How Many Views on YouTube Do You Really Need to Start Making Money?

John Luis
6 min readNov 17, 2023

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YouTube has become one of the most popular ways for creators to share their content and make money online. But how many views do you actually need before you can start earning from YouTube? With over 2 billion monthly users, YouTube offers a massive potential audience. But turning those views into dollars takes work.

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In this article, we’ll break down exactly how the YouTube monetization and Partner Program works. You’ll learn how you can start making money from YouTube, how much money you can expect to earn, and how many views you’ll likely need to get there. Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways on Making Money from YouTube Views

  • You need 1,000 subscribers + 4,000 watch hours to get accepted into the YouTube Partner Program and enable monetization.
  • Earnings vary based on factors like watch time and viewer demographics, but typically range from $1 — $5 per 1,000 ad views.
  • Minimums views for key income milestones:
  • $100: 100,000+ views
  • $15/hour: 150,000–300,000 views/month
  • $60k/year full-time: 10 million views/month
  • $300k/year top earners: 75 million views/month

Focus on search optimization, promotions and consistent quality content to get more views.

  • It takes significant effort and time to build a highly lucrative YouTube channel. But stick with it long term and your earnings can scale dramatically.

Turning YouTube success into real earnings takes strategic effort. But with persistence and dedication, you can eventually start cashing those YouTube checks. So keep uploading quality content, engage your community, promote smartly, and your view counts will grow over time — along with your YouTube income.

How Does YouTube Monetization Work?

YouTube allows creators to monetize their videos by placing ads on them. There are several different types of YouTube ads, such as display ads, overlay ads, skippable video ads, and non-skippable video ads.

When viewers watch enough of your video (usually about 30 seconds), you’ll start earning money from the ads being shown. The amount you earn depends on factors like a video’s watch time, viewer demographics, ad availability, and more. YouTube shares 55% of the ad revenue with video creators.

To monetize videos, you first need to be accepted into the YouTube Partner Program. This involves meeting eligibility requirements like having 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months. Once approved, you can turn on monetization for your videos.

How Much Money Can You Make on YouTube?

How much money you earn on YouTube depends on your viewership and the type of ads shown. On average, according to YouTube, you can expect to earn:

  • $0.01 — $0.03 per view from display ads
  • $0.10 — $0.30 per view for overlay ads
  • $0.25 — $5.00 per view for skippable video ads
  • $0.30 — $6.00 per view for non-skippable video ads

As you can see, there’s a huge range in potential earnings. Non-skippable video ads tend to bring in the most revenue. According to some top creators, they earn around $3 — $5 per 1,000 video views after YouTube’s cut.

However, your earnings also depend heavily on audience and video factors. Videos with higher engagement and watch time will make more than those clicked off quickly. Advertiser-friendly content suitable for major brands will earn more too.

Here are some average earnings reported by popular YouTubers:

  • MrBeast — $5 per 1,000 views
  • Graham Stephan — $2.50 — $3.50 per 1,000 views
  • PewDiePie — $7.50 per 1,000 views
  • Markiplier — $3.50 per 1,000 views

As you can see from these top creators, typical earnings per 1,000 views range from around $2 — $7. Note that these figures are before YouTube’s 45% cut.

How Many Views Do You Need to Make Money on YouTube?

So how many views do you realistically need to start making money on YouTube? Here are some estimates:

To earn your first $100:

Views needed: 100,000+

It’s possible to start earning small amounts before hitting six figures in views. But you’ll need at least 100,000 raw video views before you reach that first $100 paycheck.

This assumes an average RPM (revenue per 1000 views) of $1 — $2 before YouTube’s cut. It also depends on getting views from monetizable countries like the USA or Canada versus lower CPM regions.

To earn minimum wage ($15/hr):

Views needed: 150,000–300,000/month

To earn the equivalent of a $15/hr minimum wage on YouTube, you’ll need a fairly substantial view count. At around $2 RPM, you’d need 150,000 views a month to earn $300. At $1 RPM, you’d need 300,000 views to hit that $300 target.

To earn a “middle-class” full-time income ($60k/year):

Views needed: 10 million views/month

Assuming videos earn $2 RPM and a 45% revenue share, creators need around 500,000 views a day or 10 million views per month to make a $60k annual income on YouTube. This is a fairly comfortable “middle-class” level income from YouTube alone.

To earn a top “1% income of $300k/year:

Views needed: 75 million views/month

At the very top end, creators like MrBeast or PewDiePie easily clear 7 figures a year from YouTube. To hit a $300k annual income, a creator would need about 75 million monetized views per month. This shows just how massive the views need to be to earn at the very top of YouTube.

However, keep in mind AdSense earnings aren’t the only income for big YouTubers. Sponsorships, merch sales and affiliate marketing can earn creators even more.

How Can You Get More YouTube Views?

Here are some top tips to get more views on YouTube:

  • Optimize your titles, thumbnails and descriptions using keywords
  • Promote your videos on social media and elsewhere online
  • Engage with your audience frequently to build loyalty
  • Encourage viewers to subscribe, like and share your videos
  • Make searchable content on topics people are interested in
  • Collaborate with other creators for cross-promotion
  • Stay consistent with regular uploads to keep growing

It takes time and effort to build a sizable audience on YouTube. But if you focus on value-driven content and promotion, your view counts will gradually grow. Stay persistent and keep optimizing your channel for more reach.

Summary Points:

  • You need at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours to join the YouTube Partner Program and enable monetization.
  • Earnings per view vary significantly based on many factors. On average, expect to earn around $1 — $5 per 1,000 views.
  • To earn your first $100, you’ll need at least 100,000 views. For minimum wage level income, plan on 150,000–300,000 views per month.
  • Top creators need massive view counts — around 10 million a month for a comfortable full-time income, and 75 million+ for a top 1% income.
  • Focus on optimizing your content to get more views — engage your audience, promote videos, make searchable content. Building an audience and views on YouTube takes significant time and effort.

Q: How do youtubers get paid in 2023?

A: YouTubers can get paid in a variety of ways, most notably through AdSense, channel memberships, merchandise shelf, YouTube Premium revenue, and Super Chat. However, before you can start making money on YouTube, you need to be part of the YouTube Partner Program which has certain eligibility requirements.

Q: How much does YouTube pay for YouTube Premium views?

A: The exact amounts vary widely, but YouTube pays out a percentage of the YouTube Premium subscription fee to the creators. This amount is proportional to how much a Premium subscriber watches a channel.

Q:Are there other ways to make money on YouTube aside from ads?

A: Yes, there are many ways to make money on Youtube apart from ads. These include channel memberships where your subscribers can pay a monthly fee for special perks, Super Chat where your viewers can pay a fee to highlight their messages during your live stream, or by selling merchandise directly from your channel.

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John Luis

John has over 15 years of experience in the marketing Find more here. <a href="https://johnbestmarketingtools.com/">johnbestmarketingtools</a>