How To Make Money on YouTube 2026

Making money on YouTube is one of the more realistic ways to earn from content you enjoy making. The platform reaches more than 2.5 billion viewers, and people are watching more of it than ever. Metricool’s 2026 YouTube Study, based on 799,718 videos from 71,177 accounts, puts views on long-form videos up 76% year over year and views on Shorts up 127%.

Earnings haven’t climbed at the same pace. Average view duration on long-form videos fell 37%, and estimated ad revenue slipped from $2.65 to $1.20 per video. More people are showing up, and they’re staying for less time, which leaves fewer chances to show them an ad. That’s why the creators doing well in 2026 rarely lean on ad revenue alone.

YouTube might be a side project for you, or the thing you’re building toward doing full time. Either way, getting paid for your videos comes down to a handful of clear steps, and here’s how each one works.

How YouTube Monetization Works

Most YouTube earnings flow through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Joining gives you access to monetization features, dedicated creator support, content detection tools, and creator education. You don’t get paid just for uploading. You have to apply, get accepted, and follow YouTube’s monetization policies on every video.

The big change in recent years is that YouTube now has two entry points instead of one. A lower tier lets newer creators start earning through fan funding and shopping features sooner, and a higher tier unlocks ad revenue and YouTube Premium revenue once you’ve built a bigger audience. That means you can start making money well before you hit the old 1,000-subscriber milestone.

Ad revenue isn’t the only way to earn, either. Many of the highest earners combine several income streams, including memberships, merchandise, sponsorships, and affiliate links. We’ll walk through all of them below.

YouTube Partner Program Eligibility in 2026

Before you look at subscriber counts, your channel needs to meet a few baseline requirements:

• Be in good standing with YouTube and follow all monetization policies
• Live in a country or region where the YouTube Partner Program is available
• Have no active Community Guidelines strikes
• Turn on two-step verification for your Google Account
• Have access to advanced features on YouTube
• Have an active AdSense for YouTube account linked to your channel, or be ready to set one up in YouTube Studio

Once those are in place, you can apply at one of two tiers.

Tier 1: Early Access to Fan Funding and Shopping

This is the lower bar, and it’s a good target for newer channels. You’ll need:

• 500 subscribers
• 3 public uploads in the past 90 days
• Either 3,000 public watch hours on long-form videos (past 365 days) or 3 million public Shorts views (past 90 days)

At this tier you can earn through channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, gifts, and YouTube Shopping. You won’t get a share of ad revenue yet, but these fan-funding features can add up.

Tier 2: Full Monetization with Ad Revenue

This is the threshold most people picture when they think about getting monetized. You’ll need:

• 1,000 subscribers
• Either 4,000 public watch hours on long-form videos (past 365 days) or 10 million public Shorts views (past 90 days)

Hitting this tier unlocks everything in Tier 1 plus a share of ad revenue and YouTube Premium revenue.

A couple of things worth knowing. Watch hours from Shorts don’t count toward the 4,000-hour requirement, so Shorts and long-form are two separate paths and you only need to meet one. And meeting the numbers doesn’t guarantee approval. YouTube reviews your whole channel for policy compliance, and it’s been cracking down on inauthentic or low-effort content, so original work matters.

How to Apply to the YouTube Partner Program

When your channel qualifies, you can apply from a desktop computer or the YouTube Studio mobile app, and it takes only a few minutes:

1. Sign in to YouTube and open YouTube Studio.
2. In the left menu, click Earn.
3. Select Apply now to get started.
4. Click Start to review and accept the base terms.
5. Click Start to set up an AdSense for YouTube account, or link an existing active one.

Once you’ve applied, you’ll see an “In progress” status in the “Be reviewed” step, which means YouTube has received your application. Reviews usually take anywhere from a few days to about a month, and you’ll get an email when there’s a decision. If your application is rejected, it’s usually because your channel doesn’t meet YouTube’s policies or community guidelines, and you can reapply 30 days after you’re notified.

The Content YouTube Won’t Monetize

You’ll see headlines about YouTube “banning AI,” but that’s not what happened. In 2026 YouTube clarified its long-standing inauthentic content policy and spelled out three kinds of videos that keep a channel out of the Partner Program. The rules themselves didn’t change. YouTube just described them more plainly so creators understand why a channel gets flagged.

