League of Legends is one of the largest titles in the gaming industry and there are tons of opportunities for making money with it.
It is still one of the most played and watched games in the whole world. And where there’s a big and engaged community of people, there is also money!
But if you have already researched this topic, you’ve probably heard the same thing – “you need to be good at the game if you want to make money with it” which can discourage most people from even trying.
And these “experts” often fail to understand all the aspects of actually making money with a video game, let alone the video game of our time.
I’m a Master tier player myself but I’m certainly not spending hours and hours on Discord calls every day coaching players to get better.
So, let me take you on a journey (perhaps your life-changing journey) and tell you every possible method of making money with League of Legends. And how much you can expect to earn every month!
Understanding the Process of Making Money with League of Legends
In this post, I’ll talk about various ways of earning money with and around League of Legends. But essentially, these are all ways of making money online, on the internet as a whole.
And because of that, there are a few things you really need to prepare for, mentally and physically.
Working Hard without Seeing Instant Results
I’m not kidding when I say this – building an online business is NOT easy. It doesn’t matter whether it’s something connected with League or not, developing a business that earns you a living on the internet takes a very long time.
For example, let’s say that you choose to be a League of Legends streamer and earn money primarily from subscriptions and donations. Here are some statistics I want you to be aware of.
Over 90% of the Twitch channels have less than 3 viewers on average. If you have around 10 viewers every time you stream, then you’re in the top 5% of the streamers on Twitch.
And being able to keep around 30 viewers on average, which doesn’t do anything for your income, puts you in the top 1% of Twitch streamers. That’s the harsh reality – the majority of people simply don’t make it, for one reason or another.
This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to succeed on Twitch or any other platform. But it does mean that you have to work more and be better. And because of that, time is the first thing you need to be ready to sacrifice.
In the beginning, you have to put a lot of hours in, educating yourself, researching, and doing the job to the best of your abilities while constantly looking out and trying to improve yourself as much as possible.
Most of us didn’t receive the right business education in school. And the idea of essentially working without getting paid, usually for months or even a year, puts the majority of the people off.
We aren’t used to doing things for free, especially when it’s work-related. But trust me – if you want to make money online, including League of Legends, you have to work harder than most people do with their 9-5 jobs.
But it’s worth it.
Read Also: 10-Steps Program to Stop Your League of Legends Addiction
Setting Up Payment Accounts
One technical thing you may not think about, especially if you’re still young, is setting up bank accounts and online payment accounts properly. But in order for you to receive the actual money that you can spend in the real world, you have to have them.
First things first, having a bank account is a must. I recommend opening a personal bank account in your own name. And if you haven’t done that yet, you can contact your local bank and they will do it for you.
For this, you’ll need to provide some documents like a Passport or another ID document issued by your Government, Birth Certificate, Social Security Number, Tax Information, address, and so on.
If you’re still under the age and don’t have some of these documents, you can contact the authorities to tell you what you can do instead. The rules can be very different depending on where you live, so don’t give up right away.
With the bank account, you’ll also get a card (Credit or Debit). And when you receive money in your bank account, you can use that card for paying out in the real world or pulling out cash from ATMs.
Next, you must link your bank account to an online payment service such as PayPal.
PayPal is one of the most used online payments in the whole world. And depending on the kind of work you do for money, you’ll get paid on PayPal first but you can transfer that money to your bank account later.
Having a PayPal account is especially important if you’re not from the USA. Most USA-based companies won’t pay you directly to your bank account in the EU, for example. So PayPal is a great mediator and a solution for that problem.
If you haven’t done this yet, here’s a link for you to create a PayPal account. Connecting your bank and PayPal account can be a bit of a hassle, but it’s something you simply have to do.
Read Also: How to Fix Low FPS On Good/High-End PC?
Taxes
Although tax regulations vary from country to country, keeping track of your taxes and paying them is non-negotiable and it’s something every person must do.
I don’t want to go into great detail here simply because one piece of information might only be used for one group of people that live in one particular place of the world. However, I’ll give you some information you need to be aware of.
For example, the tax percentage for streamers in the USA is 15,3%. This is because the government categorizes streamers as self-employed individuals.
And so, if you’re from the USA and you plan to make money being a LoL streamer, you have to give up 15,3% of your income.
In the EU, things are a bit different. The self-employed tax rate is calculated based on how much you earn per month. And the more you earn the higher the percentage rate will be.
