YouTube Money Calculator
Estimate what a channel earns from ads, and check it against the YouTube Partner Program requirements. Free, no sign-up.
Earnings estimate
Typical RPM: about $1–$5 for long videos and $0.01–$0.10 for Shorts. Choosing a video type fills in a middle value; replace it with the RPM from YouTube Studio (Analytics › Revenue) for a closer estimate. Estimates only, in US dollars.
Monetization checker
Thresholds as published by YouTube at the time of writing. YouTube reviews every channel and can change its rules, so confirm in the YouTube Help Center.
How YouTube pays creators
Channels in the YouTube Partner Program earn a share of the ads shown on their videos. The number that matters is RPM: what you actually receive per 1,000 views after YouTube’s share. It depends on your audience’s country, your niche, the time of year and how many of your viewers see ads. Finance, software and business channels usually earn more per view than gaming or entertainment.
Shorts are paid from a shared pool and usually earn a few cents per 1,000 views, which is why a Shorts-only channel needs far more views to earn the same as a long-form channel.
Getting closer to monetization
- Upload on a regular schedule. Watch hours come mostly from long videos people finish.
- Use your best-performing topics as a guide for the next videos.
- Give new videos a good start. Some creators add YouTube views, subscribers or watch hours so a new channel does not look empty. YouTube decides what counts as valid, so this does not guarantee approval.
Questions about YouTube earnings
How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?
YouTube pays creators a share of ad revenue, measured as RPM (revenue per 1,000 views). For long videos, RPM is often somewhere between $1 and $5, and higher in niches like finance or software. Shorts usually earn far less, often a few cents per 1,000 views. Your own RPM is shown in YouTube Studio under Analytics, Revenue.
How much does YouTube pay for 1 million views?
At an RPM of $1 to $5, one million long-form views earn roughly $1,000 to $5,000. One million Shorts views usually earn much less. Use the calculator with your own RPM for a closer estimate.
What are the YouTube monetization requirements?
To earn ad revenue, YouTube asks for 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days. A lower tier for fan funding features asks for 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views. YouTube reviews every channel and can change these thresholds, so check the YouTube Help Center for the current rules.
Do bought views or watch hours count toward monetization?
YouTube counts only what it considers valid, and it can remove views, watch hours or subscribers it judges invalid. Buying engagement does not guarantee approval.