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YouTube hosts over 114 million active channels worldwide, meaning there are tons of creators making content all around the world.
YouTube has become more than just an entertainment platform or something creators do as a hobby. Today it can be a powerful income source with a great deal of people making a life out of the content they create and share on the platform.
So how much do YouTubers actually earn? It can go from nothing to millions of dollars. Factors like niche, audience location, video length, and engagement all influence how much they can earn. There are also different income streams such as ad revenue, affiliate marketing, brand deals and memberships they can add to their monetization strategy to increase their total revenue.
In this article we’ll explore the things you need to know to make the most out of your YouTuber career and the multiple factors affecting your potential earnings!
Estimating the amount of money you can make on YouTube is no piece of cake. There are multiple factors that influence your earnings as well as multiple ways to make money.
On average a youtuber in The U.S makes around $0.018 per ad view, equating to about $18 per 1,000 ad views. The average annual salary for a YouTube Channel is $68,714.
The first thing you need to know before estimating your revenue is that on YouTube you can make money through:
Ads are one of the main income streams for YouTubers. However, to be able to make money out of advertisements you need to join the YouTube Partner Program. To do so, you must meet the following requirements:
AdSense is the Google Advertising Program that will allow you to make money out of the different ads displayed on your videos. Creator’s earnings are going to be determined by CPM, the amount of money brands are willing to pay for every 1,000 ad views.
The average CPM on YouTube ranges between $2 and $15. So let’s say that you have a $10 CPM and your video got 1,000 ad views. This means that you make $10. However you are not keeping the total amount. YouTubers earn based on RPM (Revenue per Mille), which represents their actual earnings per 1,000 monetized views after YouTube takes its cut.
YouTube works on a shared revenue model basis where the platform gets to keep 45% of all generated ad revenue, leaving the creator with 55%. So keeping up with our example, with a $10 CPM and 1,000 ad views, you'll make $10 and $5.50 after the revenue cut.
If you want to dig deeper, you can check out our article on How Much Does YouTube Pay for 1,000 views!
So when it comes to making money on ads, you need to focus on your views and ad views. The difference between them is that views are the amount of views your video gets while ad views are the number of views your video gets when viewers watch the ad for more than 30 seconds.
Not every video view results in an ad view, on average only about 40-60% of total views are also ad views. This means that if your video has 100,000 views, only around 40,000 - 60,000 of those are monetized. The more views you have, the more ad views possibilities you have.
If you’ve hit 50,000 views on a video, you might be wondering how much that translates into when it comes to earnings. On average a YouTuber with 50k views can make from $90 up to $300.
These numbers are determined by a series of factors. If you want to, check out our article on How Much Money Is 50K Views On YouTube to fully understand what is influencing your earnings so you can make the most out of your views!
With 100,000 views on YouTube you can make from $100 to $2,500 for just one video.
Go ahead and check our article on How Much Does YouTube Pay for 100k Views to fully understand the way YouTube’s monetization system works and the different revenue streams on the platform, will allow you to earn even more every month!
Hitting 1 million views on YouTube sounds like a dream for many creators. A YouTuber with a million views can make approximately on average $15,000 from the ads displayed on different videos.
With the right monetization strategy, creators can get the earnings higher and higher. Check out our article on How Much Does YouTube Pay for 1M Views to find out other monetization opportunities to increase your total revenue!
Hitting a billion views on YouTube is a huge milestone. A YouTuber with a billion views can make approximately 2 million dollars on ad revenue only!
But there’s no reason to stop there when such an audience base the monetization opportunities are endless. If you want to, check out our article on How Much Money Is 1 Billion Views On YouTube to fully understand the revenue possibilities of such a large view count!
Another way to make money out of your YouTube content is through the support of your viewers. As a creator you can work on your audience by providing high quality videos and hoping they subscribe to your channel.
Subscribers are the users that are subscribed to your channel. Subscribers are notified every time you upload new material, making it easier for them to catch up with your latest content and engage with your videos on a regular basis.
Even though YouTube does not pay you based on the number of subs, having a large community proves the worth of your channel. The more subscribers, the more people watching your videos, the more revenue possibilities.
