How to Make Money on YouTube Shorts: Requirements and Pay

To make money on YouTube Shorts, join the YouTube Partner Program with 1,000 subscribers and 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days, then accept the Shorts Monetization Module in YouTube Studio. YouTube pools the ad revenue from between Shorts each month, and you keep 45% of the share allocated to your views.

Channels with 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public long-form watch hours in 12 months qualify too. Smaller fan-funding routes open earlier, covered below.

How to make money on YouTube Shorts: the steps

Monetizing Shorts means joining the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), then switching on the Shorts module. You apply in YouTube Studio, and YouTube says the review typically takes about 1 month.

1. Check that the Partner Program is available in your country.
2. Turn on 2-Step Verification for your Google Account.
3. Make sure your channel has no active Community Guidelines strikes.
4. Reach 1,000 subscribers and either 10 million public Shorts views in 90 days or 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months.
5. Open YouTube Studio, choose Earn, and select Apply Now.
6. Accept the base terms, then link an active AdSense for YouTube account or set one up.
7. After you are accepted, accept the Shorts Monetization Module in YouTube Studio.

These steps follow YouTube's Partner Program overview and its Shorts monetization page. Shorts revenue sharing applies only to views from the date you accept the module, so accept it as soon as you are in.

If the application is rejected, YouTube says you can appeal within 21 days or re-apply after 30 days. Channels with no upload or Posts-tab post for 6 months or more can lose monetization.

YouTube Shorts monetization requirements

The thresholds depend on what you want to turn on. Ads need 1,000 subscribers and either 10 million Shorts views or 4,000 watch hours. Channel memberships need fewer. This table is from YouTube's how to earn money page.

Feature	Subscribers	Views or watch time	Other
Ad revenue	1,000	10 million Shorts views in 90 days, or 4,000 long-form watch hours in 12 months	Accept the contract modules; advertiser-friendly content; 18 or older, or a guardian who handles AdSense payments
Channel memberships	500	3 million Shorts views in 90 days, or 3,000 long-form watch hours in 365 days	3 public uploads in 90 days; 18 or older
Shopping affiliate program	YPP subscriber threshold	In YPP	Based in one of 14 listed countries; not a music channel; not made for kids

Two details trip people up. Qualified Shorts views must be on Shorts you set public that appear in the Shorts Feed, and watch hours from Shorts do not count toward the 4,000-hour route. YouTube states both on its Partner Program page.

YouTube has also announced changes from February 1, 2027. Its Partner Program page says to accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027 to keep fully monetizing. Its Shorts page says that from that date, earning a monthly share of Shorts ad revenue needs at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days.

How much does YouTube pay for 1,000 views on Shorts?

YouTube publishes no per-view rate for Shorts, because pay comes from a monthly pool. Your earnings are your share of engaged Shorts views in each country, applied to that month's Creator Pool, and you keep 45% of that allocation.

YouTube's Shorts monetization page gives the four steps:

• Ad revenue from between Shorts in the Shorts Feed is added together each month.
• Part of it covers music licensing and the rest goes into the Creator Pool.
• The Creator Pool is divided by each creator's share of engaged views in each country.
• You keep 45% of your allocation. YouTube pays 45% of the Premium revenue allocated to Shorts the same way.

YouTube's own hypothetical: 100 million engaged views in a country and $100,000 of ads give a $90,000 Creator Pool after music costs. A Short with 1 million engaged views gets 1% of it, $900, and the creator earns $405. That is a made-up case for showing the sum, not a rate you can plan on.

For real-world numbers, vidIQ reports that most channels fall between $0.03 and $0.06 per 1,000 views, and that a Short on its own channel with 468,500 views earned $16.61. Rates vary with audience country and niche.

Music does not change your allocation or your 45%. It only shrinks the pool: one track sends half of that Short's revenue to music licensing, two tracks send two thirds.

How to see what you earn and get paid

YouTube Analytics shows estimated daily Shorts Feed ad revenue once you start monetizing with Shorts ads. Payment goes through AdSense for YouTube under its existing thresholds and timelines, so you need a linked, active AdSense account. YouTube notes you may owe income tax in your country on what you earn.

Why a Short earns nothing

A Short can get views and still earn nothing when the views do not count as eligible engaged views. YouTube lists these cases on its Shorts monetization page:

• The Short is unoriginal: unedited clips from films or TV, reuploads of other creators' content, or compilations with no original content added.
• The views are artificial, such as bots that click or scroll.
• The content does not meet YouTube's advertiser-friendly guidelines.
• The Short is over one minute and contains claimed content, which blocks monetization.
• The views came before you accepted the Shorts Monetization Module.

Ads shown when someone opens the Shorts Feed, and image posts in the feed, are not in the pool either.

Other ways to make money on YouTube Shorts

Ad revenue is the slowest route to open up, so many creators earn elsewhere first.

• YouTube Shopping affiliate program. You tag products from other brands and earn commission when viewers buy. YouTube lists the requirements on its affiliate program page: be in YPP, meet its subscriber threshold, be based in a listed country, not be a music channel, and not be made for kids.
• Channel memberships and Super Thanks. Memberships have the 500-subscriber tier in the table above. Super Thanks lets viewers pay to have a message highlighted in a Short's comments. Both need the Commerce Product Module and you must be 18 or older.
• Brand deals. You negotiate the price. YouTube requires you to disclose paid promotion by selecting the paid promotion button in the video details.
• Your own product or service. A Short that shows the work, the result and where to buy needs no program at all. Formats to try are in YouTube Shorts ideas; the YouTube post generator drafts titles and descriptions.

If you also publish on Instagram, how to make money on Instagram covers the equivalent routes there. Snapchat has its own invite-only program, covered in how to make money on Snapchat Spotlight.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many views do I need to make $2,000 a month on YouTube Shorts?

At vidIQ's reported range of $0.03 to $0.10 per 1,000 views, $2,000 a month takes roughly 20 million to 67 million Shorts views. YouTube publishes no rate, so this is an estimate from a third party. Most channels pair Shorts with brand deals, memberships or products.

Can I monetize Shorts if I am under 18?

Yes, for ads, with a guardian. YouTube lists the age rule as 18 or older, or a legal guardian over 18 who can handle your payments through AdSense for YouTube. Channel memberships and Super Thanks require you to be 18 or older, and YouTube lists no guardian option for them.

Do I have to show my face to earn from Shorts?

No. YouTube's Partner Program requirements and its Shorts monetization policy cover subscribers, views, policy compliance, advertiser-friendly content and originality. Neither mentions appearing on camera, so a faceless channel qualifies if the Shorts are original, follow YouTube's monetization policies and suit advertisers.

When do I get paid?

Payments come through your linked AdSense for YouTube account, and its existing payment thresholds and timelines apply. YouTube's Shorts page gives no separate payment schedule for Shorts. You first see a Short's revenue as an estimate in YouTube Analytics, and the final figure appears in your AdSense for YouTube account.

Is the Partner Program available in my country?

Only in countries YouTube lists as supported. If yours is not on the list, you cannot apply even with enough subscribers and views. Check the list on YouTube's Partner Program overview. The Shopping affiliate program has a shorter list of 14 countries.

Sources

1. YouTube Help, YouTube Partner Program overview and eligibility
2. YouTube Help, YouTube Shorts monetization policies
3. YouTube Help, How to earn money on YouTube
4. YouTube Help, YouTube Shopping affiliate program overview and eligibility
5. YouTube Help, Add branded content restrictions and disclosure labels
6. vidIQ, YouTube Shorts monetization in 2026