How Much Does YouTube Pay for 1 Million Subscribers?
How many times have you heard about how rich Youtubers are? How your friend, your friend's friend, and your neighbor are all YouTube influencers now.
But how much are they earning from each video? The more appropriate question to ask would be, “How much does YouTube pay for 1 million subscribers?”.
Because clearly, not every YouTuber has that many subscribers. So, if you're someone who wants to know how profitable YouTubing is, this article is for you.
In this article, I'll cover:
- How much money do you make on YouTube with 1 million subscribers?
- Important factors that affect the earnings
- Other ways a YouTuber with 1 million subscribers can earn (it's more than what YouTube pays)
- And top 5 highest paid YouTubers as of now.
Let's get right to it. And if you're new to the YouTube world, make sure to check out these useful tools that can make creating videos super easy and quick.
How Much Does a Youtuber With 1 Million Subscribers Make?
On average, a Youtuber with 1 million subscribers will earn about $50,0000 to $60,000 a year.
A video that has managed to gather about a million views, despite the number of subscribers, the YouTuber will be able to earn anywhere from $4000 to $40,0000 based on one video.
However, this would vary depending on multiple factors such as your niche, location of the audience, video length, and more which we'll discuss in a minute.
Moreover, to earn on YouTube, one must be able to roll themselves into the YPP program.
Apart from being 18 years and more and having at least a thousand followers, the new YouTuber should have at least 4000 views in the span of one year.
How Much Does YouTube Pay for 1 million Subscribers: Factors That Affect Earnings
As per Forbes’ statistics, 10 big guns of YouTube accumulated earnings of more than $160 million in just one year.
Not every person who became a blogger has earned the same millions and the ones who have, are often faced with stoops and steps in their money-making curves.
Here are the factors that make or break the earnings of a YouTube content creator:
Audience Engagement
The common trait between all million-dollar earning Youtubers is the high levels of audience visits they have. The more subscribers a creator attracts, and the more viewers per video they can garner, the richer they get.
If you are to be a Youtuber tomorrow, your earnings will depend on your revenue per thousand impressions or RPM.
Along with RPM, the engagement will be measured in terms of impressions, clicks, views per page, and of course likes, comments, and subscriptions.
Correct Algorithm
The most professional Youtubers earning millions have mastered the art of monetizing on the latest trends, news, and hot topics. What's more, it's their almost natural aptitude to grab the audience's attention. Reminds me of the saying – strike while the iron is hot.
Understanding the algorithm, and posting the right content at the right time can have huge effects on Youtubers' money-making strategies.
Referral topics by YouTube are the suggestions that you randomly get when something is the talk of the town. That’s right, those suggestions aren’t so random after all.
Search Engine Optimization
Dude X might have a million subscribers but his videos would never show up on the top video suggestions list if he doesn’t use the right keywords as the title of his new video.
Search Engine Optimization or SEO allows Google to rank a video based on the title, video description as well as tags used.
Failure to rank a video, no matter how good the content is, would result in negative audience engagement. This in turn, as you’ve probably already guessed, would mean a sharp decrease in how much money one can earn from the video.
An audience can only engage with content if it reaches them, and for the video to reach them, you'd need the right SEO. No rocket science!
Advertisement Guidelines
Whether it is their monetization policies or guidelines on advertising-friendly content, it's easy to trip on the thin line for what you can do and what you shouldn't when it comes to YouTube.
Many times Youtubers have complained about their videos being demonetized or even taken down, without understanding what it is that they have done wrong. Shady? Surely.
YouTubers who want to maintain their steady income flow through the platform adhere to the regulations of these guidelines, by hook or by crook.
This discourages hateful, violent as well as adult content to be taken down or demonetized immediately.
Read More: YouTube Play Buttons: All Types of Play Buttons Explained
How Do YouTubers Make Money?
On their own parts, the maven Youtubers are making millions of dollars, and are doing so by putting in their grit, wit, and creativity to create video content that is unique and appealing, week in and week out.
That being said, we know you are wondering where the money flows in? The answer points to the YouTube Partner Program or YPP.
Monetizing YouTube content through YPP is simple, with a few basic ways YouTubers use the platform to earn money:
1. Revenue from Ads
I am sure you’ve noticed all of the bumper and sponsor advertisements on the right side of your YouTube page whenever you are watching a video.
And of course, all those videos that start playing during a video, the ones that are skippable and the ones that aren’t.
As long as you are 18+ and follow the advertiser guidelines, each of these advertisements allows the Youtuber to earn about 55% of the total revenue that is generated through these ads.
Your viewers don’t even have to click these ads for you to earn, but they must at least engage with the ads.
This means, through AdSense, the more viewers a YouTuber can gather, the greater traffic they drive and the more money they earn from these advertisements.
2. Paid Subscriptions
Famed YouTubers who have created a fanbase out of their creative videos, often charge their subscribers a monthly fee. Now, don't assume this works like paid apps on Google Play because it doesn't.
You, being a free subscriber can still watch the videos. However, when a viewer has bought the paid subscription, they would receive fan badges, emojis as well as other specialties.
Meanwhile, there are viewers who find the mid-video advertisement a little too annoying.
For these viewers, YouTube has included their Premium service where you have to pay a monthly amount to compensate for the ad-free experience on any channel.
