Growth
YouTube monetization requirements
To earn from ads on YouTube, you need 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. In many countries, a first tier opens earlier, at 500 subscribers, for memberships, Super Thanks and Shopping.
Cuetta team3 min read
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The two tiers of the YouTube Partner Program
| Tier | What you need | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Fan funding (early access) | 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and 3,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days | Channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, Shopping |
| Ad revenue (full) | 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 1,000 subscribers and 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days | A share of ad and YouTube Premium revenue, plus the fan funding features |
Fan funding (early access)
- What you need
- 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and 3,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days
- What it unlocks
- Channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, Shopping
Ad revenue (full)
- What you need
- 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 1,000 subscribers and 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days
- What it unlocks
- A share of ad and YouTube Premium revenue, plus the fan funding features
The earlier tier is available in many countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India and much of Europe. The ad revenue tier is available wherever the Partner Program runs.
Other requirements
- Live in a country or region where the YouTube Partner Program is available.
- Follow YouTube's channel monetization policies.
- Have no active Community Guidelines strikes.
- Turn on 2-Step Verification for your Google Account.
- Have access to advanced features on YouTube.
- Link one active AdSense account, or set one up during the application.
What counts as watch hours
Watch hours come from public long videos. Private, unlisted and deleted videos don't count, and YouTube says watch time from the Shorts feed doesn't count toward the 4,000 hours.
4,000 hours is 240,000 minutes. If your average viewer watches 4 minutes, that's about 60,000 views in a year.
How to apply
- 1
Open YouTube Studio
Go to the Earn section. You can see your progress and ask to be notified when you're eligible.
- 2
Accept the terms
Review and accept the base terms and any modules you want to use.
- 3
Link AdSense
Connect an existing AdSense account or create a new one.
- 4
Wait for review
YouTube reviews your channel against its monetization policies. This usually takes about a month, sometimes longer.
If your application is rejected
YouTube will say which policy the channel didn't meet. The most common reasons are reused content (videos made mainly from other people's material without adding enough of your own) and repetitive content. You can usually reapply after 30 days, after fixing the issue across the channel.
How to get there faster
- Make longer videos people finish. Watch hours grow with watch time, not views alone.
- Make search videos that keep bringing views for months.
- Turn hits into series and playlists, so viewers watch several videos.
- Use Shorts to bring new viewers, and link each Short to a related long video.
How much YouTube pays
YouTube doesn't pay a fixed amount per view. Your share depends on how many viewers see ads, what advertisers pay in your niche and the countries your viewers are in. Finance, business and software usually earn much more per 1,000 views than entertainment or gaming.