How to Stream on Kick: OBS Settings, Stream Key and Requirements

What You Need Before You Go Live on Kick

The bar to start is low. Kick does not review new streamers, and its mobile app is explicitly open to “any KICK account” — you do not need Affiliate, Partner or verified status to broadcast. What you do need:

• An account with a verified email. Kick accounts are open from age 13 (or the digital age of consent where you live, if higher); under-18s need a parent or guardian's consent and supervision. Streams that feature minors without that supervision are a zero-tolerance violation.
• Two-factor authentication. Not required to go live, but Kick requires it before you can monetize and before you can change your username. Turn it on now at kick.com/settings/security with any authenticator app so it is not a blocker later.
• Something to broadcast from. OBS Studio or Streamlabs Desktop on a PC or Mac (both free), Kick's browser-based Web Go Live, or the KICK - Go Live phone app.
• Enough upload. Kick's rule of thumb is an upload speed of at least twice your bitrate — 12 Mbps for a 6,000 kbps stream — and a wired connection over Wi-Fi.

Before you commit to a niche, it helps to see what already works on the platform: KickRanker's top 20 Kick streamers are ranked by hours watched each month, so you can see which categories and formats are pulling audiences right now. If you are still choosing between platforms, our list of livestreaming platforms compares the alternatives.

Where to Find Your Kick Stream Key and Stream URL

Log in at kick.com, open the Creator Dashboard (dashboard.kick.com), click Channel in the left menu, then Stream URL and Key. The direct link is dashboard.kick.com/channel/stream. You will see two values:

• Stream URL (server). An RTMPS address — Kick ingests over encrypted RTMP. Paste it exactly as shown. For apps that want the full address in one field, Kick's help center gives rtmps://fa723fc1b171.global-contribute.live-video.net:443/app.
• Stream key. The secret that ties the video to your channel. Kick's own warning: anyone with your stream key can broadcast directly to your channel.

Best OBS Settings for Kick

OBS has no built-in Kick preset, so the connection is always manual: File → Settings → Stream, set Service to Custom..., paste the Server URL and Stream Key, click Apply. Then switch Settings → Output to Advanced mode and set the encoder to match Kick's limits. If you have never set up scenes and sources, start with our complete OBS setup guide and come back for the Kick-specific values.

Source: Kick's How to stream on KICK.com and OBS or Streamlabs not connecting help articles, checked September 2026.

Encoder presets Kick recommends

Use a hardware encoder if you have one. NVENC or AMD's encoder moves the work off your CPU, which matters when the game you are streaming already uses most of it. x264 at veryfast is the fallback for machines without a usable GPU encoder, and it is what Kick tells Mac streamers to pick so CBR is available.

What bitrate to pick

Kick accepts anything from 1,000 to 8,000 kbps, but the right number depends on your resolution and your upload, not on the cap. These ranges match our bitrate and encoder cheat sheet; the upload column applies Kick's twice-your-bitrate rule to the top of each range.

If you record locally while streaming, the same bitrate decides the file size — our recording size calculator turns a bitrate into gigabytes per hour. At 6,000 kbps it is about 2.7 GB for every hour, which also matters if you stream over mobile data. To keep chat on screen without a second monitor, Kick has a guide to adding Kick chat as an OBS dock.

Going Live on Kick Without OBS

OBS is the most common route, not the only one. Kick lists OBS, XSplit, Streamlabs Desktop and MELD as supported desktop apps, and two of its own options need no software at all.

Streamlabs Desktop (built-in Kick login)

Streamlabs skips the stream key: Settings → Stream → Connect next to KICK, authorize in the browser, then click Go Live and make sure the KICK toggle is on. The catch Kick points out: Streamlabs does not set your title, so do it on the Kick dashboard. Kick also suggests this integration when OBS refuses to connect. For other desktop tools, see our OBS alternatives roundup.

Kick Studio: Web Go Live in the browser

Kick's Web Go Live studio streams straight from the website. Open the Creator Dashboard and click Go Live; the first visit runs a short onboarding. It gives you scene presets (camera with widgets, Starting Soon, Back Soon, custom layouts, up to four cameras side by side, screen share) and widgets for a webcam or capture card, images, video, screen share, a chat box and follower/sub/KICKs alerts. Before the Go Live button works you have to fill in title, category, language and the 18+ rating through the pencil icon — the first thing Kick's FAQ checks when Go Live throws an error.

Web Go Live is the fastest way to test your channel and fine for Just Chatting. For games, you still want a real encoder: a browser tab competing with the game for your GPU is not where you want your stream to live.

How to Stream on Kick From Your Phone

KICK - Go Live is Kick's standalone streaming app, separate from the viewer app. It runs on iOS 18 or later and Android 8 or later and works with any account. Sign in with your Kick login (you will be asked for your 2FA code if it is on), grant camera and microphone access, set title, category and content labels inside the app, and tap the green button.

• Dual camera — front and back at the same time, for reactions and IRL (not supported on some Android devices).
• Screen sharing — the way to stream mobile games from the phone itself.
• Quality controls — bitrate, resolution and frame rate, plus stabilization on iOS.
• Read-only chat — you can see chat in the app but not reply. Keep kick.com open on a second device, or let your mods handle it.

Third-party apps work too. Kick documents Streamlabs Mobile and PRISM Live Studio, and names Larix Broadcaster and Moblin: add a Custom RTMP destination, use rtmps://fa723fc1b171.global-contribute.live-video.net:443/app as the URL and paste your stream key. With Streamlabs Mobile you must set title and category on the Kick website first, and its chat does not work with Kick. Streaming uses several gigabytes of data per hour, so check your plan before going out on cellular. The hardware side — gimbals, bonded connections, battery — is in our IRL streaming setup guide.

