Direct answer: There are five official ways to earn on YouTube: ad and Premium revenue through the YouTube Partner Program (long-form and Shorts), fan funding (memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks, gifts), YouTube Shopping (your products or other brands' products for a commission), brand deals, and selling or licensing off-platform. As of 18 August 2026, ad revenue sharing opens at 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 qualified watch hours in 12 months or 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days, and the fan-funding tier at 500 subscribers; from 1 February 2027 new applicants need 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views for ads. This page is the route map; the linked explainers hold the detail.
- Ads are not the only route and often not the first one: fan funding and brand deals open before the ads threshold.
- Every route has its own eligibility and country list. Saudi Arabia is listed for the Partner Program, the expanded tier, memberships, Super Chat and Creator Partnerships, and not listed for the Shopping affiliate program.
- There's no official "how much YouTube pays" figure; YouTube defines RPM and CPM only.
- Purchased subscribers or views don't count toward Partner Program eligibility, and the channel is reviewed as a whole before acceptance.
The official monetization routes
YouTube lists these routes on its "How to earn money on YouTube" page; what follows is our ordering by who gets access first, not by importance.
1. Ad and Premium revenue through the YouTube Partner Program
This is what most people mean by "getting monetized". You join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), accept the Watch Page module so ads run on long-form videos and streams, accept the Shorts module for the Shorts Creator Pool, and receive a share of Premium revenue based on how much members watch your content. YouTube publishes the shares (55% of net ad revenue on long-form, 45% of your allocated Shorts pool revenue, and from 1 February 2027 creator pools of 30% for Premium and 60% for Premium Lite); the mechanics live on the Partner Program requirements page.
The dated thresholds and how to check them in Studio belong to YouTube monetization requirements. Shorts have their own page because the revenue is distributed differently: YouTube Shorts monetization. "How much per 1,000 views" has one honest answer: YouTube defines the metrics and publishes no number, as the RPM and CPM explainer shows. Getting paid runs through AdSense for YouTube with a $100 payment threshold: AdSense for YouTube.
2. Fan funding: memberships, Super Chat and Super Thanks
Here the viewer pays you directly: a monthly channel membership in exchange for perks, or paid messages in live chat and highlighted comments through Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks and gifts. You turn them on by accepting the Commerce Product Module in Studio; YouTube requires you to be at least 18 and the channel not set as made for kids. This route opens through the expanded tier at 500 subscribers, before the ads threshold, and YouTube publishes a 70% creator share of net revenue.
3. YouTube Shopping: your products, or other brands' products for a commission
Shopping is two routes with different rules. First, selling your own products and services through YouTube by connecting your store (Shopify is an integrated platform) and showing products under videos and streams; payment comes from your store, not AdSense. Second, affiliate marketing: the Shopping affiliate program, limited to a country list that doesn't include Saudi Arabia as of 18 August 2026, or external affiliate links in descriptions, which aren't tied to that list but follow link and disclosure policies.
4. Brand deals and sponsorships
A sponsorship is income from the advertiser, not YouTube, so no subscriber threshold gates it, but it needs a defined audience and an explicit paid-promotion disclosure in the video settings. YouTube's Creator Partnerships tab in Studio connects eligible creators with brands; it's limited to Partner Program members in available countries, and Saudi Arabia is listed. Landing, pricing and disclosing deals is covered in YouTube sponsorships and brand deals.
5. Off-platform: services, courses and licensing
The channel can be the storefront for something else: consulting, courses, services, or licensing footage to media outlets. YouTube sets no eligibility here because it doesn't handle the payment, but external links in descriptions and cards have rules (the external link card needs Partner Program membership) and promotional content still follows platform policies.
