If you want a progress bar for money raised through your Streamlabs tip page, set up Streamlabs’ Tip Goal widget. It is a personal fundraising target, not the same thing as a Streamlabs Charity campaign, and it does not track contributions from every platform.
The practical sequence is to create the goal in the Streamlabs Dashboard, save its details, customise its appearance, then add the widget to the scene in your streaming software. Decide the target and deadline before saving: Streamlabs says an existing Tip Goal cannot be edited, so changing those details means ending it and creating another.
Choose Tip Goal for a personal fundraising target
The word “donation” can mean several different things in a livestream. For a personal target based on tips sent through your Streamlabs tip page, choose Tip Goal. Streamlabs describes it as a way to track tips received through that page against a goal you choose. The displayed progress is therefore tied to that contribution source, rather than being a universal tally of money arriving through unrelated services.
A charity fundraiser is a different case. Streamlabs has a separate Charity Donation Goal widget for a published Streamlabs Charity campaign. Its setup is campaign-specific; do not use Tip Goal on the assumption that it represents or tracks a charity campaign. Streamlabs also lists a Tiltify Donation Goal, as well as widgets for other events such as followers, subscriptions, Bits, and YouTube Super Chats. Each measures a different source or action.
Before you start, name the source you intend to count. If a viewer sends support through your Streamlabs tip page, Tip Goal is the relevant personal widget. If you are raising funds through Streamlabs Charity, use its charity goal widget. If donations come through another platform, check whether Streamlabs provides a dedicated goal for that service and follow its instructions. Do not assume that connecting a browser overlay will make one widget read every platform’s totals.
This distinction matters especially on a channel that runs for long periods. A devotional stream, a study room, or an always-on music channel may have viewers arriving at different times, but the goal still reflects the source it was designed to measure. It is sensible to explain that source in your stream description or on-screen wording so viewers know what the bar means. A label such as “Streamlabs tips towards the next music session” is more precise than a generic “donations” label if only Streamlabs tips count.
If you are also planning the channel’s wider presentation, the article on promoting a 24/7 YouTube live stream without paid ads covers ways to help viewers find a stream. Keep that work separate from the mechanics of the Tip Goal: a visible progress bar can communicate a target, but it does not by itself establish where contributions are recorded.
Open All Widgets and select Tip Goal
Sign in to the Streamlabs Dashboard. In the sidebar, open All Widgets, then find Tip Goal under Goals. That takes you to the goal’s management screen, where you can define the target before working on its visual treatment.
The naming is worth checking rather than clicking the first item with “goal” in its name. The widget catalogue contains more than one kind of goal. If your intention is to count personal Streamlabs tips, stay with Tip Goal. If the aim is a charity campaign, pause here and use the separate charity instructions instead. Streamlabs’ official Tip Goal setup guide documents the dashboard route and fields.
It helps to prepare the information first: the title viewers should see, the target amount, any progress already raised that should be reflected at the start, and the end date. You do not need to settle the colours at this stage. The goal values and the overlay’s appearance are handled in separate parts of the workflow.
If you are operating the channel from a dedicated computer, the article on running a YouTube radio stream from a spare PC discusses the broader streaming arrangement. The Tip Goal setup itself remains in the Streamlabs Dashboard regardless of whether you use a spare PC; the later step is to add its display to the software and scene that send your broadcast.
Enter the title, target, starting amount, and end date
In Manage Goal, enter a title and the target amount. Make the title descriptive enough to stand on its own beside a progress bar. For example, “New microphone fund” tells a viewer more than “Goal”, while a channel focused on study sessions might use “Next month’s study music licence” if that accurately describes the purpose. Avoid wording that implies contributions from other platforms are included when they are not.
Enter a Starting Amount if you want the bar to begin with progress already made. This is useful when a target is continuing from support received before the widget was created, provided that amount is being counted consistently with the goal. If there is no prior progress to represent, leave the goal to begin without an added starting amount. Do not use this field to make the bar look further along than the amount actually raised for the stated purpose.
Set the deadline in End After. Choose a date that makes sense for the target and the way your channel is run. A short campaign may have a specific event at its end; a long-running channel may have a periodic target that you review and restart. The key is to tell viewers what the date refers to, especially if the stream itself remains live after the goal’s end date.
Take care before saving, because the current goal’s settings cannot be edited according to Streamlabs’ guide. If you notice that the target, end date, or current amount is wrong after creation, the documented route is to end that goal and create a new one. If you want progress to continue, note the displayed amount and enter it as the new goal’s starting amount. This is less convenient than editing a field in place, so treat the save as a checkpoint and read the values back before selecting it.
For a channel with more than one target over time, keep a simple record of the title, amount, deadline, and final progress before replacing a goal. That gives you a clear handover between campaigns and helps avoid losing context when you carry a total into a new starting amount. It is also useful when another person helps manage the stream.
Save the goal and customise its appearance
After the values are ready, save the goal. Then adjust the appearance separately in the widget settings. Streamlabs lists standard and condensed layouts, font choices, colours, bar size, a live preview, and optional custom HTML/CSS. You can use the preview to see whether the text fits and whether the progress bar remains legible against the content behind it. Save the appearance settings when you are satisfied.
A goal overlay has to work at the actual size viewers will see, not just in the dashboard preview. A long title may wrap or become hard to read when placed over a busy scene. Condensed layout or a shorter title can help, while a bar with stronger contrast may be easier to follow over moving footage. If your video already contains captions or a ticker, place the goal where it does not cover those elements.
