YouTube Shorts Monetization in 2025: What Creators Need to Know

Welcome, creators! If you’ve been making YouTube Shorts, you’ve probably heard that the monetization rules have changed in the past couple of years. In 2025, the way you make money on Shorts looks very different from the old “Shorts Fund” days. This blog post will break down the new updates – from eligibility requirements and revenue share to how payouts work – all in a casual, easy-to-follow way. We’ll even compare the new vs. old policies (with a handy chart) and highlight key differences that U.S.-based creators should keep in mind. Let’s dive in!

What’s New for YouTube Shorts Monetization (2025 Updates)

Shorts are now part of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP):

Instead of one-off bonus payouts, Shorts creators now earn through ad revenue sharing. Starting February 2023, YouTube began sharing ad money from Shorts with creators. Creators keep 45% of the allocated ad revenue from their Shorts views (YouTube retains 55%)  – this is actually the reverse of the 55/45 split on long videos (the difference helps cover music licensing costs for Shorts). In short, YouTube only succeeds when creators do, and it’s now sharing the pie on Shorts content.

New eligibility thresholds (YPP access got easier): 

You still need to join YPP to monetize Shorts, but the bar to entry was lowered. As of mid-2023, creators can enter YPP with 500 subscribers (instead of 1,000) plus a modest amount of recent activity​ Specifically, you need 500 subs, 3 valid public video uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 hours of watch time in the past year or 3 million Shorts views in the last 90 days​ Hitting this “lower tier” lets you start monetizing with features like Super Thanks, channel memberships, etc., sooner than before. (More details on this below.) However – to start earning ad revenue from Shorts, you eventually still need to reach the traditional YPP requirements (1,000 subs + the higher view thresholds)​. The good news is that Shorts views now count toward those requirements, giving purely Shorts-focused channels a path into the program​.

No more Shorts Fund bonuses: 

If you remember the old Shorts Fund from 2021–2022, that has been phased out. Back then, YouTube set aside a $100M fund to pay bonuses (ranging $100–$10,000 per month) to top Shorts creators. In 2023 YouTube merged Shorts into YPP’s revenue-sharing model, meaning ad revenue sharing completely replaced the bonus fund. This is a big shift – earnings are now directly tied to your Shorts’ performance with ads, rather than YouTube picking top creators for bonuses.

New monetization features for Shorts: 

Beyond ads, YouTube introduced more ways to earn from short content. For example, Shorts now support Super Thanks (viewers can tip on a Short)​, and eligible creators can tag products in Shorts for affiliate revenue (YouTube’s shopping affiliate program, launched in 2023 for U.S. creators)​. These aren’t rules changes per se, but they’re part of the 2025 monetization landscape – diversifying how you can earn on Shorts. Short-form creators who got into YPP via Shorts are also branching out: over 80% of those who joined through the Shorts criteria are now taking advantage of other monetization features (long-form ads, memberships, etc.)​.

Those are the big-picture updates. Now let’s break things down in detail:

Eligibility Requirements for Shorts Monetization (YPP in 2025)

To earn money from Shorts ads, you must be part of the YouTube Partner Program. This means meeting certain subscriber and view count milestones and adhering to YouTube’s policies. Here’s how it works now:

Standard YPP requirement (Full access): 

To unlock ad revenue sharing on your channel (Shorts and long-form), you need 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 hours of watch time in the past 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the past 90 days. Once you hit this and your application is approved, you’re in! These thresholds haven’t changed since Shorts monetization launched – they simply provided an alternative Shorts-based path alongside the 4k hours path. Note that the 10M Shorts views must be public, legitimate views; YouTube will only count “engaged” views that follow the rules (no spam or policy-violating content). You also still need to meet basics like being in an eligible country and having no Community Guidelines strikes, etc., just as any YPP applicant would.

Expanded YPP (early access with lower threshold): 

Here’s the exciting part for smaller creators – in 2023 YouTube introduced an earlier entry point to YPP. Once you have 500 subscribers, at least 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 watch hours (past year) or 3 million Shorts views (past 90 days), you can apply to YPP​. Hitting this threshold unlocks monetization features like: channel memberships, Super Chat/Stickers, Super Thanks, and shopping integrations​. Essentially, YouTube halved the sub count and reduced watch time needed so that up-and-coming creators can start earning sooner​. However, note that at this “500 sub” level, you do not yet get ad revenue sharing – ads on your videos (including Shorts) won’t pay you until you reach the full 1,000 sub + 4k/10M threshold​. Think of the 500-subs tier as “YPP Lite”: you can earn from fan funding (viewers’ payments) but not from YouTube’s ad dollars until you grow a bit more. The nice thing is, once you do grow to 1,000 subs and hit 4k hours/10M Shorts views, YouTube will automatically grant you the full benefits (you won’t have to reapply or anything)​.