Dated eligibility summary: who qualifies for what (as of 18 August 2026)
| Route | What you need today | What changes on 1 February 2027 | Available in Saudi Arabia? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-form and live ads + Premium revenue | 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 qualified public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 1,000 subscribers with 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, plus the other requirements (policies, 2-Step Verification, advanced features, AdSense) | New applicants: 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, still with 1,000 subscribers; existing partners keep their status but must accept the updated terms by 31 January 2027 | Yes (Saudi Arabia is on the Partner Program list) |
| Shorts ads (Shorts Creator Pool) | Same thresholds + acceptance of the Shorts module; views before acceptance don't count | Earning from the pool each month requires maintaining 10 million qualified Shorts views over the last 90 days; missing it doesn't remove you from YPP | Yes |
| Fan funding: memberships, Super Chat/Stickers/Thanks, gifts | Expanded tier: 500 subscribers + 3 valid public uploads in the last 90 days + 3,000 qualified watch hours in 12 months or 3 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days; age 18+; not made for kids | No change to thresholds; anyone still on the older terms must accept the Commerce Product Module by 31 January 2027 | Yes (listed on the memberships, Super Chat, Super Thanks and expanded-tier pages) |
| YouTube Shopping: your own store | In YPP and meeting the YPP subscriber threshold; not made for kids; no hate-speech strike | No announced change | No published country list for your own store; check the Earn tab in Studio |
| Shopping affiliate program | In YPP + based in a listed country | No announced change | No (Saudi Arabia is not on the official list) |
| Creator Partnerships (brand deals via Studio) | In YPP in an available country | No announced change | Yes |
| Direct sponsorships and off-platform sales | No official YouTube threshold; paid-promotion disclosure is mandatory | Not applicable | Not tied to a country list |
Each row's source is listed below; check the date before building a decision on it.
Who each route suits
- New channel under 500 subscribers: no on-platform route is open yet. Content and audience come first; small sponsorships and off-platform sales are possible, but the audience is what sells them.
- Between 500 and 1,000 subscribers with regular uploads: the expanded tier opens memberships, Super Chat, Super Thanks, select Shopping features and Creator Partnerships. This is where many Gulf creators actually start earning.
- Channel past the ads threshold: combine ads with fan funding and don't make RPM the only metric; a small loyal audience can earn more from memberships than from ads, and the reverse holds for broad-audience content.
- Shorts-first channel: the Shorts pool, with its 2027 continuity requirement, makes diversifying (fan funding, Shopping, sponsorships) more important, not less.
- Channel with a product or service: YouTube is a distribution channel and ads are a side income; focus on Shopping or external links with proper disclosure.
What stops monetization after it's on
Acceptance isn't permanent. YouTube says it continuously checks channels in the program, that a channel with no video or post for six months may lose monetization, and that from 1 February 2027 a defined activity rule applies (1,000 qualified watch hours in 365 days, or 1 million Shorts views in 90 days, or 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts every 90 days). More important are the monetization policies: inauthentic content (renamed on 15 July 2025), AI-generated content with no added value, and videos that get limited ads. All of that lives in YouTube monetization policies. Copyright and Community Guidelines strikes affect both acceptance and staying in.
Practical summary
- Find your row in the table first, then open the page for the nearest route; don't wait for ads if the expanded tier is open to you today.
- Check your thresholds in the Earn tab in Studio, the only source for your own numbers.
- If you'll apply after 1 February 2027, plan for 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views, not today's numbers.
- Purchased numbers don't count toward the thresholds and don't survive a whole-channel review.
- This page is part of the YouTube Resource Hub, where you'll find the algorithm, growth, content and copyright guides.
Related services: D3M Follow's paid YouTube services are on the YouTube services page, a separate option from this guide with its limits stated there; purchased metrics don't count toward YouTube Partner Program eligibility.
Official sources
- YouTube Partner Program overview and eligibility: current thresholds, joining requirements, the six-month rule and the 1 February 2027 notice (read 18 August 2026).
- Changes to the YouTube Partner Program: 2027 new-applicant thresholds, the Shorts continuity requirement, Premium pools and the activity rule (read 18 August 2026).
- Overview of the expanded YouTube Partner Program: the 500-subscriber tier and available countries (read 18 August 2026).
- YouTube Partner Program availability: country list including Saudi Arabia (read 18 August 2026).
- How to earn money on YouTube: YouTube's own list of monetization routes (read 18 August 2026).
- YouTube partner earnings overview: 55% ads share, 45% of allocated Shorts pool revenue, 70% fan funding (read 18 August 2026).
- YouTube Shopping affiliate program: affiliate country list, Saudi Arabia not included (read 18 August 2026).
- YouTube Creator Partnerships: Partner Program requirement and country list including Saudi Arabia (read 18 August 2026).