a third party site, merch such as coffee mugs, t-shirts, stickers, etc.

If you meet specific criteria as a content creator and move up the ladder, new possibilities are opening up. As an affiliate, you can earn capital through monthly subscriptions, virtual cheers (bits), and through commission from game sales that users can purchase by clicking on a link available on your channel.

If you move a step further and become a partner, you also unlock the ability to gain a percentage of ad revenue generated from your page.

Verdict

When everything is said and done, these two platforms are both great at what they are and what they are supposed to be in the first place.

They do not seem to be direct competitors, nor do they necessarily complement each other. They exist as different entities in the world of streaming.

Picarto is a streaming platform with a smaller community, focused predominantly on art in every shape and form. On the other hand, Twitch is in the different ballpark entirely, a massively popular site with an enormous audience of the younger crowd, concentrated primarily on gaming and entertaining-related live streams.

So whatever it is that you’re interested in, one of these two will most likely have you covered. Choose your poison and have fun.

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