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Mrbeast highest paid youtubers

10 Highest-Paid YouTubers On the Planet Right Now


The highest-paid YouTubers in the world are making upwards of $30 million per year and they’re locked into a tight battle for content-creating supremacy with the top earners on OnlyFans. However, you’re probably wondering just how much the most popular YouTube channels such as MrBeast, PewDiePie, and Jake Paul are making too. Well, the highest-earning YouTube channel is T-Series, raking in up to $479 million per year, while the highest-paid YouTuber is MrBeast who makes up to $101.8 million per year on the platform. Here’s how much he and his millionaire pals made last year, according to Social Blade.

Highest Paid YouTubers at a Glance

Highlights from our list include the following:

  • Highest paid YouTube channel: T-Series
  • Highest paid creator on YouTube: MrBeast

Now we’ve had a look at the top earners, let’s check out the complete list.

1. T-Series – $29.9-479 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $2.5-39.9 million

Founded by a former street vendor (who passed away in 1997), T-Series is now the largest record label in all of India with over 30 channels across YouTube alone. Lavish music videos are the name of the game, some of which come straight out of the latest Bollywood blockbusters. Their main channel holds the record for the most YouTube subscribers by a sizeable margin and clocks in an average of 95 million-plus views per day. When the channel surpassed PewDiePie back in 2019, he released the diss tracks B*tch Lasagna and Congratulations as tongue-in-cheek rebuttals.

Number of subscribers: 259M+
Video views: 246,978,536,116+

2. Cocomelon – $6.9-111.1 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $578.8K-9.3 million

Considering the age in which we live (where computer screens practically double as mobile babysitters), it’s no surprise that Cocomelon rakes in staggering viewership numbers. The YouTube channel has been steadily rising since 2006 when it launched under the name “checkgate” as a source of free education and entertainment. While the content is still free of charge, don’t confuse parent company Moonbug—which purchased the channel back in 2020—for a non-profit. The channel’s signature calling card remains 3D animation music videos and short films featuring beloved characters and classic children’s songs, with a reach that extends around the entire globe.

Number of subscribers: 171M+
Video views: 177,434,874,547+

3. Vlad and Niki – $6.9-109.8 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $571.6K-9.1 million

Vlad and Niki refer to American-born Russian siblings Vladislav Vashketov and Nikita Vashketov, who engage with a global audience of young subscribers by way of vlogs, animation, music videos, and other “kidfluencer” content. The brothers make up part of a larger family that now includes two additional siblings as well as their parents, Sergey and Victoria, who operate 21 YouTube channels in 18 languages overall. The main channel launched in 2018 and was reportedly earning Vlad and Niki an estimated USD$312,000 per video by the following year. Combine that with merchandising and other income streams and you’re looking at some serious bank!

Number of subscribers: 111M+
Video views: 85,409,646,457+

4. MrBeast – $6.4-101.8 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $530.2K-8.5 million

No one has mastered the art of YouTube quite like MrBeast (real name James Stephen Donaldson), who claims to put the bulk of his revenue directly back into his assorted business ventures. One might wonder if this guy ever sleeps based on his consistent ability to churn out sensational content with insanely high production value. Most of his videos entail an epic challenge or philanthropic cause (or both) such as when he and his cohorts built 100 wells in Africa or when he hosted a real-life Squid Games, to name just two amongst a legion of examples. He’s tirelessly active outside of YouTube as well, founding businesses like Feastables and overseeing a variety of fundraising campaigns. We ask again: when does this guy sleep?! He’s bringing in up to USD$101.8 Million per year depending on CPMs.

Number of subscribers: 239M+
Video views: 43,095,195,042+

5. SET India – $5.7-90.4 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $471K-7.5 million

India’s current population is over 1.4 billion, giving YouTube channels like this one an edge when it comes to viewership numbers and adjoining revenue. SET stands for Sony Entertainment Television and the channel follows suit, featuring both viral clips and full episodes of popular TV programs like Indian Idol and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (India’s version of Dancing With the Stars), amongst others. This YouTube channel is bringing in up to $90.4 million per year depending on CPMs.

Number of subscribers: 168M+
Video views: 158,772,412,383+

6. Zee TV – $4.7-76 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $395.7K-6.3 million

India’s oldest privately-owned TV channel (and one of the first Hindi-language channels to air in Europe and the USA) is also one of YouTube’s foremost destinations for clips, highlights, full episodes, music, featurettes, and more. The subscriber count took off in 2019 when it rocketed from 23 million to 39 million in a single year. Zee TV’s main YouTube channel continues to rack up billions upon billions of views on an annual basis and helps them bring in up to USD$76 Million per year depending on CPMs.

