YouTube launched Shorts in September 2020 as its answer to TikTok. Since its launch, Shorts have exploded in popularity, reaching 50 billion daily views across the globe.
The platform has just over 2.68 billion users, so the average user is watching about 18 Shorts per day.
But do more views translate to more income for YouTubers? How much does YouTube Shorts really pay for 1 million views?
The answer may surprise you. YouTubers are not earning the same RPMs they earn with their long-form videos.
What is the Average RPM for YouTube Shorts?
Shorts pay creators like any other video – per 1,000 views or RPM. Anyone who watches Shorts will notice the lack of ads. Shorts are missing ads in the middle of the video. Why? Because mid-roll ads wouldn’t make sense for content that is fairly short.
Right?
So how much is the average Shorts RPM? It’s just $0.05 – you read that right. We’ve also seen:
- Lows of just $0.02 RPM for a creator with almost 200 million views.
- Highs of just $0.06 RPM, but I’m sure (or hope) that someone out there broke the $0.07 barrier.
How much does YouTube Shorts pay for 1 million views? We’re going to show you real-world examples from multiple creators who are using Shorts and also what strategies you can leverage with them to actually make more money.
What Did Actual YouTubers Make from 1 Million Views?
Knowing the average RPMs for Shorts is a great start, but averages don’t always paint a clear picture. So, how much have actual YouTubers made from Shorts?
Let’s find out!
1. What’s Good Podcast
The @Whatsgoodpodcast shared how much two YouTubers from the Sidemen group earned from Shorts.
- Miniminter (Simon Edward Minter): 6 million views $120. That’s about $20 per 1 million views.
- Zerkaa (Joshua Bradley): 1.5 million views $57. That’s about $28.5 per 1 million views.
Both of these YouTubers post gaming and challenge-related content that’s similar to MrBeast. Zerkaa did mention that his Short earned him over 400 new subscribers.
2. TubeBuddy
According to TubeBuddy, Shorts fetch an RPM of $0.01-$0.06/1,000 views. That’s about $10-$60 for 1 million views.
There’s no question that the RPMs for Shorts are significantly lower than those for long-form videos. But Shorts are also, well, short – up to 60 seconds max.
When you look at it from this perspective, the earnings are actually pretty good.
The creator in this particular Short earned about AUD$0.07 per 1,000 views, or about AUD$70 per 1 million views. In his case, 29.8 million views earned him AUD$2,110.87.
3. Zach King + Jenny Hoyos Earnings
TubeBuddy has a lot of great content on Shorts earnings, and this is a two-for-one video because we learn how much two creators made off of their shorts. Let’s start with the queen of Shorts: Jenny Hoyos.
Jenny, for those who don’t know, kills it with Shorts, and with just 90 of them, she attracted 1.5 million subscribers.
Her earnings?
Well, she can pay her cell phone bill for the year because, with 22 million views, she earned $1,200, or:
- $54.54 for 1 million Short views
- $0.055 RPM
And what about Zach King? Well, he did even worse with his Shorts. Zach made just $2,918.10 from 196.4 million views. RPMs were just $0.02, so Zach’s earnings for 1 million views is $20 or less.
4. VidIQ
VidIQ – like most creators – was excited for Shorts. You need to have 10 million views in three months to be able to monetize your Shorts, and was it worth it?
Let’s find out:
- Shorts RPMs paid out a $0.06 RPM.
- Shorts earned the channel $58.23
Over the course of a month, that’s a low RPM, but how did it compare to the channel’s normal content? It produced at a rate of 100 times lower. The channel’s normal content earns:
- $5.41 RPM
- $5,587.11 in estimated revenue for 1 million views
The comment section of the video is a goldmine of information from other creators, all making pennies from Shorts. What do these creators do? Leverage Shorts for the views and lure new subscribers over to their long-form videos.
If you gain subscribers and start funneling people to your longer content, that’s where the real money in Shorts is made.
Should You Still Post Shorts Even with Low RPMS?
Yes. You don’t need to dedicate too much time to Shorts because – let’s face it – they pay so much less for 1 million views compared to long-form video. You can make $21.20 for just 1,000 views in the finance niche like Joshua Mayo does.
And while he makes a ton of money on his channel, guess what: he still leverages YouTube Shorts.
Why?
Shorts:
- Help you gain subscribers who prefer shorter content (but this can backfire in some cases). If a subscriber is looking for just short videos, they may unsubscribe when they find out your videos are long.
- Are a great way to promote upcoming videos or even help you repurpose some of your older content.
Mr. Beast even uses Shorts. It would be amazing if he shared his earnings on these, but he does not. Known for making tens of millions of dollars a year, his Shorts get 70 – 130 million views, and he stays consistent when posting them.
He’ll often show off:
- Clips of future videos
- Fun segments
If you’re a creator who may not have a video in the pipeline this week, post a Short. Your audience will appreciate the quick update from you and won’t view your channel as being abandoned.
But don’t really on Shorts as a steady stream of income because you won’t earn much from them.
Summary
YouTube Shorts are just another way for YouTubers to earn money through their video content. But on their own, Shorts are not going to be a money-maker for content creators. Instead, they should be used as a way to get more viewers to your long-form content on your channel. They can attract new subscribers and views for your videos that have much higher RPMs.
