How much does YouTube pay per view?

On YouTube, creators earn a share of ad revenue rather than a fixed rate per view. Every creator can figure out what their views are worth by learning their RPM (revenue per mille), which is what creators earn per 1,000 views after YouTube takes its share.

For most channels, generating revenue from ads requires very high view counts. That’s why many YouTubers are using Linktree to earn directly from their audience, rather than relying on ad income alone.

Does YouTube pay per view?

No, YouTube doesn’t pay a fixed amount per view. Instead, YouTube pays creators accepted into the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) a share of the ad revenue earned when ads run on their videos. Not every view on YouTube has an ad, meaning creators are only paid for the number of times their video was watched with ads (known as monetized playbacks).

There are two important metrics used to calculate YouTube ad revenue:

• CPM (cost per mille): What advertisers pay for every 1,000 ad impressions, before YouTube takes its share
• RPM (revenue per mille): What creators earn per 1,000 views, after YouTube’s share. It counts all views, including ones without ads, and also includes revenue from YouTube Premium, channel memberships, Super Chat, and Super Stickers

How to figure out what your YouTube views will earn

A simple formula calculates how much your YouTube views will earn. Take your RPM, multiply it by your views, then divide it by 1,000.

Earnings = RPM x views ÷ 1,000

For example, if your RPM is $3 and a video gets 50,000 views, you’ll be estimated to earn $150 ($3 x 50,000 ÷ 1,000 = $150).

You don’t have to guess your RPM, either. YouTube shows it to you in YouTube Studio under Analytics > Revenue. Your RPM sits alongside your estimated revenue. Pick a date range to see your average RPM or open a single video to check its RPM. If you don’t see a Revenue tab, your channel might not be accepted into the YouTube Partner Program yet.

If you want to see where viewers go after they watch, add your Linktree to your video description. Linktree’s analytics allow you to track which links and posts drove the most engagement, with easy-to-understand analysis that explains what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus next.

How much does YouTube pay for 1,000, 100,000, and 1 million views?

According to a 2026 study of 300 monetized YouTube channels, the median RPM was $2.30 per 1,000 views. Using that figure, YouTube would pay about $230 for 100,000 views and about $2,300 for 1 million views. But RPM isn’t static and can fluctuate depending on topic and niche.

Table source: AIR Media-Tech, study of 300 monetized YouTube channels, May 2025 to May 2026. Low is the Kids & Teens median, middle is the median across all channels, and high is the Education & Science median.

While YouTube doesn’t share the average RPM across all channels, studies like this can give a helpful range to guide your estimates. So what separates a high-RPM video from a low one? Typically, it comes down to who's watching, where they live, and what advertisers want to put in front of them.

Videos that tend to earn more per view include:

• Tutorials and explainers: Education and Science had the highest median in the study, well ahead of every other niche
• An audience in markets where advertisers compete: Advertisers choose where their ads run, so viewer location matters
• Longer videos: They can fit mid-roll ads, which gives a video more chances to show ads
• Advertiser-friendly content: Videos must meet YouTube's guidelines to ensure brands feel safe placing ads alongside them

Videos that tend to earn less per view include:

• Content made for kids: It had the lowest median in the study because ad rules limit what types of ads can run
• Health, sport and gaming: These niches sat below the overall median
• Calm content like meditation and sleep videos: Mid-roll ads can be a poor fit here
• YouTube Shorts: They're paid from a shared pool and earn a fraction of what long-form videos do per view

None of this is a rule, which is why checking your own RPM in YouTube Studio beats relying on any niche average.

How many views will you need to make $2,000 or $10,000 a month?

If your goal is to earn $2,000, $10,000, or more a month on YouTube, flip the formula around and work backwards from your ideal income. That means using the formula Views = earnings x 1,000 ÷ RPM.

Here’s what that looks like using the same low and high RPMs shown above, with rounded monthly view counts.

To put that into perspective: Earning $100 takes roughly 10,000 to 303,000 YouTube views a month, while making $2,000 takes anywhere from 196,000 to 6 million monthly views. Even at the highest RPM in the study, earning $10,000 a month takes close to a million views every single month, and at the lowest it takes tens of millions.

Keep in mind that using your own RPM is a much more reliable way to estimate how many views you’ll need to hit your income goal.

Because ad-sharing revenue can be slow to build, some creators earn extra income by selling something viewers are already asking for, like a template from a tutorial or the presets they use to edit their videos.

