How much YouTube pays for 1 million views, according to creators
Shelby Church
- YouTube creators earn money from Google-placed ads on their videos.
- A number of factors determine how much money they make, including video views.
- Creators said how much YouTube pays for 1 million views ranged from $3,400 to $30,000.
While many factors — content niche and country, among them — determine how much money a YouTuber earns on any particular video, the number of views it gets is perhaps the most significant.
When a YouTube video hits 1 million views, there's almost a guaranteed big payday for its creator. In some cases, creators can make five-figures from a single video if it accrues that many views.
Three creators explained how much money YouTube pays for 1 million views, and their answers ranged from $3,400 to $30,000.
When tech creator Shelby Church spoke with Insider, she had earned $30,000 from a video about Amazon FBA (Fulfillment By Amazon). At the time, the video had accrued 1.8 million views.
Read more about how Church built her YouTube business and how much she earns
Her RPM rate — or earnings per 1,000 views — are relatively high, she said, because of her content niche. Business, personal finance, and technology channels tend to earn more per view.
"YouTubers don't always make a ton of money, and it really depends on what kind of videos you're making," she said.
Influencers can earn 55% of a video's ad revenue if they are part of YouTube's Partner Program, or YPP. To qualify for the program, they must have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time on their long-form videos.
They can also make money from shorts, YouTube's short-form video offering. In order to qualify, creators need to reach 10 million views in 90 days and have 1,000 subscribers. YouTube pools ad revenue from shorts and pays an undisclosed amount to record labels for music licensing. Creators receive 45% of the remaining money based on their percentage of the total shorts views on the platform.
Insider has put together various compilations of how much YouTubers earn from the platform:
- How much 8 YouTube creators earn per 1,000 views
- 19 YouTube creators share how much they get paid in a month for their videos
- How much YouTubers with over 1 million subscribers make
- 17 YouTubers reveal the most money they have made from a single video