YouTubers earn between $2 and $30 per 1,000 views depending on their niche, audience location, and ad engagement rates. A channel with 100,000 monthly views typically earns $200-$3,000 per month from AdSense alone. Finance and business channels earn the most, while gaming and entertainment channels earn the least per view. Use the calculator below to estimate earnings for any view count.
Key Takeaways
- Average CPM: YouTube pays $2-$30 per 1,000 monetised views, with the median across all niches around $7-$8
- Top-Earning Niches: Finance ($12-30 CPM), health ($8-20 CPM), and business ($8-18 CPM) pay 3-5x more than entertainment
- Monetisation Threshold: You need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours (or 10M Shorts views) to join the YouTube Partner Programme
- 1 Million Views: A video reaching 1 million views earns approximately $2,000-$30,000 depending on the niche and audience demographics
- AdSense Is Just the Start: Top creators earn 60-80% of their income from sponsorships, merchandise, and courses — not ads
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How Does YouTube Pay Content Creators?
YouTube pays creators through the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP), sharing 55% of advertising revenue generated on their videos.
When a viewer watches an ad on your video, the advertiser pays YouTube. YouTube keeps 45% and deposits 55% into your AdSense account. Payments arrive monthly, typically between the 21st and 26th, with a minimum payout threshold of $100.
Not every view generates ad revenue. Only “monetised views” count — views where an ad actually plays. Approximately 40-60% of total views become monetised views. Ad blockers, viewers skipping ads, and viewers in countries with limited ad inventory all reduce your monetised view count.
YouTube also pays for YouTube Premium viewers. When a Premium subscriber watches your content, you receive a share of their subscription fee proportional to their watch time on your channel. This typically adds 10-15% on top of regular ad revenue.
What Is CPM and How Does It Affect Your Earnings?
CPM stands for “cost per mille” (cost per 1,000 impressions) and is the single biggest factor determining how much you earn per view on YouTube.
Advertisers bid different amounts to reach different audiences. A financial services company pays $25-50 to show ads to people watching investment content, while a mobile game company pays $1-3 for gaming audiences. Your niche determines which advertisers bid on your videos, and their bids determine your CPM.
YouTube reports two CPM figures in your analytics. “CPM” is what advertisers pay YouTube per 1,000 ad impressions. “RPM” (revenue per mille) is what you actually receive per 1,000 views after YouTube’s 45% cut and accounting for non-monetised views. RPM is always lower than CPM — typically 40-55% of the CPM figure.
CPM fluctuates seasonally. Q4 (October-December) CPMs rise 20-50% as advertisers increase spending for Black Friday, Christmas, and year-end budgets. January CPMs drop 30-40% as ad budgets reset. Plan your best content for Q4 to maximise revenue.
How Much Do YouTubers Make Per 1 Million Views?
A video with 1 million views earns between $2,000 and $30,000, with most creators landing in the $3,000-$8,000 range for standard content.
The massive range exists because of niche CPM differences. A finance channel video about credit cards hitting 1 million views can earn $20,000-$30,000 because credit card companies pay premium CPMs of $20-40. The same 1 million views on a gaming compilation earns $2,000-$5,000 with CPMs of $2-5.
Audience geography matters almost as much as niche. Views from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia command 3-5x higher CPMs than views from India, Southeast Asia, or Latin America. A channel with 80% US viewership earns dramatically more than one with 80% Indian viewership at the same view count.
These figures cover ad revenue only. A video hitting 1 million views also creates opportunities for sponsorship deals ($5,000-$50,000), affiliate commissions, and product sales that can exceed the ad revenue several times over.
What Are YouTube CPM Rates by Niche in 2026?
Finance channels earn the highest CPMs at $12-30, followed by health and fitness at $8-20, and business content at $8-18.
Here is the complete CPM breakdown by content category based on 2025-2026 creator earnings data. Finance and investing content tops the chart because financial product advertisers (banks, trading platforms, insurance companies) pay the highest ad rates in any industry. A single credit card signup can be worth $50-200 to the advertiser.
Tech review channels earn $5-12 CPM, sitting in the middle tier. These channels attract electronics brands, software companies, and hosting providers as advertisers. Education content matches tech at $5-15 CPM, with online course platforms and universities driving ad spend.
At the lower end, gaming ($2-5 CPM), entertainment ($2-6 CPM), and food ($3-7 CPM) channels face lower ad rates because their audiences are younger and harder to convert into high-value purchases. However, these niches often compensate with higher view counts — gaming is YouTube’s most-watched category.
What Are the Requirements to Make Money on YouTube?
You need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months to join the YouTube Partner Programme and start earning ad revenue.
YouTube introduced these thresholds in 2018 to prevent low-quality channels from monetising. For new creators, reaching 1,000 subscribers typically takes 6-18 months of consistent uploading. The 4,000 watch hours requirement means your existing videos need to accumulate roughly 333 hours of watch time per month.
In 2023, YouTube added an alternative path for Shorts creators: 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. This lower-tier “YPP expansion” unlocks fan funding features like Super Chats and channel memberships but does not unlock full ad revenue sharing until you hit the original thresholds.
Once approved, YouTube reviews your channel for advertiser-friendliness. Content involving violence, adult themes, controversial topics, or excessive profanity may receive limited or no ads. Staying within YouTube’s advertiser-friendly guidelines ensures maximum monetisation across all your videos.
