How Much Money Do YouTubers Make? Learn from the Richest YouTubers

Here you are with your daily rituals and YouTube intake. Your phone, sideways; your earphones, plugged in--it could not possibly get better from here. Maybe, at some point in your life, you start to think about how and why these people give out content for free. Most likely, they started that way--unpaid and really just doing YouTube for fun. However, some of the YouTubers you're watching are making money--and we're not talking cents.

We're here to tell you how much exactly do these YouTubers make and what are the factors that help them get even bigger--or at least their paychecks.

Now, if you're wondering how much money these content creators are making (and possibly become one your own), you're reading the right article. Here, we'll let you know about the average YouTube pay rate and a quick guide on how you can make yours profitable as well.

Tons of Factors to Consider

There are tons of factors to consider here. However, the 'per view' metric looks to be the most commonly questioned. YouTubers can make anywhere between $0.01 to $0.03 per view alongside AdSense and averages at around $0.18. As for how much YouTube pays you--it comes with a variety of factors like:

  • The number of views your video receives
  • The number of clicks an ad receives
  • Ad quality
  • Adblockers
  • Video length

How Much YouTubers make in a span of 1,000 views

If you're asking about how much do these YouTubers make in a span of 1,000 views, then we're talking bigger money.

How Much YouTubers make in a span of 1,000 views
How Much YouTubers make in a span of 1,000 views

Of course, once these creators are well-past the thousand mark threshold, expect that their funds get bigger as well. The average YouTube pay rate hovers between $0.01 and $0.03 for an ad view, right? So, a YouTuber can make around $18 per 1,000 ad views, which comes out at $3 to $5 per 1,000 video views. Reportedly, YouTube pays more for their top-tier talents--paying them at around $5 for every 1,000 video views.

If that hasn't put you on the side of YouTube as a hustle, then I don't know what will. If you're creating content that magnets quite the audience, then it could even be an opportunity for you to turn a side hustle into your main hustle. I mean, just getting into the land of assured 1,000 views and ad views is already hard enough.

Now, what's more interesting is how much money do YouTubers make per video. Sure, arguments can be held by quantity over quality or the other way around but if you're putting out 20 videos per week, that should compensate for the low views, right?

Technically, yes, but really, the amount of money YouTubers can make per video does depend, again, on a variety of factors. These factors include how many views they get and how many Google ads are displayed throughout the videos. If we're using Forbes' pay rate of $5 per 1,000 views, then a YouTube video can get up to $5,000 if it gets a million views. These are estimates, however, and some YouTubers could make less or more in a million views--but that doesn't belittle the fact that the money they're getting is humungous.

As for getting paid, YouTubers have to reach a balance of $100 or more from views. If anything, that's expecting 20,000 views--that is if you're receiving $5 per 1,000 views. To make things easier for creators, YouTube created the YouTube Partner Program which allows you to get paid through advertisements on your page. For you to be accepted into the program, there are a couple of things YouTube requires of you--and these are:

  • Have at least 1,000 subscribers
  • Reach 4,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months
  • Sign and agree to the terms and conditions
  • Have an AdSense account
  • Get reviewed and approved

The Youtube Partners Program enables creators to start earning money through advertisements. This brings another feature into the mix--two, to be exact. One being CPM (cost per mille) or cost per thousand views and CPC or cost per click. On one hand, CPM allows you to earn money for every 1,000 views you accumulate. On the other hand, CPC is based on the number of people that click on the ad placed on your page or video.

With this, however, Google will give you 68% of the revenue when displaying ads with AdSense. For example, you earn $1,000 from a video and in turn, you will receive $680.

How Much YouTubers make in a span of 1,000 views
How Much YouTubers make in a span of 1,000 views

Some creators don't stop there, however, and find other gigs outside of making videos on the platform. Apart from ad placements, most of the biggest content creators' salaries come from other sources like affiliate links, merchandise, and sponsorship.

Ever noticed how YouTubers, especially ones that review products, have mentioned some of their quote-unquote favorite brands? If you noticed, then yes, these are what the business calls affiliate links. May it be makeup, software, VPNs, or anything else in between as long as the YouTuber mentions or reviews the product. When someone who watches the video is interested in the product, normally, the links are in the description for them to click on--and once they do and given that they also purchase the product, the YouTuber earns a percentage of it.

This may be the most genuine one of all-- merchandise. The YouTuber has grown well enough to distribute shirts and caps with their taglines and favorite phrases or logos and faces. From games to vloggers, the term 'merch' has quickly been a stamp on how much subscribers are willing to go out of their way to support their favorite content creator.

As for sponsorship, these are what really make the big bucks. Companies have, especially during the pandemic, relied on social media and digital advertisements for sharing their products. YouTube, being one of the only platforms that can produce 2 billion monthly users and a billion hours of watched per day, is the perfect platform for companies to approach. Some creators are big enough to be sponsored by brands and believe me, brands are more than happy to be promoted on a creator's video.

How Much YouTubers make in a span of 1,000 views
How Much YouTubers make in a span of 1,000 views

Top-paid YouTubers

If you're wondering who the top-paid YouTubers are, then here's a quick list of the names that brought home the big bucks last 2020. According to Forbes, the top ten YouTubers (according to salaries) are the following:

10. Jeffree Star - $15 million

9. David Dobrik - $15.5 million

8. Blippi (Stevin John) - $17 million

7. Nastya (Anastasia Radzinskaya) - $18.5 million

6. Preston Arsement - $19 million

5. Markiplier - $19.5 million

4. Rhett & Link - $20 million

3. Dude Perfect - $23 million

2. Mr. Beast - $24 million

1. Ryan Kaji - $29.5 million

Yup, that's right. A kid who opens toys for YouTube videos almost has $30 million. That's $30 million more than what's in my bank account, at this point. After seeing that 2020 list, you must be considering a change of career. Well, here's a couple of things to help you start out your YouTube career. Who knows? You might just be the next David Dobrik of Mr. Beast.

  1. Find your content. One way to develop a strong founded audience is for you to find your niche. That's why a lot of these creators are having fun with what they're doing because that's honestly all they're doing apart from the editing and posting of the videos. Some cook, some play 2K and FIFA, some prank, some do crazy scientific experiments, and you might just be a part of these 'some' one day.
  2. Post regularly, please. One factor that YouTube likes about their creators is consistency. Not only does YouTube love it, but if you have a couple of hundred subscribers already, they'll love it too!
  3. Invest in the right things. From cameras, microphones, lighting, and your overall setup. What makes YouTubers so pleasing to the eye is their immediate environment.

Looking for alternative ways to make money? Here's the Twitch version:

How Much Do Twitch Streamers Make & 5 Richest Twitch Streamers

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