It helps to separate two things. Community Guidelines decide whether a video can stay on YouTube at all. Partner Program guidelines decide whether it can earn money, and they’re stricter. A video can sit on the platform without qualifying for monetization, and YouTube reviews your channel as a whole rather than one upload at a time.

Here are the three categories to avoid:

• Generic or Repetitive Content. Videos built from the same template with only small changes between them, thin commentary, or AI-generated content churned out from unoriginal templates. Publishing often isn’t the issue; the problem starts when volume replaces original input.
• Unsatisfying or Off-Putting Content. Videos that lean on emotionally manipulative formulas or exist mainly to shock viewers into a click, like a series showing animals in exaggerated distress, or stitched-together AI clips with no real narrative. Deceptive imagery, such as faking a celebrity death or a natural disaster, also falls here.
• AI Personas on Sensitive Topics. AI-generated “experts” handing out advice on health, legal issues, finances, or politics, where inaccurate guidance can cause real harm and no actual person is accountable for it.

The distinction that matters is how you use AI. Using it to brainstorm, script, design thumbnails, add effects, or speed up editing keeps you in good standing. Channels run into trouble when AI replaces the creative work entirely and turns into mass-produced filler. If your videos are built around your own ideas and perspective, this update shouldn’t change much for you.

If a channel does lose monetization, you can appeal, and you can reapply after 90 days for a fresh review based on your current content.

8 Ways to Make Money on YouTube

1. Earn Ad Revenue from Your Videos

For most creators in the full tier, ads are the simplest place to start. When you turn on monetization for a long-form video, YouTube shows viewers a mix of pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads, some skippable and some not. You can’t choose the specific ads, but for videos eight minutes or longer you can decide whether to include mid-roll ads.

On standard long-form videos, creators keep 55% of the ad revenue and YouTube takes 45%. You can track earnings in the Revenue tab of YouTube Studio. One thing to keep in mind: you’re paid on monetized views rather than total views. A viewer generally has to click an ad or watch enough of a video ad for it to count, so your earnings can come in lower than a raw view count suggests.

To run ads you also need to be at least 18, or have a legal guardian over 18 who can manage your AdSense payments, and your content has to meet YouTube’s advertiser-friendly guidelines. Topics like graphic violence, drugs, and adult content won’t have ads placed against them.

The full tier also includes YouTube Premium revenue. Premium is a paid subscription that gives viewers ad-free, offline-capable playback, and when a Premium subscriber watches your videos, you earn a share of their subscription fee based on how much of your content they watch. You don’t have to subscribe or pay anything yourself to earn from it.

2. Monetize YouTube Shorts

Short-form video has become a revenue stream of its own, on top of helping new viewers find your channel. The Shorts feed pulls in billions of daily views, and YouTube shares ad revenue from that feed with creators.

The Shorts model works differently from long-form. Ad revenue from the Shorts feed is pooled, then split between a creator pool and a music licensing fund depending on whether you used music.

Your share depends on how many Shorts views you contributed in your region. After the split, creators receive 45% of eligible Shorts earnings.

Per-view rates for Shorts are lower than long-form, often just a few cents per thousand views, and they vary a lot by country. The upside is reach.

Metricool’s 2026 YouTube Study puts views on Shorts up 127% year over year, and the Shorts feed now accounts for 61% of all organic views on the platform, ahead of subscribers at 11% and YouTube search at 9%. Watch time moved the other way: each Short holds a viewer for about 16 seconds, 32 seconds less than in 2025, with interactions down 15%.

Shorts also lift the videos that earn more. Channels publishing no Shorts averaged 4,364 views per long-form video, while channels publishing around five Shorts a month averaged 8,789, roughly 46% above the study-wide average.

3. Channel Memberships and Fan Funding

Fan funding lets your most dedicated viewers support you directly, and it’s available at the lower 500-subscriber tier.

Channel memberships let fans pay a recurring monthly fee for perks you set up across as many as six tiers. Common perks include custom badges and emoji, members-only posts and videos, early access to uploads, and members-only live chats. You control the price and what each level includes.

Alongside memberships, the Supers features let viewers pay in the moment. Super Chat and Super Stickers highlight a fan’s message or animation during a live stream, and Super Thanks lets viewers tip on a regular video or Short. Viewers choose how much to spend, usually anywhere from about $1 up to $500, and creators keep around 70% before taxes. The more you engage with the fans who use these, the more others tend to join in.

