{"id":9201,"date":"2026-10-26T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T05:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ivitskiy.com\/blog\/?p=9201"},"modified":"2026-10-26T08:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T05:45:00","slug":"adsense-for-youtube","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ivitskiy.com\/blog\/en\/adsense-for-youtube\/","title":{"rendered":"AdSense for YouTube: How Monetization Works vs Google Ads"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In short:<\/strong> AdSense for YouTube pays you once your channel is in the YouTube Partner Program. In Google Ads you pay Google to show your channel. If your channel exists to bring customers to your business, the main question is not monetization but advertising.<\/div>\n\n\n\n

AdSense for YouTube is the Google program through which creators in the YouTube Partner Program get paid. That is money Google pays you. Google Ads works the opposite way: an advertiser pays Google to show ads. So «monetize my channel» and «promote my channel with ads» are two different actions, and you can start the first one only when the channel reaches the program’s thresholds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be honest about it: I teach advertising on Google, not YouTube monetization. So the thresholds and payout rules below come from YouTube’s help pages, with dates. AdSense on a website, rather than a channel, has its own article: Google AdSense: what it pays to site owners<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Channel requirements and thresholds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Requirements first, numbers second. According to YouTube’s help page on the Partner Program<\/a>, you must follow the channel monetization policies, live in a country or region where the program operates, have no active Community Guidelines strikes, turn on 2-Step Verification and have one active AdSense for YouTube account. Then the channel must reach the thresholds. Here they are as of October 2026, and after the changes Google announced for February 1, 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Format<\/th>Now<\/th>From February 1, 2027, for new creators<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Long-form video<\/td>1,000 subscribers and 4,000 qualified watch hours in 12 months<\/td>1,000 subscribers and 8,000 qualified watch hours in 365 days<\/td><\/tr>
Shorts<\/td>1,000 subscribers and 10 million qualified views in 90 days<\/td>1,000 subscribers and 20 million qualified views in 90 days<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Watch hours from Shorts in the Shorts feed do not count toward the 4,000 hours. If you are already in the program, the threshold update<\/a> does not affect you. In some countries an expanded program has lower thresholds, from 500 subscribers, but it gives early access to shopping and fan funding, not a share of ad revenue. The country list is in YouTube’s help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. When you reach the thresholds, open YouTube Studio, go to the Earn tab and click Apply now.<\/li>\n
  2. Accept the base terms and create an AdSense for YouTube account, or link an existing one. You can create it only inside YouTube Studio.<\/li>\n
  3. Wait for the review. It usually takes about a month.<\/li>\n
  4. Next Google asks for your tax information, and when your earnings reach the threshold amounts, you verify your identity and address and choose a payment method.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    How much and when you are paid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    How much Google will pay for your views, the help pages do not say, and I will not guess. Here is what is known. Earnings accumulate over a month, and the finalized total lands in your YouTube payments account balance between the 7th and 12th of the following month. Payment is issued between the 21st and 26th if your balance meets the threshold and there are no payment holds. The threshold depends on your reporting currency: $100 in US dollars, \u00a360 in pounds. If your balance on the 20th is below the threshold, it rolls over to the next month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The monthly total can be adjusted for invalid traffic, copyright disputes and taxes. Do provide your tax information: if you do not, Google may deduct up to 24% of your total earnings worldwide. I do not give tax advice, so read YouTube’s help page on payout thresholds for the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Typical owner mistakes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n