Accept the Shorts Monetization Module: 

Being in YPP alone isn’t enough – to earn from Shorts ads, you must opt-in to the Shorts monetization terms in your YouTube Studio. YouTube introduced a modular contract system: there’s a base agreement for YPP, then separate modules for things like Watch-Page ads (long-form) and Shorts ads So make sure you go into the Earn > Shorts section in your creator studio and accept the Shorts Monetization Module (this gives YouTube the go-ahead to include your Shorts in ad revenue sharing). Once you do, all your Shorts’ eligible views from that day forward will start earning. If you never accept, any ad revenue from your Shorts just does not get shared with you (it goes to music licensing or YouTube instead). The module became available on Feb 1, 2023, and existing partners had until July 2023 to accept the new terms or risk losing monetization.

Policy compliance and content quality: 

YouTube will review your channel when you apply to YPP to ensure you follow the YouTube channel monetization policies (no spam, hate, reuse without commentary, etc.). This applies equally to Shorts creators. Notably, reused content is a big no-no now – channels that just re-upload clips from TV shows, other creators, or compilations with no original commentary will be rejected from monetization. In the context of Shorts, avoid simply ripping popular TikToks or memes and posting them as your own. Make sure you add original value. Also, advertiser-friendly guidelines matter: if a particular Short has inappropriate content (violence, adult themes, etc.), it may not earn ad revenue even if your channel is monetized (it could get a yellow $ icon, meaning limited or no ads). For Shorts, only views that occurred on “green-lighted” content count toward revenue. The takeaway: keep your Shorts clean and original to maximize earnings.

Now that you know who can monetize, let’s talk about how the money is calculated once you’re in.

How Shorts Ad Revenue Sharing & Payouts Work

So you’re in YPP and you’ve enabled Shorts monetization – how exactly do you get paid for a Short’s views? The process is a bit different (and more complex) than regular YouTube videos. Here’s a breakdown:

(YouTube Shorts monetization policies – YouTube Help) Figure: YouTube’s official diagram explaining how ad revenue flows for Shorts. Ads shown between Shorts are pooled, then allocated to creators based on views, and finally split (45% to the creator).

**Ads run in the Shorts feed – revenue goes into a “pool”: When viewers scroll through Shorts, ads appear between videos (not on your specific Short as pre-rolls, which wouldn’t really work in a feed). All the ad revenue generated from those between-Shorts ads is aggregated. Think of it as one big pot of “Shorts ad money” per country/region. Each month, YouTube adds up all the revenue from Shorts feed ads. For example, if in July the ads shown between Shorts in the U.S. generated $100,000, that $100k is the U.S. Shorts ads pool for the month. (There’s a separate pool for each country’s audience, because ad rates vary by country.)

Cut for music licensing (if applicable):

Many Shorts use music, and YouTube has to pay music rights-holders. Rather than dealing with music on each video individually, YouTube handles it at the pool level. Here’s how it works: If a Shorts video uses no music, 100% of its ad revenue contributions stay in the creator pool. If a Short uses 1 music track, YouTube allocates 50% of that Short’s ad revenue to the creator pool, and the other 50% goes to music rights-holders. If a Short uses 2 tracks, only 33% of its revenue goes into the pool (since the other 67% covers the two music licenses). This is done for all monetized Shorts. The result: the overall Creator Pool (what’s left for creators) is the total ad money minus whatever percentage was needed to pay for music across all Shorts. In our example, if out of $100k U.S. ad revenue, suppose 20% of Shorts used a music track, then about $10k would be used for music licenses and $90k goes into the U.S. creators’ pool. (Your own use of music doesn’t penalize you specifically beyond that split; it just reduces the total pool slightly. In fact, YouTube confirms that using music does not affect your personal allocation – it only affects the size of the shared pool, and all creators still get their proportional share.)

