Yes. You can turn off Super Chat while leaving live-stream ad monetisation enabled. Super Chat is a fan-funding feature, while advertising is controlled through the stream’s monetisation settings.
On desktop, go to YouTube Studio, open Earn > Supers, and switch off Super Chat. Then check the individual stream in Live Control Room and leave Monetization on if you want YouTube to keep the stream eligible for its advertising settings.
Super Chat and ads are separate controls
Super Chat lets viewers pay to highlight messages in live chat. It belongs to YouTube’s Supers tools, alongside Super Stickers. Advertising is a different part of the live-stream setup. It covers ad formats such as pre-roll, display ads and mid-roll ads.
That distinction matters if you run a devotional channel, a local news loop or a long music stream. You may want ordinary chat to remain open, but not want paid messages appearing in the conversation. Turning off Super Chat lets you make that choice without using the much broader option of disabling live chat.
The settings affect different things:
| Setting | What it controls | What happens when you switch it off |
|---|---|---|
| Super Chat | Paid highlighted messages in live chat | Viewers cannot buy Super Chats on the stream |
| Super Stickers | Paid animated or visual messages | Viewers cannot buy Super Stickers if this is also switched off |
| Live chat | Ordinary viewer conversation and Supers availability | Regular chat is removed, and Supers become unavailable |
| Monetization | The stream’s advertising setting | The stream no longer has live-stream monetisation enabled |
| Mid-roll ads | Ads inserted during the live stream | Automatic, scheduled or manual mid-roll behaviour changes, depending on the setting |
The practical choice is usually to switch off only Super Chat when you want regular conversation to continue. Do not switch off Live chat simply because you want to remove paid messages. That would remove the normal discussion as well.
YouTube’s live-stream monetisation guidance explains the advertising side separately from the Supers controls. It is worth checking the current Help page before making a change, because YouTube can move labels or vary eligibility by channel, location and stream type.
Turn off Super Chat in Earn > Supers
Use the desktop version of YouTube Studio for the clearest route. The wording and layout can change, but the relevant control is under Earn, not in the stream’s ordinary chat moderation panel.
- Sign in to the YouTube channel that owns the live stream.
- Open YouTube Studio.
- In the left-hand menu, select Earn.
- Open Supers.
- Find the Super Chat switch.
- Turn it off and confirm the change if YouTube asks you to do so.
This disables the option for viewers to purchase Super Chats. It does not by itself turn off live chat, and it does not by itself turn off live-stream advertising.
After changing the setting, open the stream as a viewer or use a separate browser profile to check what is visible. You are looking for two different results: ordinary chat should still be available if you intend to keep it, while the paid Super Chat option should no longer be offered.
A change in the channel-level Supers area may not be the only thing worth checking. The stream still has its own Live Control Room settings, and the advertising setting should be reviewed there before you start or schedule a long broadcast.
If you are building a channel around a repeated file rather than a live camera, first separate this monetisation task from the streaming task. The guide on starting a 24/7 lofi music stream on YouTube covers the broader workflow for preparing a continuous channel. The Super Chat decision is only one part of that setup.
Keep Super Stickers as a separate choice
Super Chat and Super Stickers are related, but they are not the same switch. When you open Earn > Supers, review the Super Stickers setting independently rather than assuming that turning off one has changed the other.
If you want to remove all paid chat messages, turn off both Super Chat and Super Stickers. If you only want to stop highlighted text messages but are comfortable with viewers using paid stickers, leave Super Stickers enabled. The correct choice depends on how you want the chat to look and how much moderation work you want to do.
For example, a meditation channel might keep ordinary chat open for requests but remove paid interruptions altogether. A community channel might decide that Super Stickers are less disruptive than large highlighted messages. Neither decision changes the stream’s ad setting.
There are also situations in which Supers are unavailable regardless of the switch. YouTube lists eligibility and stream conditions that can affect access, including channel and location requirements. Supers are also unavailable in circumstances such as age-restricted, unlisted or private videos, made-for-kids content, YouTube Giving fundraiser videos, or when live chat or comments are off. Check YouTube’s current Super Chat and Super Stickers Help page for the conditions that apply to your channel.
Do not use the viewer-facing chat filter as a replacement for this setting. A filter that shows only fan-funding purchases changes what you see in your moderation view. It does not hide ordinary chat from viewers and it does not prevent viewers from participating.
Likewise, switching off live chat is a much wider action. It can make Supers unavailable, but it also removes the regular conversation that many always-on channels rely on. If that is not what you want, return to Earn > Supers and change Super Chat directly.
Check Monetization in Live Control Room
After changing the Supers setting, open the stream in Live Control Room. Select the relevant broadcast, open its settings and find Monetization. If you want the stream to retain its advertising setting, leave Monetization set to On.
This is the important distinction:
- Super Chat off removes the paid-message option.
- Monetization on keeps live-stream advertising enabled as a setting.
- Live chat on keeps ordinary viewer conversation available.
Check these three independently. A useful pre-broadcast routine is to write down the intended state before changing anything: Super Chat off, Super Stickers off or on according to your policy, Live chat on if viewers should talk, and Monetization on if you want ads enabled.
YouTube’s live-stream ads documentation describes pre-roll, display and mid-roll settings. It also makes an important qualification: an enabled ad setting does not guarantee that an ad will serve in every available slot. The platform decides whether an eligible viewer receives an ad at a particular opportunity.
That means there are two different questions to ask when testing:
- Is monetisation enabled for this stream?
- Did an individual viewer actually receive an advert?
The first can be checked in YouTube Studio. The second can vary with the viewer, geography, device, inventory and other platform decisions. If you do not see an advert during a test viewing, that alone does not prove that monetisation has been switched off.
