How to Monetize YouTube Shorts: Requirements, Revenue Share and the 2027 Changes

You monetize YouTube Shorts by joining the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) and accepting the Shorts Monetization Module. Today the Shorts route into full YPP is 1,000 subscribers and 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. Once you’re in, you get a share of a monthly Shorts ad pool and keep 45% of it. A smaller YPP level at 500 subscribers gives you fan funding and Shopping first.

Every number in this lesson comes from YouTube’s own help pages and blog as they read in November 2026. YouTube changes these rules, and it has already announced changes for February 1, 2027, which are covered below. Before you plan around any number, check the YPP eligibility page and the Earn tab in YouTube Studio.

The two YPP levels

YPP has two entry points. The lower one is called the expanded YouTube Partner Program, and it’s only open in certain countries. YouTube keeps the list on its expanded YPP page, and it includes the US, UK, Canada, India, Brazil, Germany, Japan and many others.

On top of the numbers, YouTube asks for the same basics on both levels:

• Follow the YouTube channel monetization policies.
• Live in a country or region where the program is available.
• Have no active Community Guidelines strikes.
• Turn on 2-Step Verification for your Google account.
• Have one active AdSense for YouTube account linked to your channel, or set one up in YouTube Studio when you apply.

The full YPP page also asks you to have advanced features access on YouTube.

What “qualified” means

Qualified Shorts views are views of public Shorts that appear in the Shorts Feed. Views of private, unlisted or deleted Shorts don’t count, and neither do views from ad campaigns or Image Posts in the Shorts Feed.

One trap catches a lot of people: watch hours from Shorts views in the Shorts Feed don’t count toward the 4,000-hour long-form threshold. Shorts views and long-form watch hours are two separate routes. You can’t mix them.

What changes on February 1, 2027

On August 10, 2026, YouTube announced the first big YPP changes since 2018. Here is what YouTube’s own pages say, and nothing more:

• New terms. To keep fully monetizing, review and accept the updated terms in YouTube Studio by January 31, 2027. They take effect February 1, 2027.
• Higher entry bar for new applicants. New creators applying for ads and Premium revenue sharing will need 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. YouTube says this won’t affect creators already in YPP. The post doesn’t mention the subscriber requirement, so check the help page for the subscriber number when you apply.
• A monthly Shorts threshold. To earn a share of Shorts ad revenue from the Creator Pool and YouTube Premium revenue for a given month, you’ll need at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. YouTube measures this over the 90 days ending on the 15th of the month before the month being paid. Channels below the line stay in YPP, keep earning on long-form, and start earning from Shorts again automatically once they’re back above 10 million.
• Fan funding and Shopping stay the same. YouTube says the entry thresholds for fan funding and Shopping products are unchanged.
• Targeted Shorts ads. Shorts ads targeted to small groups of 5 or fewer channels will earn direct revenue, and creators keep 45% of the net revenue from that ad.
• New incentive programs. For channels below 10 million views, YouTube says it will add milestone-based incentives, such as bonuses for YouTube Shopping, incentives for brand deals, and boosts for starting trends. It says details will come later.

You’ll find other numbers online, but if YouTube’s pages don’t say it, don’t plan around it.

How the Shorts revenue share works

Shorts ads play between videos in the feed, not on one specific video. So YouTube doesn’t pay per ad. It pools the money. The Shorts monetization policy describes four steps:

1. Pool. Each month, revenue from ads between videos in the Shorts Feed is added together. It pays creators and covers music licensing.
2. Fill the Creator Pool. For a Short with no music, all the revenue linked to its views goes into the Creator Pool. With one music track, half goes to the pool and half to music licensing. With two tracks, one third goes to the pool.
3. Allocate. The Creator Pool is split by each monetizing creator’s share of engaged views in each country. If you have 2% of the engaged views, you get 2% of the pool.
4. Apply the 45%. You keep 45% of your allocation, whether or not you used music.

Music only shrinks the pool. It doesn’t shrink your slice. You’re always credited with 100% of your engaged views.

A worked example (made-up numbers)

This example is ours, to show how the math works. It isn’t a real rate.

