YouTube Partner Program 📡 Network Freemium

The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is YouTube's built-in monetization layer: once a channel qualifies, Google sells ads against its videos and Shorts and shares the resulting revenue directly, with no separate network to sign up for. Eligibility is either 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in the trailing 12 months (long-form), or 1,000 subscribers plus 10 million qualified Shorts views in the trailing 90 days, plus a channel in good standing, no active Community Guidelines strikes, 2-Step Verification enabled, and residence in a supported country.

Revenue share is published and fixed: creators keep 55% of net ad revenue on long-form watch-page ads, 45% of the Shorts Feed ad pool (split across all eligible Shorts by view share), and 70% of revenue from channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers and Super Thanks. Payment runs through Google AdSense, on the standard AdSense monthly cycle once a channel crosses its local-currency payment threshold (commonly $100), roughly NET-21 to NET-45 depending on when in the month the threshold is hit.

Because it is native to YouTube, there is nothing to apply for beyond meeting the thresholds and passing an automated-plus-manual review; there is also no way to negotiate the split, appeal a per-video ad rate, or choose a different payer. Ad rates vary enormously by niche and geography (finance, software and business content earns far more per 1,000 views than gaming or entertainment), and monetization can be paused on individual videos for advertiser-friendliness without much recourse beyond an appeal.

Best for any channel that has cleared the subscriber/watch-hour bar and wants a no-effort baseline revenue stream; almost every serious YouTube creator layers sponsorships, affiliate links or their own products on top, since ad share alone rarely supports a channel at scale.