For a devotional or local news channel, keep the overlay visually restrained if it competes with the material viewers came to watch. A small, readable goal in a clear corner is often more useful than a large panel that hides lyrics, a presenter, or essential information. For a study stream, check that it does not cover the timer or notes. These are layout decisions, not a reason to claim that a particular design raises more money.
Custom HTML/CSS is available as an optional route in the settings described by Streamlabs, but it is not necessary for a basic progress bar. If you do not already maintain web styling, start with the standard controls and preview instead. A custom design adds another thing to inspect when the widget is moved or resized, and can make routine changes less straightforward.
The official Streamlabs goals widget catalogue is useful when you need to compare the available widget types. Use the catalogue to confirm that the goal you select matches the event or contribution source, rather than interpreting “goal” as a common counter shared by all widgets.
Add the goal widget to your stream layout
The route depends on the software you use. In Streamlabs Desktop, open Sources, select the plus sign, choose Tip Goal under Widgets, and add it. Resize and position the source in the scene. If you want the goal to appear in more than one scene, add or reuse the appropriate source in each scene where it should be visible.
In OBS Studio, copy the widget URL from the Tip Goal settings and create a Browser source. Paste the URL into that source, set suitable dimensions, then position and resize it in the scene. The URL is for configuring the source, not for displaying to viewers. Do not show it in a screen capture or leave it visible in stream footage; keep it in the software’s source settings.
The two paths have a practical difference: Streamlabs Desktop provides the widget as a native source selection, while OBS uses a browser source and the widget URL. Neither changes what the goal counts. The contribution source is determined by the chosen widget, not by whether the overlay is added through a desktop widget menu or a URL.
After adding it, inspect the scene as a viewer would see it. Confirm that the bar is inside the frame, text is legible at the intended output size, and it does not cover something important. If it is missing in OBS, first check that the browser source contains the correct URL, has usable dimensions, and is visible in the scene. If you use Streamlabs Desktop, check that the widget source was added to the scene currently being used for the broadcast.
If the channel loops recorded material, remember that the overlay is part of the live scene, not part of the video file itself. The guide to streaming a pre-recorded video as live on YouTube explains that broader arrangement. Keep the goal’s display and the video playback as separate pieces of the setup so you can adjust its placement without altering the source video.
Check that the selected goal matches the event being tracked
Before going live, check the widget name and ask what it is supposed to count. Tip Goal is for Streamlabs tips. Charity Donation Goal is for a published Streamlabs Charity campaign. A Tiltify goal is for that service’s donations. Follower, subscription, Bits, and Super Chat goals concern those respective events, rather than all contributions to a channel.
| What you want to represent | Goal to look for | What not to assume |
|---|---|---|
| Personal tips through your Streamlabs tip page | Tip Goal | It does not automatically include payments from other services |
| A published Streamlabs Charity campaign | Charity Donation Goal | It is not the personal Tip Goal under another name |
| Donations made through Tiltify | Tiltify Donation Goal | The Tip Goal is not a general Tiltify counter |
| A platform activity such as followers or Super Chats | The matching event goal | An event counter is not a money total from every source |
These distinctions are documented in Streamlabs’ charity goal setup guide and its goal widget catalogue. If you are setting up a charity campaign, the charity guide describes its own workflow; it says to build and publish the campaign before adding its goal widget. Do not substitute the Tip Goal steps and then label the result a charity campaign.
A useful final check is to read the on-screen title aloud and compare it with the source you actually configured. If the title says “all donations” but the widget only counts Streamlabs tips, narrow the wording. If you display multiple goal types, make each label explicit so viewers can distinguish a money target from a follower or subscription target. This avoids creating an impression that the bar covers activity the widget does not track.
Keep the goal maintainable during a long stream
A 24/7 channel makes a deadline and handover worth planning. A goal that ends while the stream continues may need a fresh target, but the Tip Goal guide does not describe an in-place edit. Before ending one, record its total and decide whether the next target should start at zero or carry forward the amount already raised. If you carry it forward, put that amount in the next goal’s Starting Amount and use a title that makes the new target clear.
Do not promise viewers that the total refreshes instantly or that every payment will appear in the bar at a fixed interval. The cited setup guide explains what the widget tracks and how to configure it, but it does not specify an update interval. If a viewer asks about a contribution that is not reflected, check the relevant Streamlabs account and current support documentation rather than inventing a timing guarantee.
For any stream that relies on a computer running the scene, the overlay will only be part of that broadcast while the scene and software are active. The article on running a 24/7 YouTube livestream without a computer discusses a different operating arrangement. Whichever approach you use, keep access to the goal settings and source configuration private, and test the actual broadcast view before leaving a long session unattended.
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FAQ
Is Tip Goal the same as a Streamlabs Charity Donation Goal?
No. Tip Goal is the personal fundraising widget for tips received through your Streamlabs tip page. A charity campaign has its own Charity Donation Goal widget, and it should be set up against a published Streamlabs Charity campaign using the separate instructions.
Can Tip Goal count donations from another platform?
Do not assume that it can. Streamlabs describes Tip Goal as tracking tips through the Streamlabs tip page, and lists separate widgets for other sources such as Tiltify and for platform events. Choose the widget that corresponds to the source you want to represent.
Can I change the amount or deadline after saving?
Streamlabs’ setup guide says an existing Tip Goal cannot be edited. End the goal and create a new one with the correct target or end date; if progress should carry forward, note the current total and use it as the new starting amount.
How do I show Tip Goal in OBS Studio?
Copy the widget URL from the Tip Goal settings and add it as a Browser source in OBS. Set the source dimensions and position it in the scene, and keep the URL out of the broadcast view.