Allocate pool to creators by view share:

Now YouTube takes that Creator Pool and divvies it up among all monetizing Shorts creators based on how many views each contributed. Importantly, they count only eligible engaged views – meaning views on your Shorts that are legitimate and ad-friendly as discussed earlier. If your Shorts got a lot of views but many were from reuploads or non-monetizable content, those wouldn’t count. But assuming your views are all legit, it works like this: YouTube calculates the percentage of total Shorts views (in that country) each creator got, and assigns them the same percentage of the ad pool. For example, if in July your Shorts made up 5% of all eligible Shorts views by monetized creators in the U.S., you’d be allocated 5% of that $90k pool we mentioned, which is $4,500. If another creator got 1%, they’d get $900, and so on. This allocation is done per country – so you’ll actually have bits of earnings from each region where people watched your Shorts. (In YouTube Analytics you can see your Shorts ad revenue broken down by country.) Adding all those allocations together gives your gross revenue before the final cut.

Apply the 45%/55% split:

Finally, YouTube applies the standard 45% revenue share to creators. This means you, the creator, receive 45% of the amount allocated to you, and YouTube retains the other 55%. Continuing the example: your $4,500 allocation becomes $2,025 paid to you (45% of 4,500) and the remaining $2,475 is kept by YouTube. That $2,025 is your earnings from Shorts ads in the U.S. for the month. The same calculation would be done for your other country allocations. All together, that sum is what gets reported as your Shorts ad revenue for the month in AdSense. (If you’re wondering “wait, why do I only get 45% at the end, when long-form gives me 55%?”, remember that earlier step where music took a cut – effectively, part of YouTube’s 55% is covering music rights. YouTube confirmed that 45% to creators was chosen because of the “cost of music licensing” on Shorts. So if you don’t use any music, YouTube still takes 55%, but presumably uses a chunk of that to license all the other Shorts that did use music.)

Don’t forget YouTube Premium viewers:

What about views from YouTube Premium subscribers (who don’t see ads)? Good news – those count too. YouTube takes a portion of Premium subscription revenue and treats it similar to ad revenue. In fact, 45% of the net Premium revenue allocated for Shorts viewing goes to creators. The way it’s calculated: YouTube figures out how much of a Premium user’s fee should be attributed to watching Shorts, puts that into the creator pool, and splits it just like ad money. So if a Premium user in Germany watched a bunch of your Shorts, you’d get a cut of their subscription fee based on watch time. This gets added into your AdSense as “YouTube Premium revenue.” It’s all seamless on the backend; just know that even ad-free views can earn you something.

(One more nuance: if your Short remixes someone else’s content (like using another creator’s clip via the Remix feature), YouTube may split the views between you and the original creator for payout purposes. The policies around remixed/third-party content are evolving, but currently only music triggers a revenue split. Other types of third-party content in Shorts aren’t monetized to the third party yet – though YouTube hints this may expand in the future. So, focus on original Shorts content for now to keep things simple.)

New vs. Old Monetization Policies: Shorts Fund vs Revenue Sharing (Comparison Chart)

Table: A comparison of the previous Shorts Fund model vs. the current ad revenue sharing model for Shorts. The new system is clearly more complex, but also more scalable and tied to YouTube’s core ad business. For creators, the shift means your Shorts income is now more predictable month-to-month (even if small at first), rather than hoping for a surprise bonus email from YouTube. It also means more creators can earn something – over 750,000 channels earned from Shorts in the first year of rev sharing, whereas the old fund was limited to a smaller number of bonus recipients.

Key Takeaways for U.S.-Based Creators

If you’re a creator in the United States, you’re in the platform’s largest market – which brings some benefits and considerations under these new rules:

Easier entry, earlier monetization:

The 2023 updates lowered the bar to start monetizing, and U.S. creators were among the first to enjoy this. With just 500 subs and a decent Shorts following, you can join YPP and begin earning from fan funding (Super Thanks on Shorts, etc.) without waiting to hit the old 1k/4k mark. This is great for the many U.S. creators who produce Shorts content; you can start supporting your channel financially at an earlier stage. By the time you reach 1,000 subs, you’ll likely already be familiar with monetization features, and turning on Shorts ad revenue will be a natural next step.