Number of subscribers: 77.6M+
Video views: 63,964,275,445+

7. Kids Diana Show – $3.9-62.4 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $325.1K-5.2 million

Ukrainian-American “kidfluencer” Eva Diana Kidisyuk and her family host this ultra-popular YouTube channel, which features music videos, role-playing, unboxing, vlogs, and more. Diana made her internet debut back in 2015 and hit one million subscribers in less than a year. It’s been an epic climb ever since, complete with merchandising, mobile gaming, and a spin-off media franchise called Love, Diana — The Princess Of Play.

Number of subscribers: 119M+
Video views: 100,163,171,506+

8. Like Nastya – $3.4-54.8 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $285.5K-4.6 million

Anastasia Sergeyevna Radzinskaya—aka Nastya—was incorrectly diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, the doctors worried that she might never speak. Her insanely successful YouTube channel certainly proves otherwise as it finds the 10-year-old Russian-American speaking fervidly to an audience of over 113 million subscribers. She was named by Forbes as “one of the world’s fastest-growing creators” back in 2019, in part because her videos were available in 7 (now 11) languages. Here we are five years later and Nastya is still killing it on all fronts, welcoming viewers into her world on YouTube and signing multi-channel deals behind the scenes.

Number of subscribers: 113M+
Video views: 97,720,062,344+

9. WWE – $2.7-43.6 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $227.3K-3.6 million

We won’t go into the recent controversies surrounding Vince McMahon but we will say that the media empire he helped build is as popular as ever before, both on TV and the internet. Not only does WWE’s YouTube channel keep the content coming with the latest highlights, showdowns, reports, and interviews, but it also features classic wrestling matches and moments from back in the day. Are you not entertained?! This helps them bring in up to USD$43.6 million per year depending on CPMs paid by the platform.

Number of subscribers: 99.5M+
Video views: 81,713,026,607+

10. Zee Music Company – $2.4-37.9 Million

Estimated monthly earnings: $197.5K-3.2 million

Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you feature music videos from India’s biggest superstars and hottest Bollywood movies, you will get views. Lots and lots of views. So goes the Zee Music Company YouTube channel, which does exactly that to the tune of 104 million subscribers and counting. It falls under the umbrella of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, one of India’s largest media conglomerates, and helps them rake in up to USD$37.9 million per year depending on CPMs.

Number of subscribers: 104M+
Video views: 63,964,275,445+

How We Put Together This List and Why You Should Trust It

The income of the highest-paid YouTube creators and channels fluctuates based on their video’s CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions). This varies based on bidding price, ad type, and consistency. More importantly, YouTube takes 45% of the CPM so you only received 55% of your total payout. YouTube channels like those listed above may not be the most popular on the platform, but due to the nature of their content, they get paid higher CPMs and make more money.

For this list, we used the YouTube-certified website Social Blade to gather information from the highest subscribed channels and then ranked them based on their highest estimated yearly income on YouTube only. Of course, many traditional ‘YouTubers’ are getting paid more than $100 Million per year, but that’s through off-platform avenues like merch and advertising.

Mrbeast 1
MrBeast is the highest-paid ‘creator’ on YouTube at up to US$101.8 Million per year, although he doesn’t have the highest earning channel | Image: Supplied

What Happened to Traditional YouTube Content Creators?

With the rise in social media, traditional ‘YouTubers’ are making the majority of their income off the platform by launching their merchandise lines, apps, subscription services, or in the case of Jake Paul, becoming a professional boxer. Here’s a list of former YouTubers and their estimated net worths:

