A Streamlabs Sub Goal widget shows progress towards a target on your live scene. Configure and save the goal in the Streamlabs Dashboard first, then add it to Streamlabs Desktop or OBS using a native source, the OBS plugin, or a Browser Source.
The important choice is what the goal counts and whether it represents one combined target or separate platform targets. A single goal should not be assumed to track independent platform totals automatically; for separate platform goals, configure separate widget themes and add each theme’s URL as its own Browser Source.
Configure and save a goal in the Dashboard
Sign in to the Streamlabs Dashboard and open All Widgets in the left navigation. Under Goals, choose Sub Goal. In Manage Goal, enter a title, target amount, starting amount, and end date. These values define what viewers see and where progress begins; check them before you activate the goal, particularly if you are replacing an older target.
Choose the platform events that count in the Platform dropdown. Streamlabs’ setup guide lists Twitch subscriptions, resubscriptions when enabled, gifted subscriptions and Prime Subs; YouTube memberships and gifted memberships; Facebook supports and support gifters; and Kick subscribers. The choices shown can depend on the account and may change, so rely on the dropdown in your own Dashboard rather than assuming that every event type is available everywhere.
After entering the goal details and selecting the events, save the customisations to start the goal. The Dashboard is where you establish its configuration; adding a source to your scene is a separate step. If you have not saved, the source may not show the settings you expect. Streamlabs documents the Dashboard sequence in its Sub Goal setup guide, and its goals overview describes the widget category and installation approaches.
Menu names can move between software updates. If the exact label differs, look for the widget section and its goal-management controls rather than starting a new goal in another part of the application. Keep a note of the title, target and selected platform events, especially if you maintain more than one theme; this makes it easier to spot a configuration mistake later.
If you need a visual prompt elsewhere in a scene, keep it distinct from the goal itself. For example, a countdown has different timing and layout needs from a progress bar; the guide on showing a countdown between videos on a 24/7 YouTube stream covers that separate task.
Choose a goal type and target
The target is not just a number: it sets the endpoint against which the displayed progress is measured. Choose an amount that makes sense for the period and audience you have in mind, then set a starting amount that reflects the state of the goal when it begins. If you are starting from zero, make that explicit in the field rather than relying on an assumed default. If you are carrying a goal forward, verify the starting count against the appropriate platform figures.
Streamlabs’ setup guide describes tracking subscriber count or sub points. A count treats each counted subscriber event as a unit. Points can be useful for Twitch affiliates or partners when subscription tiers are assigned different point values; make sure the choice fits how you want progress to be represented. A sub-point target is not interchangeable with a subscriber-count target, so label the goal clearly if viewers might mistake one for the other.
The platform selector determines which events contribute. A goal that includes a YouTube membership event is not thereby also a Twitch goal, and selecting a platform does not mean unrelated platform totals are combined. For one shared target, use the available configuration and event selection that correspond to that target, then check that the displayed progress behaves as intended. For genuinely distinct goals, use separate themes and sources, described below.
Set an end date that matches the period you are communicating. A date on a widget can look like a promise or deadline, so do not add one unless it is meaningful to the channel. On a continuous devotional, study, or ambience stream, a static target may be easier to understand than a short deadline that becomes stale while the video continues overnight. Make sure the wording still makes sense when a viewer joins mid-stream.
Avoid treating the widget as a forecast of subscriptions or income. It displays progress against the values and events you configure; it does not establish that a target will be reached. If you are explaining voluntary support, be clear about what the goal is for and avoid implying a viewer must contribute. For a related example of careful wording around support prompts, see how to avoid misleading viewers when asking for Super Chats on YouTube Live.
Style the goal widget
The widget’s visual settings let you choose layout, colours, font, and bar thickness. Start by making the label and progress legible at the size it will appear in your actual scene. A long title such as “Members helping us reach the next milestone” needs more room than a short label. A narrow bar may suit a compact corner placement, while a thicker bar can be easier to read over a busy background.
Use the live preview while adjusting the settings, but distinguish the preview from the live overlay. Streamlabs notes that the background visible in the preview is only for preview purposes; the live widget background is transparent. That means your scene or video remains visible behind the widget. Test the contrast against the actual image where it will sit, not only against the preview panel’s background.
Keep the style consistent with the stream, but avoid decorating the widget until its information is clear. A viewer should be able to identify what is being counted and how far progress has moved. If a colour is used for both text and an animated scene element, check that the text remains readable when the video changes. This matters in a long-running channel where the background may vary between scenes or clips.
HTML and CSS customisation is optional. Streamlabs says advanced HTML/CSS changes override other appearance settings, so consider them only if the built-in controls cannot achieve the result you need. If you customise the code, retain a copy of the working version before changing it and recheck the widget after edits. A change that obscures the title or bar can be harder to notice in a static Dashboard preview than while the stream is moving.
Add it to Streamlabs Desktop
In Streamlabs Desktop, open the Editor and find the Sources panel. Select the plus button, choose Subscription Goal, and add the source. In the source’s Goal tab, review or enter the title, target, starting amount, and end date, then select Start Goal to activate it. The Dashboard configuration and a Desktop source may present related settings in different places; review what appears instead of assuming the first saved goal is already live in the scene.
Use Visual Settings to adjust the appearance and the Source tab for advanced settings, then select Done. Drag the source into place in the preview and resize it to fit the scene. If you already configured the goal in the Dashboard, verify that the selected theme and goal details are the ones you intended. A familiar title is not enough to distinguish two goals if their targets or platform events differ.
