Youtube has over 2.6 billion users worldwide and generated $29.24 billion in revenue in 2023, which is 11.35 percent of Google’s total revenue. The popular children’s channel on Youtube, Ryans World, earned $27 million in 2022. But the question you are here for is how much money YouTubers make in India or any other part of the world. To answer the question, we have also created a YouTube Money Calculator to help you calculate your estimated earnings from Youtube as a creator.
Youtube has paid nearly $30 billion to creators, artists, and media organizations over the last three years. In 2019, T Series became the first YouTube channel to cross 100 million users. Few Youtubers have since crossed the number which many creators saw as impossible to reach.
The pandemic has only accelerated YouTube’s growth in India. Before the pandemic, Whatsapp was the dominant platform in India, but the numbers reveal a different picture now. According to data from Statista, YouTube had 467 million monthly active users in January 2023, while Whatsapp has 487 million monthly active users.
Before we get into how much money you can make from YouTube and how the YouTube Money Calculator may help you uncover your earning potentials, let’s go over some fundamentals for those unfamiliar with the subject.
How to earn money on Youtube in India?
You earn money on Youtube by applying for Youtube Partners Program. Youtube helps creators monetize their channels with the help of advertising revenue, channel memberships, super chats & super stickers, channel memberships, merch shelfs, and Youtube Premium Revenue. You may also receive Shorts bonuses as part of the YouTube Shorts Fund if you qualify for it.
Youtube Shorts Fund is a $100M fund to reward creators for their dedication to making creative, original Shorts that delight the YouTube community.
To be considered eligible for the Youtube partner program, you should have a channel on Youtube that has 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months and more than 10,000 subscribers. So let’s dive a bit deeper into how do creators earn money on Youtube.
- Advertising Revenue: Youtubers receive ad revenue when someone sees display, overlay, or video advertisements on their channel. Youtubers earn between $3 and $5 per thousand video views on average.
- Channel Memberships: Your subscribers make a monthly recurring payment in exchange for exclusive perks that you offer.
- Super Chats & Super Stickers: Your subscribers pay to have their messages displayed in chat streams.
- Merch Shelf: Your subscribers can shop for and purchase authentic branded merchandise shown on your watch pages.
- Youtube Premium Revenue: Get a portion of a YouTube Premium subscriber’s subscription fee when they view your video.
YouTube’s advertising revenue figure varies based on where you get your video views from. Let’s say, for instance, that the majority of video views come from India; your video could be making anywhere from $0.5 to $3 per thousand video views. But if your viewers are from the United States, your video could fetch anywhere from $2 to $4 per thousand video views.
Again, many factors determine this figure, including the nature of your content, the audience you are targeting, how frequently you upload content, etc. So it is difficult to accurately predict how much money you can make on Youtube going by just CPM estimates. At best, the YouTube Money Calculator that we have created only provides you with a guestimate of your channel’s earning potential.
Also, world events like the pandemic impacted Youtube earnings last year as most Youtubers saw a nearly 30% dip in their earnings. That’s why most Youtubers derisk themselves by making money from other sources like paid promotions, affiliate marketing, channel sponsorships, fan funding, and more.
How much money do youtubers make in India?
Some of the highest-paid Youtubers make close to $20 million a year. But the fact that Youtubers can also earn money from outside of the Youtube Partners Program makes this a difficult question to answer. Ryan Kanji, for instance, has earned an estimated $200m from Ryan’s World branded toys and clothing, including Marks & Spencer pyjamas.
He also inked an undisclosed, presumably multimillion-dollar, contract with Nickelodeon for his own television series. The television series is now in its fourth season and has garnered much criticism. Similarly, Indian YouTubers are now creating their own original web series under the banner of YouTube Originals. ‘Dhindora’ is being produced by Bhuvan Bham for YouTube Originals. YouTube Originals are the platform’s original series, films, and events.
There are platforms like Social Blade, Nox Influencer, Videooly, and others that help you understand the Youtube earning of creators. However, as previously stated, these are just estimations of how much money channels may make via the Youtube Partner Program.
The below chart is a good indicator of how much money your video could make depending on the number of views earned. The data also differentiates how much US creators earn vs. Indian creators. As previously stated, several factors come into play as a creator, including the niche of the video, the length of the video (longer films often include at least two ads), and the source of the audience.
| Video Views | Estimated Earnings (in dollars) | Estimated Earnings (in ₹) |
| 10K | $50 to $80 | ₹200 to ₹500 |
| 100K | $500 to $2,500 | ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 |
| 1 Million | $3,400 to $40,000 | ₹7,000 to ₹30,000 |
| 150 Million | $80,000 to $100,000 | ₹1,50,000 to ₹6,00,000 |
But earnings also come with an element of unpredictability, and sometimes the numbers can be completely different from the estimates above. As a result, your experience as a creator will be contextualized by the niche in which you operate, the country in which you operate, and the type of content you produce.
To calculate your YouTube revenue, check out Social Blade’s Calculator
For every rupee you make from YouTube, the platform takes 45% of your earnings, which means you effectively only make 55 paise. That explains why YouTubers are constantly evaluating income streams outside of advertising revenue.
YouTube shorts has created a new avenue for creators to earn revenue, the platform has created an exclusive $100 million fund for shorts as it competes with TikTok and Instagram for users. YouTube has begun ad revenue-sharing for Shorts from YouTubers engaged in its partner program from February 2023, phasing out its earlier rewards program. To be eligible for the program, you will need to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours on your existing channel.
Another point aspect to note is that most YouTubers earn a significant part of their income from sources other than advertising revenue. For instance, popular content creators like Ankur Warikoo have chosen not to monetize their channel with advertising revenue which means they can demand a premium for brand partnerships.
If you’re looking to monetize your YouTube channels using other sources of income, especially affiliate marketing and influencer marketing, we have written an exhaustive piece on the list of the best affiliate marketing programs in India and influencer marketing platforms in India.
YouTube Earnings by Channel Category in India and What’s Next for Creators
Earnings for channels in India vary by niche; the chart below illustrates how much a creator may earn for 1 million video views. The earnings mentioned below are approximations; real earnings may vary depending on the variables indicated before.
| Channel Earnings | Earnings (Approx ₹ ) |
| Comedy | ₹ 22,000- ₹ 30,000 |
| Music | ₹ 7,000 – ₹ 11,000 |
| Technology | ₹ 14,000 – ₹ 22,000 |
| Roasting | ₹ 18,000 – ₹ 29,000 |
| Food | ₹ 7,000- ₹ 11,000 |
| Gaming | ₹ 7,000- ₹ 14,000 |
YouTube continues to be the dominant platform in India; even Instagram reels entry has hardly made a dent to the platform’s number. With initiatives like the recently announced $100 million YouTube Shorts Fund, the platform is luring all TikTok creators who lost their audience when the platform was banned in the country.
As the platform’s user base approaches 500 million, it will reach saturation in terms of creator income and discovery. However, if Google’s revenue figures are anything to go by ($1 billion in India last year), the platform seems to be unstoppable.
We believe that the YouTube Money Calculator is a great place to begin determining your income potential, whether you are an active YouTuber or are considering starting your own YouTube channel. However, at its core, creating on YouTube is about good storytelling and consistency.
