To earn ad revenue, a channel needs 1000 subscribers plus either 4000 valid public watch hours in the past 12 months or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days. An earlier tier, with fan funding features only, opens at 500 subscribers, three public uploads in the past 90 days, and either 3000 watch hours in 12 months or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days.
The two tiers
| Earlier access (fan funding) | Full program (ads) | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | 500 | 1000 |
| Public uploads | 3 in the past 90 days | Not specified |
| Long-form route | 3000 public watch hours in 12 months | 4000 public watch hours in 12 months |
| Shorts route | 3 million public Shorts views in 90 days | 10 million public Shorts views in 90 days |
| What you unlock | Channel memberships, Supers, Shopping | Everything in the earlier tier, plus ad revenue and YouTube Premium revenue |
You need the subscriber number and one of the two routes, not both. The earlier tier is not available in every country; the eligibility page in YouTube Studio shows what applies to you.
Which watch hours count
Only valid public watch hours count. These do not:
- views in the Shorts feed,
- private, unlisted or deleted videos,
- views from advertising campaigns,
- live streams that are later set to private or unlisted,
- watch time YouTube classes as invalid, such as artificial or automated traffic.
Likewise, only Shorts views that YouTube considers valid count toward the Shorts route.
Track progress in YouTube Studio, then Earn. The page shows both counters and notifies you when you qualify. You can also estimate how far you are with the YouTube monetization calculator.
Other conditions
Thresholds are only the first step. The channel must also:
- follow the YouTube channel monetization policies,
- be in a country or region where the program is available,
- have no active community guidelines strikes,
- have two-step verification turned on for the Google account,
- have, or be able to link, an AdSense for YouTube account.
The review
After you apply, YouTube reviews the channel as a whole: the main theme, the most viewed videos, the newest videos, the largest share of watch time, and titles, thumbnails and descriptions. Reviews typically take about a month. Channels are most often rejected for reused content (other people's material with little added) and repetitious content (videos that are near copies of each other).
If you are rejected, you can reapply after 30 days. Use that time to change the videos the reviewer would have seen.
A note on purchased views and watch hours
YouTube's fake engagement policy prohibits artificially increasing views, likes, comments or other metrics. YouTube can remove views it considers invalid, and they do not count toward the thresholds above. For serious or repeated violations it can act against the channel.
Packages such as YouTube views or watch hours change the numbers displayed on a video or channel. They are not a route to monetization, and no seller can guarantee that purchased hours will be accepted by YouTube's review.
The fastest legitimate route
- Pick the route that suits your format. Long videos build hours quickly; a ten-minute video watched halfway by 1000 people is about 83 hours.
- Publish on a schedule so that the 12-month window is always filling.
- Use Shorts to find subscribers and long videos to earn hours.
- Add end screens and playlists. Session time from one video to the next counts.
Frequently asked questions
Do Shorts views count toward the 4000 watch hours?
No. Views in the Shorts feed do not count toward the 4000-hour requirement. They count toward the separate Shorts route of 10 million views in 90 days.
Do I lose monetization if I drop below the thresholds?
Not automatically. YouTube says it may remove monetization from a channel that has been inactive, with no uploads or posts, for six months or more.
Do live stream hours count?
Yes, when the stream is public and stays public afterwards.