Streaming a PS5 or Xbox to Kick

Consoles have no Kick option in their built-in broadcast menus, and Kick's help center has no console guide. The reliable route is a capture card: console HDMI into the card, the card into your PC, and the feed into OBS as a Video Capture Device, then stream with the settings above. Our capture card picks cover what to buy, and the PS5 and Xbox streaming setup walks through the full console chain.

The workaround you will see recommended — broadcasting from the console to Twitch or YouTube and having a relay service forward it to Kick — counts as multistreaming and gives a third party your Kick key. It works, but it adds delay and caps your Kick quality at whatever the first platform receives.

Can't Go Live on Kick With OBS? Fixes in Order

Kick's own troubleshooting starts with the stream key, and so should you — it is the cause most of the time. Work down this table and test after each change.

If OBS itself reports dropped frames, the problem is between you and Kick's ingest, not the settings. OBS's stream connection troubleshooting guide suggests, under Settings → Advanced → Network: leave Bind to IP on Default, set IP family to IPv4 only, and try “Dynamically change bitrate to manage congestion”. It also lists VPNs and bundled network software such as Killer or Lenovo Vantage boosters as common culprits. When you contact Kick support, include your encoder and version, the exact error, your bitrate and resolution, and an upload speed test — that is what Kick's troubleshooting articles ask for.

Streaming to Kick and Twitch or YouTube at the Same Time

Kick allows multistreaming to any platform. The only Kick-side rule applies to members of the KICK Partner Program: before going live elsewhere on a long-form platform such as Twitch or YouTube, turn on the Multistreaming toggle (it sits under the Partner Income toggle in your dashboard) or type /multi on in your chat. Your Partner payout is cut by 50% for that session. Vertical platforms — TikTok Live, Instagram Live, YouTube Shorts — do not need the toggle.

Twitch permits simulcasting too, under its own Simulcasting Guidelines. How to send one stream to several platforms, and what each one allows, is in our multistreaming guide. While you are live on two platforms, Multiwatch lets you keep your Kick and Twitch outputs side by side in one tab to confirm both are actually up.

How Kick Pays: Subscriptions, KICKs and the Partner Program

Kick's naming is in flux. Its help center calls the subscription tier “Affiliate” in some articles and “Partner status” in the June 2026 rewrite of the same page, while the KICK Partner Program (KPP) is the separate per-stream income program. What older guides call the Creator Incentive Program is that program — Kick's current eligibility list still points to the “KCIP Terms and Conditions”. The thresholds are what matter:

The 95/5 split. Kick subscriptions are a flat $5 a month; the streamer receives $4.75 and the other 5% goes to processing. KICKs, Kick's tipping currency, are split the same way. Kick also runs Bounties — paid short-form clip campaigns with rewards set per post. How that stacks up against Twitch and YouTube is in our platform revenue split comparison, and the full side-by-side — pay, rules, audience — in Kick vs Twitch.

The Partner Program. Meeting the numbers makes you eligible to apply, not accepted: you email Kick's partner team from your account address with your username, or use Fast Track if you already have an audience on another platform — Kick says Fast Track applications are reviewed within 24 hours. Kick says the program has paid creators more than $400 million since it launched in 2024. Streams in the Just Sleeping and gambling categories are demonetized under it. Track your progress under Achievements in the dashboard. Setting up the About section, panels and social links it asks for is covered in our channel branding guide.

Getting the money out. Every payout goes through Stripe, so you must pass Stripe identity verification and add a bank account in a supported country; if Stripe does not pay out to your country, you cannot receive Kick earnings yet. Non-verified streamers are paid monthly; verified streamers can choose weekly or monthly. In the US, ACH takes 2–3 business days; international transfers usually take 3–7.

Kick Rules That Most Often End Streams

Kick explicitly permits strong opinions, heated debate and properly labeled adult content, but it does enforce. Most violations start with a warning and escalate through chat mutes, lost features, content removal and temporary suspensions to a permanent ban, and Kick weighs intent, context and your channel history. From Kick's list of the most common reasons, the ones streamers trip over:

• No 18+ label on mature content. Suggestive content between consenting adults is allowed; streaming it without the 18+ label is not.
• Copyrighted music or video. Playing content you have no rights to falls under Kick's DMCA policy.
• Gambling done wrong. Gambling is allowed where it is legal, but Kick acts on streams from jurisdictions where it is not, gambling with viewers' money, unlicensed sponsors, undisclosed affiliate links and gambling streams without an age label.
• Faked numbers. Viewbots, follow bots and third-party engagement tools; buying your own subs also gets verification and Partner status refused or revoked.
• IRL behavior. Harassing or exploiting people who did not agree to be on stream, dangerous driving and pranks designed to cause fear.
• Undisclosed AI content and deepfakes. AI content is fine with clear disclosure; synthetic media that passes as real is not.

Some things are zero-tolerance regardless of context — anything sexualizing or endangering minors, and promoting terrorism or violent extremism. And for verification and the Partner Program specifically, Kick refuses or revokes status for mirror streams, blank streams, pre-recorded content, missing VODs and 90 days of inactivity.

After the Stream

Stopping the stream saves it as a VOD on your channel automatically — from OBS and from the phone app alike. VODs are your cheapest growth asset: they count toward the Partner Program's three-VOD requirement, and the best moments become clips for short-form platforms. To keep a local copy of a VOD or pull clips for editing, use our guide to downloading Kick streams and clips.