How Much Do Small YouTubers Make?
A small YouTuber with 10,000 monthly views earns approximately $20-$300 per month from ad revenue, depending on their niche and audience location.
At 10,000 views per month with a mid-range CPM of $7, you earn roughly $70 monthly. That number climbs if you focus on high-CPM niches. A small finance channel with the same 10,000 views earns $120-$300 because of the elevated CPM rates in that category.
Small channels benefit disproportionately from non-ad revenue. A channel with 5,000 engaged subscribers can earn $500-$2,000 per sponsored video. Brands increasingly prefer smaller creators with loyal, engaged audiences over massive channels with passive viewers. Sponsorship rates for channels with 5,000-50,000 subscribers typically range from $200-$2,000 per integration.
Affiliate marketing works particularly well for small channels. A tech review channel recommending products with Amazon affiliate links can earn $100-$500 per month from 10,000 views if the content drives purchase intent. The calculator above estimates ad revenue only — real total income is typically 2-5x higher for creators who diversify.
What Other Revenue Streams Do YouTubers Use?
Successful YouTubers earn 60-80% of their total income from sponsorships, merchandise, courses, and affiliate marketing rather than YouTube ads.
Sponsorships are the largest non-ad revenue source. Brands pay $20-50 per 1,000 views for a dedicated sponsorship integration. A channel averaging 50,000 views per video can charge $1,000-$2,500 per sponsored segment. Finance and tech channels command even higher rates at $30-80 per 1,000 views.
Digital products (courses, ebooks, templates) offer the highest margins. A creator selling a $97 course needs just 100 sales per month to earn $9,700 — equivalent to millions of ad-supported views. Channels in education, business, and creative niches convert particularly well into course sales.
Channel memberships and Super Chats provide recurring revenue from your most engaged fans. YouTube takes a 30% cut of memberships. Creators with loyal communities earn $500-$5,000 monthly from memberships alone, scaling with subscriber count and audience engagement levels.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does YouTube pay for 1,000 views?
YouTube pays $2-$30 per 1,000 monetised views, with the average across all niches sitting at approximately $7-$8. Your actual rate depends on your content niche, audience location, and time of year. Finance channels earn $12-30 per 1,000 views while gaming channels earn $2-5. Q4 rates are 20-50% higher than Q1 rates.
Can you make a living from YouTube?
You need approximately 500,000-1,000,000 monthly views to earn a full-time income from YouTube ads alone in a mid-CPM niche. That translates to roughly $3,500-$8,000 per month. However, most full-time creators achieve liveable income at 100,000-300,000 monthly views by combining ad revenue with sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and digital products.
Do YouTubers get paid for Shorts?
Yes, since February 2023 YouTube shares ad revenue from Shorts with creators. However, Shorts RPM is significantly lower than long-form content — typically $0.04-$0.10 per 1,000 views compared to $3-$15 for standard videos. Shorts are better for growing subscribers than for direct revenue.
How much do YouTubers with 1 million subscribers make?
A channel with 1 million subscribers typically generates 5-15 million monthly views, earning $10,000-$150,000 per month from ads. The range is enormous because subscriber count does not determine views. An active 1M-subscriber channel in finance earns $50,000-$150,000 monthly, while an inactive entertainment channel with the same subscribers might earn $5,000-$15,000.
Does YouTube pay more for longer videos?
Videos over 8 minutes can include mid-roll ads, which significantly increases revenue per view. A 15-minute video with 3 ad placements earns 2-3x more than a 5-minute video with a single pre-roll ad. This is why most successful YouTubers target 10-20 minute video lengths for maximum ad revenue.
What percentage does YouTube take from creators?
YouTube keeps 45% of ad revenue and pays creators 55%. For YouTube Premium revenue, the split is the same. For Super Chats and channel memberships, YouTube takes 30%. For Shorts ad revenue, YouTube pools all Shorts ads and distributes based on view share, then applies the 55/45 split to the creator’s portion.
How accurate are YouTube revenue calculators?
Revenue calculators provide estimates within a 30-50% accuracy range. Actual earnings depend on variables calculators cannot account for: audience demographics, ad engagement rates, content category within your niche, and seasonal CPM fluctuations. Use calculator results as a reasonable baseline, not an exact prediction.
When does YouTube pay creators?
YouTube pays monthly through Google AdSense. Earnings are finalised between the 7th-12th of the following month, and payments are issued between the 21st-26th. You need a minimum balance of $100 (or local equivalent) to receive a payment. If your balance is below $100, it rolls over to the next month.
Start Estimating Your YouTube Revenue
YouTube earnings vary dramatically based on your niche, audience, and content strategy. The calculator above gives you a realistic estimate based on current CPM data across 10 major content categories. Enter your monthly views, select your niche, and see where you stand.
If you are planning a YouTube channel or evaluating your current revenue, focus on two levers: increasing views through better content and SEO, and increasing CPM by targeting higher-value topics within your niche. A tech channel covering enterprise software earns 3x more per view than one covering budget phones.
Want help building a YouTube content strategy that maximises both views and revenue? Contact JI Digital for a free consultation.
Free tool by: John Isaacson, Digital Marketing Strategist
Last Updated: January 2026