A considerable part of the revenue from these paid subscriptions works as an earning for YouTubers. And Youtuber can only avail this form of income if they are more than 18 years old and have at least 30,000 subscribers.
3. Brand, Sponsors, and Merchandise
Believe it or not, Youtubers earn 10 to 15 times more from brand and company sponsors compared to what they earn from various AdSense commercials. That's exactly why social media influencers promote certain brands more than others.
You might as well have noticed the “sponsored” tag in many beauty bloggers' videos. In the makeup, cosmetics, and gadget industry, Youtubers have made profits in leaps and bounds just by promoting these brands and including the affiliate links on their description boxes.
Again, for Youtubers that have hustled for years and built a subscriber base of at least 10,000, another way of earning through the platform includes selling merchandise.
This could be anything ranging from gadgets, shoes, and wristbands to even a simple gift card.
4. Super Chats and Stickers
One of the most interesting and fun ways a Youtuber can earn from their videos is through super chats and super stickers.
This method, as many say, is more like a bidding battle among the best and the most dedicated of fans, but only a welcoming one.
If you don’t have any idea what Super Chat is, visit a live stream of a popular YouTube content creator. You would notice pinned comments and badges along with the amount of money they have donated.
A subscriber can donate a maximum of $500 and as little as a dollar as well. It is simply a way to interact and have a close-knit community for a content creator.
Top 5 Highest Paid YouTubers
When you want to strike it rich in the YouTube sector, you've got to learn from the best. And the best YouTubers are the ones that are the most paid. Agreed?
When I say most paid, these YouTube veterans draw as much as a 10-digit check yearly. That's not something I am just assuming. This is what Forbes says, officially about 1 million subscribers on YouTube salary.
Here are the 5 highest-paid YouTubers currently:
1. Ryan’s World
This might come as a shock to you as it comes to many, but the Youtuber who is racking up the most bucks from his cute videos is none other than a 9-year-old Ryan Kaji.
What started as a Toy reviewing channel (previously named Ryan ToysReview) has managed to stay on top of this ranking for 3 years in a row.
With a sweeping earning of more than USD 26 million, Ryan’s World, a channel managed by his parents, attracts over 29 million highly engaged subscribers from around the world.
His videos are as simple as Ryan playing board games with family or learning a few alphabets. Besides, now you can purchase Ryan’s lines of clothes and toys as well.
2. Mr. Beast
Who doesn’t know Mr. Beast? YouTube’s Biggest Philanthropist. Although more people know him as Mr. Beast, this YouTube star's real name is Jimmy Donaldson.
In 2017, Donaldson and his channel Mr. Beast became a viral sensation on the world of the web with a video where he counts to 100,000.
Soon after, Mr. Beast continued with unique stunts like watching paint dry, spending hours being buried alive, breaking glass with vehicles, and other acrobats that were, well, amusing to millions of people.
His charity give-away videos are also one of the most popular stints on the YouTube arena.
Second to Ryan's World, Mr. Beast earns about $25 million with a loyal subscriber base of 55 million, tuning in to all of his videos whenever they are uploaded.
3. Dude Perfect
When you marry sports videos with jokes of great comic timing, you get the Dude Perfect YouTube channel.
This bright and energetic YouTube channel is owned and hosted by friends Coby Cotton, Cody Jones, Tyler Toney, and Garrett Hilbert, earning $23 million each year.
The talented YouTubers with 60 million subscribers have made and broken world records including one with the longest basketball shot.
With their most popular videos that include bottle flip challenges and ping pong tricks, the unusual lot have made it to sports channels like ESPN and are popular among a wide age group.
4. Rhett and Link
Youtubers, Rhett McLaughlin, and Link Neal host a morning show without fails every day on their successful YouTube channel Good Mythical Morning.
The comedy talk show, however, isn't the only source of earning for this duo to be listed among the highest-paid Youtuber. You can find Rhett and Link's net worth here.
They have 3 more channels with their total base subscribers counting to more than 17 million subscribers. Good Mythical More, Mythical Kitchen Rhett and Link, and Ear Biscuits are all part of their gigs.
Their most popular channel is largely based on a food tasting and reviewing videos, featuring special guests from time to time. They are funny, weird, and bring about the strangest content with a bit of comic relief.
Sometimes, it's as peculiar as microwaving food 100 times. Weird, as you must already be thinking.
These quirky videos have landed the duo with a big bank balance for sure and now they earn about $20 million a year.
5. Anastasia Radzinskaya
When you googled, “how much does YouTube pay for 1 million subscribers?”, you certainly didn't expect to see kids as young as 9 and 7 to be among the ones that are mostly paid with the highest subscribers.
Joining the YT’s Hall of fame kids club along with Ryan Kaji is a 7-year-old Russian American, Anastasia Radzinskay.
This adorable and bubbly cutie hosts birthday parties and learns how to become a scientist with her dad, on her 70 million subscribers’ channels Like Nastya.
With all her associative channels, Natsya has over 115 million subscribers in total, earning a staggering 18.5 million USD with her creative and lovable videos.
Related: Best Prank Channels on YouTube You’ll Enjoy Watching
Final Thoughts
Earning money using YouTube as a platform is doable. Many have done it, and many are trying their luck in becoming the next Mr. Beast or Lily Singh.
Even if you don't get a million subscribers and earn a few million dollars, with the appropriate content, thoughtful moves, and a sprinkle of luck, you can turn the videos into a solid earning source as well.
