How tipping, private shows and spy shows work on Chaturbate

Watching and chatting in a Chaturbate room are free; tokens are what you spend on the broadcaster. A tip is a one-off amount sent in the public room. A private show is the broadcaster streaming to you alone, billed per minute at a rate they set, typically 6 to 90 or more tokens a minute. A spy show lets you watch someone else's private for less, most often 6 to 30 tokens a minute, without being able to chat.

A Chaturbate room runs on one currency and four ways of spending it. If you have watched for a while without an account, you have seen the effects: a tip lands and the broadcaster reacts, a goal bar fills, and now and then the room empties into "private" and the stream cuts away. This page explains each of those from the viewer's side, what they cost, and how to choose between them so tokens go where they do something.

If you have not bought tokens yet, the token prices page covers packs, rates and what a token is worth to the performer. The short version: between 8 and 14 cents each to you depending on the pack, 5 cents each to them.

The free part, and where tokens start

JustTheCams shows room previews and links; it does not play the stream or run accounts. Browse live rooms, open a room preview, then use Open live room & chat to continue to the network-operated live site. Public viewing is free. A free account there lets you chat and follow broadcasters; token purchases are separate and optional. The live site controls its registration and any age-verification requirements.

For a first visit, choose a room you like before deciding to spend. Check its tip menu or private-show terms on the live site. Use the token calculator to estimate a budget, then check the actual pack price at checkout. This directory does not take payments, and creating an account is not a commitment to buy tokens.

Tokens start at the moment you want to do something the whole room does not get. Four things sit behind them: tips, private shows, spy shows and ticket shows. Each works differently and each suits a different kind of room.

Tipping in the public room

A tip is a token amount sent to the broadcaster while they are streaming publicly. It appears in chat with your username and the amount, and the broadcaster sees it as a notification. Most rooms attach a short sound to tips, and larger amounts get a louder one; that is why a busy room chimes constantly.

Three things shape what a tip does.

• The tip menu. Most broadcasters pin a list of what specific amounts get: a small request at 15 or 25 tokens, bigger ones in the hundreds. The menu is the price list for that room and it is different in every room. Read it before tipping for something specific, and add a note to the tip saying what it is for.
• The goal. A target the broadcaster sets for the room. A goal may appear in the subject line shown on our cards; open the live room to check its progress and rules. The broadcaster's app or menu determines which tips count and what happens when the target is reached. Contributing to a shared goal can cost less than booking a private show, but a tip does not guarantee that a show will happen.
• Amount and timing. Chat may be easier to follow in a room with fewer viewers, but a tip does not guarantee a reply or acceptance of a request. Check the broadcaster's menu and availability before sending tokens, whatever the room size.

Tips are public by default. The broadcaster and everyone in chat can see who tipped and how much, and tipping also changes the colour of your name in the room for the next fortnight — what the colours mean sets out the tiers and what each costs. The network's optional monthly membership lets you tip without your name showing to other viewers, though the broadcaster still sees who tipped, and most people never bother; regulars in a room tend to like being recognised.

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How much does a private show cost?

A private show is billed per minute at a rate the broadcaster sets in advance, so the cost is the rate times the length: ten minutes at 30 tokens a minute is 300 tokens, between $24.00 and $41.94 depending on the pack the tokens came from. The token calculator prices any rate and length at every pack's rate before you ask.

A private show is the broadcaster streaming to you alone. You request it from inside the room; the broadcaster accepts or declines; if they accept, the public stream switches to a "private" notice for everyone else and your token balance starts counting down by the minute.

What to check before you request one.

The network's private-show instructions explain where to check the rate, minimum minutes and recording option. Agree on the show with the broadcaster before requesting it.

• The rate. Shown in the room before you ask, typically anywhere from 6 to 90 or more tokens a minute. Thirty a minute is a common middle.
• The minimum. Most broadcasters set a minimum number of minutes, often 5 or 10. If the rate is 30 and the minimum is 5, you need 150 tokens on your account before the request goes through, and you are committed to that much.
• The rules. Broadcasters list what they will and will not do in private, usually in their bio or tip menu. A private is not a licence to ask for anything; it is their show with an audience of one.
• Cam to Cam. You can offer to share your own camera (video only) with the broadcaster; they have to accept, and the network asks you to verify your age before you can use it. It is optional. The Cam to Cam guide explains what it shares, who can see it and how to enable it safely.

The billing is straightforward: the meter runs while the private is on, stops when either of you ends it, and you pay for the minutes used above the minimum. The network keeps a recording of privates you paid for in your account where the broadcaster allows it, so a show you liked is not gone the moment it ends.

Privates suit two situations. One is a broadcaster you already know from their public room, where you want their attention rather than a share of it. The other is a quiet room where the broadcaster is clearly available and the public stream is winding down. They suit a packed room badly: a busy broadcaster may decline, and a crowd is what makes their public show work.

Spy shows

While a broadcaster is in a private with someone else, other viewers can sometimes watch the same stream without being part of it. That is a spy show. It costs less per minute than the private, at a rate the broadcaster sets, most often somewhere between 6 and 30 tokens a minute, and it is one-way: you see and hear, you cannot chat, and neither the broadcaster nor the paying viewer is performing for you. The calculator's spy mode prices one.

Not every room allows spying, and the viewer who booked the private can be the reason it is switched off. When it is available, the room shows a spy option instead of the private notice. It is the cheapest way to see what a broadcaster's private shows are like before booking one yourself.

Ticket shows and group shows

A ticket show is a group performance with a fixed entry price rather than a per-minute one. The broadcaster announces it, sets the ticket price, often somewhere between 50 and 500 tokens, and sells tickets in the public room for a while before starting. When it starts, ticket holders see the show and everyone else sees a notice. Because the price is fixed and the audience is shared, a ticket show is usually the cheapest way to see a full show from a popular broadcaster, and it is what busy rooms tend to run instead of privates.

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Spending tokens without wasting them

A few habits separate viewers who get something for their tokens from viewers who do not.

• Watch first. A room tells you within a few minutes whether the broadcaster reads chat, reacts to tips and answers requests. Tip after you know, not before.
• Pick the room size for the purpose. Rooms with fewer viewers can make public chat easier to follow; they are not private one-to-one shows. Busy rooms may suit shared goals or group performances. Neither size guarantees attention or a private request being accepted.
• Read the menu before tipping. Check what the broadcaster offers and whether they are currently accepting requests. A listed amount and a note clarify what you are asking for, but do not guarantee a response or performance.
• Follow before you spend. A free follow means you can find the same broadcaster next time they are live. Tokens spent on someone you cannot find again are spent once.
• Keep the 5-cent figure in mind. The broadcaster receives 5 cents a token. A 100-token tip is five dollars to them; a 500-token goal is twenty-five. Rooms feel different when you see the amounts that way.

Where to start

Browse everyone online right now, narrow it to female, male, couples or trans rooms, or pick a tag that matches what you want to see. Open a room, watch, and only then decide whether it is worth a tip.