YouTube's official monetization program that allows eligible creators to earn revenue from their content through advertising, channel memberships, Super Chats, merchandise, and other built-in monetization features.
The YPP is the gateway between content creation and commercial viability on YouTube. Without it, a creator can publish videos and build an audience but cannot monetize that audience directly through the platform. Joining the YPP converts a YouTube channel from a content operation into a revenue-generating business.
Eligibility Requirements
YouTube has set minimum thresholds that a channel must reach before applying for the YPP. These thresholds exist to ensure that monetized channels have demonstrated genuine audience engagement rather than artificially inflated metrics:
- Standard YPP tier: the full monetization tier requires 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days. This tier unlocks the full range of monetization features including ad revenue sharing, channel memberships, Super Chats, Super Thanks, and the merchandise shelf.
- Early access YPP tier: introduced in 2023 as a lower entry point requires 500 subscribers and either 3,000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months or 3 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days. This tier unlocks channel memberships and Super Thanks but does not include ad revenue sharing the largest revenue stream for most creators.
Beyond the numerical thresholds, channels must comply with YouTube's monetization policies adhering to community guidelines, copyright rules, advertiser-friendly content guidelines, and terms of service. A channel that meets the subscriber and watch hour thresholds but has a history of policy violations, copyright strikes, or content that does not meet advertiser standards will not be approved.
How Ad Revenue Works in the YPP?
Ad revenue is the largest monetization stream for most YPP creators and the one most directly tied to content performance.
When a viewer watches an ad on a YPP creator's video, the advertiser pays Google for the ad placement. YouTube retains 45% of that revenue and passes 55% to the creator. This revenue share applies to ads served on long-form videos the split is different for YouTube Shorts, where the revenue model pools ad revenue generated across Shorts content and distributes a portion to eligible creators based on their share of total Shorts views.
The actual revenue a creator earns per view depends on the