Most fan-funding features ask you to be at least 18, and the Supers are available in countries where the feature has rolled out, so double-check your region before you count on them.

If you’d rather build a funding base outside YouTube, platforms like Patreon, Ko-fi, and Buy Me a Coffee work well for recurring support, often with lower fees.

4. Sell Products and Merchandise

YouTube Shopping lets eligible creators sell directly from their content. You can open a storefront on your channel, connect an existing online store, and tag your own products (or products from other brands) in videos, Shorts, and live streams.

Merch works best when it fits your channel. A cooking creator selling kitchenware makes sense, while music-themed apparel would confuse the audience. If you don’t want to hold inventory, print-on-demand services handle production and shipping per order, which keeps your risk low while you test what sells. You can even poll your audience to find out what they’d actually buy.

5. Try Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the least restrictive ways to earn, which makes it a strong fit for newer channels and anyone making review or tutorial content. You join a brand’s affiliate program, get a unique tracking link, and earn a commission when a viewer clicks through and buys.

Popular programs include Amazon Associates, plus networks like Awin, ClickBank, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, and Rakuten. You can also check whether your favorite brands run their own programs. Add your links to video descriptions, pinned comments, or end cards, and always disclose the affiliate relationship clearly.

The thing that matters most is relevance. Promote products your audience would genuinely use, and stay inside your niche. A woodworking channel recommending a trampoline out of nowhere just erodes trust.

6. Get Brand Deals and Sponsored Content

As your audience grows, brands may pay you to feature their products, or you can pitch them yourself. Deals can take the form of a flat fee, commission per sale, free product, or a mix.

A common way to set a baseline rate is to look at the typical view count on your videos and multiply by a per-view figure, often somewhere between 5 and 15 cents per view, then adjust based on your niche and audience quality. When you pitch a brand, lead with your subscriber count, average views, audience demographics, and a specific collaboration idea that helps them.

Two rules keep sponsorships working: only endorse products you actually believe in, and always disclose paid partnerships by ticking the box in your video details. YouTube’s built-in BrandConnect tool and platforms like Shopify Collabs can help match you with sponsors. BrandConnect uses data about your channel to surface brands that fit your audience, then leaves it to you to reach out and build the relationship.

7. Crowdfund Your Projects

When a bigger idea needs funding before it can happen, crowdfunding lets your audience and community chip in. Platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundMe suit one-off projects, while a recurring model fits ongoing support.

People back projects they’re excited about, so a short pitch video that shows what you’re making and what their support unlocks goes a long way. Reward tiers like early access, exclusive content, shoutouts, or merch give backers a reason to give more.

8. License Your Content

If a video takes off, news outlets, morning shows, and other creators may want to use it, and they’ll pay a fee for the rights. To make this easy, put a clear business contact email in your channel description and on your site. You can also list clips in a video rights marketplace like Jukin Media, where media buyers can find and license your content directly.

Making Money on YouTube without Going on Camera

You can earn well without ever showing your face. These faceless channels rely on screen recordings, voiceovers, stock footage, animation, or audio, and every monetization method above still applies to them. A faceless channel can hit the Partner Program thresholds and earn from ads, affiliate links, memberships, and shopping the same way any other channel does.

Formats that work well without you on screen include:

• Tutorials and how-to videos built from screen recordings, with a voiceover walking through the steps
• Top-10 lists, explainers, and educational deep dives narrated over visuals or simple graphics
• Product reviews and roundups that pair on-screen footage with affiliate links
• Relaxation and audio content like ambient sounds, white noise, meditation tracks, or ASMR
• Gaming videos and livestreams, where the gameplay is the focus and your voice carries the commentary
• Podcasts posted as long-form video, which double as Shorts once you clip the highlights

One word of caution worth taking seriously in 2026: faceless can’t mean low-effort. YouTube has tightened its rules around inauthentic content and is cracking down on AI-generated spam, recycled clips, and lazy compilations. If you’re building on other people’s footage or AI tools, you need to add real value through your own commentary, editing, or perspective. Original, useful content gets monetized, while mass-produced filler doesn’t.

