YouTube monetization requirements are the thresholds a channel has to reach before it can join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and earn money on YouTube. There are two tiers. The lower one opens fan funding such as memberships and Super Chat, and the higher one adds ad revenue and a share of YouTube Premium fees.
Key takeaways
- The fan-funding tier needs 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views.
- The ad-revenue tier needs 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days. From February 1, 2027, new applicants need 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views instead.
- Both tiers also need policy compliance, a linked AdSense account, 2-Step Verification, an eligible country and no active Community Guidelines strikes.
What are the two YouTube Partner Program tiers?
YouTube lets smaller channels start earning before they qualify for ads. A channel with a loyal audience can switch on memberships and live-chat payments at the first tier, then add ads once it reaches the second.
Which tier matters more depends on how you make money. Community, live-stream and education channels often earn well from fan funding. Channels that rely on large numbers of casual viewers need the ad-revenue tier.
YouTube changes these thresholds and the list of eligible countries from time to time, so check the official YPP help page and your own YouTube Studio before planning around them.
YouTube has already announced the next change. From February 1, 2027, new applicants to the ad-revenue tier need 1,000 subscribers plus either 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Channels already in the program keep their status, and the 500-subscriber fan-funding requirements stay the same. Existing partners who want Shorts Creator Pool earnings in a given month will need 10 million qualified Shorts views over the previous 90 days; missing that does not remove a channel from the program or affect its long-form earnings.
| Requirement | Fan-funding tier | Ad-revenue tier | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Subscribers | 500 | 1,000 | | Uploads | 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days | No minimum | | Long-form path | 3,000 valid public watch hours (12 months) | 4,000 valid public watch hours (12 months) | | Shorts path | 3 million valid public Shorts views (90 days) | 10 million valid public Shorts views (90 days) | | What you can earn | Memberships, Super Chat, Super Thanks, Shopping | Ad revenue, YouTube Premium share and all fan-funding tools |
How does the fan-funding tier work?
The fan-funding tier does not put ads on your videos. It lets viewers pay you directly through YouTube's own features.
To qualify, a channel needs at least 500 subscribers and at least 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days. It also needs one of two engagement totals: 3,000 valid public watch hours on long-form videos in the past 12 months, or 3 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days.
Once accepted, you can turn on:
- Channel memberships, where viewers pay monthly for badges, custom emoji and perks you choose.
- Super Chat and Super Stickers, which let live-stream and Premiere viewers pay to highlight a message or send an animated sticker.
- Super Thanks, a one-off payment on a video or Short that highlights the viewer's comment.
- YouTube Shopping, so eligible creators can show products from their own store on their channel and videos.
This tier suits creators with close-knit audiences, regular live streams or teaching content, where viewers are happy to support the channel directly.
What does the ad-revenue tier require?
The ad-revenue tier is the classic Partner Program. YouTube can show ads on your long-form videos, and you get a share of revenue from the Shorts feed and from YouTube Premium members who watch your content.
A channel needs at least 1,000 subscribers plus one of two engagement totals: 4,000 valid public watch hours on long-form videos in the past 12 months, or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days.
You only need one of those two totals. Either one, together with 1,000 subscribers, meets the numbers.
Channels that move up from the fan-funding tier keep all its tools and gain watch-page ads, Shorts feed ads and Premium revenue. They do not go through the full application a second time; the new features appear in YouTube Studio.
Which rules apply to both tiers?
Reaching the numbers does not switch on monetization by itself. Every channel also has to meet these conditions before YouTube approves it:
- It follows YouTube's monetization policies, including the Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, copyright rules and Google AdSense policies. Repetitive, unoriginal or auto-generated videos without real commentary or teaching value are not accepted.
- It is based in a country or territory where the Partner Program is available.
- The Google account behind the channel has 2-Step Verification turned on.
- It has no active Community Guidelines strikes. A warning or an expired strike does not stop you from applying, but an active strike pauses eligibility until it expires.
- It has an AdSense account linked to the channel, because YouTube pays earnings through AdSense.
After you apply, people and automated systems review the channel. They look at its main theme, most viewed and newest videos, the videos with the most watch time, and the titles, thumbnails and descriptions.
What counts as a valid watch hour or view?
Not every hour in your YouTube Studio analytics counts toward the thresholds. Only valid public watch time and views do.
These hours do not count toward the long-form watch-hour total:
- Views of private or unlisted videos.
- Views of deleted videos.
- Views from Google Ads campaigns.
- Watch time from Shorts played in the vertical Shorts feed.
- Live streams that were not kept as public videos, or were later set to unlisted or deleted.
For Shorts, only views from the public Shorts feed count toward the 3 million or 10 million totals. Views on Shorts you later made private or deleted, and views from paid ads, are left out.
How can you track progress and apply?
YouTube Studio shows your progress toward both tiers:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio on a computer or open the YouTube Studio app.
- Select Earn in the left menu.
- Check the progress bars for subscribers, uploads, watch hours and Shorts views.
- Click Get Notified to get an email when your channel reaches either tier.
- When you are eligible, an Apply Now button appears. Follow the steps to accept the terms, confirm 2-Step Verification and connect an AdSense account.
Your channel then goes into review. If YouTube rejects the application, it tells you which policy the channel did not meet, and you can apply again after the waiting period shown in your dashboard.
How can a channel reach the thresholds faster?
Long-form watch time comes from viewers who keep watching, and Shorts views come from openings that stop people from swiping.
For long-form videos, group related uploads into playlists and series so one video leads to the next. Open the audience retention graph in YouTube Studio, find the moment viewers leave, and cut long intros, pauses and repeated explanations from the next script.
For Shorts, the number to watch is how many viewers choose to watch rather than swipe away. The first two seconds decide whether a Short is shown to more people.
A newer channel can also add promotion on top of search and browse traffic. Viewpals is a social media promotion service with more than 250,000 customers. It only needs a public channel link or username, never a password, and every order has a 14-day money-back guarantee and a 14-day refill guarantee. If you want to grow your youtube presence while you keep a steady upload schedule, promotion can help your videos reach their first viewers. It does not replace original videos that people watch to the end and that follow YouTube's monetization policies.
FAQ
Can I monetize with YouTube Shorts only?
Yes. Either tier accepts Shorts views instead of watch hours: 3 million valid public Shorts views in 90 days for the fan-funding tier, or 10 million in 90 days for the ad-revenue tier. You still need the subscriber count for that tier.
Do Shorts watch hours count toward the 4,000-hour requirement?
No. Time spent watching videos in the vertical Shorts player does not count toward the 3,000 or 4,000 long-form watch hours. Shorts only count through valid public views, and watch hours only come from long-form videos.
What happens if my watch hours drop after I am monetized?
YouTube does not usually remove a channel from the Partner Program because its numbers dip below the threshold. It can turn off monetization if a channel has been inactive and has not posted anything for six months or more.