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PlaylistTime / Creator tools / Monetization checker

YouTube monetization checker: is a channel monetized?

Paste a channel link or @handle to check it against the public part of the YouTube Partner Program rules, today’s and the 2027 ones.

This YouTube monetization checker compares a channel with the parts of the YouTube Partner Program rules that anyone can see. Paste a channel link or @handle and it reads the channel through the official YouTube Data API: the subscriber count (or that it is hidden), and how many public videos and Shorts it uploaded in the last 90 days. It checks those against the full partner tier (ads) and the lower fan funding tier, and against the rules that start on 1 February 2027. It also answers the question people really ask, "is this channel monetized?", as honestly as it can be answered: watch hours, qualified Shorts views and whether ads are switched on are private, so nobody outside the channel can say for sure.

YouTube monetization requirements in 2026

To join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) a channel needs a number of subscribers plus either enough watch hours or enough Shorts views, and it must follow YouTube's monetization policies, have no active Community Guidelines strikes, live in a country where YPP is available, have 2-Step Verification on and link one AdSense account. The numbers:

TierSubscribersAnd one of theseAlso
Ads (full YPP), today1,0004,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days-
Fan funding and Shopping, today5003,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months, or 3 million Shorts views in the last 90 days3 public uploads in the last 90 days; selected countries only
Ads, new applicants from 1 February 20271,0008,000 watch hours in the last 365 days, or 20 million Shorts views in the last 90 daysChannels already in YPP keep their status
Staying active, from 1 February 2027-1,000 watch hours in 365 days, or 1 million Shorts views in 90 days, or 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts uploaded every 90 daysShorts pool earnings need 10 million Shorts views in 90 days

The 500-subscriber tier unlocks channel memberships, Super Chat, Super Stickers, Super Thanks and Shopping, not ad revenue. YouTube lists the countries where it applies; the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, Germany, Japan and Brazil are among them.

How the monetization checker works

  1. It reads the channel's public statistics: subscribers (or the hidden flag), total views and public video count.
  2. It reads the channel's 50 latest public uploads and their publish dates, and counts the uploads from the last 90 days, split into long-form and Shorts using YouTube's own Shorts list for the channel.
  3. It compares those numbers with each rule and marks it met, not met, or not public.

The verdict is one of three: Meets the public part of the rules (1,000 subscribers or more), Below the subscriber threshold, or Can't tell (the subscriber count is hidden).

Worked example

A channel shows 870 subscribers and 4 public uploads in the last 90 days: 3 long videos and 1 Short. For ads it is below the subscriber threshold: 870 is 130 short of 1,000. For the fan funding tier, 870 is above 500 and 4 uploads is above 3, so the public part is met; whether it also has 3,000 watch hours in 12 months or 3 million Shorts views in 90 days cannot be seen. From February 2027, 3 long-form uploads in 90 days would also meet the "2 long-form videos every 90 days" activity rule.

How to use the checker

Step 1: Paste the channel

Paste a channel link (youtube.com/@name, /channel/UC..., /user/...) or type an @handle, and press Check.

Step 2: Read the verdict

The first line says whether the channel meets the public part of the rules, is below the subscriber threshold, or cannot be checked because its subscribers are hidden.

Step 3: Go through the rules

The table lists each rule for ads, for fan funding and from February 2027, with what the channel shows and whether it is met, not met or not public.

Step 4: Share the check

The page address now holds the channel, so you can share the link or come back to it later.

How to tell if a YouTube channel is monetized

There is no public flag for it. The YouTube Data API does not say whether a channel is in the Partner Program, and YouTube does not show it on the channel. A few signs make it likely, none of them proof:

The owner can see it for certain in YouTube Studio, in the Earn section.

Can you check if a YouTube video is monetized?

Not from outside. Monetization is switched on and off per video in YouTube Studio, and an individual video can get limited ads for advertiser-friendliness reasons. None of that is public. Paste the channel instead to check the channel-level rules, or use the YouTube money calculator to see what a video would earn if it were monetized.

