How Much Do YouTube Shorts Creators Make?

Measured channel data puts YouTube Shorts pay at $0.02 to $0.20 per 1,000 views in most niches — about $20 to $200 per million views — rising to $1.48 in music, while widely repeated blog estimates quote a lower $0.01–$0.07. YouTube publishes no fixed rate: it pools Shorts ad revenue monthly and pays monetizing creators 45% of their allocation.

Sources for those figures: the measured $0.02–$1.48 range comes from AIR Media-Tech's study of 274 channels (updated 23 June 2026;) and the sub-$0.20 creator-reported figures from Digiday (25 February 2025;); the lower $0.01–$0.07 figure is an undated blog-estimate floor from Shopify ($0.03–$0.07) and Riverside ($0.01–$0.06), neither of which publishes a dataset. The 45% Shorts revenue share is stated by YouTube Help — YouTube partner earnings overview.

How much do YouTube Shorts pay per 1,000 views?

YouTube pays no fixed amount per Short view, so every per-view figure comes from third parties. Commonly cited blog estimates put Shorts RPM at $0.01–$0.07 per 1,000 views; creator-network data pulled from YouTube Analytics across 274 channels puts it at $0.02–$1.48 by niche; and creators who disclosed their own Studio numbers reported RPMs below $0.20.

AIR Media-Tech, a third-party creator network, measured median Shorts RPMs of $0.02 to $1.48 per 1,000 views — roughly 3–14% of the same channels' long-form RPM — by pulling YouTube Analytics API data from 274 partner channels; the figures are AIR Media-Tech's, not YouTube's.

AIR Media-Tech's Shorts RPM figures are full-year medians drawn from 3,044 channel-month data points across 13 niches, not peak-month screenshots.

Six YouTube creators who shared their own analytics with Digiday reported Shorts RPMs consistently below $0.20 per 1,000 views, against long-form RPMs of $3 to $6 per 1,000 views.

Magic: The Gathering creator Maldhound told Digiday his Shorts averaged a $0.18 RPM versus roughly $5.50 RPM on his long-form videos.

Creator Bennett Santora told Digiday his short-form channels earn Shorts RPMs of $0.15 to $0.30 per 1,000 views, with music royalties adding an average of $0.15 to those RPMs.

Shorts RPM varies more by niche than by channel size. AIR Media-Tech's medians break down as follows:

Kids content is the structural oddity: only 12.1% of long-form kids views carry a monetized ad, against a 45.7% monetized playback rate on Shorts (AIR Media-Tech;).

RPM here means revenue per 1,000 views after YouTube's share, not what an advertiser pays: YouTube defines RPM as "a metric that represents how much money you've earned per 1,000 video views" across all revenue sources (YouTube Help — Understand ad revenue analytics). No RPM figure is a pay rate YouTube guarantees; each is an outcome of the pool allocation described in the next section.

The widely repeated $0.01–$0.07 Shorts RPM range is a pair of blog estimates published without datasets (Shopify; Riverside, publication dates not stated;), so it is best read as a conservative floor rather than a measurement. No source in this comparison is YouTube itself, because YouTube publishes a revenue formula rather than a per-view rate.

Why is Shorts RPM lower than long-form video RPM?

Shorts RPM is lower because Shorts ad revenue is pooled rather than attached to one video. YouTube adds up the ads that run between Shorts each month, sets part of that money aside for music licensing, allocates the rest by each creator's share of engaged views, and then pays the creator 45% of that allocation.

YouTube pays monetizing creators 45% of the Shorts revenue allocated to them, compared with 55% of net revenue from ads on long-form Watch Page videos.

YouTube allocates the Shorts Creator Pool by country according to each monetizing creator's share of total engaged views, so a creator with 5% of eligible engaged views receives 5% of that pool before the 45% share is applied (YouTube Help — YouTube Shorts monetization policies).

When a monetizing creator uploads a Short containing one licensed music track, half of the revenue associated with that Short's engaged views goes to music licensing and half enters the Creator Pool (YouTube Help — YouTube Shorts monetization policies).

Because the pool is split across an enormous view base, per-view value is thin: YouTube reported over 200 billion daily Shorts views as of August 2026 (YouTube Official Blog, "New opportunities to earn and changes to the YouTube Partner Program", 10 August 2026;).

In AIR Media-Tech's dataset, a channel needs 11,000 to 34,000 Shorts views to match the revenue of 1,000 long-form views, with crafting channels at the worst end — $0.11 Shorts RPM against $3.53–$3.68 long-form RPM.

Shorts account for under 2% of total revenue for most of the 274 channels AIR Media-Tech measured.

This pooled structure is also why the old flat bonus fund worked differently (see is the YouTube Shorts Fund still around), and for a broader explanation of both revenue shares, see how much YouTube pays and its requirements.

What can YouTube Shorts creators earn per month?

One million monthly Shorts views produce about $10 to $70 at the commonly cited $0.01–$0.07 RPM estimate, and up to about $200 at the $0.20 RPM ceiling creators have disclosed. Ten million monthly views produce roughly $100 to $2,000 across that same $0.01–$0.20 band. Music channels are the exception.

The RPM band above spans the estimate floor of $0.01–$0.07 published by Shopify (publication date not stated;) and the sub-$0.20 RPMs six creators disclosed to Digiday (25 February 2025;).

