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How To Check If A Youtube Channel Is Monetized (new method)
There’s no need to access the YouTube API to know if a YouTube channel is monetized or not. Just use our channel monetization checker tool above!
On November 17, 2023, YouTube removed the “is_monetization_enabled” tag in the HTML of monetized channels.
Starting November 17, 2023, to check if a YouTube channel is monetized, go to the channel’s home page and check:
- If it has a “Join” button for people to become members, the channel is monetized. In fact, to have this feature, the channel has to be accepted in the YouTube Partner Program.
- If it has a large number of monetized videos (not Shorts!), the channel is monetized.
Beware that channels of any size can decide NOT to join the YouTube Partner Program. A famous example is YouTuber Casey Neistat who didn’t monetize his YouTube channel until after he had 100 million views.
So having more than 1,000 subscribers and ads on a particular video does not always mean the channel is monetized… but it most probably is.
How To Check If A Youtube Channel Is Monetized (old method)
⚠️ This method worked before November 17, 2023.
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 Monetization” 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 Monetization” button.
We’ll show you how many views the video has and an approximation of how much money it has made 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.
How To Check If A Youtube Short Is Monetized
Checking if a YouTube Short is monetized can be a bit more complex than checking a regular YouTube video because YouTube does not provide direct indicators of monetization for Shorts.
Unlike standard videos, there is no straightforward code in the HTML of the page that can reveal the monetization status.
However, you can still make an educated guess based on certain criteria:
- YouTube Partner Program: First and foremost, check if the channel posting the Short is a part of the YouTube Partner Program. Without membership in this program, a creator cannot monetize their content on YouTube, including Shorts.
- Content Nature: If the channel is part of the YouTube Partner Program and the content of the Short is family-friendly and adheres to YouTube’s monetization policies, it’s more likely to be monetized. YouTube typically restricts monetization on content that is not considered advertiser-friendly.
- Revenue Per Mille (RPM): Be aware that the RPM for YouTube Shorts is generally quite low, often around $0.05. This means even if the Short is monetized, the revenue generated per thousand views may not be substantial.
You can still use the Monetization Checker Tool above to gather information automatically. Just copy and paste the URL of the YouTube Short into the form, and you’ll get the view count and an estimation of revenue generated (if the Short is monetized).
Keep in mind that this tool is not foolproof and there is no guarantee of accuracy since YouTube does not publicly disclose monetization status for Shorts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to tell if a YouTube channel will be eligible for monetization?
As stated in this help article, to be accepted in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), you’ll need (among other requirements):
- Subs and watch time requirement
- 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or
- 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days
- Live in a country where the YouTube Partner Program is available
- Have no active Community Guidelines strikes on your channel.
From the “outside”, it’s not possible to know if a channel meets all the requirements to be accepted in the YouTube Partner Program in the future.
How can I check if my YouTube channel’s content will be rejected for monetization?
Low quality, spammy or non-family friendly content will most probably not count towards the watch time, and might be even hurt your application review process.
This could be the case with AI-generated videos, so use AI with caution.
So channels with only repetitive or automated content will most probably not be accepted in the YPP.
How can I find out when a YouTube channel was first monetized?
There is unfortunately no way to know when a channel was first monetized after the fact.
If you really want to know, you’ll have to check a channel monetization status regularly, and see when it switches to being monetized.
Is there a way to check a channel / video’s estimated RPM on YouTube?
No, there is not way to know the RPM (Revenue Per Mille or revenue per thousand views)of a particular video or channel on YouTube.
Here are some useful estimates though:
- Typical Short: $0.05 RPM
- Entertainment video: $1.00 RPM
- Regular video: $3.50 RPM
- Digital marketing / finance: up to $20.00 RPM
How can I use keywords to improve my YouTube channel’s monetization chances?
In and of themselves, keywords don’t help with your channel success or being accepted in the YouTube Partner Program.
Your best best is to create interesting, engaging video from trending topics with click-worthy titles.
But do not use true clickbait! Always deliver on your promise. YouTube knows exactly if a video is clickbaity – so when it finds one, it will simply not recommend it anymore.
Why are there ads on a video from a channel that is not monetized?
As stated in this YouTube help article: “Ads may appear on your uploaded videos even if you haven’t monetized the videos yourself.”
So while the channel owner is not making money from that video (yet), YouTube is.
Important note: there is not way for the channel owner to disable ads on that video, until they reach the YouTube Partner Program requirements and are accepted in the YouTube Partner Program.