Estimated Monthly Earnings
£675
from YouTube AdSense alone
£22
Per Day
£155
Per Week
£8.1K
Per Year
Earnings Breakdown
If you increase views by 30% with better editing:
How Much Do YouTubers Make? (2026 Earnings Guide)
YouTube earnings depend on several factors including views, niche, audience location and monetisation rate. This calculator gives you an estimate based on current CPM rates and YouTube's revenue share model.
Average YouTube CPM by Niche (2026)
| Niche | Average CPM | RPM (Creator Share) |
|---|---|---|
| Entertainment / Vlogs | £1-6 | £0.50-3.00 |
| Gaming | £2-8 | £1.00-4.00 |
| Education / How-To | £4-10 | £2.00-5.00 |
| Technology | £5-13 | £2.50-6.50 |
| Business / Finance | £8-16 | £4.00-8.00 |
| Insurance / Legal | £10-20 | £5.00-10.00 |
How YouTube Ad Revenue Works
- CPM (Cost Per Mille) — What advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions. This varies by niche, season and audience location
- RPM (Revenue Per Mille) — What creators earn per 1,000 views after YouTube's 45% cut. Typically 40-55% of CPM
- Monetised views — Not every view generates ad revenue. Typically 40-60% of views are monetised depending on ad blockers, viewer location and video length
- YouTube takes 45% — Creators keep 55% of ad revenue through the YouTube Partner Programme
How to Increase YouTube Earnings
- Improve video quality — Better editing leads to higher retention, more views and more ad impressions
- Create longer videos — Videos over 8 minutes can have mid-roll ads, significantly increasing revenue per view
- Target high-CPM niches — Business, finance and tech content earns 3-5x more per view than entertainment
- Grow UK/US audience — Advertisers pay much more for viewers in the UK, US, Canada and Australia
- Upload consistently — More uploads = more videos earning revenue. A back catalogue compounds over time
- Diversify income — Sponsorships, memberships, merchandise and courses can earn 5-10x more than AdSense alone
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?
On average, YouTube pays creators £1-5 per 1,000 views (RPM) through AdSense. The exact amount depends on your niche, audience location, time of year and video content. High-CPM niches like finance can earn £5-10+ per 1,000 views.
How many views do you need to make money on YouTube?
To join the YouTube Partner Programme, you need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours (or 10M Shorts views) in the past 12 months. After that, every monetised view earns revenue. Most full-time YouTubers get 100K-500K+ monthly views.
Do YouTube Shorts make money?
Yes, YouTube Shorts are now monetised through ads shown between Shorts in the feed. However, Shorts RPM is typically much lower than long-form content — around £0.03-0.10 per 1,000 views compared to $1-5 for regular videos.
Why does professional editing increase YouTube revenue?
Professional editing improves viewer retention (watch time), which signals to YouTube that your content is valuable. Higher retention leads to more recommendations, more views, and more ad impressions — all translating to higher revenue.