YouTube doesn’t always share how much money it makes from ads, but it’s safe to say that they make millions every month in ad revenue alone. According to Forbes, YouTube made $19.7 billion in 2020 and $28.8 billion in 2021! That’s almost 2x growth in 2 years! Let’s dive into how much money YouTube makes now, and where all that money comes from.
How much does YouTube make?
As an individual, you can earn $0.0004 per view (CPM). For ad-supported channels, that number is much lower at $0.0002, but it is still far more than many other video services. The average CPM for a YouTube Partner Channel in 2016 was $7.60, which is up from 2015’s average of $5.15.
The average CPM for a non-partner channel in 2016 was $2.16 and in 2015 it was just over a dollar at $1.12, so your earning potential on YouTube will depend on how popular your videos are and how well they do with ads compared to other content on YouTube’s network of channels.
The video-sharing site is one of America’s leading web companies, and it’s also responsible for some of its most popular original programming. YouTube makes a lot of money in its own right—but it also serves as a platform for sponsors and other paid content. Here’s what you need to know about how much YouTube makes.
1. Ad Revenue on YouTube
Ad revenue is where YouTube gets most of its money. Most of its advertising is done via pre-roll and mid-roll ads, which play before or during a video. The more views you have, and the higher your click-through rate (CTR), are determining factors in how much money you’ll make.
It also takes into account if you choose to run TrueView ads, which don’t require viewers to watch an entire ad before they can skip it. For example, if someone watches 30 seconds of your ad but then skips it for another one, that counts as only a partial view—and therefore only earns you partial payouts from YouTube.
Revenue varies based on factors like video views, watch time, and ad formats. For example, if a user watched 30 seconds of an ad but skipped it before it was over and never viewed another ad again that month, you wouldn’t get paid for that at all.
On top of watching time and your channel’s click-through rate (CTR), YouTube determines revenue based on whether a user clicked an advertisement or how long they spent watching videos before clicking on an ad.
2. YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red)
YouTube Red is a paid subscription service that offers an ad-free experience, access to exclusive content, and premium features. YouTube Premium offers access to YouTube Original movies and series, as well as ad-free playlists and music. Both services are available for $11.99 per month, or you can buy them together for $17.99 per month (and save money on your total cost).
The benefits of these subscriptions have changed over time, but right now they include: No ads in videos: You won’t see ads before or during video playback. It doesn’t matter whether you watch in full-screen mode or not; no ads will show up.
3. Merchandise and live events
The most obvious way to earn cash through YouTube is to populate your channel with ads and collect money based on views. The thing is, promoting anything isn’t as simple as just placing a product in front of your camera and hitting a record. You need to spend a lot of time researching what will sell and what won’t.
And once you’ve got that down, you still have to find a way to present it all in an interesting—not to mention lucrative—way. That’s why so many successful YouTubers are now creating their own merchandise for their fans or working directly with brands to host promotions and collaborate on new projects.
This approach helps increase revenue and fosters deeper connections between viewers and creators (and more fun along the way).
Youtube took some part of the sale you got via YouTube and made money.
Conclusion
It is hard to tell exactly how much YouTube makes, but given its billions of users, it can’t be a small amount. Google and YouTube are both private companies. The closest information we have about YouTube’s revenue comes from a 2021 Recode report that said, “Over the past four years, YouTube has recorded a revenue rise of more than 30%.” It produced $28.8 billion in 2021, up 46% over the output in 2020.
FAQ
How much do you receive from YouTube each month for a million views?
If you employ adverts for your films, the typical income for a video with 1 million views is between $2,000 and $3,000.
What is the Youtube’s annual profit?
YouTube’s advertising revenue made up about 11.2 percent of Google’s overall revenue in 2021. The video platform’s annual ad income in that year was 28.84 billion dollars, up from 19.77 billion dollars the year before.
Does YouTube pay monthly?
The major way we generate money as YouTube’s artists is through advertisements. The rewards fluctuate from month to month; there is no set amount you can earn yearly or monthly.