What counts as watch hours for monetization?

Only qualified watch hours count: hours from public long-form videos (including podcasts) and archived live streams. Watch time on private, unlisted or deleted videos, time watched as an ad, Shorts watch time and live streams that were not archived do not count. This is why a channel's total watch time in Studio can be higher than its qualified hours.

How many Shorts views do you need to get monetized?

10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, with 1,000 subscribers, for the full tier, or 3 million with 500 subscribers for fan funding. A qualified Shorts view is an engaged view on a public Short: the viewer stayed past the first seconds, and loops do not count. From 1 February 2027, new applicants need 20 million, and partners need 10 million in 90 days to earn from the Shorts Creator Pool each month. The checker shows the public views of Shorts posted in the last 90 days as a rough hint, but public view counts include quick swipes, so they are not qualified views.

What changes in the YouTube Partner Program in 2027?

Why the subscriber count is rounded

The YouTube Data API rounds subscriber counts down to three significant figures, so a channel with 1,234 subscribers shows as 1,230 and one with 21,437,000 as 21,400,000. Because it rounds down, a channel shown at 1,000 really has at least 1,000. Channels could once hide their subscriber count, but YouTube stopped allowing that in mid-2022 to fight impersonators. If the API still reports a count as hidden, the checker says "Can't tell".

How accurate is this monetization check?

Sources

Why we built this monetization checker

Search for a YouTube monetization checker and you find pages that answer "monetized" or "not monetized" with confidence, though the data that decides it is private. Nitin Raja, who builds PlaylistTime, tested a lot of these pages before building this one: after testing out a lot of websites, he found what people need and what they do not, and built around that. What people need is the rules in one place, a quick check of what can be checked, and a straight answer about what cannot.

What this checker measures

Why it is different

This checkerA typical yes/no checker
VerdictMeets the public part / below threshold / can't tellMonetized or not monetized
Uploads in 90 daysCounted, long-form and Shorts apartUsually not checked
2027 rule changesShown and checked where publicOften missing
What is privateListed plainlyRarely said
DataOfficial YouTube Data API, dated rules with linksOften unclear

Built by Nitin Raja. Last updated 26 October 2026.

Questions

How do I know if a YouTube channel is monetized?

You cannot know for sure from outside. Whether a channel is in the YouTube Partner Program is not public, and ads can appear on channels that are not paid. Signs like a Join button or Thanks button make it likely, and a channel under 500 subscribers cannot be in the program. The owner sees it in YouTube Studio under Earn.

How many subscribers do you need to get monetized on YouTube?

1,000 subscribers for ad revenue, together with 4,000 public watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. With 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in 90 days and 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views, you can join for fan funding and Shopping in selected countries.

How many watch hours do you need for YouTube monetization?

4,000 qualified watch hours in the last 12 months today. From 1 February 2027 new applicants need 8,000 qualified watch hours in the last 365 days. Only hours from public long-form videos and archived live streams count, not Shorts.

Do Shorts views count for monetization?

Yes, as a separate route: 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days with 1,000 subscribers. Shorts watch time does not count toward the 4,000 watch hours. From 1 February 2027 new applicants need 20 million qualified Shorts views.

If a video shows ads, is the channel monetized?

Not necessarily. YouTube’s Terms of Service give YouTube the right to monetize any content on the service, including by showing ads, so ads can run on videos from channels that are not in the Partner Program and not paid for them.

What changes in the YouTube Partner Program in 2027?

From 1 February 2027 new applicants need 8,000 watch hours in 365 days or 20 million Shorts views in 90 days. Channels already in the program keep their status but must accept new terms by 31 January 2027, and stay active with enough watch hours, Shorts views or 2 long-form videos or 5 Shorts every 90 days.

Can I check a channel that hides its subscribers?

YouTube stopped letting channels hide their subscriber count in 2022, so this is rare. If the count still comes back hidden, the checker counts the public uploads in the last 90 days but cannot check the subscriber thresholds, so the verdict is “Can’t tell”.

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