The best subathon timers in 2026, compared honestly
The short answer
For a Twitch subathon, our pick is StreamerGiveaway's connected timer, because it stores the countdown as an absolute end time on the server, so subs, gifts, and bits verified through Twitch EventSub keep the clock accurate even after an OBS restart. It is free for two complete 24-hour subathons. Blerp is the better choice if your run spans Kick or YouTube.
The clock jumps the instant Twitch confirms the event.
A gift-sub batch lands, Twitch confirms it, and the clock jumps in the same second, on your overlay, for everyone to see. That verified add-time loop is the whole reason a subathon works. The rest of this page is about which tools do it well and keep doing it at 3am.
First, what actually matters
What separates a good subathon timer from a bad one
Every timer on this list can add time when someone subs. The differences that bite you show up at hour nine, during a raid, or after a crash. These are the four questions worth asking before you pick one.
Does it verify events itself?
The clock should move only when Twitch confirms a real sub, gift, resub, or cheer. A timer that trusts chat messages or needs a mod to type !addtime is a timer that can be gamed or missed.
Does it survive a crash?
Subathons run for hours, often overnight. If the countdown lives only in a browser source, an OBS crash at 3am can freeze it. A server-stored end time recovers on its own.
How fast is the setup?
The best timers are login, set your increments, paste one browser-source URL, done. Some make you Customize, Save, Publish, and wire up a separate control panel before anything runs.
Which platforms does it cover?
Most dedicated timers are Twitch-first, because subs and bits are Twitch mechanics. If your run spans Kick or YouTube, you need a tool that ingests those events, and few do it well.
Side by side
Subathon timers compared
The honest version. Where a tool only manages something through a workaround, a paid tier, or a setup you have to keep alive, it is marked as such rather than a clean yes. The gold column is our pick for a Twitch subathon specifically.
Feature
StreamerGiveaway
StreamElements
subathontimer.com
streamtimer.io
Blerp
Streamlabs
Auto-adds Twitch subs, gift subs, and bits
Countdown survives an OBS restart or refresh
Stay active
Limited
Runs in the browser, no app to install
Kick automatic time
Planned
YouTube automatic time
Milestone goals with a progress bar
Setup to a running clock
Login, paste URL
5-step publish
Login, paste URL
Login, paste URL
Login
Install app
Free to start
Free + paid tier
Free; Ultra extras
Last updated July 2026. Reflects free-tier capabilities. StreamElements' own widget page states an active OBS widget is required to run; competitor features and limits change, so double check the current docs before you commit.
The difference that matters most
What happens when OBS restarts at 3am
A subathon is a long, unattended run. The single biggest reliability gap between these tools is where the countdown actually lives: on a server, or only inside an active browser source.
End time stored on the server
3:12amOBS crashes and restarts
Recovered automatically
09:40:58
Never stopped counting
The countdown is an absolute end time in a database, not a number living in your browser. Refresh, restart, change scenes, lose power, and every view recalculates from the same trusted time.
Timer only runs inside OBS
3:12amOBS crashes and restarts
Waiting for the widget
00:00:00
Time paused until you reopen the source
When the timer only lives in an active browser source, an overnight crash can freeze it until you wake up and fix it. StreamElements says it plainly: an active widget in OBS is a condition for the subathon to run.
This is not a hypothetical. It is the most common way a subathon quietly loses time overnight. A timer that stores an absolute end time server-side recalculates from that value on every reload, so a crash costs you nothing. A widget that only counts while it is open in OBS depends on you being awake to notice.
The rundown
Every timer, what it is best for, and the catch
Ranked for a Twitch subathon, which is what most people searching this actually want. If your need is different, the when-to-use guide below points you the right way, and we are honest about where a competitor beats us.
01
StreamerGiveaway
Our pick
Best for: A reliable, free Twitch subathon that survives the night
A free, Twitch-connected subathon timer built around one promise: the clock keeps the right time no matter what happens to your setup. Log in with Twitch, set what a sub, gift, resub, and 100 bits are worth, and every verified event moves the countdown through Twitch EventSub. The remaining time is stored as an absolute end time on our servers, so a refresh, an OBS restart, a scene change, or a 3am power blip never loses a second.
Strengths
Two complete Twitch-connected subathons free, up to 24 hours each, no card
Subs, gift subs, resubs, and bits added automatically and verified through Twitch EventSub, with duplicate deliveries ignored
Countdown survives refresh, OBS restart, scene changes, and power loss because it is server-backed
One permanent OBS browser-source URL, restyled in Overlay Studio without ever swapping the link
Milestone goals, live event history, pause, resume, manual adjustments, and a hard cap
Trade-offs
Twitch only for now: Kick and YouTube automatic event ingestion are not available yet
The free tier covers runs up to 24 hours each, so a rolling multi-week marathon is a different job
Pick it when: You run on Twitch and want the clock to be trustworthy and effortless, on stream and after a crash, with nothing to install and no card to start.
