“Leaderboard panel” can mean a ranking built into a platform’s chat, or a graphic placed over the video viewers watch. Choose between those first: Twitch’s Top Gifters, Top Cheerers and Top Clippers are Twitch chat features, while an on-video leaderboard needs a compatible widget and a scene in broadcasting software.
The steps below cover both routes and explain what to check before you go live. A provider’s widget may support only certain platforms or ranking data, so confirm that it tracks the activity you mean rather than assuming every leaderboard works everywhere.
Decide where the leaderboard should appear
Ask what you want viewers to see and where. If you want Twitch viewers to recognise people who give gifts, cheer with Bits or create clips, Twitch has named native leaderboards that appear at the top of chat when enabled. If you want a visible panel inside the broadcast image, you need an overlay or widget and a way to place it in your scene.
The distinction matters because a chat feature and a video overlay are not interchangeable. Someone watching the video may not see a chat leaderboard at all, particularly on a screen or app where chat is hidden. Conversely, an on-video panel occupies space in the broadcast and may be visible in recordings or clips. Decide whether recognition belongs in chat, in the picture, or both.
Then define what the ranking should count. “Top supporter” is not a precise metric: it might mean gifts, cheers, clips, subscribers, followers, channel points, or something else. Twitch’s documented categories are Top Gifters, Top Cheerers and Top Clippers. For other metrics, check the widget provider’s current documentation and make sure its definition matches what you want to recognise.
For a YouTube channel, do not expect Twitch’s native rankings to apply. Look for a widget that explicitly supports YouTube and the data you intend to display, and verify its current scope with its provider. If there is no supported source for that metric, a manually updated graphic may be more honest than implying that a panel is tracking a live ranking.
Twitch’s built-in supporter rankings
Twitch documents leaderboards for Top Gifters, Top Cheerers and Top Clippers. These recognise activity on Twitch and appear at the top of the chat window when channel owners enable them. They are not an OBS overlay and do not, by themselves, place a ranking over the broadcast video. The Twitch Help guide to leaderboards is the primary reference for the feature and its settings.
Use the native feature when the goal is recognition inside Twitch chat and one of the listed activity types fits. It avoids setting up a separate on-screen graphic, but gives you less control over the visual treatment and placement than an overlay would. It also serves a different audience: viewers looking at chat can encounter it where Twitch places it; viewers focused only on the video may not.
If the channel is primarily a YouTube devotional stream, a local news loop, or a lofi station, this Twitch feature is not a substitute for a YouTube-compatible graphic. Decide on the actual viewing platform before spending time configuring anything. For background on the separate work involved in keeping a YouTube channel running, see how to run a Tamil internet radio station on YouTube around the clock.
Top Gifters, Top Cheerers and Top Clippers
The names describe different activity, so choose based on the recognition you intend to give. Top Gifters concerns gifting activity; Top Cheerers concerns cheering; Top Clippers concerns clips. These are Twitch-specific examples, not generic names for features supplied by Streamlabs or YouTube. Do not present them as platform-neutral categories or assume another service counts the same actions.
A ranking can shape what viewers understand as valuable participation. If your community is uncomfortable with public comparisons, or your stream is meant to be quiet and non-competitive, you may decide not to enable a ranking even where it is available. A leaderboard can also draw attention away from the programme itself. Consider whether a public order of supporters suits the channel’s tone before turning it on.
If the goal is to acknowledge a recent supporter rather than rank a group, a label may be enough. Streamlabs documents Stream Labels for displaying selected recent or top values, but an individual label is not automatically a ranked, multi-person leaderboard. Check the label’s definition and refresh behaviour in the provider’s guide before relying on it, and distinguish a single supporter callout from a board of ranked names.
Enable a Twitch leaderboard and find its placement
In Twitch, open Creator Dashboard settings and look under Monetization, then Community, then Leaderboards. The guide also refers to searching settings for “Leaderboard Settings”; interface labels can change, so use Twitch’s current Help page if the path does not match what you see. Choose the category that corresponds to the activity you want to recognise and enable it if it suits your channel.
After enabling it, check the chat window: Twitch documents the leaderboard’s placement at the top of chat. Do not look for a new source in OBS or assume a graphic has been added to the video. If you want the board over the video as well, that is a separate implementation using a provider’s overlay and your broadcast software.
Before announcing the feature, view the channel as a viewer and confirm what appears. Check that the selected type makes sense, that the placement is clear, and that it does not obscure important chat controls on the devices your audience uses. Twitch’s instructions establish the feature and its location, but this article does not assume every account has identical settings or eligibility. If you cannot find it, consult the current official guide rather than relying on an old screenshot.
Build a custom on-video panel in OBS
For an on-video board, first find a widget provider that explicitly supports the platform and ranking data you need. Confirm what the board counts, whether the data updates automatically, and whether the provider offers a ready-made layout or expects you to customise one. A catalogue entry called “leaderboard” is not enough to establish that it tracks your platform or the metric you want.
The general OBS workflow is to add the provider’s widget URL as a Browser Source in the scene, then set its dimensions and position. OBS’s tutorial on alerts and chat box layouts explains the use of Browser Sources for overlay elements. Streamlabs also documents a widget URL workflow for compatible software in its Sub Goal widget setup guide. These examples explain a method, not a promise that either product supplies a leaderboard for every platform.
