28 YouTube Creators Reveal How Much They Get Paid Per Month

Each month, YouTube creators earn money off the ads that play in their videos.

Many factors — like whether a video went viral or whether the audience that watches their content is valuable to advertisers — can determine what a creator earns per paycheck. YouTubers are paid monthly and either receive a check by mail or direct deposit. 

To start earning money from YouTube's Partner Program, creators must have 500 subscribers, three public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours in the past year or 3 million YouTube shorts views in the last 90 days. This qualifies them to earn from channel memberships, tips, and other sources. But to make money specifically from ad revenue (via YouTube's AdSense program), creators must have at least 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 watch hours in the past year or 10 million valid public shorts views in the last 90 days. 

In February, YouTube began sharing ad revenue with shorts creators. Different from long-form videos, shorts ad revenue is pooled and divided up based on several factors including music licensing. YouTube then pays out creators 45% of that remaining balance based on total shorts views on the platform.

Seven creators shared how much they earned in the first month of the shorts program with Insider. Their earnings in February from short-form content on YouTube ranged from $3.15 to $4,207.31. Insider verified their income with documentation. (Read more about how much creators earn from shorts here.)

Making money through YouTube programs isn't the only form of revenue for these digital stars. Creators on YouTube earn their money a number of ways, from sponsorships to selling merchandise.

Still, one of their main sources of revenue is often directly from YouTube. So how much do YouTubers generally make per month?

Insider spoke with 28 YouTube creators about how much money each of them earned in a month from the platform.

Here's what they said:

This article has been updated to include additional creators. JP Mangalindan contributed to a previous version.

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