For example, the tax rate in Germany for self-employed individuals ranges between 14% and 45%. The pay rates in other EU countries are somewhat similar.
And if you become really successful as a League of Legends streamer or a YouTuber, you’ll essentially need to give up on half of your money. So, I don’t recommend moving to the EU and living as a self-employed individual.
But there are things you can do to legally lower your tax, no matter where you’re from. For example, if you’re successful, you could open up a business company and assign yourself an average wage each month to your personal bank account.
As for the actual payment of your taxes, things are really complicated. Each country has its own rules and regulations. For example, where you live you might need to pay your taxes every 3 months but in other parts of the world, you can also do it every 6 or 12 months.
I recommend you check these rules in your own country just to make sure you aren’t doing anything legal. You don’t want to pay penalties when you’re trying to make money, so be careful and keep track of these things.
Now, let’s move on to the methods of actually making money with League of Legends!
Method 1: Become a Twitch Streamer
I already mentioned the Twitch career a couple of times and it’s the one I want to start with here. Streaming on Twitch is the most popular way of making money with League of Legends and it’s what people are willing to try out first.
You definitely want to stream on Twitch primarily because it’s the largest streaming platform, so it’s where most of the League of Legends audience is. There’s more competition than you can think of but it’s not impossible to break in.
And if you want to succeed on Twitch, you have to approach it very professionally.
What does this mean?
Everything You Need to Stream on Twitch
To start streaming on Twitch, you first need to make a Twitch account.
You also need to download and set up OBS, or Open Broadcaster Software. These two things need to be linked in order for your stream to actually work.
And here’s what you need to be viewed as a professional streamer on Twitch:
- Excellent and stable internet connection
- A decent gaming PC that can run League of Legends without a problem
- Streaming camera
- Good microphone
- Nice-looking room for your background (optional)
Is this all a must?
No, but it’s what distinguishes pro streamers from beginner and average ones. And as I stated above, only the top 1% of Twitch streamers earn a full-time income, so good gear is something to consider.
Sure, there are thousands of League of Legends streamers without a camera or a microphone. All they do is play LoL and nothing else. But how many viewers do they have on average? And is their content really engaging for them to draw and keep a large audience?
Look, an expensive camera, a top-of-the-line microphone, and a bunch of neon lights won’t make you money. Your personality, behavior, energy, character, charisma, and in-game skills are what matter to people.
But psychologically, every detail about your online appearance influences people’s reactions and opinions. And all the things I mentioned above will help you surpass your competition.
The key question to ask yourself is whether you would watch your own stream if it was broadcasted in a very amateur way. And if the answer is no, then that’s the case for most people, unfortunately.
In other words, there has to be a reason why people want to tune in to your stream and watch you play League of Legends.
Most League of Legends streamers that succeed in earning full-time income are either very good at the game (Master + elo) or very funny/entertaining as personas.
If you’re a high-elo player, then you can probably get away with not using a camera, for example. But if you’re looking to be entertaining, a camera is a must.
Read Also: 8 Best Female League of Legends Players & Streamers
How Much Money Can You Make on Twitch?
There are 3 major ways of earning money on Twitch – ad revenue, subscriptions, and donations. But in order for this to work, you need to become a Twitch partner and fill these requirements.
Ads are simple to understand and you don’t need to do anything about them. When people click on your stream, sometimes Twitch will play an ad for them to watch. And in return, you get a percentage of the money the advertisers paid for their ad to show to those specific people.
Subscriptions are the most common way of earning money on Twitch. For a set amount of price, people can support you on a monthly basis. The most common subscription price is $4.99.
And donations are extremely valuable as well as diverse. They come as a result of your fans’ generosity, appreciation, and love for your content. And it all depends on how many viewers you have.
Here’s a table I want you to consider.
| Average Viewers | Monthly Salary |
| 10 | $20 – $200 |
| 100 | $500 – $1000 |
| 1000 | $2000 – $5000 |
| 10000 | $25,000+ |
Method 2: Build a Large YouTube Channel
If the idea of facing a large audience live is daunting to you, I completely understand. And YouTube is the next best thing if you want to keep on playing League of Legends and earn money from your gameplay.
So, how can you make money on YouTube exactly?
