How to Make Money on YouTube Shorts in 2026 (and What Changes in 2027)

To make money on YouTube Shorts, you join the YouTube Partner Program and accept the Shorts Monetization Module. YouTube then pays you 45% of the ad revenue it allocates to you from a shared Shorts pool, based on your share of views. You can also earn from Super Thanks, memberships, and tagged products earlier, at 500 subscribers. The catch is that Shorts pay far less per view than long-form, and from February 1, 2027, you'll need to keep getting 10 million qualified Shorts views every 90 days to earn from the pool at all.

Below is how each income source works, with the numbers taken from YouTube's own Help pages.

The two YPP tiers for Shorts creators

YouTube has two entry levels, and Shorts views count toward both (YouTube Help, expanded YPP overview):

There's also a long-form route for each tier (3,000 or 4,000 watch hours in 12 months). Shorts views don't count toward watch hours. We cover the full rules in YouTube monetization requirements.

New applicants in 2027: from February 1, 2027, channels applying for the first time will need 8,000 watch hours in a year or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days, according to TechCrunch's August 10, 2026 report. Channels already in the program keep their status.

How Shorts ad revenue works

Shorts ads don't run on your video. They play between Shorts in the feed, so YouTube pools the money and splits it. The Shorts revenue sharing page explains the steps:

1. Each month, YouTube adds up the ad revenue from the Shorts feed in each country.
2. Part of it pays for music licensing. A Short with no music sends all its revenue to the Creator Pool. A Short with one track sends half, and two tracks send a third.
3. The Creator Pool is split among monetizing creators by their share of engaged views in that country.
4. You keep 45% of what's allocated to you. Using music doesn't lower your own allocation.

YouTube's example on that page: if a country's pool is $90,000 and your Shorts got 1% of the engaged views, you're allocated $900 and keep $405. That's an illustration of the math, not a real rate. The YouTube partner earnings overview confirms the 45% Shorts share, compared with 55% for long-form ads and 70% for memberships and Supers.

Some views don't count at all: views from non-original Shorts (unedited clips, compilations with nothing added), fake or bot views, content that breaks the advertiser-friendly guidelines, and any views from before you accepted the module (YouTube Help).

How much do Shorts actually pay?

Not much per view. In real Studio data from 300 monetized channels, AIR Media-Tech found Shorts RPM between $0.02 and $1.48 per 1,000 views depending on niche, about 3 to 14% of what the same niche earns on long-form. A million Shorts views can earn under $100. Our breakdown of how much YouTube pays per view puts those numbers next to long-form.

So a channel that only makes Shorts and only earns from the pool needs very large view counts to make real money.

The February 2027 rule: 10 million views every 90 days

This is the change that matters most for anyone planning to make money on YouTube Shorts. Today, 10 million Shorts views in 90 days is a one-time entry test. From February 1, 2027, YouTube Help says you need at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days to earn Creator Pool and Premium revenue for a given month. The 90-day window ends on the 15th of the month before (YouTube Help).

If you drop below it, you stay in YPP and keep your long-form earnings. Your Shorts revenue comes back once you clear 10 million again (TechCrunch). A channel at 9.9 million views in the window gets nothing from the pool that month.

The same page says that from February 1, 2027, targeted Shorts ads shown to small groups of channels (five or fewer) will pay creators 45% of net revenue directly.

If you'd rather make videos than read about it, VidPuff turns a title into a faceless video. No waitlist, cancel anytime.

Other ways to make money with Shorts

The pool is only one income source, and for smaller channels it's often the weakest. These work at the expanded tier or without YPP at all.

Fan funding. At 500 subscribers you can turn on Super Thanks, memberships, and gifts (YouTube Help). You keep 70% of net revenue from memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks (YouTube Help). This works best when viewers recognize you or a recurring series.

Shopping and affiliate tags. The YouTube Shopping affiliate program lets you tag other brands' products in your videos and Shorts and earn a commission. It requires YPP, a supported country (the US is one), and a channel that isn't set as Made for Kids. Product review, gadget, and home Shorts fit this naturally.

Your own affiliate links and products. Outside YouTube's programs, you can point viewers to an affiliate link or your own product in a pinned comment or your channel links. This needs no threshold. Label affiliate links clearly.

Brand deals. Sponsors pay for reach in a niche, not for YouTube's revenue split. Smaller Shorts channels with a clear audience can land these before they're monetized.

Sending viewers to long-form. Many channels use Shorts to grow and long-form to earn. A Short can link to a related long video, and that video earns the 55% long-form share at a much higher RPM. Our guide to how to make money on YouTube covers each of these income streams in more detail.

How to make money on YouTube Shorts starting from zero

1. Pick a niche that pays on long-form too. Education and explainer topics have the highest long-form RPMs in AIR's data, so your Shorts audience is worth more when you send it there. See the niche RPM data.
2. Make original Shorts. Reuploaded clips and plain compilations don't earn from the pool, and they can get a channel rejected from YPP.
3. Post long-form alongside. Long-form builds watch hours (the route that doesn't depend on hitting 10 million views every quarter) and pays more per view.
4. Turn on fan funding and Shopping at 500 subscribers instead of waiting for ad revenue.
5. Watch your 90-day Shorts views in Studio once 2027 gets close, so you know whether you'll earn from the pool each month.

For the long-form side, VidPuff turns a title into a 16:9 video: it writes the script, adds narration, visuals for each scene, music, and captions, and you review and edit each stage before uploading to YouTube from the app. It does not make Shorts or vertical videos, so you'd still make those yourself.

FAQ

How many views do you need to make money on YouTube Shorts?

To earn ad revenue, 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days plus 1,000 subscribers. For fan funding and Shopping, 3 million Shorts views in 90 days plus 500 subscribers and 3 recent uploads. From February 1, 2027, new applicants need 20 million Shorts views, and you must keep 10 million every 90 days to earn from the Creator Pool.

How much does YouTube pay for 1 million Shorts views?

It depends on niche and country. AIR Media-Tech's data puts Shorts RPM between $0.02 and $1.48, so 1 million views can range from about $20 to about $1,480, and can easily be under $100.

Can you make money on YouTube Shorts without 1,000 subscribers?

Yes, at 500 subscribers through Super Thanks, memberships, gifts, and Shopping, once you meet the expanded YPP thresholds. Brand deals and your own affiliate links need no threshold at all. Pool ad revenue needs the full YPP tier.

Do Shorts views count toward 4,000 watch hours?

No. Shorts views count only toward the Shorts route (3 million or 10 million views in 90 days).

Sources

• Shorts revenue sharing, Creator Pool, music split, excluded views, and the February 2027 changes: YouTube Help, Shorts revenue sharing.
• Revenue shares (45% Shorts, 55% long-form, 70% memberships and Supers): YouTube Help, partner earnings overview.
• YPP tiers and features: YouTube Help, expanded YPP overview.
• Shopping affiliate eligibility: YouTube Help, Shopping affiliate program.
• 2027 entry requirements: TechCrunch, August 10, 2026.
• Shorts RPM by niche: AIR Media-Tech, 300 channels, May 2025 to May 2026.