YouTube Membership
Revenue Estimator

YouTube keeps 30% of all membership revenue. You receive 70%. For a $4.99 membership, you earn $3.49/member/month. This 30% covers all credit card processing fees, refunds, and platform costs - a better deal than most payment processors.

Requirements: 1) 1,000+ subscribers (was 30,000 before 2023), 2) Be in YouTube Partner Program, 3) Be 18+ years old, 4) Channel not set as "made for kids," 5) No active Community Guidelines strikes, 6) Live in an eligible country (75+ countries). Gaming channels had separate requirements before but now it's unified.

Start with 2-3 tiers. A proven setup: $2.99 (entry - badges/emojis), $4.99 (main value - exclusive content), $9.99 (premium - all perks + extras). You can have up to 5 tiers, but too many options can overwhelm viewers. Add more tiers as your community grows and demands it.

Typical ranges: 0.5-1% for casual audiences, 1-2% for engaged communities, 2-3% for very loyal fanbases, 3-5%+ for exceptional community-focused channels. A 50,000 sub channel might have 250-2,500 members. Conversion depends heavily on niche, engagement, and perk quality.

Membership revenue is combined with your other YouTube earnings (ads, Super Chat) and paid monthly via AdSense. Payment is typically around the 21st-26th of the following month. You must reach the $100 minimum threshold ($10 in some countries). There's no separate payment stream for memberships.

Yes, members can cancel anytime and keep access until their billing period ends. Typical monthly churn is 5-15% for most channels. High churn means your perks aren't providing enough ongoing value. To reduce churn: regular exclusive content, engage with members, celebrate loyalty milestones, and ask for feedback.

Top-performing perks ranked: 1) Exclusive videos (behind-the-scenes, extended cuts, member-only content), 2) Early access to videos (24-48 hours before public), 3) Members-only live streams/Q&As, 4) Custom badges that evolve over time, 5) Custom emojis, 6) Shoutouts in videos, 7) Discord access. Badges and emojis alone rarely justify the price - exclusive content is key.

Effective non-pushy tactics: 1) Brief mention at video end ("become a member for exclusive behind-the-scenes"), 2) Show member perks naturally in content, 3) Thank members by name, 4) Use end screens linking to membership, 5) Pin a comment about membership benefits, 6) Occasional dedicated "what you get as a member" video. Don't ask every video - once per 3-5 videos is enough.

Consider offering both for different audiences. YouTube Memberships: Easier discovery (Join button on your channel), integrated with YouTube, no extra account needed, YouTube handles payments. Patreon: More perk flexibility, better community tools, 5-12% fees vs YouTube's 30%. Many creators offer both with different perk levels.

Subscribing is free - viewers click "Subscribe" to see your videos in their feed. Membership is a paid monthly fee ($0.99-$99.99) for exclusive perks. All subscribers CAN become members, but most won't. Think of subscribers as your free audience, members as your paying superfans.

Yes! Go to YouTube Studio > Analytics > Revenue > Memberships. You can see which videos drove new member signups, member demographics, retention rates, and revenue by tier. Use this data to understand what content resonates with potential members and create more of it.

Members get badges that display next to their name in comments and chat. Badges evolve over time: new member (0-1 month), 1 month, 2 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years. You design these badges - they're a visual status symbol that rewards loyalty and encourages members to stay subscribed longer to "level up."

You cannot prevent specific people from joining memberships. However, you can remove members after they join (they'll be refunded for the remaining period). Problematic members can also be hidden from chat without removing their membership. For serious violations, report to YouTube.

No. Channels set as "made for kids" (COPPA compliance) cannot have memberships enabled. This is because children can't enter payment agreements. If only some of your videos are for kids, you may still qualify for memberships on non-kids content, but YouTube evaluates channels holistically.

YouTube handles all refund requests and chargebacks as part of their 30% cut. If a member requests a refund or does a chargeback, the amount is deducted from your future earnings. This is rare but does happen. YouTube protects creators from most payment issues, unlike direct payment systems.

If your channel loses monetization (strikes, TOS violations), memberships are paused. Existing members aren't charged during the pause. If monetization is restored, memberships resume. If permanently demonetized, memberships are cancelled and members stop being charged. Your member data is preserved for 90 days.