Besides ads, if you hold a loyal subscribers base you can explore different monetization opportunities and add them to your revenue strategy. You can feel free to check our article on How Much Does YouTube Pay For 1,000 Subscribers to get a deep understanding of the importance of a loyal audience.
During your live sessions your viewers can purchase special comments or stickers to show support on the comment section. The rate depends on how much money they want to spend. The higher the price, the longer the comment or sticker stays highlighted.
Let’s say you went live and from your total viewers, 100 people purchased a Super Chat. The prices go between $1 to $500 and let’s say you have $50 donations. So for 100 super fans you got $5,000. However, YouTube also holds a revenue share model for this scenario. The platform keeps 30% and the creator 70%. So, for 100 Super Chats donations you could make $3,500.
Little side note: If your viewer is watching from an Apple device, there’s an extra 30% you need to take off your revenue. In this case, your earnings would be $2,000.
If you want to know more about making money and live content, you can check out our article on How Much Does YouTube Pay For Live Streaming!
Subscribers have the possibility of paying monthly fees for exclusive perks and content. Memberships vary from $0.99 to $14.99 per month.
Let’s say you have a channel with 1,000 subscribers and 5,000 monthly views. You promised exclusive behind the scenes content to your audience and managed to convince 15 subs to become channel members at the $4.99 monthly fee.
15 new members paying $4.99 means $74.85 extra income that month! However, YouTube needs to take its 30% cut, making your total earnings $52.40. Channel memberships can become a sustainable revenue stream that enhances your overall content strategy.
As a creator you can design your own line of clothes, toys, accessories, food and anything you want. You can then offer these items to your community, the more loyal your audience is, the more chances they’ll purchase something from your collection.
If you are a small youtuber, you really have to encourage your viewers to get your products if you want to see an increase in your monthly earnings. Depending on what you are selling, you can be making an extra $100 - $150 a month.
On the other hand, if you are a big YouTuber, such as MrBeast, who just launched his own Beast Games and a brand new collection of clothing on that too, your earnings would be so much more with clothes items starting at $20.
The more of these you include into your monetization strategy, the more you’ll diversify your revenue sources significantly increasing your overall earnings. However, you need to know that in each case there are going to be different factors influencing your total revenue.
Besides the revenue tools offered by YouTube to its creators or to viewers to show support to their favorite content makers, as a YouTuber you can find more and more ways to take advantage of your online presence.
As a YouTuber you can join different affiliate programs and promote a series of products by sharing a unique discount code with a tracking link added in your video description.
You can also create your own personalized storefronts on platforms like Creator Hero to showcase recommended products. Storefronts are online platforms or designated sections of e-commerce websites where creators can showcase and recommend products to their viewers.
If you are a small youtuber, with 10,000 to 50,000 subscribers, you can expect to earn $100 - $1,000 a month. If you are a Top Creator, like Marques Brownlee and recommend your favorite tech products, your earnings can start at $50,000 to a six figure number on monthly commissions.
Your earnings with affiliate marketing highly depend on conversion rates. For every purchase made throughout your link, you’ll get a commission previously fixed by the brand or website. Depending on your engagement rate and the prices of the products you are promoting, the revenue you can make.
As a YouTuber you can partner up with brands to promote their products on services on your videos. Depending on the type of agreement, the term to fulfill and the type of content to produce.
If the brand deal becomes regular over time, it can lead to a sponsorship or an ambassador role that implies a more serious relationship.
The earnings you can make from this kind of agreement is going to be determined by the size of your audience, your total views and the content you produce. If you are a small creator, with 10K to 50K subscribers, you can expect to earn $500 - $2,500 for a sponsored video.
If you are a Top Creator, like Emma Chamberlain and her partnership with Louis Vuitton, with more than a million subs, your earnings can start at $100,000 to whatever amount you are able to negotiate.
As a YouTuber you are creating content all the time. If you work with brands and they really like your work, there´s a licensing fee they can pay you in order to use your material for their ads or social media platforms.
