What is a streaming safe zone?

A safe zone is the area of your OBS canvas that remains visible to viewers without being covered by the streaming platform's user interface, such as the live chat, video title, or streamer panels.

Where is the Twitch chat overlay located?

On desktop, the Twitch chat box typically occupies the right 350-400 pixels of the screen. On mobile, it can cover up to 50% of the screen. Your alerts and webcam should be placed outside this right-hand margin.

How do I calculate overlay positions for 1440p or 4K?

This calculator automatically scales standard 1080p safe zone margins proportionally to your selected resolution (e.g., 1280x720, 2560x1440, or 3840x2160), giving you exact pixel coordinates for OBS.

OBS & Streaming Overlay Pixel Calculator (Safe Zones)

🎮 Streamer Essential Tool

OBS Overlay Safe Zone Calculator

Calculate exact pixel coordinates for your webcam, chat, and alerts. Ensure your overlays are never covered by Twitch, YouTube, or Kick UI elements.

Canvas Resolution

Streaming Platform

Top UI
(Title/Game)

Chat /
Extensions

Bottom UI
(Panels/Info)

✅ SAFE ZONE
Place Webcam & Alerts Here

📐 Exact OBS Coordinates

Element	Max Width	Max Height	Safe X Position	Safe Y Position

Why Streaming Safe Zones Matter

When you stream on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, or Kick, the platform overlays its own user interface on top of your OBS canvas. If you place your webcam, recent follower alerts, or chat box in these "danger zones," they will be completely hidden from your viewers' eyes.

How This Calculator Works

This tool uses industry-standard UI dimensions for each platform and proportionally scales them based on your selected OBS canvas resolution. For example, if the Twitch chat box takes up 400 pixels on a 1080p canvas, the calculator automatically adjusts this to ~266 pixels for a 720p canvas, giving you mathematically perfect coordinates every time.

Platform-Specific Guidelines

Twitch: The desktop chat box typically occupies the right 350-400 pixels. The bottom panel area (About Me, Donate, Socials) takes up roughly 150-180 pixels. Keep your main gameplay and alerts centered or left-aligned.
YouTube Gaming: Similar to Twitch, but the live chat can be slightly narrower. However, the video title and "Live" badge at the top can obscure the top 50-60 pixels of your canvas.
Kick: Kick's UI is very similar to Twitch, but the chat box and extension panels can sometimes render slightly wider depending on the user's browser zoom. Always leave a 20-pixel buffer.

Pro Tips for OBS Overlay Design

Test in Incognito Mode: Always open your own stream in an incognito browser window to see exactly what a new viewer sees, without your moderator tools or extended dashboards.
Mobile Viewers: Remember that on mobile devices, the chat and UI can cover up to 50% of the screen. Keep critical visual information (like your facecam or main score) in the absolute center of the canvas.
Use the "Safe Zone" Box: In OBS, you can actually add a transparent color source with the exact dimensions provided by this calculator to act as a visual boundary while you design your overlays.