YouTubers primarily earn their money from the ads that play before and during their videos. The great thing is that YouTube itself provides those ads and all you need to do is provide the videos, i.e. the content that people will watch.
The ad revenue is heavily dependent on the niche you’re in as well as the people that actually watch your videos. For example, the US audience will always make you more money than your EU audience simply because advertisers are spending more on people that live in the USA.
On average, YouTube ads generally make from $0,25 to $4,00 per 1000 views. In the gaming industry, you should never expect it to be as high as $4 but around $1.5 is something anyone can hope for.
So let’s run a quick math and see how much you can expect to earn with a League channel if the average ad rate is $1.5 per 1000 views.
| Number of views per Video | Money Made per video |
| 10 000 | $15 |
| 100 000 | $150 |
| 500 000 | $750 |
If your content is engaging and recommended by the YouTube algorithms and every video you upload has over 100 000 views, then you can probably earn the same amount of money as the average person you meet on the streets.
Also, keep in mind that YouTubers often get sponsored for their videos by one company or another. So, that can also help you make this a sustainable business.
How to Succeed as a League YouTuber?
The secret of succeeding on YouTube is probably worth billions of dollars. But it’s also something that no one knows in the whole wide world.
Like every other platform, YouTube works on algorithms that promote certain channels and videos while hiding others. The whole purpose of this is to increase engagement and earn as much money as possible.
In other words, if people like your videos and watch them from start to finish, YouTube will definitely promote them even more people. This is because they can play more ads before and during your videos so that more people can see those ads and they can make more money.
Making great YouTube content isn’t easy so here are a few tips to help you think in the right direction:
- Make your YouTube channel specifically for League of Legends (don’t upload videos of other games that aren’t connected with LoL)
- Upload similar types of videos (people come to your channel for a reason, either to get educated or to laugh, so don’t mix the two)
- Upload videos regularly on a fixed schedule (this improves your status in YouTube’s eyes)
- Have exceptional thumbnails (it’s what grabs people’s attention)
You can also combine YouTube and Twitch to double your income. The games that you’ve streamed on Twitch can also be uploaded on YouTube so you can try to maximize your earnings with League of Legends
Method 3: Become a Professional LoL Player
Going pro is what most LoL players have dreamt of at some point, including me. But the harsh reality is this – it is only reserved for the top 0.01% of the players in the world.
People often underestimate how extremely good you need to be at League of Legends in order to become a pro.
For example, all the players in Challenger are only 0.02% of the whole League of Legends player base. And pro players beat Challenger players in solo queue more than 50% of the time, so it’s fair to assume that the pros are even better than Challenger players.
Additionally, there are only 200 Challenger players per server but only a small percentage of them make it to the Esports scenes. Not to mention that luck also plays a small part in whether you get recruited professionally.
Why do I say all of this?
Believe me, it’s not to burst your bubble and hurt your feelings. And if you’re hoping to become a League of Legends pro, I’ve been in your shoes, my friend.
Instead, I want you to be aware of how unlikely it is for the average player to become a professional League of Legends player. And you need to know that because you have to work harder than most players do worldwide.
But the benefits of being a pro League of Legends player are also many.
- Playing League of Legends for a living (which is in itself enough for many people)
- Living with your friends and competing at the top echelon of LoL
- Being paid more money than you can think of (and earning even more through sponsorships)
- Being popular
- Having loyal fans
The path to becoming a pro in League of Legends isn’t really clear. And if you aren’t among the top 20 Challenger players in your region, I’d suggest you enter a College or a local team, at least to build your experience.
Finding people with the same goal as yours can help you create connections and establish yourself as a free agent. Those are the first steps you should take and my advice is to do them as fast as possible, the younger you are the better.
How Much Money Do Pro Players Make in League of Legends?
This question is often asked but the answer is never short and simple. And like in any other sport on the planet, each player gets paid a different amount of money and each region Esports organization offers according to their budget.
Here I will list the top 5 players that have made the most amount of money with League of Legends.
| Player | Nationality | Earnings |
| 1. Faker | South Korea | ~ $4,000,000 |
| 2. Duke | South Korea | ~ $1,500,000 |
| 3. Bang | South Korea | ~ $1,000,000 |
| 4. Wolf | South Korea | ~ $1,000,000 |
| 5. Bengi | South Korea | ~ $900,000 |
Professional League of Legends players get paid by their Esports organization but if they win tournaments like Worlds, for example, they also get a lot of money. That’s why Faker is still in first place although his earnings from winning alone are around $1,500,000.