High ad demand = higher potential RPM:

U.S. audiences are highly sought by advertisers. As noted, nearly 20% of Shorts traffic is U.S.-based, and advertisers spend heavily to reach this audience. The result is generally higher CPMs (cost per mille, or per thousand views) for U.S. viewership. So, if your Shorts primarily attract U.S. viewers, the ad revenue share you get per view may be higher than if your views came mostly from regions with lower advertising spend. In practice, U.S. creators often see better monetization performance due to this. Of course, Shorts monetization is still developing – even U.S. CPMs for Shorts are much lower than for long videos (as of 2024, Shorts RPMs are only a few cents per thousand views for many creators). But as the Shorts ad platform grows, being in a top ad market like the U.S. positions you well to benefit from any increases.

More monetization avenues (beyond ads):

U.S. creators have access to nearly the full suite of YouTube’s monetization tools, which you can leverage alongside Shorts. For example, the Shopping affiliate program that lets you earn commissions from product tags in your content is currently available to U.S. YPP creators (with 20k+ subs)​ – meaning if you do brand-friendly Shorts (like quick product reviews or showcases), you could tag products and earn extra income on sales. U.S. audiences are also active in using Super Chat and memberships, so if you live stream or have a community, those features can supplement your Shorts earnings. Essentially, the new Shorts monetization rules integrate you into an ecosystem where you can diversify income. Many U.S. Shorts creators use Shorts as a gateway to grow their channel, then monetize through longer content, merch, live streams, etc. (Shorts can act as an advertisement for your brand that pays you a bit while bringing in new subscribers​ – a strategy some find more valuable than the ad revenue itself).

Tax considerations:

 (Not a fun topic, but important!) If you’re U.S.-based, remember that your YouTube earnings are taxable income. Google will issue a 1099 form if you earn over the threshold, and you’ll need to report AdSense revenue, including Shorts earnings, on your taxes. The monetization updates don’t change this, but since more creators are now earning money (even small amounts from Shorts), be aware of your tax obligations. Set aside a portion of your earnings for taxes, and make sure you’ve submitted your tax info in AdSense to avoid backup withholding. International creators had to submit tax info too (with possible U.S. withholding on U.S. viewer revenue), but as a U.S. creator you’ll handle it in your normal returns.

In summary, for U.S. creators, the new Shorts monetization rules open up earlier opportunities to earn and integrate Shorts into a broader channel revenue strategy. The changes may require adjusting how you approach content (focusing on original, high-engagement Shorts), but they ultimately provide a more sustainable and scalable way to make money on YouTube. Many creators have already taken advantage: over a quarter of all YouTube partners now earn from Shorts in some form​ If you’re making Shorts in 2025, make sure you’re enrolled in these programs so you’re not leaving money on the table!

Conclusion to YouTube Shorts Monetization: New Payout Rules for 2025

YouTube Shorts have evolved from an experimental feature to a core part of the platform’s ecosystem – and the monetization system has evolved with it. In 2025, earning from Shorts is all about being part of the YouTube Partner Program and sharing in the ad (and Premium) revenue that your content generates. The new monetization model rewards sustained creativity and engagement: the more people watch and enjoy your Shorts (and the more you follow YouTube’s content guidelines), the more you stand to earn month after month. This is a big change from the old lump-sum bonus days – arguably for the better, as it aligns Shorts with YouTube’s longstanding “we succeed when you succeed” approach​.

For creators, the key things to remember are: hit those eligibility milestones, focus on original content that advertisers are comfortable with, and take advantage of the various ways to monetize (not just ads). Keep an eye on your Shorts analytics to understand where your views (and revenue) are coming from. For example, if you notice a lot of your Shorts views are coming from the U.S. (which is likely, given the US’s ~19% share of Shorts traffic) that’s a good sign for stronger ad revenue; if you’re reaching mostly other regions, you might strategize how to broaden your appeal or supplement with other revenue streams.

Above all, stay up-to-date with YouTube’s announcements. The platform is continuously tweaking things – perhaps by the end of 2025 there will be further improvements or changes to Shorts monetization (YouTube has hinted at exploring monetization for remixed content, for example). By reading official sources (YouTube’s blog, support center, Creator Insider videos)​– the same kinds of sources we cited in this post – you can ensure you’re on top of any new opportunities or requirements.

Now, armed with this knowledge, go forth and create awesome Shorts! The monetization landscape may have new rules, but the timeless advice remains: focus on content that resonates. If you do that, the views (and revenue) will follow. Happy creating, and may your Shorts reach millions – of views and maybe even dollars – in 2025!