Small music channels are the outlier: AIR Media-Tech measured a $1.48 Shorts RPM for small music channels and $0.97 for medium ones, or 60% and 41% of those channels' own long-form RPM, because Content ID pays rights holders on top of ad revenue.

Payouts are also gated by a cash minimum: YouTube pays through AdSense only once a creator's balance reaches the $100 payment threshold, and payment is then issued between the 21st and 26th of the month (Google AdSense Help — Payment thresholds and Steps to getting paid). At a $0.05 Shorts RPM, clearing that $100 threshold on Shorts ad revenue alone takes about 2 million Shorts views.

More than 25% of channels in the YouTube Partner Program now earn through the Shorts revenue share.

The table is illustrative math, not a promised payout. Actual revenue varies with audience location, niche, advertising demand, eligible engaged views, music usage, and the size of the Creator Pool — and none of it applies until a channel qualifies for YouTube's Shorts ad-revenue program.

Do you need a minimum number of subscribers to earn from Shorts?

Yes. As of September 2026, Shorts Feed ad revenue requires 1,000 subscribers plus either 10 million qualified public Shorts views in the last 90 days or 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months. A separate 500-subscriber tier unlocks fan funding such as memberships and Super Thanks, but not Shorts ad revenue. Higher thresholds take effect February 1, 2027.

A channel qualifies for YouTube ad and Premium revenue sharing with 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months, or 1,000 subscribers and 10 million qualified public Shorts views in the last 90 days (YouTube Help — YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility).

The fan-funding tier of the expanded YouTube Partner Program requires 500 subscribers, 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months or 3 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.

The bar is rising. In YouTube's own words, "beginning February 1, 2027, creators who have 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days will be eligible for ads and subscription revenue sharing on Shorts," while "channels below this threshold remain in YPP and continue earning on long-form content, with Shorts revenue sharing automatically resuming once they cross 10 million views again".

YouTube also states that "new creators applying for YPP will need 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days," adding that "this update won't impact creators already in YPP" and that "the entry thresholds for our Fan Funding and shopping products remain unchanged"; the new terms "take effect on February 1, 2027".

Subscription money follows the same split: YouTube allocates "30% of the net subscription revenue for Premium and 60% for Premium Lite" to creator pools, from which creators receive "55% for long-form videos and 45% for Shorts".

Today's thresholds and the ones taking effect on February 1, 2027 sit side by side below:

Sources for the table: YouTube Help — YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility and YouTube Help — Overview of the expanded YouTube Partner Program, and YouTube Official Blog (10 August 2026;).

The full breakdown of both tiers is available in YouTube Shorts monetization requirements.

Can you earn from Shorts before reaching YouTube’s ad-revenue threshold?

Yes. Ad revenue is gated by YouTube's thresholds, but direct fan payments are not — on FanBell there is no subscriber or view minimum, so a channel can be paid long before the 1,000-subscriber and 10-million-Shorts-view bars. Instead of ad impressions, fans pay for one specific thing: a tip, private question, shoutout, small service, or project support.

A link-in-bio page such as FanBell lets fans pay for a private question, personalized shoutout, small service, tip, or project support. The three figures below are FanBell's own terms, not industry-wide norms, and each links to the FanBell page that states it.

FanBell requires no follower minimum and no subscriber minimum to accept fan payments (FanBell — how it works).

FanBell charges no monthly fee and a 12% platform fee that applies only when a fan actually pays (FanBell — pricing).

FanBell payments and payouts are processed through Stripe.

Direct fan payments do not replace Shorts ad revenue after a channel qualifies; they are a second income route that does not require 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. For a broader overview of YouTube income options, see how to make money on YouTube.

Frequently asked questions

How much does 1 million YouTube Shorts views pay?

One million YouTube Shorts views generate roughly $10 to $200 in Shorts ad revenue for a monetizing channel, based on reported RPMs of $0.01 to $0.20 per 1,000 views. Six creators reported Shorts RPMs below $0.20 to Digiday (25 February 2025;), while Shopify estimates $0.03–$0.07 (publication date not stated;).

Music channels can earn far more per view: AIR Media-Tech measured a $1.48 Shorts RPM for small music channels, or about $1,480 per million views.

Why do YouTube Shorts pay less than regular videos?

YouTube pays creators 45% of the Shorts revenue allocated to them versus 55% of net Watch Page ad revenue on long-form videos.

Measured against each other, Shorts RPM equals only 3–14% of long-form RPM on the same channels, so it takes 11,000 to 34,000 Shorts views to match 1,000 long-form views (AIR Media-Tech;).

How many subscribers do you need to make money from Shorts?

Shorts ad revenue requires 1,000 subscribers plus either 10 million qualified public Shorts views in the last 90 days or 4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months (YouTube Help — YouTube Partner Program overview & eligibility).

From February 1, 2027, new applicants will instead need 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days (YouTube Official Blog;). FanBell has no follower minimum.

Can small Shorts creators earn before qualifying for ad revenue?

Yes. Payments for tips, paid questions, shoutouts, or project support do not depend on YouTube Partner Program eligibility, subscriber count, or Shorts view totals, because they come from fans rather than from YouTube's ad pool.

On FanBell specifically, starting is free, there is no follower minimum, and the platform fee is 12%, charged only when a fan pays (FanBell — pricing and FanBell — how it works).

How can you get started?

Shorts ad revenue needs 10 million qualified views in 90 days; a paid fan link needs none. Create your free FanBell page and turn on tips, paid questions, shoutouts, or project support.