Your videos, photos, reviews or anything that is interesting for the brand, it can be turned into another revenue income. Licensing fees vary based on factors like audience size, exclusivity, and content usage duration. A fixed fee in exchange for material for the brand marketing purposes.
If you have a mid size audience, from 50,000 to 100,000 subs, you could negotiate deals starting at $5,000 – $15,000.
We already established that the size of your audience and the number of views you get every month would both play determinant roles in defining your total revenue.
While the number of subscribers plays an important role in showing your channel worth and quality, subscribers mean nothing unless they watch your videos. The more views your video will have, the more ads will show up and the more money you’ll make out of it.
That being said, here´s a comparison between different categories so you can compare your channel with other real life channels and get a picture of your revenue possibilities.
Always remember that the ranges between different estimations are determined by niche, sponsorship frequency, and ad engagement.
Small youtubers are the ones that hold a 1,000 up to 10,000 subscribers base. They are probably just starting their way on the platform or making content in a very specific niche. A small YouTuber can make between $100 and $1,500 a month, but not without putting time and effort to it.
If you are in this group, you are probably getting started with ad revenue, the reason why your earnings are not that good. That’s what is going to make you explore affiliate marketing opportunities to increase your income. Occasionally, you can contract specific brands and try to agree on different kind of deals while you get your channel started.
Mid sized youtubers have between 10,000 and 100,000 subscribers. Due to the larger audience, they can make $1,500 - $10,000 monthly.
Tatyana Savage has a YouTube channel with over 20K subs. She shared his experience in his first month of monetization. She made $684.83 from ad revenue alone and she managed to secure a couple brand deals fixing fees between $2,050 and $2,730. Meaning that in a month she made over $3,400.
Large youtubers have between 100,000 and 1 million subs base. They have been creating content for a longer time, so viewers and brands trust them more and are open to collaborate. In a month, a large YouTuber can make $10,000 - $100,000.
Top youtubers are the best known on YouTube. With over 1M subscribers they can make up to a million dollars every month making his annual earnings vary between $1,000,000 and $10,000,000 or even more!
Ali Abdaal, who holds 6M subs, shared his overall experience and listed 12 different income streams that made him earn over $4,000,000 a year in 2022.
While trying to figure out how to make the best amount of money on YouTube it's necessary to understand all factors that take place in determining your potential earnings.
Views are the most important thing on YouTube. Not only because they are the bargain chip when it comes to monetizing through ads, but also because they can show the audience interest in the content you are creating, increasing your other revenue possibilities.
If you have a good audience retention it means viewers really like and / or trust your content. Making your CPM higher and amplifying your brand deal possibilities, merch sales, affiliate marketing or any other way viewers have to show support through economic means.
The niche you are working in will definitely affect your earnings. Different types of content attract different kinds of advertisers. Videos about tech, finance, or business tend to have higher CPMs because brands in these niches are willing to pay more. On the other hand, entertainment videos usually have lower CPMs but attract more views.
Where your viewers are based, their age, gender, etc. plays a big role in how much money you can make through ads. In places with stronger economies the ad rates tend to be higher and so is the purchasing power of the people living there. The better the economy of the country, the more are willing to pay for ads and the more viewers are willing to pay for stuff.
The more videos you upload and the longer they are, the more possibilities of showcasing ads on them, making your ad revenue higher. Videos longer than 8 minutes include the possibility of more than just one ad break.
If a significant amount of your community is a YouTube Premium member, the platform is going to share with you a percentage of the membership fee that will add up to your monthly earnings.
If you are starting your road as a YouTuber you are probably overwhelmed by the amount of information and things you need to consider in order to craft the best monetization strategy.
If you want to make a living out of YouTube, here are 3 important tips you can follow:
Don’t be afraid of what others may think. If you want to make a career out of YouTube you need to lose all feelings of shame and start making videos. If you want to thrive on the platform you need to be making videos every week.
Record yourself, learn how to properly upload your content and learn how to edit your videos. If you want to make money, you need to be committed. A YouTube channel does not grow on its own, you must take it seriously. Consistency is YouTube’s key to success!
Keep making videos after videos. Explore the different titles and thumbnails possibilities. Find ways to craft the best descriptions in order to get the attention and attract the right audience.
