It’s not always easy to tell if a YouTube channel is monetized. But there is a sure-fire way to find out that don’t involve using the YouTube API or even watch a video form the channel.
How To Check If A Youtube Channel Is Monetized
To check if a YouTube channel is monetized, go to the channel’s home page, view the page’s source code, and search for the string “is_monetization_enabled”. If the value is true, the channel is monetized, else it’s not.
Luckily, you don’t have to do this for every channel you want to check.
Just use the form above, copy and paste the channel’s URL, and click the “Check link” button. You’ll instantly know if the channel is monetized or not, and an approximation how much money it’s making per year.
You’ll also get the number of public views the channel gathered since it was created, and its creation date.
There are two reasons why you need to view the source code and check the string “is_monetization_enabled” to know if a YouTube channel is monetized:
- some channels may have videos that are not monetized while the channel itself is monetized
- and some channels may have videos that are monetized while the channel itself is not monetized
Read on to learn why that sometimes happens.
One thing is for sure: if a YouTube channel has less than 1,000 subscribers, it’s most probably not monetized.
That’s because having 1,000 subscribers is a requirement to be able to apply for the YouTube Partner Program.
The only case in which a channel with less than 1,000 subscribers can be monetized is if it’s a YouTube channel met the requirements to be part of the YouTube Partner Program, then lost some subscribers (and is now below 1,000 subscribers).
That’s a pretty rare case.
If the subscriber count stays below 1,000 for a long time, the channel will most probably lose its monetization status.
How To Check If A Youtube Video Is Monetized
To check if a video is monetized, go to the video’s page, view the page’s source code, and search for the string “yt_ad”. If the string is present and set to true, the video is monetized, else it’s not.
Again, you don’t have to do this for every video you want to check – just use the form above, copy and paste the video’s URL, and click the “Check link” button.
We’ll show you how many views the video has and an approximation of how much money it has amde since it was published.
As an added bonus, you’ll also get the monetization status of the channel that uploaded the video.
Now, seeing ads on a video or seeing the “yt_ad” string in the page source code doesn’t mean that the video is monetized by the channel’s owner – it could be monetized by YouTube itself or by a third-party.
In fact, since November 2020, YouTube started placing ads on some non-monetized videos or channels.
This might be the case for two reasons:
- certain videos contain content to which the channel ownel doesn’t own all necessary rights, and the rights holder may have chosen to place ads on it
- YouTube may also place ads on videos in channels not in the YouTube Partner Program
If that happens, the channel owner will not receive any revenue from the ads. That revenue is either perceived by the rights holder or by YouTube itself.