Read Also: 7 Performance Tips to Warm Up for Ranked
Method 4: Coach Other Players
Selling information and knowledge for money is a great type of business to have online. That’s what coaching essentially is.
Personally, I really like coaching because it allows you to work as much as you want. You can find a job as a coach on an established website/platform or provide coaching services privately through sites like Fiverr and G2G or an app like Discord.
Going privately is my preferred way of doing this, but many of the websites that offer League of Legends coaching also allow you to work as many hours as you possibly can. This means that you can take multiple clients every day and simply grind.
No matter which way you choose to do this, you have to build your profile and reputation.
Having satisfied customers, people whom you have actually helped get better at League, will give you positive reviews and can spread the word about your services. It ultimately helps you earn even more money.
The earnings will heavily depend on how much you charge. You can charge money per game or hour, depending on what works best for you and your customer.
The average pay rate for a Master + coach in League of Legends is around $20 per hour. This means that a full-time job with 8 working hours a day will give you over $4000 a month.
However, not every LoL coach out there has a tight schedule like this. And finding enough people interested to pay you for coaching 8 hours every day for an entire month is really difficult if you aren’t very popular.
Also, if you find a job as a coach on an established website that provides this service, expect the website to take a percent out of your earnings. This way it’s easier to find clients in the beginning but it also means that you will earn a bit less.
The cool thing about coaching is that you can combine it with both Twitch and YouTube to triple your income.
For example, Tarzaned is a Challenger NA jungler that you can hire as a coach on his Patreon. However, he also streams on Twitch where he has many followers and subscribers. And he also uploads the games on YouTube and benefits from that ad revenue.
I suggest you do something similar to increase your revenue too.
But keep in mind that to become a LoL coach you don’t have to be Challenger. Even Diamond players with a good understanding of the game can help Silver and Gold players climb, so don’t hesitate to try this if you really want to.
Method 5: Get a Job as an Elo Booster
Elo boosting isn’t something most players openly talk about since it’s technically against the rules established by Riot Games.
However, boosting people’s accounts is the oldest way of making money in League of Legends and there are more than a handful of stories of success with it.
To be a good elo booster, you have to be good at solo queue. This doesn’t necessarily mean good at the game as a whole, but knowledgeable in how to take advantage of the MMR system and able to consistently increase the rank on any account you’re currently on.
What does this mean exactly?
Well, there’s really no room for mistakes when it comes to elo boosting. A client pays you to get his account from Silver IV to Gold IV in a fixed amount of time. And you have to deliver, no matter what.
Moreover, some elo boosting services offer the clients to choose the champion you need to boost with, which can be difficult for some players. Also, the job might require you to play together with the client which also means communication and coaching from your end.
The price for boosting from Silver IV to Gold IV on average goes from $40 to $50. But boosting from Platinum IV to Diamond IV costs triple this amount, so there’s that.
Depending on how fast you can finish a boost and start the next one, you can earn a decent amount of money.
And to become a booster, you need to use Google and search for elo boosting websites that provide this service. You need to contact them and apply for a job with all your credentials (most of them hire players from Master or higher).
And keep in mind that the website you work for (if you aren’t doing this privately) will also take a percentage of the money the clients pay for each boost you do.
Method 6: Sell League of Legends Accounts Online
Selling League of Legends accounts can be a profitable business for some individuals. It’s not as glorious as it sounds and you’ll need to invest in a software/app if you aren’t a tech guru to create on.
If you want to sell your League of Legends account I recommend trying PlayersLoot first. I’ve used them both for buying and selling the past, and their service is great overall.
But this link is an in-depth guide on how to sell a LoL step by step, so I’d recommend you to check that first. It goes into greater detail and it’ll definitely help you understand the whole process.
But here are the basics.
- You can either sell high-rank accounts that belong to you (like your main account, for example)
- You can level up new accounts to level 30 and sell them for a cheap price (the demand on the market is always high)
The problem here is obvious.
Most people have only one main account with a relatively high rank that they can sell for decent money. The history of the account as well as the number of skins (and the quality) you have also influence the price. And even Gold IV accounts can sometimes be worth $500 or more.