For an always-on broadcast, record the settings after each meaningful change. A short note with the stream name, the date, Super Chat state and Monetization state can prevent a late-night guess about which control was altered. It also helps when more than one person manages a channel.
If the stream is repeatedly stopping or reconnecting, treat that as a delivery problem rather than a monetisation problem. The guide to fixing a meditation live stream that keeps disconnecting on YouTube deals with that separate class of fault.
What pre-roll and display ads do
With live-stream monetisation enabled, YouTube says pre-roll and display ads are automatically enabled for the live stream. These are not controlled by the Super Chat switch.
A pre-roll ad can appear before a viewer enters the live stream. A display ad may appear around the video player, depending on the viewer and the available advertising experience. Their presence is not a promise that every person will see an ad, and it is not a measure of whether Super Chat is available.
For a devotional broadcast, for instance, one viewer might enter before the stream and encounter a pre-roll while another viewer joins without one. Both can still be watching the same broadcast with the same Monetization setting. The difference does not mean that Super Chat has been restored or that the channel has used a different Supers setting.
YouTube also notes that ads are turned off for a live stream embedded on an external site with autoplay. If your channel is promoted through a website, do not assume that an embedded player will behave like a viewer watching the stream directly on YouTube. Check the official YouTube Help information about ads on live streams when the viewing route matters.
The phrase “keep ads on” should therefore mean “keep Monetization enabled for the stream”, not “make an advert appear whenever someone opens the video”. The latter is not a setting you can guarantee.
This is also why a single test from your own account can be misleading. It can confirm that the stream is live and that the relevant control is still enabled, but it cannot establish that every viewer will receive the same ad format at the same point.
Configure mid-roll ads separately
Mid-roll ads are inserted during the live stream. Their controls are separate from both Super Chat and the general choice to leave monetisation enabled.
Depending on the options available to your channel, mid-rolls may be automatic, scheduled or manual. Automatic insertion lets YouTube choose opportunities. Scheduling lets you plan points in the broadcast. Manual insertion lets you trigger an ad break during the stream when that control is available.
Do not infer the mid-roll setting from the Super Chat setting. Turning off Super Chat does not turn off mid-rolls, and leaving Super Chat enabled does not turn them on. Review the mid-roll controls in Live Control Room instead.
The article on turning on mid-roll ads during a YouTube live stream goes further into those choices. It is useful to read it alongside this page because the two decisions solve different problems: one controls paid viewer messages, while the other controls advertising during the broadcast.
Mid-rolls also require judgement about the programme itself. A short music loop may tolerate an interruption differently from a local news bulletin, a guided prayer or a study session. If you schedule ad breaks, place them at natural pauses rather than treating the stream as if it were a sequence of unrelated clips.
For an all-night channel, consider whether an interruption at a chosen time is less disruptive than leaving insertion fully automatic. Neither approach guarantees that an ad will serve. It only changes how available mid-roll opportunities are offered to YouTube’s ad system.
YouTube reported an average uplift in in-stream ad revenue per hour for channels using automatic live mid-roll ads compared with channels not using them, based on a comparison it described in its own documentation. That is a platform-reported average, not a promise for an individual channel, viewer or stream. Use it as context, not as a forecast of earnings.
A reliable settings check for an always-on channel
Before starting a 24/7 broadcast, check the settings in an order that prevents one broad change from undoing another.
First, decide what you want the chat to do. If viewers should be able to talk, leave Live chat on. If paid messages should not appear, turn off Super Chat. Then decide whether Super Stickers fit the channel’s moderation policy and set that switch separately.
Next, open the stream in Live Control Room and check Monetization. Leave it on if you want the live-stream ad setting enabled. Then review the mid-roll choice independently. Do not use the absence of a test advert as evidence that the monetisation setting has changed.
Finally, watch the public stream from a separate account or browser. Confirm that ordinary chat behaves as expected, that the paid-message controls match your policy and that the broadcast itself is playing. If the stream is run from a repeated video file, check the source file and loop behaviour separately from YouTube’s commercial settings.
If you are deciding whether to run the channel from a personal computer, remember that the YouTube Studio controls and the delivery method are separate concerns. A computer-based setup can still fail because the machine sleeps, the connection drops or the streaming application stops. A cloud workflow can remove the need to keep your own computer running; StreamNeo is designed for the specific case where you upload the video once, add the YouTube stream key and need the broadcast to continue without your computer, with automatic monitoring and restart when the stream drops.
That does not change YouTube’s Supers, chat or advertising rules. You still configure those in YouTube Studio, and you should still check the current official eligibility and monetisation pages for your channel.
For a channel that uses OBS or another encoder, keep the operational checks separate from the YouTube settings. The 2026 monetisation requirements guide for 24/7 streamers is relevant when you are assessing eligibility, but eligibility is not the same as an advert being served in every slot.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Can I turn off Super Chat but keep normal live chat?
Yes. Turn off Super Chat under Earn > Supers, and leave Live chat on. Do not disable live chat unless you also want to remove ordinary viewer conversation.
Will turning off Super Chat turn off ads?
No. Super Chat and live-stream advertising use separate controls. Keep Monetization on in Live Control Room if you want the stream’s advertising setting enabled, while remembering that YouTube does not guarantee an advert in every available slot.
Do Super Stickers turn off when Super Chat is disabled?
Treat Super Stickers as a separate setting and check its switch under Earn > Supers. Turn it off as well if you want to remove paid chat interactions altogether.
Are mid-roll ads controlled by the Super Chat switch?
No. Mid-rolls have their own automatic, scheduled or manual settings in the live-stream controls. Review those separately from Super Chat and from the general Monetization setting.