• In one country this month, the Creator Pool is $50,000 and monetizing creators’ Shorts got 250 million engaged views.
• Your Shorts got 500,000 engaged views there, which is 0.2% of the total.
• Your allocation is 0.2% of $50,000 = $100.
• You keep 45%, so you earn $45 from that country.

Then YouTube repeats this for every country your viewers are in. That’s why two creators with the same view count can earn very different amounts.

YouTube Premium works the same way. YouTube pays 45% of the net Premium (and Premium Lite) revenue allocated to creators for Shorts, based on your share of subscriber Shorts views in each country.

What isn’t paid

Even inside YPP, some views don’t earn:

• Views from before you accepted the Shorts Monetization Module.
• Non-original Shorts, such as unedited clips from movies or TV, reuploads of other creators’ videos, or compilations with nothing original added.
• Fake views from bots.
• Shorts that break the advertiser-friendly guidelines.
• Shorts over one minute that contain claimed content. These are blocked, so be careful with other people’s audio.

Don’t let reused content sink your channel

YouTube’s reused content policy is checked across your whole channel, not one video at a time. If YouTube can’t tell that you made the content, it can remove monetization from the entire channel. YouTube says this policy applies even if you have permission from the original creator. Permission solves copyright, not originality.

What passes: commentary, a critical review that uses clips, your own face or voice adding something, real editing that makes the video your own. What fails: clips stitched together with little or no story, and short videos copied from other social sites.

The safest way to make Shorts in volume is to cut them from your own long videos, podcasts or streams. Short.now does that part: paste your long video, and it finds the moments, reframes them to 9:16 and adds captions. You still choose what to post. The repurposing system lesson shows the weekly workflow, and this guide covers the cutting itself.

How to earn before you qualify

At 0 to 1,000 subscribers you can’t earn from ads, but you can still earn:

• Brand deals. Small, focused channels get sponsorships. YouTube requires you to tick the paid promotion box on any video with a sponsor. See How to get brand deals.
• Your own product or service. A coaching call, a template, a local business. A Short that sends 20 people to your offer can be worth more than months of pool revenue.
• Fan funding at 500 subscribers. In expanded YPP countries, memberships, Super Thanks, Super Chat and Jewels open before ad revenue does.
• Long-form. Long videos earn Watch Page ad revenue once you’re in YPP, and YouTube’s blog lists a 55% creator share on Premium revenue for long-form. Shorts that point viewers to a full video help with both.

How to apply, step by step

1. In YouTube Studio, click Earn in the left menu. If you’re not eligible yet, select Get notified.
2. When you’re eligible, select Apply Now and accept the base terms.
3. Set up an AdSense for YouTube account in Studio, or link an active one. Only create a new one from inside YouTube Studio.
4. When the Get Reviewed step shows In Progress, YouTube has your application. Reviews typically take about a month.
5. Once you’re accepted, accept the Shorts Monetization Module in the Earn tab. Shorts views only start counting toward revenue from the day you accept it.

If you’re rejected, YouTube lets you appeal within 21 days, or reapply after 30 days. After a repeat rejection, you wait 90 days. Also note that YouTube may turn off monetization for channels that haven’t uploaded or posted for 6 months.

A realistic plan from zero

The 10 million view bar is high. Treat it as a result of good habits, not a goal you can push straight at.

• Months 1 to 3: Post 4 to 7 Shorts a week. Check retention in YouTube Analytics to learn what holds attention. Aim for the 500-subscriber level if it’s available in your country.
• Months 3 to 6: Double down on the 2 or 3 formats that beat your average. Add one long video a week and cut Shorts from it.
• Ongoing: Earn from a sponsor or your own offer while views build. Use How to get more views on YouTube Shorts to raise your average.

One more check: everything here can change. Before you make a decision that depends on a threshold, open YouTube’s help page and the Earn tab, and trust those over any blog post, including this one.

What’s next

YouTube is one income stream. TikTok pays in very different ways, through a rewards program for longer videos, subscriptions, LIVE gifts and Shop commissions. Continue with How to make money on TikTok.