But in order to make this a sustainable business that brings money in every month, you have to have a constant flow of new accounts to sell every day.
That’s why you need to find a way to level up new accounts extremely fast. That’s what the competition is already doing and it’s a must because a single person can’t level up enough new accounts every month. Leveling up a single LoL account takes too much time.
That’s where software and robots come in. Disclaimer here, using AI to level up accounts in League of Legends is against the rules. And if the crime is discovered, Riot Games can punish that account by banning it.
However, there are tons of people that do this for living. They run an app that play bot games (so it doesn’t ruin the experience of other people) on a newly created account all day long. And it levels up the account extremely fast. Once that is finished, they sell the account online.
Of course, they can always use XP boosts to speed up the process even more, but that’s also something they need to pay for.
If you were wondering, a new and unranked account goes anywhere from $2 to $5. This doesn’t mean that you need to sell over 100 new accounts per month in order to bring in at least $500.
So, decide for yourself whether this is worth doing.
Read Also: How to Get Rid of Your League of Legends Account?
Method 7: Build a Social Media Account
Owning a big social media account is equivalent to having a gold mine. There’s a huge potential of making lots of money with it but can be difficult to get there.
The primary way of earning money with a big League of Legends social media account is through sponsorships.
For example, let’s say that you have an Instagram account with 50,000 or 100,000 followers. Well, companies that provide products or services connected with League of Legends or gaming as a whole can contact you and pay you to advertise their products or services to your followers.
Different companies will pay differently for different products or services. And the amount of advertising you do for them will influence the price as well.
On average, small Instagram influencers make $20-$50 per post.
But large Instagram profiles charge hundreds of dollars for a single advertising post, so this can be a sustainable business model, especially if you have a big number of followers on Instagram or Tik Tok (I’m talking more than 100,000 followers).
Of course, you can always start a YouTube channel where you can send your followers from Instagram to get a bit of money from the ad revenues. This is a really good thing to do if your Instagram content is primarily videos and not images.
Method 8: Become a LoL Content Writer
I originally started as a freelance content writer on Upwork. My experience was decently pleasant and it allowed me to have full-time income while writing about various games such as World of Warcraft and League of Legends.
Writing for money is a dream of many people because it allows them to remain free (not have the average 9-5 work schedule) and stay connected with the hobby they enjoy.
But in order to get hired as a content writer, including one that specializes in League of Legends, you really need to show quality.
You either must be a native English speaker or a person that knows the language very well and can express themselves as though they’re a native speaker. Also, you need lots of experience in one field as well as proof of that being the case.
For example, if someone is looking for a LoL Esports writer, you have to show that you follow the pro scene and know it very well.
That’s why when you first start as a content writer, you have to build your portfolio and potentially accept gigs that don’t pay as much. But over time, you can increase your pay rate and demand more for your services.
Content writers are essentially freelancers which simply means self-employed. And that’s the kind of tax you’ll need to pay as well.
As a content writer, you’ll usually get paid per word. A rate of $15 per 1000 words written is something you can always expect, although it might be a bit lower if you’re just starting.
And depending on how many articles (or words) you write each month, as well as how much your employer wants you to write, you can have a decent steady income.
For example, let’s say that the average article is around 1000 words and you’re paid $20 for it. Well, if you write 10 of those per week, that amounts to around $800 per month. But remember, your pay can also be higher, especially if you show quality and professionalism.
And the best place to start doing this is by making an account on either Upwork or Fiverr.
Here at Runetarium, we do hire LoL writers as well. If you think you can create similar content to ours and you’re the right person for the job, you can always let us know through our contact page.
Conclusion
If you’ve read this far and you’re interested in making money with League of Legends, I just want to say good luck to you. And if you’re still not sure which of these 8 methods to try out, first let me help you filter the options here.
- If you’re more extroverted and you like talking to people – go for a career on Twitch and YouTube
- If you’re more introverted and you don’t like to be a public figure – become a content creator (writer or social media influencer)
- If you’re extremely good at League – you can try to become a pro player or an elo booster
- If you’re a businessman – you can invest and hire people to do all of the methods for you
As I mentioned above, there isn’t an easy and direct way of making money in this world, not even if you narrow it down to just League of Legends. And if there were, everyone would be pursuing it!
In any case, I hope my guide here informed you of all the ways you can make money with League of Legends and helped you figure out which path is the right one for you financially!