A practical setup sequence is:
- Select a widget that names your streaming platform and the desired ranking data in its documentation.
- Configure it with the provider and copy the widget or overlay URL, following that provider’s instructions.
- In OBS, open the scene where the panel should appear and add a Browser Source. Use the widget URL as its address.
- Set the source dimensions according to the provider’s directions and the canvas you stream at. There is no universal size that suits every layout.
- Move and resize the source in the preview. Keep it clear of captions, faces, gameplay controls or other information viewers need.
- Test the result before going live, including whether names or values update as expected and whether the panel remains readable at the size viewers will see.
The OBS tutorial is useful for understanding the scene and Browser Source side; the provider’s guide remains the authority for its own URL, data and display settings. If you use Streamlabs Desktop, its overlay setup article describes that product’s overlay path. Follow the instructions for the application you actually use rather than mixing steps from different tools.
A Browser Source depends on the provider’s widget and your scene configuration. If it appears blank, check the URL and provider setup first; if it appears but is cut off, adjust the source size and position. Preview the scene after changes. Avoid making last-minute layout changes during a long-running broadcast without checking the complete scene, since a panel can cover programme content even when it looks tidy in a cropped editor view.
Choose the display that fits the channel
The right option depends on the platform, data and amount of visual control you need. Use this comparison as a decision aid, not as a claim that every provider offers each option.
| Route | Where viewers see it | Data to verify | Control and trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twitch native leaderboard | At the top of Twitch chat | Top Gifters, Top Cheerers or Top Clippers | Straightforward platform feature; Twitch determines its chat placement, not your video layout |
| Provider widget in OBS | In the broadcast picture | The provider must support the platform and ranking you want | More control over position and appearance; requires a compatible widget URL and scene setup |
| Supporter label | Wherever you place the label | The specific recent or top value the label displays | Useful for a single callout; not necessarily a multi-person ranked board |
| Manually updated graphic | In the broadcast picture | Whatever you choose to show and maintain | Full editorial control, but updates are your responsibility and may not reflect live activity |
For a quiet study stream, a small board may be less important than keeping the lesson visible. For a local news loop, a ranking may distract from the information viewers came for. A creator-focused Twitch channel may prefer the chat-native feature because it recognises the relevant activity without taking up video space. Match the choice to the programme rather than adding a panel because it is available.
If no widget explicitly supports your platform and metric, do not label a generic graphic as live data. You can use a static acknowledgement or a clearly dated update instead, provided viewers will not mistake it for an automatically refreshed ranking. The Stream Kit overlays documentation lists a Leaderboard overlay type for that provider; treat this as evidence of its documented offering only, and check its current support details before adopting it.
Check platform support and test before broadcast
A widget’s appearance does not prove its data connection works. Before building the layout around it, verify which platform it reads from, what events or totals it counts, and whether the ranking updates on the schedule you expect. If those details are unclear in the provider’s own documentation, ask the provider or choose a simpler display. Do not infer support for YouTube from a widget being available in an OBS overlay catalogue.
Test in the same scene and output configuration you intend to use. Confirm that the panel renders, remains legible at the final size, and does not cover captions, a presenter, artwork or other essential content. If you have a second screen or test account available, check the viewer-facing result rather than trusting only the editor preview. For a long-running stream, test the scene at the start and after any software or widget changes.
Think through what happens when there is no activity, a name is unusually long, or the data source is unavailable. A good layout should not become confusing if a ranking is empty or a label contains more text than expected. Review the provider’s controls for hiding or repositioning the panel, and keep a clean scene variant available if the widget fails. This is ordinary broadcast preparation, not a guarantee that a third-party service or platform will always behave as expected.
For continuous YouTube broadcasts, a panel is only one part of the scene; the stream itself still needs a stable source and a deliberate test. If a local OBS machine is involved, test a nature-sounds loop before going live on YouTube for a useful preflight mindset, and review OBS video stuttering in a 24/7 YouTube stream if playback is not smooth. Those checks address stream operation rather than leaderboard data, so test both separately.
If your channel runs from a pre-recorded file and you do not want to keep a computer on for the broadcast, StreamNeo removes that specific need by letting you upload the file and run the YouTube stream without your own computer running. It does not add a leaderboard widget, and it is YouTube-only, so choose and test the panel separately.
When you are ready to choose how to keep the channel running, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
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
Is Twitch’s Top Gifters leaderboard an overlay?
No. Twitch documents Top Gifters as a native leaderboard shown at the top of the chat window when enabled. To put a ranking over the video, you need a compatible on-screen widget or graphic in your broadcast scene.
Can I use Twitch’s Top Cheerers or Top Clippers on YouTube?
Those are Twitch-specific native leaderboard categories, not YouTube features. For YouTube, confirm that a separate widget explicitly supports YouTube and the metric you want to show before setting it up.
Does adding a Streamlabs label give me a leaderboard?
Not necessarily. A label may show an individual recent or top value, while a leaderboard presents multiple ranked entries. Check the provider’s description so the display matches what you intend viewers to understand.
Do I need to buy hardware for a leaderboard panel?
The documented routes here use platform settings or software configuration, such as adding a Browser Source in OBS. Whether a particular setup needs additional equipment depends on your existing broadcast arrangement, but do not buy hardware on the assumption that it is required for the panel itself.