  • Jake Paul (est. $80 million): Few YouTube personalities have branched out beyond the platform’s perimeters quite like Jake Paul, who continues to dominate headlines. Whilst still a content creator, his recent pivot toward professional boxing has sent his overall net worth soaring ever higher. Forbes reports that it’s boxing—and not YouTube—that accounts for the bulk of his current fortune. Anyone who thought this dude and his brother were a flash in the pan thought wrong, to say the least.
  • Markiplier (est. $40 million): Powered by his Unus Annus series and adjoining merch sales, this social media stalwart nearly doubled his annual earnings from 2020. He made an early name for himself as an avid gamer and continues to explore peripheral opportunities such as podcasting and television. According to recent estimates, Markiplier’s channel has racked up over 17.3 billion total video views as of this year. It should come as a surprise to no one that he remains one of the richest YouTubers.
  • Unspeakable (est. $28.5 million): This energetic social media star debuts on the list of highest-paid YouTubers with his respectable earnings of USD$28.5 million in 2021. A master of Minecraft (amongst other things), Nathan Graham—aka Unspeakable—is also no stranger to wild and outrageous stunts. He recently sold his back catalogue to Spotter for a lump sum and that helps explain the explosion of income.
  • Ryan’s World (est. $100 million): Last year’s biggest earner, this child entertainer (real name Ryan Kaji) continues to make serious bank after six years on YouTube. Now 10 years old, he’s pursuing various opportunities as he outgrows his initial core audience, such as licensing out the animated co-stars that appear in his videos. He’s also a major brand name at places like Target and Walmart, where you can find his merch on the shelves. With a huge net worth, Ryan’s World never has to worry about going broke, but that won’t stop his guardians and their business partners from exploring every option.
  • Dude Perfect (est. $50 million): This Texas-based comedy troupe rips pages out of the “Jackass” playbook by performing the kind of tricks and stunts that you simply shouldn’t try at home. Then again, they recently published a how-to book—complete with step-by-step instructions—so maybe you should try these tricks at home (their suggestion, not ours). They also embark on the occasional live tour across America, which presumably adds a zero or two to the bottom line. Pair that with merch and other revenue streams and you’re looking at some of the richest YouTubers in existence.
  • Logan Paul (est. $150 million): Even in today’s ultra-fast climate of content, viewers still remember the whole “suicide forest” scandal back in 2017. Despite that and other controversies, Logan Paul and brother Jake continue to roll with the punches…literally. Now a professional boxer, Logan squared off against Floyd Mayweather in a widely publicised exhibition match. He also hosts a hugely popular podcast, amongst other things. And so the unstoppable Paul train keeps chugging along.
  • PrestonPlayz (est. $25 million): If YouTube teaches us one thing, it’s that it pays to play. So goes the story of PrestonPlayz (real name Preston Arsement), who’s turned his impressive gaming and pranking skills into a thriving empire of content and merch. His videos span multiple channels and game titles but primarily focus on Minecraft. Whilst he didn’t earn as much in 2021 as he did the year before, he still makes the list of top 10 highest-paid YouTubers.

How Creators Make Money on YouTube

There are all kinds of ways to get paid through YouTube. Indeed, even those who rake in thousands upon thousands of hits aren’t necessarily earning bank. To be a true success story, one has to think outside the box by exploring a wide range of peripheral factors.

Hence, asking “How much does YouTube pay” is in and of itself a loaded question because there is no one answer. Popular users like Ryan’s World (net worth estimated at US$100 million) synergise a variety of revenue streams through their channels and followings.

Without turning this into a how-to guide, here are some ways you can get paid on YouTube:

  • Sell merch
  • Join the YouTube Partner Program
  • Use your influence to partner with brands and sponsors
  • Crowdfund
  • License your content for use outside of YouTube
  • Become an affiliate marketer
  • Explore peripheral opportunities on other mediums or in other industries
  • Sell your back catalogue to a third party like Spotter

Remember, YouTube makes money through premium subscribers and advertisers. If you’re scoring tons of hits but not seeing money, it could be because your subscribers aren’t watching ads. When a lot of your subscribers are YouTube premium members, however, you’ll get paid when they watch your videos regardless of ads.

Your FAQs Answered

How much money does MrBeast make on YouTube?

MrBeast makes up to USD$101.8 million per year according to Social Blade. This can fluctuate greatly depending on the CPM his channel is being paid on each video, but it’s at least USD$6.4 million per year at the very lowest end.

Who is the top earner on YouTube?

T-Series is the top earning channel on YouTube with Social Blade estimates indicating they rake in between USD$29.9 and USD$479 million per year depending on CPMs paid.

How many views do you need for $1 million?

That depends on the number of subscribers and the CPMs brands are willing to pay for advertising on your videos. However, the average channel needs 1100-1500 views to earn $1 so you’d need 1.5 Billion views to earn $1 Million on YouTube.

Why are the highest-paid YouTube channels mostly from India?

Simply put, there are more than 1.4 billion people in India and these YouTube channels are amongst some of the most popular on the planet. They make the most money because advertisers are more willing to pay higher CPMs for advertising on these channels due to their popularity.