Anytime you consider a new job or a new career, one of the first things you need to know is how much it pays. The same applies to anyone who wants to start a career on YouTube.
Being a YouTube creator isn’t all about traveling to exotic locations, hobnobbing with celebrities, and getting free merchandise from brand sponsors. YouTubers have bills to pay just like everyone else. On top of that, they also have to reinvest some of the money they earn back into growing their channel even more.
To get an idea of what kind of money you can realistically make as a YouTuber, you need a frame of reference. We’re giving you a place to start in this article by exploring how much YouTube pays for 1 million views.
How Do YouTubers Get Paid for Views?
But first, how do YouTubers get paid for views?
This is a question that has confused many a newbie YouTube creator and for good reason. Let’s explain why.
In most cases, YouTube counts a view whenever someone watches at least 30 seconds of a video on its platform. There is one exception to this rule: if the video is less than 30 seconds long (as many Shorts are), then a view is counted when someone watches it from start to finish.
When we talk about making money per view on YouTube, it’s a bit misleading to use the term “view.” YouTube doesn’t pay per-view, but rather per ad impression.
An impression is much easier to get than a view. All a user has to do is let a YouTube video page fully load and start displaying advertisements. Simply letting an advertisement load on-screen is counted as an impression.
For every 1000 impressions on their ad, companies and/or marketing agencies pay YouTube a certain amount of money. This payment is called the cost per mille (CPM), or cost per one thousand.
YouTube’s earnings from CPMs are called ad revenue (one of several monetization methods available to creators via the YouTube Partner Program). The platform gives 55% of Watch Page Ads revenue and 45% of Shorts Feed Ads revenue to creators. That’s a good chunk of change!
Or so it would seem. It all depends on how much companies are paying for advertising space.
How Much Does YouTube Pay Per View?
You see, the CPMs that companies pay to advertise on YouTube are dependent on many, many different factors. Among those factors is the popularity of the creator (i.e., how much engagement they get, how many subscribers they have, etc.) and the level of competition in their content niche.
This is why some creators make more than others from ad revenue. For example, MrBeast, who is one of the most popular creators on YouTube with 169 million subscribers, brought home $54 million in 2021.
This high sum becomes a little bit more comprehensible when you learn that MrBeast’s videos generated around 10 billion views in that same year. For that kind of exposure, brands are willing to pay very well to have their ads displayed in his orbit.
Contrast this with a YouTuber who’s just gotten monetized, but only has 1000 subscribers and averages 10,000 views per video. Advertisers definitely won’t want to pay them as much as they would MrBeast because they know that the exposure they would get from this low-level starter isn’t worth a high CPM. They’d lose money rather than make it.
That’s why it’s hard to answer how much YouTube pays per view. The answer is never the same from creator to creator, content niche to content niche.
Fortunately, we can still come up with a general figure for how much you can make per view using the power of averages.
According to multiple sources on the internet, advertisers typically pay anywhere from $1-$5 per 1000 ad impressions. (They can also pay up to $30, $50, or in extreme cases, $10,000 per mille; but that’s only for the richest YouTube creators).
The average of that range is $3, which comes out to around $0.030 per view.
How Much Does YouTube Pay for 1 Million Views?
$0.030 may not sound like much. But let’s see what it comes out to when you multiply it by 1 million ad impressions!
$0.030 x 1,000,000 ad impressions = $30,000 (total ad revenue)
Now, remember, if you’re a long-form video creator, Google only pays you 55% of Watch Page Ads revenue. So, let’s see how much of that $30,000 you’ll actually get to keep.
$30,000 x 0.55 = $16,500 (your earnings)
When all is said and done, $16,500 from 1 million views (or rather, ad impressions) is nothing to sneeze at!
However, while YouTube may seem like easy money based on these figures, remember that these are averages and not a true calculation of what you – a unique, individual YouTuber – could earn from ad revenue. In reality, you’ll have to work hard to get the views you need to turn a decent profit.
At least until your channel gets as big and famous as MrBeast. Then you’ll gain millions of views per video, no problem!
How To Get to 1 Million Views on Your YouTube Videos
Sometimes getting 1000 views on your video is tough, let alone 1 million.
If you aspire to reach that lofty goal, though, it’s not impossible. You just need a plan of action!
To help with that, here are five view-generating strategies to try.
1. Collaborate with Other YouTubers in Your Content Niche
When you don’t have enough subscribers or enough reach to get the views you need, consider approaching another YouTuber in your content niche with a collaboration idea. With your combined viewers, the view count on the collaborated video will naturally skyrocket higher than ever before.
2. Hold a Giveaway Or a Contest
Giveaways and contests are always sure to bring in lots of views, especially if the prize is something that a lot of people want. If you market and hype it up enough in the days leading up to the winner announcement, you should have no trouble increasing your view count by a hefty amount.
3. Stay Fresh With the Latest Trends in Your Content Niche
To keep your target audience’s interest, stay fresh and make videos about the latest trends in your content niche. Whether it’s a viral challenge, breaking news, or even a dance, use it to your advantage and ride the trends train to more views.
4. Share Your Videos on Other Platforms and Websites
Views of YouTube videos that are shared or embedded to other social media platforms and websites still count as views! That’s why you should always cross-promote the heck out of your videos (and ask friends and family to share it, too).
5. Make Lots of Videos
Finally, if you struggle getting views, one underlying problem could be your output.
To amend that, try to make as many videos as you can and post two or three times a week. You can even post daily! The more frequently you post, the more likely you are to increase your view count.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Average CPM on YouTube?
The average CPM on YouTube varies greatly depending on a variety of factors. But in general, advertisers pay YouTube a CPM of $1-$5, resulting in an average of $3 CPM.
How Much Does YouTube Pay Creators for Ad Revenue?
YouTube pays creators 55% of ad revenue from Watch Page Ads and 45% of ad revenue from Shorts Feed Ads.
Are There Other Ways to Make Money on YouTube Besides Ad Revenue?
Yes. YouTubers can also make money from fan funding and YouTube Premium subscriptions, providing they meet the upper engagement thresholds for the YouTube Partner Program.
How Many YouTube Views Do I Need To Start Earning Money From Ad Revenue??
To start earning ad revenue as a YouTube creator, you must gain at least 4,000 public watch hours on your long-form content in the last 365 days, or 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
How Much Money Will I Make From 10K Views on YouTube?
Based on an average CPM of $3, YouTubers will make roughly $16.50 per 10K views. That’s if every view also includes at least one ad impression.
Conclusion
When you look at earning money on YouTube through the lens of 1 million views, or ad impressions, it seems like it generates more than decent pay. But acquiring YouTube views isn’t easy, and you may need a little help along the way. In addition to the view-boosting strategies we recommended above, consider buying YouTube video views from real and active users to boost your numbers.
