YouTube shows subscribers and views on every channel, but not whether the channel earns money. Still, there are reliable signs. Here are five ways to check if a YouTube channel is monetized, from the quickest to the most precise, and what each one actually proves.
1. Look for ads on its videos
The most direct sign. Open two or three recent long videos of the channel:
- turn off your ad blocker,
- make sure you're not on YouTube Premium (Premium removes all ads),
- watch the first seconds and skip ahead a few minutes.
If an ad plays before the video, or yellow ad markers appear on the progress bar, the channel is monetized with ads.
What it doesn't prove: no ad doesn't mean not monetized. Made-for-kids videos have no personalized ads, creators can turn ads off on a video, copyright claims redirect the money, and sometimes there's no ad to show in your country. That's why you check several videos. Shorts aren't a good test: their ads play between Shorts in the feed, not inside a specific Short.
2. Look for a Join button, Super Thanks or Shopping
Under a video or on the channel page:
- Join button (channel memberships),
- Super Thanks (the "Thanks" button under a video),
- Super Chat on live streams,
- products in a Shopping shelf.
These features are only available to channels in the YouTube Partner Program. Since 2023 they open at the lower tier (500 subscribers), so they prove the channel is in YPP, not necessarily that it earns from ads.
3. Check the Partner Program thresholds
A channel can't earn ad revenue below the bar. The current requirements:
| Tier | Subscribers | Plus one of |
|---|---|---|
| Ad revenue | 1,000 | 4,000 watch hours in 12 months, or 10M Shorts views in 90 days |
| Fan funding (Join, Super Thanks…) | 500 | 3,000 watch hours in 12 months, or 3M Shorts views in 90 days, + 3 uploads in 90 days |
From February 1, 2027, new applicants need 8,000 watch hours or 20M Shorts views (details).
So a channel under 1,000 subscribers is certainly not earning ad revenue. Above it, you can't see watch hours publicly, but you can estimate them from the views and length of its videos. In our data, only 46% of English channels with 1K–10K subscribers meet the full thresholds; above 100K subscribers it's 95%.
4. Use a monetization checker
Paste the channel (or one of its videos) into Returbe's free YouTube monetization checker. It:
- compares subscribers, estimated watch hours (12 months) and Shorts views (90 days) to the Partner Program thresholds,
- tells you if the channel is certainly not monetized (under 1,000 subscribers), eligible, or can't be confirmed,
- estimates its RPM and monthly ad revenue from its niche, audience language and share of Shorts,
- with a video link, estimates what that video earned.
Three checks are free without an account, unlimited once you sign up.
Be careful with tools that claim to "know" for sure. No public API says whether a channel is monetized. Any checker gives an estimate; the honest ones tell you so.
Check any channel's monetization and income
Paste a channel or a video link. We compare it to the Partner Program thresholds and estimate its monthly ad revenue.
5. Check it while you browse YouTube
The Returbe Chrome extension adds a small "Monetized / Not monetized" pill next to the Subscribe button, on channel pages and under videos. On a video, it reads whether YouTube's player has ads scheduled for that video, then shows an estimated revenue for it; on a channel page, it checks the last five videos. Hover the pill to see why: ads found on N of 5 videos, under 1,000 subscribers, Short with no in-video ads…
How to estimate how much the channel makes
Once you know it's monetized:
- Take its monthly views (recent videos, not total views).
- Multiply by the RPM of its niche: about $14 per 1,000 views in finance, $3 in gaming, $1.80 in music (full table).
- Adjust for language: a French-speaking audience earns about 60% of the English RPM, Spanish about 35%.
- Count Shorts views at $0.03 to $0.10 per 1,000.
For reference, the median English channel with 100K–500K subscribers earns about $1,600 to $5,800 a month from ads in our data (all subscriber tiers).
How to check your own channel
Open YouTube Studio → Earn. If you're in the Partner Program, you'll see your status and the modules you've accepted (check them before January 31, 2027). If not, you'll see a progress bar for subscribers, watch hours and Shorts views.
Key takeaways
- Ads on several long videos = monetized with ads.
- Join, Super Thanks, Shopping = in the Partner Program (at least the 500-subscriber tier).
- Under 1,000 subscribers = no ad revenue, for sure.
- No ad on one video proves nothing: check several, without Premium or an ad blocker.
- To estimate income, use monthly views × the niche RPM, or the monetization checker.
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Start for freeFAQ
How can I tell if a YouTube channel is monetized?
Watch a few of its recent long videos without an ad blocker and without YouTube Premium: if ads play before or during them, the channel earns from ads. A Join button or Super Thanks under the videos means it is in the Partner Program. You can also paste the channel into a monetization checker to see whether it meets the thresholds and what it may earn.
Can I see another channel's earnings?
No. Only the channel owner sees revenue, in YouTube Studio. Anyone else can only estimate it: monthly views × the RPM of the channel's niche and audience language. Returbe's free monetization checker does that calculation for any channel.
Why is there no ad on a monetized channel's video?
Many reasons: you have YouTube Premium or an ad blocker, the video is made for kids (no personalized ads), the creator turned ads off on that video, the video has limited ads because of its content, a copyright claim sends the revenue to someone else, or there was simply no ad to show in your country at that moment. Check several videos before concluding.
How do I check if my own channel is monetized?
Open YouTube Studio and go to the Earn tab. If you're in the Partner Program, you'll see your monetization status and the modules you've accepted; if not, you'll see your progress toward the thresholds.
How many subscribers do you need to be monetized?
1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days for ad revenue. From February 1, 2027, new applicants need 8,000 watch hours or 20 million Shorts views. Fan funding (memberships, Super Thanks) starts at 500 subscribers.