The native Desktop source is a straightforward fit when the scene is built in Streamlabs Desktop and you want the currently selected widget theme’s goal. Its limitation matters if you want distinct platform goals at the same time: the native source displays the goal for the selected theme, rather than independently showing every theme’s goal. For those separate targets, add each theme’s URL as a separate Browser Source instead.
Keep sources clearly named in the Sources panel, for example “Sub Goal — YouTube” or “Sub Goal — Twitch”, if you add more than one. Naming does not change what an event counts towards, but it reduces the chance of adjusting or hiding the wrong overlay when editing a scene. If you use a 24/7 video loop, the widget is an overlay component rather than a replacement for checking the video and scene itself; the article on running a 24/7 YouTube stream with Restream discusses a different part of that broader workflow.
Add it to OBS with the plugin or Browser Source
OBS Studio does not require the Streamlabs plugin to display a saved goal. The documented plugin route and the Browser Source route are alternatives; choose the one that fits your OBS setup and whether you need theme-specific URLs.
For the plugin route, Streamlabs’ guide describes installing the Streamlabs Plugin for OBS and logging in. Open Streamlabs in OBS’s top navigation, select Sub Goal, then choose +Add. The widget source appears in the scene; drag and resize it as needed. The guide directs you to Settings for widget settings in the Dashboard. Since menus can differ between releases, follow the controls in the version you have rather than expecting every screen to be identical.
For a Browser Source, save the widget in the Dashboard and copy its widget URL. In OBS, add a Browser Source, paste the URL, and position and resize the source in the scene. This method is useful when you want to add a particular theme’s goal or when you prefer not to use the plugin. The URL is a private link for the configured widget: do not show it on stream, include it in public screenshots, or post it where someone else could reuse it.
After adding either type of source, check that it is visible and correctly placed in the scene preview. If the plugin route does not suit your setup, that alone is not a reason to assume OBS cannot display the widget. Streamlabs documents Browser Sources as an option for broadcasting software that supports them, including OBS Studio. For general software choices beyond this one overlay, the blog’s YouTube creator streaming software comparison is a separate starting point.
Set up separate themes for separate platform goals
If you want independent progress targets for separate platforms, create a widget theme for each one. Select a theme, configure its goal and platform events, save it, and use that theme’s link or copy control to obtain its Sub Goal URL. Repeat for the other platform in its own theme. A separate theme can hold a different target and appearance; it does not make one goal automatically track independent totals across platforms.
Add each theme URL as its own Browser Source, then label the sources by platform in the broadcast software. This keeps the source-to-goal relationship clear when you revisit the scene. For example, if you have separate membership and subscription targets, use the corresponding theme URL for each source and check the platform event selection in each Dashboard configuration. Do not assume that the source label itself controls which events are counted.
The native Sub Goal source in Streamlabs Desktop displays only the currently selected widget theme’s goal, according to Streamlabs’ guide. Therefore, if two independent platform goals need to be on screen together, use separate Browser Sources rather than expecting the native source to display both at once. If you only need one combined target, the standard Desktop source may be simpler; if you need independent targets, the additional sources and theme management are the trade-off.
Before going live, verify each source against its intended theme. It is easy to copy the same URL twice or leave the wrong theme selected when configuring the second goal. Check the displayed title and target in the preview, and confirm that each source is placed where it will not cover important content. If the goal is intended for a channel with recurring scenes, also check whether every scene that should show it includes the relevant source.
Preview and adjust the widget
Treat previewing as a small checklist, not just a glance at whether something appeared. Confirm the title, target, starting progress, and platform events in the Dashboard. Then check the source in the actual scene: legibility, size, position, and whether the transparent background lets the underlying video show through as expected. A widget that looks tidy in its settings panel may overlap captions, a lower-third, or text embedded in a prerecorded video.
Preview against more than one type of content if your stream changes scenes or plays a playlist. For example, place the goal over a bright frame and a dark frame; if the text disappears on either, adjust contrast, colour, or location. When testing an always-on channel, include a scene you use at night as well as any daytime or intermission scene. The point is to check the overlay in the viewing conditions your audience actually encounters, rather than to assume the Dashboard sample represents every background.
If you change the target or starting amount after adding the source, verify which configuration controls the result. A source can have its own setup controls, while the Dashboard stores the widget theme’s settings. Review the relevant goal and theme rather than repeatedly creating new sources until the numbers look right. For multiple goals, confirm each source’s URL and theme independently.
Finally, check the widget from the audience-facing stream output before relying on it for a long session. A local scene preview helps with layout, but it does not replace checking the live presentation and the platform’s current event settings. If you use a scheduled or prerecorded stream, the goal overlay is only one layer; the channel still needs its usual checks for the underlying video, audio, and stream status.
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FAQ
How can I add goals to my stream?
Configure the goal in Streamlabs Dashboard, save it, then add a Subscription Goal source in Streamlabs Desktop or use the Streamlabs plugin or a Browser Source in OBS. Check the title, target and selected platform events in the resulting scene before going live.
How do I add a Sub Goal widget in OBS Studio?
You can use the Streamlabs Plugin for OBS, or copy the saved goal URL and add it as an OBS Browser Source. The plugin is not required if you use a Browser Source.
Can one goal show separate totals for multiple platforms?
Do not assume that a single goal automatically tracks independent platform totals. Configure separate widget themes for separate platform goals, then add each theme’s URL as its own Browser Source.
Why does the widget background look different in the Dashboard preview?
The preview background is for the preview only; the live widget background is transparent. Check the widget over the actual scene so you can judge contrast and placement against your video.