How to monetize YouTube: requirements, Shorts, and the rules that matter in 2026

If you want to know how to monetize YouTube, the answer is the YouTube Partner Program: you reach a subscriber and views threshold, apply in YouTube Studio, and get access to ads, fan funding, and more. Hook Studio is an AI reel maker that makes short vertical videos for creators, and those 9:16 videos work as YouTube Shorts. This guide has the numbers as of October 26, 2026, taken from YouTube's own Help Center.

To monetize YouTube you join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), and there are two entry levels: 500 subscribers for fan funding and Shopping, and 1,000 subscribers for ad revenue. Each level has a long-form route (watch hours) and a Shorts route (Shorts views). You only need one route.

Both levels also ask for the same basics: no active Community Guidelines strikes, 2-Step Verification on your Google Account, an AdSense account linked to the channel, and that you follow the channel monetization policies. YouTube says a review typically takes about a month. These numbers come from YouTube's Help Center pages on the Partner Program and the expanded program. Check your own numbers in YouTube Studio, under Earn.

A change coming on February 1, 2027

YouTube announced in August 2026 that new applicants for ad revenue will need 8,000 watch hours in the last 365 days or 20 million Shorts views in the last 90 days, up from 4,000 and 10 million. The 500-subscriber level does not change, and YouTube says the update does not affect creators already in the program. If you are close to the current bar, apply before the date. Read the official announcement for the full detail.

Yes. Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru are all on YouTube's list of countries where the Partner Program is available, and Mexico is in the list for the expanded 500-subscriber level too. Other Latin American countries appear on the lists as well, but the lists change, so confirm yours in YouTube Studio and on the availability page.

Shorts earn from the ad revenue pooled from ads shown between Shorts in the Shorts feed, and you need the ad-revenue level of the program plus the Shorts Monetization Module accepted in YouTube Studio. YouTube splits the pool by each creator's share of engaged views, and creators keep 45% of their allocated revenue, with or without music.

• Only views after you accept the module count. Accept it as soon as you are in.
• Music changes the split. A Short without music sends all its allocated revenue to the creator pool. Licensed music sends part of it to the music rights holders.
• From February 1, 2027, a channel needs 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days to earn from Shorts in a given month. Below that it stays in the program and keeps earning from long-form videos.
• There is no fixed rate per 1,000 views. YouTube does not publish one. It depends on that month's ad revenue, your viewers' countries, and music use. Your own YouTube Analytics is the only reliable number.

Both entry levels count subscribers, so the work is to get views and turn some viewers into subscribers. Shorts are the fastest way to get views. They do not turn viewers into subscribers by themselves, so give each one a reason to follow: a series, a topic, or a promise like "one trick a day for editing on your phone".

• One topic. Viewers subscribe when the next video is obviously more of the same.
• A strong first 2 seconds. Shorts are swiped, so the hook decides the view.
• A line that asks for the follow. Say what they get if they subscribe, not just "subscribe".
• Volume. You cannot know which Short will work, so more tries means more information.

Hook Studio is an AI reel maker that makes short vertical videos for creators, and a 9:16 reel works as a YouTube Short too. You download it and upload it to YouTube yourself. Hook Studio does not post to YouTube.

What it solves is the volume problem. The AI video is only the hook, the first 4 to 6 seconds. The rest is on-screen text, real screens, and an end card, which cost a few credits to render. A 5 second hook made from a still (11 credits) and a Kling 3 clip (96) costs 107 credits, about $0.93 on the Concept plan. Ten different hooks are about 1,070 credits, around $9, plus the render and the realism checks.

You see the price of each job before it runs, and a failed clip refunds its credits. If you want to see the whole process, read how to make a reel or try the AI reel maker.

YouTube monetizes original, non-repetitive content, and AI is allowed as a tool. Its monetization policies on inauthentic content say that mass-produced or repetitive videos, and channels that reuse other people's content without real changes, are not eligible. This applies even with the original creator's permission.

• Reused content: downloading a video from another site or account and posting it without meaningful changes does not qualify. Post your own videos.
• Templated and mass-produced videos: the same storyline and the same outcome over and over, or slideshows with little narrative, are not eligible. A shared format is fine when each video has its own idea.
• AI as a tool: using AI to write a script or make a background visual is allowed when the final video shows your own creative vision. Generic AI content made from unoriginal templates is not.
• AI disclosure: YouTube asks you to disclose realistic altered or synthetic content, for example a realistic scene that never happened or a real person made to say something they did not. You do it in YouTube Studio when you upload, under the AI use setting. Clearly unrealistic content and AI help with scripts, captions or thumbnails do not need it.

So make every video different, and do not repost. Every Hook Studio download reminds you to turn on the AI label, and it never uses a real person's face without their consent. Policies change, so read the monetization policies and the altered content disclosure rules before you apply.

Pick one topic, post Shorts on a steady schedule, and check your numbers in YouTube Studio against the table above. Nobody can promise you a number of views or an income, and neither do we. If you also post elsewhere, see how it works on TikTok and Facebook.