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Guide · Updated 2026-09-14

YouTube Monetization Requirements (2026)

YouTube monetization requirements come in two tiers, and a change announced on August 10, 2026 raises the bar for new applicants starting February 1, 2027. This page lists every threshold with its official source, and we update it whenever YouTube moves the line.

Most guides online still describe a single set of numbers, but YouTube monetization requirements have moved more than once and are about to move again. Knowing which version applies to a specific channel — the current rules or the 2027 rules for new applicants — matters more than memorizing one number.

YouTube Monetization Requirements: The Two Tiers

Clearing one tier does not mean a channel has cleared the other — fan funding and ad revenue have separate requirements, and a channel can sit in the first tier for months before qualifying for the second.

Fan Funding & Shopping

500

subscribers

  • + 3 public uploads in the last 90 days
  • + 3,000 watch hours in the last 365 days
  • or 3M Shorts views in the last 90 days

Unlocks: Super Thanks, memberships, Super Chat, YouTube Shopping

Ads & Premium Revenue

1,000

subscribers

  • + 4,000 watch hours in the last 365 days
  • or 10M Shorts views in the last 90 days

Unlocks: Ad revenue, YouTube Premium revenue share

Both tiers also require a channel in an eligible country, no active Community Guidelines strikes, 2-step verification enabled, and — for the ads tier — a linked AdSense account. Meeting the numbers does not enroll a channel automatically; YouTube reviews every application, and review outcomes are never made public by either side.

The subscriber count on each tier is the easiest number to check from the outside, which is also why it gets treated as the whole story. It isn't — a channel can clear 1,000 subscribers years before it clears 4,000 watch hours, or the other way around with a single viral upload. The two numbers move independently.

What Changes on February 1, 2027

YouTube's blog post of August 10, 2026 announced new entry thresholds for the ad-revenue tier. They apply to new applicants only — creators already in the YouTube Partner Program keep their current terms.

Watch hours (365 days)

Today
4,000 hrs
From 2027
8,000 hrs

Shorts views (90 days)

Today
10 M views
From 2027
20 M views

Subscriber requirement stays at 1,000 — unchanged. New thresholds apply to new applicants only; creators already in the YouTube Partner Program keep their current terms.

Spread across a year, the difference is easier to feel than the raw totals suggest. 4,000 watch hours over 365 days works out to roughly 11 hours of watch time a day; 8,000 hours is roughly 22 hours a day. On the Shorts path, 10 million views in 90 days is about 111,000 engaged views a day, and 20 million is about 222,000 a day. Neither path requires uploading every day — these are totals across the whole window, not a daily quota.

Shorts Revenue Sharing Is Now an Ongoing Gate

Beginning February 1, 2027, creators with 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days are eligible for ads and subscription revenue sharing on Shorts. This is the detail most coverage misses: it isn't a one-time entry check. Channels that fall below the threshold stay in the YouTube Partner Program and keep earning on long-form content — Shorts revenue sharing pauses, then resumes automatically once the channel crosses 10 million views again.

YouTube Premium subscription revenue is split 55% for long-form video and 45% for Shorts. The entry thresholds for Fan Funding and Shopping products are unchanged by any of this.

What Counts as Qualified Watch Hours and Shorts Views

This is where most channels get surprised. YouTube's Creator Liaison published these definitions on August 12, 2026 — watch hours only come from public long-form videos, podcasts, or archived livestreams, and Shorts views only count if they're engaged views on public Shorts.

Watch hours

COUNTS

  • + Public long-form videos
  • + Podcasts
  • + Archived livestreams

DOES NOT COUNT

  • − Private videos
  • − Unlisted videos
  • − Deleted videos
  • − Videos watched as an ad
  • − Shorts watch hours
  • − Live streams that aren't archived

Shorts views

COUNTS

  • + Public Shorts
  • + Engaged views only (past the initial seconds, no loops)

DOES NOT COUNT

  • − Private Shorts
  • − Unlisted Shorts
  • − Deleted Shorts
  • − Shorts viewed as an ad
  • − Long-form video views
  • − Image posts in the Shorts feed

Timeline

2026-08-10

YouTube announces the 2027 threshold changes

2026-08-12

YouTube publishes what counts as "qualified" watch hours and Shorts views

2027-02-01

New thresholds take effect for new applicants

How to Check Whether a Channel Qualifies

Subscriber counts, public uploads, and public video view counts are visible on any channel page. Watch hours and engaged Shorts views are private — only the channel owner can see them, in YouTube Studio. Anyone claiming to show a channel's exact watch hours from the outside is estimating.

For the public side of the equation, use our YouTube Monetization Checker to see what a channel's public page reveals against these thresholds. It reads the same signals covered above — subscriber count and recent upload activity — and cannot see watch hours, review status, or AdSense linkage, because nobody outside YouTube and the channel owner can.

Because YouTube monetization requirements get restated inaccurately in a lot of places — old subscriber numbers, watch-hour figures that predate a change, Shorts thresholds quoted without their 90-day window — it's worth checking a claim against an official YouTube source before acting on it, especially close to a channel's application date.

Bookmark this page rather than a random search result — YouTube monetization requirements shift often enough that a six-month-old blog post can already be describing an outdated tier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need 1,000 subscribers to make money on YouTube?

No. 500 subscribers with 3 public uploads in the last 90 days unlocks fan funding — Super Thanks, memberships, Super Chat, and YouTube Shopping. Ad and Premium revenue is the tier that requires 1,000 subscribers.

Do Shorts views count toward the watch-hours requirement?

No. Shorts watch hours are explicitly excluded from qualified watch hours. Shorts have their own separate path — 10 million qualified views today, rising to 20 million for new applicants from February 1, 2027.

Do Shorts loops count as views?

No. Only engaged views count toward the Shorts threshold — the viewer has to stay past the initial seconds, and loops are explicitly excluded.

If a channel is already in the YouTube Partner Program, do the 2027 changes affect it?

No. YouTube states the new entry thresholds won't impact creators already in the program. The Shorts revenue-sharing gate does apply going forward: falling below 10 million qualified Shorts views in a 90-day window pauses Shorts revenue sharing specifically, and it resumes automatically once the channel crosses the threshold again.

How much does YouTube pay once a channel is monetized?

That depends on RPM, which varies by content niche, audience country, and video format. See our YouTube Money Calculator for RPM ranges by niche.

These YouTube monetization requirements have changed before and will change again — we update this page whenever YouTube publishes a new threshold or a new definition of what counts toward it.

Sources

Last verified: 2026-09-14