Best for: Streamers already living in StreamElements
The subathon widget built into StreamElements' overlay system. It is genuinely capable: a control panel sets your target duration and the time added for subs across tiers, follows, cheers, and tips, with chat commands like !subaddtime and on-screen add-time alerts. It is also completely free. The catch is operational, not featural: setup runs through a Customize, Save, Publish, add-to-OBS, open-control-panel sequence, and StreamElements states outright that an active widget in OBS is a condition for the subathon to run.
Strengths
Free, and native if StreamElements already powers your alerts and overlays
Detailed control panel for per-tier subs, follows, cheers, and tips
Chat commands and on-screen add-time alerts built in
Trade-offs
The timer runs inside an active OBS browser source, so a crash or a closed source can stall it
Multi-step Customize, Save, Publish, OBS, control-panel setup before anything works
Documented community reports of the widget not adding time; recovering the run is on you
Pick it when: You already run StreamElements for everything, your setup is stable, and a free native option is worth a fiddlier setup and the occasional widget hiccup.
03
subathontimer.com
Best for: The simplest possible free connected timer
A clean, single-purpose free timer built by an independent developer. Sign in with Twitch, set your per-tier and bits increments and your goals, paste one browser-source URL into OBS, and go. Subs, gift subs, and community gifts are detected in real time over WebSocket. It is refreshingly simple and genuinely free, with the honest caveat that its own terms describe it as a personal project provided as-is, with no guarantee of uptime.
Strengths
Free, Twitch-connected, and easy: log in, set increments, paste one OBS URL
Real-time sub, gift, and community-gift detection with goal progress bars
Manual adjustments, pause, resume, and start or stop from the dashboard
Trade-offs
Twitch only, no Kick or YouTube
Explicitly a personal project offered as-is with no uptime or continuity guarantee
Lighter on controls, polish, and overlay styling than a maintained product
Pick it when: You want the most no-nonsense free Twitch timer and you are comfortable leaning on an independent, best-effort project.
04
streamtimer.io
Best for: Streamers who time more than just subathons
GhostlyTuna's Stream Timer is a feature-rich toolkit that goes well beyond subathons. Alongside subathon mode it does count-up and countdown timers, follow and sub trains, and quick link-based timers, with Tiltify and Ko-fi donation integrations and a goals overlay. There is even an Incentives Twitch Extension so viewers can fund a specific goal. It is the Swiss-army-knife pick, complete with Elgato Stream Deck and Logitech control-panel plugins for hardware buttons.
Strengths
Subathon mode plus trains and quick timers in one tool
Tiltify and Ko-fi donation integrations and a goals overlay
Stream Deck and Logitech plugins for physical control
Trade-offs
Broader scope means more to learn than a single-purpose subathon timer
Wider platform support is still on the roadmap rather than shipped
Polish and documentation vary across its many timer types
Pick it when: You want one tool for subathons and everything else you time on stream, and you like donation-platform and Stream Deck integrations.
05
Blerp
Best for: Multi-platform subathons across Twitch, Kick, and YouTube
Better known for its soundboard and sound-alerts extension, Blerp also ships a subathon timer with the widest platform reach in this list: Twitch, Kick, YouTube, TikTok, and Rumble, with goals tracked across all of them. It pauses for breaks and auto-resumes when you go live again. If your subathon spans platforms, this is the honest pick, with the trade-off that some features sit behind a Blerp subscription.
Strengths
Broadest platform support: Twitch, Kick, YouTube, TikTok, and Rumble
Pause for breaks with automatic resume when you go live again
Multiple goals and an easy OBS browser source
Trade-offs
Some features require a paid Blerp subscription
Subathon timing is one feature on a soundboard-first product, not the whole focus
Pick it when: Your subathon runs across more than one platform and you want a single timer and goal set covering all of them.
06
Streamlabs native timer
Best for: Streamers whose whole stack is already Streamlabs Desktop
Streamlabs bundles a subathon timer into its all-in-one desktop app, sitting next to its alerts and overlays, and it supports Twitch and YouTube. It is convenient if Streamlabs is already your broadcasting software, but it means running the desktop app rather than a lightweight browser source, and premium theming lives behind a Streamlabs Ultra subscription.
Strengths
Native to Streamlabs Desktop with Twitch and YouTube support
Integrated with the alerts and overlays you may already run there
The basic timer is free
Trade-offs
Tied to installing and running the Streamlabs Desktop application
No Kick support, and premium theming needs a Streamlabs Ultra subscription
Less resilient recovery than a server-backed connected timer
Pick it when: You already broadcast with Streamlabs Desktop and want to keep the timer inside the software you open every stream.
