Subathon Timer
A subathon is a live whose length your viewers decide. Every gift, follow, share, or donation adds time to the timer, and you keep streaming until it runs out.
What is Subathon Timer
A countdown timer shown on screen that extends itself whenever viewers interact. You decide how many seconds each type of interaction adds.
Before you start
Your TikTok Live has to be connected for gifts and follows to add time. If you only want to test it, you can add time by hand from the dashboard.
Setup steps
1. Set the starting value and the rules for adding time
In the Settings section:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Default Start Value | The starting time when the timer is reset |
| Trigger Interaction after expiration | The Interaction that runs when the timer runs out |
Then set how much each type of interaction adds:
Per Coin · Per Subscribe · Per Follow · Per Share · Per Like · Per Chat Message
A positive value adds time and a negative value takes time away, for example -5 if you want something to cut the timer.
Decimals work too. If a full second per like is too much, enter 0,05.
Likes and comments come in far more often than gifts. A value that looks small can keep the timer from ever running out. Start with a very small number and watch it for a few minutes before raising it.
2. Set up donation tiers
Donations aren't counted per rupiah but through tiers. Understand how they're calculated so you don't set the wrong numbers.
Click Add Tier, then fill in an amount and a time.
The amount is broken down from the largest tier to the smallest, like giving change. Here is the dashboard's own example, with tiers of Rp 1.000 = 30 seconds and Rp 5.000 = 5 minutes:
| Donation | Broken down into | Total time |
|---|---|---|
| Rp 7.000 | 1× Rp 5.000 + 2× Rp 1.000 | 5 minutes + 60 seconds = 6 minutes |
If your smallest tier is Rp 5.000, a Rp 4.000 donation adds zero time, and that viewer won't know why.
Always include a small tier so no donation goes to waste.
Two supporting settings:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Maximum added per donation | The upper limit for a single donation. 0 = no limit |
| Calculation Preview | Enter an amount and see how much time it would add |
Enter a few amounts that usually come in on your live and check that the results make sense. Finding a mistake here costs far less than finding it mid-stream.
The dashboard also warns you when your tiers are inconsistent: "This tier is worth less than a smaller tier". That happens when a big donor gets less time per rupiah than a small donor. It's usually a typo.
3. Run it
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Start | Starts the timer |
| Pause | Pauses it |
| Resume | Continues after a pause |
| Add / Subtract | Adjusts the time by hand, in minutes |
| Reset | Returns to the Default Start Value |
Install the overlay
Open the Subathon Timer menu in the dashboard, find the Install Overlay in OBS / TikTok Live Studio card, and copy the overlay link. Paste it as a Browser Source in OBS, or add it through Add Source → Link in TikTok Live Studio, at 1920 × 1080.
Use the Customize button on the same card to change how this overlay looks.
Never installed an overlay before? Read Installing Overlays in OBS & TikTok Live Studio first. It walks through each step.
Display settings
The Customize button controls Select Font, Font Size, Font Color, Background, Line Spacing, and Letter Spacing.
There are also three timer-specific settings:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Hide after expiration | The timer disappears from the screen when it runs out instead of stopping at 00:00 |
| Enable animations | Turns on visual effects when the time changes |
| Animation style | Subtle or Full |
The difference:
- Subtle: the seconds digits pulse slightly, with a color flash when the time changes.
- Full: adds a shake, a glow, and floating text such as
+5:00that shows how much time was added.
The floating +5:00 text tells viewers their contribution actually counted. That nudges the next person to add time too, so the effect does more than decorate.
Common problems
Symptom: a donation came in but the timer didn't go up. Check three things: at least one tier exists · the amount isn't smaller than the smallest tier · Maximum added per donation isn't set too low.
Symptom: the timer goes up so fast it never runs out. Almost always Per Like or Per Chat Message is too high. Lower it to a small decimal.
Symptom: the timer ran out but nothing happened. Trigger Interaction after expiration hasn't been set.
Symptom: the timer in OBS doesn't match the dashboard. Reload the Browser Source. The timer counts from absolute time, so it should match again after a refresh.
See also
- Donation Integration, so donations can add time
- Interactions