If you want to make a business out of your channel, you must take it like a professional and improve the craft of making videos.
There are 3 things that YouTube cares about when it comes to growing your channel, so 3 things you also need to care about.
If you get started and focus on providing good quality content to your audience, growth will come! With it, don´t be afraid to explore different monetization opportunities and expand your income streams. Reach out to brands for sponsorships or collaborations, get access to affiliate links to earn extra money, invite your viewers to support you and your content.
If you want to explore even further into the different ways to make money, check out our article on How Do Influencers Make Money to get inspired!
As a creator you probably consider sharing content on more than YouTube or already are working on multiple platforms at the same time seeking to make the best amount of money you can out of the content you create.
In order to know which social platform to add into your revenue strategy as an online creator, here are the top platforms main information you need to know before making a decision to add one of them into your strategy.
YouTube offers higher revenue potential than TikTok. This is mainly because the YouTube Partner Program is more established and organized than TikTok’s Creator Fund. On YouTube creators can access the Partner Program and make money through ads, channel memberships and fun support. On TikTok the Creator Fund relies on views and engagement only.
Creators often report that TikTok's payouts are quite modest. With 1,000 views on YouTube you can make from $2 up to $12 on average and the same amount of views on TikTok is only a couple of cents.
However, remember that these figures can vary depending on content type, niche and audience demographics and there are also different additional monetization opportunities to be pursued on each platform. Affiliate marketing, merchandise sales and brand partnerships can significantly increase your revenue.
Even though TikTok pays less than YouTube at first sight, you can explore more revenue possibilities on the platform.
YouTube offers higher revenue potential than Instagram and Facebook because it has a more structured ad revenue model that allows more consistent earnings.
YouTube mostly pays its creators based on ad views while Instagram and Facebook rely more on brand deals, bonuses and in-stream ads making the total earnings less predictable.
However, remember that these figures can vary depending on content type, niche and audience demographics and there are also different additional monetization opportunities to be pursued on each platform. This table only reflects how much each platform is paying for your content but leaves out the money you can make in different ways.
Instagram may not have the higher CPM but it is the main social media out there and tons of brands are willing to advertise their products to that audience therefore will be more open to brand partnerships and promoted posts.
If you are looking for consistent ad revenue, YouTube is the way to go. However, if you want to explore other ways to make money out of your content without having to coin on the platforms revenue models, you can explore Facebook and Instagram possibilities for brand collaborations and influencer marketing.
The main difference between YouTube and Twitch is that Twitch is centered around live streaming. Both platforms provide multiple revenue streams. YouTube revenue model is based on ad views but also has channel memberships and fan support into account. On the other hand, Twitch earnings are determined by subscriptions, fan support and ad revenue.
These figures can vary depending on content type, niche and audience demographics. Also, there are multiple monetization opportunities to be pursued on each platform. Affiliate marketing, merchandise sales and brand partnerships can significantly increase your revenue.
Even though YouTube holds memberships and a share of this goes to creators, on Twitch subscriptions are the first revenue source. With options going from $4.99, $9.99, and $24.99 per month, creators get from 50% up to %70 of this revenue.
Choosing the right platform to make the most out of your content is something worth thinking about! Once you decide which type of content you want to create, explore the platforms that align best with your goals and start sharing videos, photos, or even streaming.
Explore different platforms and truck your performance and earnings so you can decide which way to pursue to make the most revenue possible! And remember that you don’t necessarily need to stick to just one platform, you can create a multiplatform revenue strategy.
If you want to learn more about monetization opportunities for creators, go read our guide Influencer Pricing By Platform!
Making money on YouTube is a lifestyle choice. If you want to succeed on the platform you need to take it seriously and be consistent.
Don’t rely only on ads to make money. There are tons of other monetization opportunities waiting to be explored. Try everything! From affiliate marketing, to brand deals and even asking your viewers for support directly when needed.
Work on good content and the relationship with your viewers and growth will come. Once it does, take advantage of those new followers and seize every monetization opportunity. Not every YouTuber makes millions a year, but with a good monetization strategy you can get closer and closer to that number!
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