YouTube Brain

YouTube Partner Program

3 min read

YouTube Partner Program

The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is the gateway to monetization, and since 2023 it runs in two tiers. A lower tier unlocks fan funding earlier, and a full tier unlocks ad and YouTube Premium revenue sharing. Knowing exactly which threshold you are chasing, and that Shorts views and watch hours are alternative paths, prevents wasted effort. These figures are fast moving; verify against the official help page before advising anyone. See Source Intake and Refresh.

The two tiers

Lower fan funding tier:

  • 500 subscribers, plus
  • 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days, plus
  • 3,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 3 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
  • Unlocks memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, gifts, and Shopping.

Full monetization tier:

  • 1,000 subscribers, plus
  • 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
  • Adds ad revenue sharing and a share of YouTube Premium revenue.

Valid public watch hours exclude private, unlisted, and deleted videos, ad campaigns, and Shorts. Other requirements include living in a YPP country, no active Community Guidelines strikes, two step verification, and an AdSense account.

What unlocks at each tier

Staying eligible

Monetization is governed by the Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines and the channel monetization policies. The 2025-07-15 policy renamed repetitious content to inauthentic content, targeting mass produced or templated channels; reused content can still monetize with significant original commentary. See Inauthentic Mass-Produced Content under antipatterns once you build it, and Chasing Views Over Satisfaction.

How to apply

  • Identify the single threshold you are closest to and plan content to hit it.
  • Decide whether watch hours or Shorts views is your realistic path; they are alternatives, not both required.
  • Re-check the exact numbers before any monetization recommendation; they change.

Sources

Graph View

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