Streaming on Kick?
Our automatic timer is Twitch-only for now, so it is not the right tool for a Kick subathon yet. On Kick, most creators already run KickBot, the Kick-native bot suite (free, with sub and goal widgets), or use Blerp for its cross-platform reach. We would rather send you to the right tool than pretend we cover a platform we do not.
Why the numbers are trustworthy
Every add-time event is checked before the clock moves
A subathon is real money extending your stream, so the count has to be right. A connected timer verifies every event with Twitch itself rather than trusting a chat message or a mod's reaction time.
Sub, gift, or bits
A viewer supports the stream
Twitch verifies it
EventSub confirms it is real
Duplicates ignored
Retried deliveries never double-count
Clock adds time
And the event lands in your feed
No mod watching chat, no manual !addtime, no arguments about whether a gift batch got counted. The totals on screen are the totals Twitch confirmed.
The shortcut
Which subathon timer should you use?
Your situation
The timer that fits
You stream on Twitch and want a reliable, free timer that survives a crash
StreamerGiveaway
You want the clock verified automatically by Twitch, with no manual !addtime
StreamerGiveaway
You already run StreamElements and want a free native option
StreamElements widget
You want the simplest possible free Twitch timer
subathontimer.com
You need trains, quick timers, and donation-platform integrations too
streamtimer.io
Your subathon runs across Twitch, Kick, and YouTube at once
Blerp
Streamlabs Desktop is already your streaming software
Streamlabs native timer
You stream on Kick
KickBot (Kick-native suite)
Worth being straight about this: if your subathon runs across Kick and YouTube, Blerp covers more ground than we do, and if you live entirely inside Streamlabs or StreamElements their native timers save you a login. StreamerGiveaway is the pick when you run on Twitch and want the clock to be accurate, verified, and crash-proof, for free, with nothing to install.
FAQ
Choosing a subathon timer
What is the best subathon timer in 2026?
For a Twitch subathon, the strongest pick is a connected timer that verifies events through Twitch EventSub and keeps the countdown on its servers, so it survives a refresh or an OBS restart. StreamerGiveaway does exactly that and is free for two complete 24-hour runs. StreamElements' native widget is a fine free option if you already use it, and Blerp is the better pick if your subathon spans Kick or YouTube.
What is the best free subathon timer?
StreamerGiveaway, StreamElements' native widget, and subathontimer.com are all free for Twitch subathons. StreamerGiveaway gives you two complete Twitch-connected runs of up to 24 hours each, with the countdown stored server-side so it recovers after a crash. StreamElements is free but its timer only runs while its widget is active in OBS. subathontimer.com is free but describes itself as a best-effort personal project with no uptime guarantee.
Does the StreamElements subathon timer work reliably?
It is capable, but its own setup page says an active widget in OBS is a condition for the subathon to run, so if OBS crashes or the source is closed the timer can stall. There are also recurring community reports of the widget not adding time mid-run. A timer that stores the countdown as an absolute end time on a server keeps counting through a crash and recovers on its own, which is steadier for a long overnight run.
Do subathon timers work on Kick or YouTube?
Most dedicated subathon timers are Twitch-first, because subscriptions and bits are Twitch mechanics. Blerp ingests events from Twitch, Kick, YouTube, TikTok, and Rumble, and KickBot covers Kick specifically. StreamerGiveaway's automatic timer supports Twitch through EventSub today; Kick and YouTube automatic event ingestion are not available yet.
Do I have to keep OBS open for a subathon timer to work?
It depends on the tool. A widget-only timer runs inside an active OBS browser source, so closing OBS or a crash can pause or reset it. A server-backed timer like StreamerGiveaway stores the end time in a database, so the countdown keeps ticking regardless of OBS, and every browser source recalculates from the same trusted time the moment it reloads.
Which subathon timer adds time automatically for subs?
Connected timers that use Twitch EventSub add time automatically for every verified sub, gift sub, resub, and cheer. StreamerGiveaway, subathontimer.com, and StreamElements all do this. Chat-command timers built on bots like Nightbot only add time when a mod types a command, which is slower and easy to miss during a busy raid or gift-sub storm.
How much time should each sub add to a subathon?
A common baseline is 1 minute per Tier 1 sub and per gifted sub, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 scaled to about 2 and 5 minutes, and roughly 30 seconds per 100 bits. If your chat is large, halve everything so the clock can still fall. Whatever you pick, announce it before you start, set a hard cap, and do not change the increments mid-run.
Last updated July 2026. StreamerGiveaway includes two free Twitch-connected subathons of up to 24 hours each.
Free to start. Connect Twitch, set your increments, paste one OBS URL, and let verified subs, gifts, and bits move a clock that survives anything the night throws at it.