How Much You Can Make on YouTube

This is the question everyone asks, and the honest answer is that it varies widely. Earnings depend on your niche, your audience’s location, ad demand, content format, and which monetization methods you use. A few useful benchmarks from across the industry:

• Per 1,000 views: estimates commonly fall between $2 and $10 in RPM (revenue per thousand views) for long-form content, though figures from $1 to $30 show up depending on the source and niche. Shorts pay far less per view, often just a few cents. As a reference point, one analysis put the 2024 average RPM at roughly $3 for long-form videos and about 5 cents for Shorts.
• CPM: what advertisers pay to reach a thousand viewers sits roughly in the $15 to $30 range, but remember YouTube keeps its share and you’re paid only on monetized views.
• Niche matters: categories like finance, tech, and education tend to attract higher advertiser rates than broad entertainment, and money-focused content such as affiliate marketing or side-hustle videos often sits at the top of that range, with CPMs of $20 or more.

Views on their own don’t equal revenue. If a video gets thousands of views but nobody engages with the ads, you won’t earn from those views, which is why a video’s earnings can look very different from its view count.

Timing matters too. A video earns most of its interactions in its first three days, when the algorithm pushes it to subscribers and similar audiences, and roughly 83% of all interactions land within the first ten days.

Views behave differently. After the early spike, they settle into a slower, steadier rhythm that can carry on for months or years, so a video you published last spring can still be earning today. That long tail is one of the few real advantages YouTube has over feed-based platforms.

At the top end, the best-known creators reportedly pull in tens of millions of dollars a year. Those numbers grab headlines, but they’re outliers, and almost all of them come from a mix of ads, merchandise, sponsorships, and outside ventures rather than ad revenue alone.

Plenty of mid-sized creators with engaged niche audiences earn a solid living, and many more make useful side income. Growth is gradual on YouTube: about 10% of accounts gained enough subscribers over the year to move up a size tier, and channels between 2,000 and 10,000 subscribers were the most likely to manage it. Plan for months of steady work rather than a fast result.

Tips to Grow Your YouTube Revenue Faster

Once you understand the ways to earn, a few habits help the money come sooner.

• Promote beyond YouTube: share clips and links on Instagram, TikTok, and your other channels to send new viewers back to your videos. Running that from one content calendar keeps a cross-platform schedule manageable.
• Know Your Audience: your demographics, watch time, and the search terms people use to find you all live in YouTube Analytics, and the better you understand who’s watching, the better you can serve them and the more appealing you become to brands.
• Pick a Focused Niche: a clear topic attracts viewers who subscribe and keep coming back, and it makes your channel an easy match for sponsors targeting that audience.
• Protect Watch Time: with ad revenue tied to how long people stay, the first 30 seconds of a video are worth more than they used to be. Get to the point quickly, cut the intro, and give viewers a reason to reach the middle of the video where mid-roll ads sit.
• Find a Pace You Can Hold: for long-form videos, 2 to 4 posts a week is where each video performs best, averaging 10,552 views against 3,745 for channels publishing more than seven a week. Shorts work differently, since they’re distributed through an endless feed, so monthly views keep climbing the more you publish. A predictable schedule also signals to YouTube that your channel is active, and it gets you to the watch-hour threshold faster.
• Repurpose into Shorts: clip highlights and single tips from your long-form videos into Shorts, which widens your reach and adds a revenue stream with very little extra work. Around five a month is where the lift to long-form views showed up in the data.
• Work Your Back Catalog: YouTube search accounts for nearly 9% of views, and videos keep collecting them long after publication, so a title, description, and thumbnail refresh on an older video that still gets traffic can be worth more than a new upload.
• Diversify Your Income: relying only on ads is risky, since demonetization can cut earnings overnight and ad rates move without warning, so combining ads with memberships, merch, affiliate links, and sponsorships builds a steadier creator business that depends less on the algorithm.

Start Earning on YouTube

Making money on YouTube takes real effort, but the steps are clear. Build an audience, apply to the Partner Program at 500 subscribers to unlock fan funding and shopping, then reach the 1,000-subscriber tier to add ad revenue. From there, add the methods that fit your content and your viewers.

Focus on what you can control: a niche you care about, content worth watching, and a steady schedule. That last part is where Metricool fits in. You can plan and schedule your videos and Shorts ahead of time, manage YouTube alongside your other platforms, and keep an eye on what’s actually earning, including views, watch time, and revenue per video, all in one place. It’s the kind of setup that turns a scattered posting habit into a routine you can keep.

Create a free Metricool account and start planning your YouTube content with more calm and less guesswork.