How to earn money


You can earn money on YouTube by applying for and being accepted to the Creator Program. Only channels that follow our Channel monetization policies may be able to monetize.

A few notes

  • We won’t tell you what you can create, but we do have a responsibility to do right by our viewers, creators and advertisers. If you’re in the Creator Program, you can earn money. When in the Creator Program, we hold you to a higher standard.
  • To make sure we’re rewarding good creators, we review your channel before you’re accepted in the Creator Program. We also constantly review channels to make sure you’re meeting all our policies and guidelines.
  • You may be liable to pay taxes on your earnings; find out more below.


Ways to make money in the Creator Program

You can make money through the following features:

  • Memberships: Your members make recurring monthly payments in exchange for access to special perks.
  • Messages: Your fans pay to send you messages or to purchase you pay only content sent to them through messages
  • Pay to watch videos and posts: Earn revenue from your pay to watch videos and posts
  • Tips: Your fans pay to view a fun animation and get their message highlighted in your video or Short’s comments section.
  • Contests & bonuses: Stand on the podium between first and third place and win your prize as well as earn a bonus by acheiving a Top Earner position.
  • Votes: Your fans give you extra love & support by giving you paid votes on your contest entries.
  • Bonuses: Our top earners of the month earn bonuses
  • Downloads: Offer your fans the option to download your pay to watch videos (after they purchase) for a fee.
  • Sign ups: We offer signups payout for select creators.
  • Premium memberships: We offer a percentage of the revenue earned from all users that signed up using your referall code and purchased a premium membership.
  • Referrals: Earn 5% of all revenue earned and 2% of all funds spent from all users who signed up using your referral code. 
  • Advertising revenue: Earn revenue from Watch Page ads. (Coming soon)
  • Custom videos: Make revenue when you fulfill your fan's custom video orders (Coming soon)
  • Shopping: Your fans can browse and buy products from your store. (Coming soon)
  • Premium revenue: Get part of a Premium subscriber’s subscription fee when they watch your Premium content. (Coming soon)
  • Live stream: (Coming soon)


Each feature has its own set of eligibility requirements. If our reviewers believe that your channel or video is not eligible, specific features may not be available. These extra thresholds exist for two main reasons. The most important one is that we have to meet legal requirements in every area where the feature is available. Then, because we want to reward good creators, we need to make sure we have enough context on your channel. Generally, this context means we need more content to review.

Keep in mind that we constantly review channels to make sure your content is in line with our policies.
 

Your earnings and tax liability

Earning money or bonuses are a great way to be rewarded for good, engaging content on the platform. Keep in mind that you may be liable to pay taxes to your country of residence on any income earned from your monetized videos. Check with your local tax authorities for detailed guidance.




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