How to Add a Live YouTube Sub Counter to OBS Studio

April 1, 2026·3 min read

Why Add a Sub Counter to Your Stream?

Displaying your live subscriber count during streams is a great way to:

Celebrate milestones with your audience in real time

Create engagement and excitement during subscriber goals

Show transparency about your channel's growth

Add a professional touch to your stream layout

Setting Up in OBS Studio

Step 1: Get Your Channel URL

Go to RealtimeSubCount.com and search for your channel. Copy the URL from the browser's address bar. It will look like:

https://realtimesubcount.com/UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Step 2: Add a Browser Source

Open OBS Studio

In the Sources panel, click the + button

Select Browser

Name it "Sub Counter" and click OK

Step 3: Configure the Browser Source

URL: Paste your RealtimeSubCount channel URL

Width: 800

Height: 600

Custom CSS: Leave blank (or customize — see below)

Step 4: Position and Resize

Drag the browser source to your preferred position in the scene. Resize it by dragging the corners while holding Alt to crop.

Custom CSS for OBS

Want to show just the number without the page background? Add this custom CSS in the browser source settings:

body {
  background: transparent !important;
}

This makes the background transparent so the counter floats over your stream content.

Tips for Streamers

Position wisely: Put the counter in a corner where it won't block important game content

Celebrate milestones: When approaching a round number, make it a stream event

Keep it small: The counter doesn't need to dominate the screen — a subtle presence works best

Alternative: Embed Mode

For a cleaner look, use our embed URL format:

https://realtimesubcount.com/embed/YOUR_CHANNEL_ID

This shows just the counter number without navigation or other page elements — perfect for OBS overlays.

Troubleshooting

Counter not updating? Make sure "Shutdown source when not visible" is unchecked in the browser source properties.

Black screen? Try refreshing the browser source by right-clicking it and selecting "Refresh cache of current page."

Wrong channel? Double-check that the channel ID in your URL matches your channel. You can find your channel ID in YouTube Studio under Settings > Channel > Advanced settings.

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