How much does YouTube Shorts pay?

YouTube Shorts pay significantly less than long-form YouTube videos. According to another 2026 study of 274 channels, Shorts paid just 3% to 14% of what long-form videos earn per 1,000 views, paying between $0.02 and $1.45 RPM.

The main reason is that Shorts ad revenue is calculated differently. Ads play between videos in a continuous Shorts feed (rather than directly on a specific video), making it difficult to assign an ad view to a single Shorts video. To work around this, YouTube pools Shorts ad revenue and distributes it to creators based on engaged views.

How the Shorts pool works

On YouTube Shorts, you don’t earn from ads on your own videos. Instead, revenue moves through four steps:

1. Ad revenue is pooled: YouTube adds up the revenue from ads that played between videos on the Shorts feed
2. Music licensing comes out first: YouTube covers the cost of music licensing from the pool first, then shares out what's left
3. The Creator Pool is shared by views: The more views you get, the bigger your slice. This is worked out country to country. Say your Shorts get 5% of all the eligible views in a country. You'd get 5% of that country's pool
4. You keep 45% of your slice: That rate stays the same whether or not you used music

What counts as a view on YouTube Shorts

Not every YouTube Shorts view counts toward how much you’ll earn. YouTube uses engaged views to decide whether you qualify for the Partner Program and to calculate how much you’ll earn from the Shorts Creator Pool.

To qualify for the YPP with Shorts, you need to get 1,000 subscribers with 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. A qualified Shorts view needs to come from public Shorts and be an engaged view.

An engaged view means the viewer stayed past the initial seconds of your Short, and loops don’t count. This means your Shorts’ public-facing views counter can differ from the engaged views figure you’ll see in YouTube Analytics.

Only eligible views count toward your share. Reuploaded clips, bot views, content that isn't advertiser-friendly, and blocked Shorts don't make the cut. Shorts views also only earn from Shorts Feed ads, never from long-form ads on the watch page.

How to earn from targeted Shorts ads

Earning through the Creator Pool on Shorts isn’t your only option. From February 1, 2027, Shorts ads targeted to specific channels in small groups of five or fewer channels will be eligible to earn direct revenue. For these targeted Shorts ads, creators will keep 45% of the net revenue from the specific ad. 

Short-form ad revenue looks different on every platform. If you’re posting to multiple channels, see how TikTok’s per-view pay compares.

What changes how much a view earns?

Two YouTubers with the same view counts can earn very different amounts. That’s because there’s no flat rate per view; creators earn money based on what advertisers are willing to pay for ad impressions, which can differ by region, topic, video length, and even the time of year.

The main factors that change how much a view earns include:

• Audience country: Advertisers choose where their ads run, and some regions are more competitive than others, so where your viewers live changes what each view earns
• Topic: Advertisers pay more to reach some audiences than others, and videos that aren't advertiser-friendly may not earn ad revenue at all
• Video length and mid-roll ads: Longer videos can fit mid-roll ads, which gives a video more chances to show ads, though a slot doesn't guarantee one will run
• Ad blockers and YouTube Premium: A view where the ad is blocked can't earn ad revenue, and Premium members don't see regular ads, although creators do get a share of YouTube Premium revenue
• Time of year: Advertisers tend to bid higher before holidays, so your RPM can shift across the year

While advertisers set ad rates on YouTube, you can work directly with brands using sponsored links instead. Give your audience access to exclusive offers and get paid when they redeem.

How to earn beyond YouTube ads

On YouTube, ad income only scales with views. The only way to earn more from ads is to get more views, and you don’t get to set the rates of what you’ll be paid, either.

Selling directly to your audience works differently. It doesn’t fluctuate with view counts or advertisers' spending habits. Instead, you tap into an audience that already knows and trusts you.

That's why many creators are looking for ways to earn from YouTube without relying on ads. Others start closer to home and earn from products you already recommend.

More ways to earn from your YouTube audience

Once you’ve pinpointed your RPM, you know what your views are worth on YouTube. From there, you can calculate how many views you’ll need to earn your ideal monthly income.

While the YouTube Partner Program allows you to monetize your channel, scaling your earning potential can be slow. More creators are looking for other ways to spotlight their latest uploads, share affiliate links, offer digital products, sell courses, and even curate merch.

Learn how YouTubers use Linktree to start earning, even if they don’t meet the YPP thresholds.